Sunday 06/15/14 Freeville/Homer Ave
UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Lessons from our Fathers”
Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 8
New Testament Scripture Lesson: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Gospel Lesson: Mathew 28:16-20
Welcome once again on this Father’s
Day, this Peace with Justice Sunday, and this Trinity Sunday. On this day in
our church calendar we honor our fathers, our grandfathers, our male role
models, and all men in general. On this day in our church calendar we take time
to remember the ministries of our church that deal with issues of peace and
justice, and we are encouraged to support these ministries on this Sunday.
Lastly, on this Sunday we celebrate and reflect upon the Holy Trinity that is
God: one in three.
While most of this message will be
focused on Father’s Day though, I did want to take a few moments to discuss the
other two things that this Sunday is being celebrated for. As I said, today we
celebrate Peace with Justice Sunday, because our church sometimes engages in
ministries where there are injustices. These injustices could be child
trafficking, human rights violations, and etc. When we give to the Peace with
Justice Fund, and when we pray for the valuable work that they do, we make the
world better by pushing back against the many evils that stain this world.
Today we also celebrate our God, who is
one in three. For we have God the Father, the creator, who made heaven and
earth. We have Jesus Christ our savior and our redeemer. We also have the Holy
Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, that fills us and gives us the
passion and will to move forward in building God’s Kingdom. In the same way
water can be ice, liquid, or steam, we also have a God that is one in three. We
have a God that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All one inseparable God, yet
in three distinct and equal persons.
While paying respect to the two other things
that today is, the rest of what I want to talk about this morning is Father’s
Day. For those of you that were here on Mother’s Day, you might remember that I
gave a sermon called, “Christian Women: the torch bearers.” In this sermon, I said
that in many but not all instances, the women of the church and of our lives
were the ones responsible for teaching us our faith directly. By this, I mean
that for many of us, the women our lives and of the church were and are often
the ones that taught us the Bible, insisted that we go to church, insisted that
we pray, and etc.
For some of us though, our fathers also
did these same things and maybe still in fact even do to this day. I have found
in my own life though, that while the men that have been in my life did not always
do these things as much as the women of my life did, that I still learned many
Christian “Lessons from my fathers.” You see for me, and maybe for you, it wasn’t
that my dad wasn’t or isn’t a believer, he just displayed his faith differently
than my mother did. Perhaps your father and your mother both displayed their
faith equally and the same. This was not my own experience though. Further,
some people that I know didn’t have the luxury of even knowing one or both of
their birth parents. For those people, I would encourage you to think of the
male role models in your life then. Perhaps those men that taught you “lessons,”
whether directly or indirectly.
With all of this said then, this
morning I want to talk about some of the “Lessons from our fathers.” My father
and my step-father both taught me for example, that if I make an agreement with
somebody that I should shake their hand and look them in eye as a sign of
confidence and respect. After doing so, I was then obligated to keep my word,
and do what I said. You see I was being taught the lesson of honesty, loyalty,
and diligence. How many of us can say that we also learned this same Biblical
lesson from our fathers?
I remember my father, my step-father,
and my grandfather taking food
to or helping widowed women in the church and the community.
They taught me that when a widow is need, that we are to help them. This my
brothers and sisters, is in the Bible to. How many of you received this lesson
from your fathers?
My father, my
step-father, and my grandfather’s taught me that I am to love and respect my
mother and my whole family. That I am never to harm my sisters or any other
woman, and that I am not harm anyone. I was taught to defend my family, to work
extra hours if needed and not complain, so that my family had what it needed. I
remember my biological father Ken when I grew up having old shoes and pants
with holes in them, yet he always insisted that his family had the best. Yes,
these are other Biblical lessons I learned from my fathers. To work hard, to
love and protect your family, and to sacrifice for my family and for others. I
don’t know about you brothers and sisters but my fathers and grandfathers
taught me the Bible so often without ever speaking the scriptures to me.
My fathers and
grandfathers taught me not to steal and to be honest with my employers. I
remember my grandpa Winkelman telling me when I was a young boy, “Paul if a man
pays you minimum wage or a large amount per hour, you give him an honest and a
clean day’s work.” I then said, “Why grandpa.” He then said, “Because this is
what honest and decent men do.” Oh yes, while the women of my life taught me
the scriptures, took me church, and taught me to pray, the men of my life also
taught me so much about our faith, the scriptures, and how to be a Christian
man. How many of you can relate to any of these lessons?
My fathers and
grandfathers taught me that my priorities in life should be God, then family,
then everything else. You see, the men in my family are goofy, funny, and light
hearted people, but in a moment they would give you the shirt off their back.
My grandpa Winkelman who is 92-years old is a man that has an eighth grade education,
but yet he has a faith that is deep and is true. He often told me, “Paul were
just passing through this life.” I remember my step-father telling me, “Paul
when you put your head on your pillow at night, pray to God and give God
everything you have, knowing that you did the best you could today.”
For some of
the men that have been or were in our lives, they might have always come to
church, or perhaps they didn’t, yet I bet for many of us we can truly say that
we learned many “Lessons from our Fathers.” In my case, I also learned some
lessons of what to not do. For example, I remember calling my grandmother to
wish her a happy birthday about 5-years ago. I wished grandma a happy birthday,
and the she put grandpa on the phone. I then asked grandpa what he had gotten my
grandma for her birthday that year, and he said, “nothing!” I then said, “Well
grandpa that isn’t very nice that you got grandma nothing for her birthday this
year.” Grandpa then said, “Well Paul I bought her a very expensive birthday
gift last year, and she hasn’t even used it once. When she uses that gift, then
I will get her another gift.” I then asked my grandpa, “Well what did you get for
grandma last year that cost so much.” He then said, “A cemetery plot.” I then
heard a loud grandma voice in the background shout “Harold!”
Yet when
grandma isn’t there, he speaks so highly of her, and he speak so highly of his
kids and his grandkids, and how proud of us he is. How we got to go to college,
and do things he never got to do. Yes, I have indeed gotten so many “Lessons
from my fathers.” What lessons have you gotten from your fathers or the men in
your life? Perhaps your dad was or is like my step-dad, who seems to be closest
to God when he is in the Craftsman tool section at Sears. Or perhaps not. How
did they teach you our faith, even if they never opened a Bible?
In reflecting
upon our fathers, our role models, our grandfathers, I want to discuss the scriptures
from this morning. In the reading from the Psalm from this morning it says, “When
I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that
you have established; what are human being that you are mindful of them?” My
fathers showed me in nature and many ways, the splendor of God’s creation, and how
little we are in comparison to God. In this Psalm in verse 8 it says, “You have
given them dominion over the works of your hands,” and admittedly sometimes my father’s
took this one a little too seriously when they went hunting. Yet God is
sovereign, all powerful, and we must bow before him. This I learned from my
fathers.
In our reading
from the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, or the
Corinthians, Paul says, “Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with
one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace with be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.” My father’s taught me this in so many
ways, expect the holy kiss part. They taught me though, to serve, to love, to
sacrifice, to defend, to honor, to uphold, to be honest, to be hard working, and
to be a man of God. “Lessons from our Fathers.”
In the gospel
reading from Mathew from this morning, Jesus tells his disciples, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have
commanded you.” My brothers and sisters my fathers and grandfathers in their
own ways, with their own examples taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ. Without
my “Lessons from my fathers,” I most assuredly would be a different man today,
and would likely not be standing before you right now.
For the men in
my life taught me faith, values, and lessons, and while they were not always in
church every Sunday, they taught me the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with how they
lived and how they still live their lives today. Yes, for me, “I am a life that
was changed” by the “Lessons from my Fathers.” So today, thank your dad, your
grandfather, or that man that has always been there for you in your time of
need. Honor them today.
I would like to close this morning
with special Father’s Day story. This story is just called “Father’s Day has
Methodist ties,” By Joey Butler. Here is how it goes “To all you dads out
there: While you're relaxing in your recliner and watching sports this Sunday,
and your kids are on their best behavior to honor Father's Day, don't forget to
thank a United Methodist.”
“That's right. Not one, but two
United Methodist churches with the same name, oddly enough can lay claim to
originating the celebration of all things paternal.”
“In 1909 in Spokane, Wash., Sonora
Smart Dodd listened to a Mother's Day sermon at Central Methodist Episcopal
Church. Dodd's own mother had died 11 years earlier, and her father had raised
their six children alone. Dodd felt moved to honor her father, and fathers
everywhere, with a special day as well.”
“She proposed her idea to local
religious leaders, and gained wide acceptance. June 19, 1910, was designated as
the first Father's Day, and sermons honoring fathers were presented throughout
the city.”
“When newspapers across the country
carried the story about Spokane's observance, the popularity of Father's Day
spread. Several presidents declared it a holiday, and in 1972, Richard Nixon
established it as the third Sunday in June.”
“Dodd's pivotal role in the creation
of a national Father's Day celebration was recognized in 1943 with a luncheon
in her honor in New York City. Central Methodist Episcopal is now known as
Central United Methodist, and holds a Father's Day service every year.”
“So enjoy firing up that grill and
napping in the hammock, dads everywhere. You've earned it, and the United
Methodists have your back.”
“And when your kids give you yet
another gruesomely ugly tie as a gift... well, we're pretty sure the
Lutherans are behind that.”
“Today my brothers and sisters, we
honor our Fathers, our Grand Fathers, and all of the men that have and do so
much for us. On this day, we say to all of them, “Thank you for giving to the
Lord, I am a life that was changed.” Amen.
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