Sermon Resources for Father's Day
Are You a Hall of Fame Dad?
Sermon Opener #1 - A Hall of Fame Dad
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Robert Lewis in his book Real Family Values tells a fascinating story about a remarkable, heartwarming discovery workers at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Ohio, made in the winter of 1993.
While renovating a section of the museum, they found a photograph that had been hidden in a crevice underneath a display case. The man in the picture had a bat resting on his shoulder; he was wearing a uniform with the words "Sinclair Oil" printed across his chest; his demeanor was gentle and friendly.
Stapled to the picture was a note, scribbled in pen by an adoring fan. The note read: "You were never too tired to play ball. On your days off, you helped build the Little League Field. You always came to watch me play. You were a Hall of Fame Dad. I wish I could share this moment with you. -- Your Son, Pete."
Isn't that beautiful? A son named Pete found a creative way to put his dad into the Baseball Hall of Fame. (1)
This morning I would like to talk about what it takes to be a Hall of Fame Dad, or for that matter Mom . . . or Aunt or Uncle or Grandparent.
Today we salute our fathers. Dad, we love you. The role of a Christian father is more important in today's world than ever before. Being a Dad is a different role than in earlier generations. In most households today Dad is called upon to play more of a nurturing role in caring for children. If Mom works outside the home, Dad must take a more active role, an equal role, in doing household chores.
The most common image that Jesus used in describing God was that of "Father." It makes me think that Joseph must have been a very special kind of dad. We center much of our attention on his mother, Mary, but Joseph surely combined those very special qualities of strength and gentleness that we associate with Jesus.
So, we ask the question: what does it take to be a Hall of Fame father?
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Sermon Opener #2 - Father's Day
The full text of the following sermon is available at www.Sermons.com.
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Members: Please see Psalm 78 for the sermon titled "Father's Day"
I once saw an advertisement in a particular magazine for Father's Day. It was an acrostic on the word Father. It read...
“F” is for your favorite occupation. (A man is pictured asleep in a chair)
“A” is for the anniversaries your blew (mother is shown waiting in vain for father to come home for their anniversary dinner)
“T” is for talk and your sparkling conversation (dad is depicted as reading a newspaper while the children and wife are talking to him)
“H” is for the helpful things that you do (dad is shown poking a ladder through a window)
"E" is for each time you were forgetful (this shows father leaving the pregnant mother standing at the front of the house while he dashes off to the hospital)
“R” is for the recitals that you attended (father is shown as being literally drug to his child's piano recital)
The ad concluded by saying: He may not be a perfect father but he does deserve a perfect gift. Give him an arrow shirt for Father’s Day.
As a father, how would like to be remembered? A man once said that as a child he was terribly afraid of his father. “He was a pretty awesome figure,” he said. “When he spoke that was the end of things. I always imagined if I could hear the voice of God that it would sound like the voice of my father.
Even though this man did not mean to compliment his father, I guess he should have been congratulated for connecting his father in any way with God, even if it was a negative connection. In the book of Proverbs we read these words: Children, hear the instruction of your father. He is the wisdom of God speaking to you.
That is quite an order isn't it dad? A huge responsibility that has been placed upon you. You are to be the voice and wisdom of God in your family. I wonder how many fathers today are filling the bill. How are we father’s doing? We are failing. If you want proof of the failure of the American father I present to you several pieces of evidence.....
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Illustrations for Father’s Day
This Is Not a Race
Clovis Chappell, a great preacher of a previous generation, used to tell the story of two paddleboat steamers. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, crew members made disparaging remarks about the slowness of the other boat. Words were exchanged. Challenges were made.
And the race began. The competition was keen as the boats roared down the Mississippi. One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising crew member took some of the ship's cargo and tossed it into the ovens. Their boat began to catch up, so they made fuel out of more and more cargo. They finally won the race, but in the process they burned their cargo, the very material they had been hired to transport.
Parents, our primary mission is not to win a rat race, but to faithfully care for those persons entrusted to us, especially our children.
Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Priceless Scribbles
Rev. Richard Fairchild tells about a story that appeared years ago in the Christian Reader. It was called "Priceless Scribbles." It concerns a father who touched his child's life in an unexpected way. A young boy watched as his father walked into the living room. The boy noticed that his younger brother, John, began to cower slightly as his father entered. The older boy sensed that John had done something wrong. Then he saw from a distance what his brother had done. The younger boy had opened his father's brand new hymnal and scribbled all over the first page with a pen.
Staring at their father fearfully, both brothers waited for John's punishment. Their father picked up his prized hymnal, looked at it carefully and then sat down, without saying a word. Books were precious to him; he was a minister with several academic degrees. For him, books were knowledge. What he did next was remarkable, says the author of this story. Instead of punishing his brother, instead of scolding, or yelling, his father took the pen from the little boy's hand, and then wrote in the book himself, alongside the scribbles that John had made. Here is what that father wrote: "John's work, 1959, age 2. How many times have I looked into your beautiful face and into your warm, alert eyes looking up at me and thanked God for the one who has now scribbled in my new hymnal. You have made the book sacred, as have your brother and sister to so much of my life."
"Wow," thought the older brother, "This is punishment?" The author of the story, now an adult, goes on to say how that hymnal became a treasured family possession, how it was tangible proof that their parents loved them, how it taught the lesson that what really matters is people, not objects; patience, not judgment; love, not anger.
Richard Fairchild, adapted by King Duncan
Someone Who Loves You
In his book, Disappointment with God, writer Philip Yancey relates a touching story from his own life. One time on a visit to his mother--who had been widowed years earlier, in the month of Philip's first birthday--they spent the afternoon together looking through a box of old photos. A certain picture of him as an eight-month-old baby caught his eye. Tattered and bent, it looked too banged up to be worth keeping, so he asked her why, with so many other better pictures of him at the same age, she had kept this one.
Yancey writes, "My mother explained to me that she had kept the photo as a memento, because during my father's illness it had been fastened to his iron lung." During the last four months of his life, Yancey's father lay on his back, completely paralyzed by polio at the age of twenty-four, encased from the neck down in a huge, cylindrical breathing unit. With his two young sons banned from the hospital due to the severity of his illness, he had asked his wife for pictures of her and their two boys. Because he was unable to move even his head, the photos had to be jammed between metal knobs so that they hung within view above him--the only thing he could see. The last four months of his life were spent looking at the faces he loved.
Philip Yancey writes, "I have often thought of that crumpled photo, for it is one of the few links connecting me to the stranger who was my father. Someone I have no memory of, no sensory knowledge of, spent all day, every day thinking of me, devoting himself to me, loving me . . . The emotions I felt when my mother showed me the crumpled photo were the very same emotions I felt that February night in a college dorm room when I first believed in a God of love. Someone is there, I realized. Someone is there who loves me. It was a startling feeling of wild hope, a feeling so new and overwhelming that it seemed fully worth risking my life on."
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
The Flip Side of Love
A lot of damage can occur in a family. Parents can be hurt. Children can be hurt. But there is always hope in a home where forgiveness is present. John R. Aurelio, in his book Colors!, gives us a beautiful portrayal of this side of God.
On the sixth day, God created Father Adam and Mother Eve.
On the seventh day, as God was resting, they asked Him if He would give them something special to commemorate their birthday. So God reached into His treasure chest and took out a sacred coin. Written on it was the word "LOVE."
On the eighth day, Father Adam and Mother Eve sinned. As they left the Garden of Eden, they asked God for an assurance that He would not abandon them.
"You have the coin," He told them.
"But, the coin says LOVE," they answered. "We have lost love. However will we find it again?"....
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Children's Sermon - A Great Big Bunch of Love
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Lesson Preview: Good morning, boys and girls. How are you on this special day? (Let them respond.) Do you know what day this is? (Let them tell you.) Right. This is Father's Day. Today we are especially nice to our fathers because today we want to thank them for all of the wonderful things they do. I have a great gift with me today, boys and girls, which you could give to your dads. Would you like to see it? (Let them respond.) Well, here it is. How do you like it? (Hold your arms out, as if holding a huge package. Let the children respond.) Can't you see this gift? (Let them respond.) Why, this is the best gift of all. Let me tell you about it, then maybe you will be able to see what it is. This gift could make all of the troubles in the world go away! Wouldn't that be wonderful, boys and girls?
You see, this gift is sort of catching. You know how you can catch a cold or the measles from someone else? Well, when you give this gift away, it spreads, and other people catch it, too. Can you guess how big this gift is? (Let them guess.) Well, this gift can be as big as you want it to be. It will be at least as big as your heart. Another wonderful thing about this gift...
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