Deut 6, Matt 7, Hebrews 12, Luke 15
A child was once asked to describe their dad in one
sentence.
Some said:
“My dad is strong.”
“My dad is funny.”
“My dad works a lot.”
But one child said something simple—and powerful:
“My dad shows me what love looks like.”
That’s really the question in front of all of us today.
Not: Are we perfect?
But: What are we showing?
Because our children are always watching.
They are learning what matters most—not from what we
say occasionally—but from what we live consistently.
This morning we are going to examine three Scriptures
that speak about the role of Fathers. These three not only
describe how earthly fathers should treat their children,
they show the attributes of our heavenly Father and how
He treats His children.
The first Scripture shows us that:
A Father Teaches His Children
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
The Lord commanded Moses to teach his son so that his
son would teach his son and his son’s son. God was
instructing generational teaching.
Verses 4-6, known as the Shema, which is the Hebrew
word for hear, was considered the most important
Scripture in the whole Bible. Young Jewish boys were
taught to memorize this as soon as they could talk.
Moses taught his sons what the Lord commanded him to
teach them.
— Fear the Lord
— There is one God
— Hear and Do the Lord’s Commandments
— Love the Lord with all your heart, soul and might
— Teach them to your children
Moses taught his sons how the Lord commanded him to
teach them.
— Moses told dads to talk often about them to his
children, when they walked, sat, lie down and rose.
— Moses told dads to model the importance of
Scripture by binding Scripture on his hand and
between his eyes. He also told them to write them
on the doorpost of their house.
Dads, our children need us to teach them about the Lord.
We need to lead by example.
Our family needs us to take them to church
They need to see us praying
They need to see us studying our Bible
They need to see us fasting
They need to see us memorizing Scripture
We need to lead them by our example and challenge
them to grow in their spiritual walk.
What if our children are grown? Is it too late for us to
teach them about the Lord?
It’s never too late to teach your children what God has
been teaching you.
We can also begin to teach our grandchildren about the
Lord.
We can share with them the truths of the faith and share
with them of God’s love and grace and forgiveness.
God has provided His word to us so that we can read it
and memorize and meditate on it. He teaches us daily if
we will simply seek after Him through His word.
The next Scripture we are going to look at this morning
shows us that:
A Father Loves His Children
Matthew 7:9-11
Provide for their Needs
Fathers show love by taking care of their children and
providing for their needs.
These verses are in the middle of Jesus’ sermon on the
mount.
He is teaching them to pray with persistence and
confidence knowing that the heaven Father will give them
the good things they need.
Jesus uses the human father as an example that father’s,
even evil ones, know what their children need and would
never give them something that would harm them.
Interestingly the bread was shaped like the flat smooth
stones found by the water. And the fish looked similar to
the eels found in the water. But fathers are still not
getting mixed up when their kids ask them for something
to eat.
I love the way Jesus closes out in verse 11, if you who
are evil know who to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will you Father who is in heaven give
good things to those who ask Him?
I love those three words – how much more!
How much more does God love his children than anyone
on earth?
No matter how well we take care of our children, our
heavenly Father is – how much more – better at it than
us!!
Not only do fathers show love by taking care of their
children and providing for their needs.
Hebrews 12:5-11
Provide Discipline
Fathers show love by showing their children discipline as
the Lord disciplines His children.
These verses discuss the importance of discipline.
Two things stand out.
God disciplines those He loves
God disciplines His children
The Hebrew author encourages his audience to not grow
weary or fainthearted because of God’s discipline.
He also reminds them that discipline from the Lord is
proof of His love for His children.
Children without discipline turn into terribly selfish and
arrogant adults.
As Solomon wrote in Proverbs, “Whoever spares the rod
hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to
discipline him.” Proverbs 13:24
Kent Hughes
“Discipline is the divinely ordained path to a
deepening relationship with God and a growing
love with him.”
Verse 10 of Hebrews 12 tells us that God disciplines for
our good that we may share in his holiness.
And verse 11 encourages us with the truth that discipline
yields the fruit of righteousness for those who have been
trained by it.
Dad’s we show love by disciplining our children.
But our motivation has to be love, not anger.
Our final Scripture shows us that:
A Father Forgives His Children
Luke 15:17-24
This parable shows the incredible love of a father whose
son took his inheritance and went away and squandered
it on wild living.
What is amazing is that when the son realized what he
had done he went to his father to ask for forgiveness.
He had no idea his dad would be so forgiving.
He would have been happy if his dad just hired him to be
one of his servants.
But his father felt compassion for his son and ran to him
and hugged and kissed him.
Not only did the father forgive his son, he celebrated his
homecoming with a huge party and gifts for his son.
Most of us are familiar with the story, but this is a great
example of how we should treat our kids when they mess
up.
I know I have not gotten it right every time my kids have
made mistakes. But I hope they know how much I love
them and want the best for them.
Dads, even if we have messed it up, God is always there
to forgive us when we come to him with repentance.
No matter what kind of dad you have been, there is
forgiveness in Jesus Christ for each of us.
I know family relationships are difficult.
And bridges get burned.
Are you withholding forgiveness to someone in your own
family?
Are you waiting for your family member to come to you
to ask for forgiveness?
What if you were to take the first step and reach out to
them and show compassion?
Does God want you to show forgiveness today?
Who is He placing on your heart this morning?
Jesus went to the cross at Calvary to provide forgiveness
for our sin by His shed blood.
He became our sacrifice and substituted Himself for us.
He made him who knew no sin to become sin, so that in
him we might become the righteousness of God.
When we ask God to forgive us of our sin, He agrees to,
because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
APPLICATION
Dads, I have three points of application for you this
morning
Guide your Family Spiritually
Lead by example
Be intentional
Love your Children Wisely
Give wisely not just generously
Discipline consistently in love
Model Forgiveness Generously
Be quick to forgive
Admit your own mistakes