[__ Prayer __] Father's Day...PLEASE HELP!

[heather]

At my church we do this thing with our children on Sunday mornings called Children's Chat where we give a short message to the children at their level that the whole congregation can listen to. I think it has something to do with the scripture that says that when we come to God with a child's heart, we will better understand him.

Anyway... tomorrow is my turn and I'm trying to put something together for Father's Day. It's a little bit hard for me because my dad wasn't really involved in my life growing up and I'm only now starting to have a relationship with him.

If you have any ideas... please, please give them to me so I can put something more competent together. I also need to talk about how dads are like our Heavenly Father. It also needs to be between 3 and 8 minutes.

Thanks so much!
Heaher.

P.S. I also posted this under Parenting and Marriage.

 

[John]

Maybe something can be done around these verses.

1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity ... (NIV)

Deuteronomy 1:29-31
Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." (NIV)

Joshua 1:9
...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (NIV)

Malachi 4:6
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. (NIV)

Psalm 103:13
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; (NIV)

Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in. (NIV)

Proverbs 3:32
For the LORD detests a perverse man
but takes the upright into his confidence. (NIV)

Proverbs 10:9
The man of integrity walks securely,
but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. (NIV)

Proverbs 17:24
A discerning man keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth. (NIV)

Proverbs 17:27
A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered. (NIV)

Proverbs 23:22
Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old. (NIV)

Proverbs 23:24
The father of a righteous man has great joy;
he who has a wise son delights in him. (NIV)

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (NIV)

Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. (NIV)

Hebrews 12:7
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? (NIV)

 

[Vic C.]

Hi Heather,

John gave you some great scripture. I'm thinking about the sacrifices many fathers make for their family, so maybe some verses on sacrificing might help.

With the passing of journalist Tim Russert, I'm reminded of how much of a family man he was and how much he respected his father. With all the things he could have written about, he chose to write two books on his father and fatherhood. One was called, "Wisdom of Our Fathers". He wrote, “When my life is over, I know that the most important thing I’ll be judged on is what kind of father I was.†Too bad you didn't have more time, you could have read the book.

The other book was called, "Big Russ & Me – Father and Son: Lessons of Life".

Here us a excerpt:

“I have learned so much from Big Russ, and I feel so grateful to him, that I wanted to write a book about the two of us, and also about the other important teachers in my life, who have reinforced Dad’s lessons and taught me a few new ones… I hope this book will encourage readers to think about the things they learned from their father. Whatever we achieve and whoever we are, we stand on theirshoulders.â€Â