I. Introduction
A. Father’s Day Gifts
B. Father’s Day Feelings
II. Faithful Fathers
A. Men of (Genesis 22:1-19)
1. Abraham’s faith led him to search for from the right place.
a. Abraham is a man who shows us the complexities of faith. Sometimes his faith is strong, and sometimes his faith is questionable.
b. Even in his worst moments, Abraham returns to God.
c. By the time we come to Genesis 22, Abraham has become fully convinced that God is able to do what He says He can do.
d. Romans 4:13-25
2. Christian men need to lead like they truly God is able to do what He says He can do.
B. Men of (Luke 15:11-32)
1. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father demonstrated to both his sons.
a. In the account of the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father is a figure that stands out to me. Even when his son leaves, the father waits for his return (…while he was a long way off…), ready to receive the prodigal son.
b. He also deals lovingly with the elder brother when he has a bad reaction to the son returning home.
c. The father came out of the house (again) to talk to the older brother (15:28)
d. He appeals to the older brother (…entreated him…) (15:28).
e. He still acknowledges him as a son and reminds him that he has all he has is the son’s.
2. We have all been both the prodigal son and the older brother. We need to learn to become more like the .
3. We should want to be men who, when our children get in trouble, they want to come to us, not hide from us.
C. Men of (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2-7)
1. Paul was not Timothy’s biological father, but he certainly was a spiritual father to Timothy.
2. Paul challenged Timothy to his fire for God.
a. Paul wanted Timothy to “…fan into flame the gift of God…which is in you”
b. The Greek word ἀναζωπυρέω (anazōpyreō) means to kindle a dormant fire.
c. Illustration: If you’ve ever been around a campfire as it is starting to die out, you have a decision to make: kindle the fire (add wood), or put out the fire for the evening.
d. Sometimes we need people around us to remind us to kindle the fire within us when it gets a little challenging to “be on fire.”
3. We should live in a way that helps others to kindle their to Christ.
III. Conclusion
A. Father’s Day Gifts
1. Just like on Mother’s Day, we try to give gifts to our fathers to express our love for them
2. The greatest gift you could give is faithfulness to God.
B. Invitation
1. God’s fire for you never goes out.
2. He gave the greatest gift ever when He sent His Son to die for you.
3. The greatest gift you could ever give Him is yourself.