Fatherhood and Manhood part 4

I am prepping for a Fathers Day Sermon this weekend (Service starts at 10AM at PleasantView Community Church) so throughout the week I want to share some songs, tidbits and statistics regarding fatherhood.

Please feel free to share any thoughts or comments about the posts or better yet, share a favorite memory about your father!

Adam Mitchell’s Speech for Fathers – Courageous

As a law-enforcement officer, I’ve seen firsthand the deep hurt and devastation that fatherlessness brings in a child’s life. Our prisons are full of men and women who lived recklessly after being abandoned by their fathers, wounded by the men who should have loved them the most. Many now follow the same pattern of irresponsibility that their fathers did.

While so many mothers have sacrificed to help their children survive, they were never intended to carry the weight alone. We thank God for them.

But research is proving that a child also desperately needs a daddy. There’s no way around this fact. As you know, earlier this year, my family endured the tragic loss of our -year-old daughter, Emily. Her death forced me to realize that not only had I not taken advantage of the priceless time I had with her, but that I did not truly understand how crucial my role was as a father to her and our son, Dylan. Since her passing, I’ve asked God to show me, through his word how to be the father that I need to be.

I now believe that God desires for every father to courageously step up and do whatever it takes to be involved in the lives of his children. But more than just being there or providing for them, he’s to walk with them through their lives and be a visual representation of the character of God, their father in heaven.

A father should love his children and seek to win their hearts. He should protect them, discipline them and teach them about God.
He should model how to walk with integrity and treat others with respect and should call out his children to become responsible men and women who live their lives for what matters in eternity.

Some men will hear this and mock it or ignore it.
But I tell you that as a father, you are accountable to God for the position of influence he has given you.
You can’t fall asleep at the wheel only to wake up one day and realize that your job or your hobbies have no eternal value but the souls of your children do.

Some men will hear this and agree with it but have no resolve to live it out.
lnstead, they will live for themselves and waste the opportunity to leave a godly legacy for the next generation.

But there are some men who, regardless of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, regardless of what our fathers did not do for us, will give the strength of our arms and the rest of our days to loving God with all that we are and to teach our children to do the same, and, whenever possible, to love and mentor others who have no father in their lives but who desperately need help and direction.

We are inviting any man whose heart is willing and courageous to join us in this resolution.
In my home, the decision has already been made.
You don’t have to ask who will guide my family, because by God’s grace, I will.
You don’t have to ask who will teach my son to follow Christ, because l will.
Who will accept the responsibility of providing and protecting my family? I will.
Who will ask God to break the chain of destructive patterns in my family’s history? I will.
Who will pray for and bless my children to boldly pursue whatever God calls them to do?
I am their father. l will.

I accept this responsibility, and it is my privilege to embrace it.
I want the favor of God and his blessing on my home.
Any good man does.
So where are you, men of courage?
Where are you, fathers who fear the Lord?
It’s time to rise up and answer the call that God has given to you and to say, “I will. I will. I will.”

Casey

1 Cor 16:13

Fatherhood and Manhood part 3

Please feel free to share any thoughts or comments about the posts or better yet, share a favorite memory about your father!

Fathers, you wont get quality time with your kids with being intentional about it. You cant create quality time when ever you want. It takes being there in the slow times, when nothing is happening all the time, for the quality time to come up naturally.

Quantity time creates quality time.

Casey

Fatherhood and Manhood Part 2

Please feel free to share any thoughts or comments about the posts or better yet, share a favorite memory about your father!

This one is modified slightly from a blog post I wrote on a different site about two years ago…

Why is it important to be a father? And to stayed married to their mother?

Chew on this…..

*63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) — 5 times the average.

*90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes — 32 times the average.

*85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes — 20 times the average. (Center for Disease Control)

*80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes — 14 times the average. (Justice and Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26)

*71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes — 9 times the average. (National Principals Association Report)

*75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes – 10 times the average. (Rainbows for All God’s Children)

*70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Sept. 1988)

*85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes — 20 times the average. (Fulton Co. Dept. of Correction)

*Students living w/out Biological Fathers:

36 % overall (complete population)

28% of white students

39% of Hispanic Students

69% of Black Students

*63 % of students living with no biological father live in a households with income of $25,000 or less

Now, am I saying that if you are divorced that you are a bad father? Of course not! I know many great dads who are not married. But there are a few things that I am saying.

If you are a divorced father, you need to work harder to be an active part of your child’s life. These stats are not saying that the kids will be a part of these numbers, but the likelihood increases by a lot.
If you are still married to the kids mother, this is not an excuse to not work hard at being deeply involved in their lives. Statistically, an emotionally absent, physically present father is not as bad as a physically absent father, but it is much worse than an emotionally present, physically present father.
If you had a poor or non existent father, do not use that as an excuse. Use him as an inspiration to do better for your kids than he did for you. Look to your father in heaven as an example of how you should be as a father.
If you had a good or great father, use him as an example. Learn from him and ask him advice. Do the same with your heavenly father. He has already written some of it down for you.
If you are not involved in your kids life, why? MAN UP! If you are not being a father you are not a man, you are a boy who can shave. The Good News? There is still time to change and repent and ask your heavenly father for help

Casey

Deut 11:9

Fatherhood and Manhood, Part 1

Please feel free to share any thoughts or comments about the posts or better yet, share a favorite memory about your father!

Casey

Prepping for my next Sermon

So Im am prepping to do my next sermon on May 18th and I will be preaching on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I will post the passage here from Luke 10:25-37. What do you take from this? I want to hear the obvious as well as the deeper, not so obvious…

Active Faith, and Holy Spirit convictions

So here is the follow up to my sermon on Genesis 13. This ism y sermon on Genesis 14! Its names you can never pronounce, more than you ever thought you would hear about Melchizedek and learning that people cant change before they meet Jesus, they need Jesus in order to change.

Thanks ahead of time for the feedback!

Casey

Proverbs 8:1-11

It’s all about the kids!!!

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I, (Hope), have always loved this verse and sentiment, because it first shows how Jesus loved the children and that they were important to Him. Also, and I might be reading into it a bit, but “there’s is the kingdom of heaven” is true here on earth as well. They will take over the earthly kingdom when we have all finished messing up what we can. These children that come to youth group and good news club, or Awana, are the future financial planners, judges, real estate developers, teachers, doctors, bums on the side of the road… what can we do to help or hurt???

Well, I have started teaching good news club weekly for about 20 kids that come right from school to the church for club. The fun thing is that less than half of the kids actually go to our church, so it’s a fun outreach as well as an opportunity to work with the kids. GNC is a part of Children Evangalism Fellowship. It stresses the gospel with every lesson, and is VERY structured, which is great, but keeps me on a short leash, which might be a good thing! We have to adhere to what is in place, because we will only be here a year, and then they take it over again, so it doesn’t make sense to change something and change it back.

The kids are great, of course! We have the three boys in the back that like to roughouse, but have lots of fun answers. The four girls who sit close on 3 chairs, whispering and answering for each other. The shy boy in front who loves to be called on, but is nervous to raise his hand. They really get into the lessons and games, but are shy singers. They are from 1st to 6th grade, and every face that looks up at me during that hour I have them every week makes me want to pour more time and care into how I present these stories of Jesus’ life, and His work on the cross. These precious children that Jesus loves choose to hang out at church after school, which means their hearts and ears are open to His word. If only we were that open as adults, giving up time during the week to hang out and talk about Jesus with the excitement I get from them.

We also are starting the youth group up again after a year of nothing! They will be 7th – 12th graders from the church and community. We’ve been told to expect 20 on a good day. They were used to the boys and girls going through separate studies, so we are really changing the format and getting everyone together for Casey’s teaching. We are kicking off on Super Bowl Sunday, and watching the second half of the game at our house, and then seeing what the group wants to study by having them ask questions they have about faith, the bible, God, anything they want to know about. We are praying that God will give us a clear direction for the youth group because there are really no parameters here, and the youth in this community really don’t have much to do, much leadership, not a lot of responsibility in the church, and seem to be the age most in need right now. You know when you get that fire in your heart when you see what God’s doing in a group or area, I don’t think these kids have had that for some time, and I am praying we can get that fire and vision, and show them that they matter to God and the church.

This church we are serving at does so much for so many ages and issues, and the kids are well loved. I get to be a part of that with good news club. Now we get to pick up the gauntlet with a small but important area that is less represented and create something new. Pleas pray for God’s guidance and will, and discernment with where these kids are, who will be good student leaders, not just fake it well, which we have a few of. Thank you for caring for the kids, both in our area and your own.