Father’s Day | Summer at DC
Summer at DC 2024
Father’s Day…
1 John 1:5-9 (NLT) 5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
SOUL TATTOO: True fellowship with God requires us to actively love God and our neighbor.
SOUL TATTOO: Transformation happens when our life and light is in Christ alone.
2 Chronicles 15:7 (NLT) 7 But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”
SOUL TATTOO: Be the DAD but be a DISCIPLE first.
“The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds. This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus “practicing the presence of God” is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our “practicing” we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. But these are habits–not the law of gravity–and can be broken. A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings.” (Dallas Willard, Author, Theologian and Philosopher)
- D = Be diligent being dad.
Diligent: constant, careful, passionate and hard working in an effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything.
Proverbs 13:4 (ESV) 4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Proverbs 21:5 (ESV) 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
2 Peter 1:10 (ESV) 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
2 Peter 3:14 (ESV) 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
- A = Be accountable being dad.
Accountable: Required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible. Take responsibility for one’s actions, and to answer to someone, such as a person with more authority.
Romans 14:12 (ESV) 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Proverbs 27:17 (ESV) 17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
James 1:12 (ESV) 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Matthew 12:36-37 (ESV) 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
- D = Be dedicated and disciplined being dad.
Dedicated: devoted to a task or purpose; having single-minded loyalty or integrity.
Disciplined: Showing a controlled form of behavior or way of working. Train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.
We’re building a legacy of sons and daughters that need to learn and be taught how to chase after God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) 6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) 23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.” (Dallas Willard, Author, Theologian and Philosopher)
SOUL TATTOO: Be the DAD but be a DISCIPLE first.
Matthew 16:24 (NIV) 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Disciple: a learner; a pupil; an adherent and imitator of their teacher; an apprentice.
Christian → Disciple → Apprentice:
Learning how to abide in Jesus:
Abide: to remain, to stay, to wait for
John 15:4-5 (ESV) 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
As dads or fathers and as disciples, what do we need to do?
1.) Be with Jesus.
2.) Become like Jesus.
3.) Do what Jesus did.
SOUL TATTOO: Be the DAD but be a DISCIPLE first.
Dads…
I am not what I have. I am not what I do. I am not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God. It is who I am. No one can take it from me. I do not have to hurry. I do not have to worry. I can trust in God and share His love with the world.