Fathers

A Note From the Pastor…

 My father has been gone for almost nine (9) years. It doesn’t feel like its been that long. To be honest, I don’t think of him every single day, and the pain of his passing truly gets easier as the years pass – but I do still miss him. My childhood home is not the same without him there. My family is not the same without his presence. I know I am not the same since his passing.

Yet, in many ways, my dad is still with me. Not in some great supernatural sense. I do not believe in “ghosts,” nor do I believe my dad sends me “signs,” (such as birds or butterflies), that he is watching over me, (neither of these ideas are supported by scripture). Yet, he helped to mold and make me into the person I am today. I have many wonderful memories that I hold on to. I share many physical characteristics, (like the way I walk and look). Yet, it wasn’t just the things he said, but the way he said them. It wasn’t just the lessons that he tried to teach me, but the example he led daily. He is still with me because he poured himself into not only providing for the family, but into guiding my sister and me. I’m sure mistakes were made. I am equally sure that I didn’t always listen to his “fatherly wisdom” – but love was in our home.

Proverbs 23:22 reminds us, “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” Proverbs 22:6 states, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Fathers are specifically admonished in Colossians 3:21 to “not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” Most importantly, my father led by example in honesty, in accountability, in taking us to church, and in being a living example of Christ. And in that I am truly blessed! In our busy world may we each pray for the fathers in our family, our church, our community, and in our world!

        Pastor Chris

Key Verses

Galatians 2:11-14

Galatians 2:16

Question

How do you handle failure?

By only blaming others or with personal accountability?

Quote

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”

—Henry Ward Beecher, American Congregationalist pastor