Father’s Day Sermon Ideas

It’s almost mother’s day in the United States, which means Father’s Day is right around the corner, and social media is about to be inundated with pictures and posts saying, “Happy Father’s Day!”

I thought it would be a great idea to find out what the Word of God says about the kind of father we should be. The best way to learn about fatherhood is to look to the perfect father we have in heaven.
As pastors begin to prepare their fathers day sermon, they will no doubt speak of our heavenly father as an example to be a good father and a godly father here on earth.

When I was a little boy, I looked to my earthly father as an example of who I should strive to become. He definitely taught me a lot about how to tell dad jokes and was a great spiritual example. I love him and hope he has a happy fathers day.

As I have grown in my Christian life and into a greater understanding of the love of God, I know that no human father can be the best father they can be without the help of the Holy Spirit. When I had my own children, I gained a different perspective of what the Bible means when it teaches us about the kingdom of God and the idea of God being a loving father.

What I want to do with this article is give some father’s day sermon outline ideas as well as a look into what it takes to be a christian father. I hope they will help us learn more about the father’s plan and help men grow into great spiritual fathers and the godly man that God wants them to be.

Here are some sermon ideas (or lessons for a Sunday School class) that can be used for Father’s Day. I have also included some Bible verses to get you started as you prepare for your church service.

Father’s Day Sermons

The apostle Paul and his relationship with Timothy: This is a great way to show the importance of godly role models for young men. You can find most of the relationship between Paul and Timothy in 1 and 2 Timothy, especially the parts where he calls Timothy his son and speaks to him directly, giving him instructions and speaking to him as if he were his own father.
God as the ultimate father of every Christian: When Jesus teaches his apostles to pray (in Matthew 9:6-13 and Luke 11:2-4) he shows them a lot about the family of God. His prayer beginning with “Our Father” gives us a lot of insight into how God is our Father. You could potentially use this as a springboard to showing God’s fatherly love for His followers.
The heart of God for the entire world: In John 3:16, the Bible expresses the father’s plan to send our Lord Jesus Christ to the whole world. This shows God’s heart for the world as that of a father who wants to save His people from their sins.
The story of the prodigal son and the father’s response (Luke 15:11-32): Even though we (and our kids) make a huge mistake, the love of God never fails. We always have an opportunity for a second chance.
The relationship between the Father and His Son Christ Jesus is evident throughout the gospels. There are many passages that speak to the love and communion between the Father and the Son, which makes their relationship a great example with practical ideas for us in our earthly relationships.
What does the Old Testament teach us about Father’s Day? There are examples of Fatherhood (Abraham and Isaac), instructions for fathers (Deuteronomy 6), and many other ideas that you could use from the Old Testament for a father’s day sermon.
Father’s giving good gifts out of their great love for their children (Matthew 7:11): The New Testament passages talk about how the Father gives good gifts. The goodness of God and His grace and mercy towards His children are evident throughout the Bible, and these could be used to preach a Father’s Day sermon or teach a Sunday School lesson about the goodness of God and how we can seek to imitate Him in our relationships with our sons and daughters.
God the Father as the perfect example for how to treat our own children: This one goes with the above, but even deeper, you could go through many qualities of God as the perfect example of fatherhood.
The importance of teaching the way of the Lord to our children (Ephesians 6:4): Father’s day would be a great time to remind parents of their responsibility to disciple their children. Even the man who is a young father should understand that he needs to teach god’s word to his children. Single parents can also do the little things to bring up their children the right way according to what God teaches in the Scripture.

I hope these sermon ideas will help you as you celebrate Father’s Day this year.

A few other things to remember are that not all families are the same. A quick search on the internet will show you that fatherlessness statistics that say that 25% of all children live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home. This leads to many consequences. There is much stress on this special day, and many children suffer from abuse or lack of parents in their lives. Many people have a distorted view of what fatherhood is because of the lack of examples in their lives. The church can help with this by doing the small things and helping both young people and adults understand what God intends for the family.

I hope you have a happy father’s day and that these ideas help you with your preparation for such a special day.

You Don’t Have to “Be Triggered” By Others

I overheard a conversation today where the person was describing a situation in which they were “being triggered” by someone 😡. They responded by getting in a fight and are now going through a lot of consequences of their actions. As they sat there explaining their current situation and all of the things they are going through as a result of this one incident, I thought about “being triggered.”

There are a lot of things that people do or say to us simply to get a response from us. It’s easy to fall into the trap of responding to a negative or instigating comment with one of our own.

I’m guilty. I’ve done it.

But it’s not something we “have to do.” The girl describing the situation made it seem like she had no other choice but to fight back (and, consequently, get the police called on her).

It doesn’t have to be this way.

One of the things I want my kids to understand is that they do not have to “get triggered” by what someone else says or does. Someone else’s negative actions or words do not have to start a spiraling effect where one responds aggressively because they are “triggered.” In fact, the Bible teaches the opposite. The Bible says that a gentle answer turns away anger. We don’t have to respond the way we selfishly want to respond.

My kids need to learn that they can respond with self-control even though the rest of the world says they ought to be triggered or respond either violently or at least confrontationally. A fruit of the Spirit is gentleness and self-control. If we, as God’s children, could just respond to those “triggering incidents” with gentleness and self-control, we would live much better lives and reflect God’s glory to those around us.

This is what I want my kids (and me) to learn, remember, and practice.

Christmas Humility

I recently had the incredible opportunity to preach at Gulfcoast Fellowship in Palm Harbor, FL, (it’s available on Facebook). I preached from Philippians 2, and during the week as I was meditating on the passage, I wrote this:

“Even if Jesus would have been born to extraordinary fanfare in the most extravagant palace to the most powerful ruler in the modern world, the simple act of the incarnation would have been more humble than the most humble act you or I could ever imagine.”

I invite you to read that phrase again and just sit in it for a minute.

The reality is that Christmas is the beginning of the ultimate act of humility, which is summed up in “the Christ hymn” in Philippians 2:5-11.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God has called us to be humble like Christ. He has proven over and over again that “Humble obedience is exalted by God.”

Unfortunately, we live in a culture that exalts self-promotion.

Our kids are not wired to put others ahead of themselves. Let’s be honest, neither are we. However, it is the way of God to put others ahead of ourselves and be humble. Thinking not only of our own interests, but also of the interests of others.

Imagine what the world would be like in 10 years if we instilled humility in our kids and a sense of helping others. Something I want for my kids is that they will be humble people who seek to help others.

As always, the best way for my kids to become people who are humble and seeking others’ interests is for me to model that in my own life and to show them what it’s like to be that kind of person.

As we continue in the advent season and seek to lead our families well, my prayer is that I can be an example of humility and obedience to my children.

I want them to see me serving others. I want them to see in me the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, and I ultimately want them to have that as well, putting others above themselves.

As you run around this last week of Christmas craziness, let me encourage you to put others ahead of yourself and lead your kids to be like Jesus in humility.

019 – Leading Kids with Special Needs with Kevin Kolbe

Kevin Kolbe and his wife have the privilege of being parents to Elias, also known as “Little Dude.” Elias was born with some very challenging health issues, and in this episode of the Podcast, Kevin shares a lot about their journey and how they have adapted, how God has been involved in the entire process, and gives a lot of encouragement and insight both for parents of special needs kids and other families who know someone with special needs. I know you’ll enjoy hearing Kevin’s insight.