This is the Father’s Day message delivered at Hillcrest Baptist Church, on June 16, 2013. This message deals with headship, the importance of the father, and the impact fathers have on the lives of their children. This post contains an audio recording of my sermon, plus the sermon notes. The sermon notes are not a full transcript of the sermon.
SERMON AUDIO:
https://pastordavidpalmer.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/fathersday2013.mp3
SERMON NOTES:
2 Kings 21:19-22
The importance of the role of a father cannot be overstated.
Think about it, where would you be without your Heavenly Father?
Fatherless boys and girls are twice as likely to drop out of high school; twice as likely to end up in jail.
85% of youths in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.
But just being in the home isn’t enough.
Children do what they see, they take after their parents.
As the father, you have a great responsibility.
You are to set the example for the entire family, and you ARE held accountable.
Man is often referred to these days as the spiritual leader of the home. That term sells short the man’s role.
In fact, you’ll find that term nowhere in scripture.
The man is the HEAD of the household (not just the spiritual leader), and as such he bears responsibility.
1 Corinthians 11:8-9
1 Timothy 2:13-14
Adam was not deceived, God told him directly, he had no excuse!
Adam was placed as the head.
Genesis 2:15-18
Eve was created as Adam’s helper “Comparable or suitable” this is the Hebrew word “k neged” it means opposite, in front or in sight of.
This, in relation to the word helper, tells us that she was under Adam’s watch.
Adam was in charge.
As such, it is Adam who takes the blame for the fall of creation.
Romans 5:12
No mention of Eve!
The point here, is that the man bears responsibility for his entire household.
This is serious business, and many men don’t fulfill their roles in today’s society.
We have gone through great lengths to confuse the genders, which has only served to create a confused society that does not honor God.
No matter how much we try to redefine gender roles, the man will still be held accountable for his family.
As I’ve said before, man can delegate his responsibility, but he cannot delegate his accountability.
We can’t change God’s design.
Father’s, it is absolutely imperative that you raise your children correctly, because you will answer for their decisions.
A prime example of this is Eli’s accountability for the actions of his sons.
1 Samuel 3:11-13
Even though Eli’s sons were old enough to be serving as priests, Eli, as the chief priest and father, held some accountability.
Thankfully, Scripture tells us what we need to do:
Proverbs 22:6
Ephesians 6:4
To do this, it’s vitally important that we set the example in our daily walk and in our prayer lives.
Our children need to be taught the Word of God, and continually lead toward a relationship with Him.
Not only does this require teaching and setting a good example, it also necessitates proper love and discipline.
Proverbs 22:15
This is all a part of training.
And through it all, we must unconditionally love our children, just as God unconditionally loves us.
Sometimes that means letting them make mistakes, just as God does us.
It can be tough, but He will provide us wisdom through His word.
James 1:5
Follow God’s instruction, and you will be fine
But you need to understand that your children can either be your glory or your disgrace.
Proverbs 17:6
Glory, in the biblical sense, centers on the value, worthiness or the reputation of the person.
Scripture teaches that the Lord Jesus Matthew 16:27 “…will come in the glory of His Father” and Mark 8:38
The reputation of God the Father was conferred on Jesus Christ:
2 Peter 1:17
Your reputation in reflected on your children “Like father, like son”
In Defense: The Blog 
Posted on June 22, 2013
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