My Father’s Day Sermon

Text: Psalm 127

See also Gen 18:18,19; Psa 78:1-8; Prov 22:6,15; Eph 6:1-4, 10-18

 

WHAT MAN DOES is “in vain”

“in vain” (3x)

1. “unless the Lord builds the house”
2. “unless the Lord watches over the city”

(Reversal):

3. “in vain… to wake up early and stay up late working for food”

That is:

In this Psalm, man’s projects (“toils”: e.g., build a house, watch over the city, looking for food):

1. are contrasted with God’s project, and shows:
2. why we must invest in God’s project. For:

UNLESS we are engaged in God’s Project whatever else we may be doing… IS IN VAIN!

“Unless the Lord builds…” but what exactly is God doing?

Now the text presents a twist: it is not about what God wants to do but what He wants to GIVE us and how:

 

WHAT THE LORD GIVES:

“He gives sleep to those he loves”

Nobody “toils” in sleep (unless you’re having a nightmare!)

1. Observe what is going on in this text:

“sleep” – “love”

God is involved in the conjugal bed!

Love-making is not toil, but pure pleasure!

This is the point, because of what follows:

2. “Sons are GIFTS from the Lord”

“Children are a REWARD from Him”

3. Our children are God’s Project entrusted to us to “build” and to “watch over”

God has placed his masterplan in our hands! We cannot afford to fail!

 

WHAT WE MUST DO WITH WHAT GOD GIVES

“Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them”

1. Who do we regard as a “blessed man”? (Lucky guy?)

The text forces us to have a proper view of parenthood!

2. Our children are likened to “arrows” in our “quiver” (home)
3. Arrowsin the father’s hand:

Meant to fly farther than where we are

Need preparation

Need care

Need direction

Gifts we should give to our children: “Give them roots, and give them wings”

It is not enough to provide for our children a nice house or safe environment or food on the table.

Let us stay committed to the most important project of all: put God in the hearts of our children!

Fellow-fathers, our job is not about us! Our job is raising our children “in the fear and admonition of the Lord.”

If we are true to this Divine Project (our divine calling!) and accomplish it:

1. We will not have reason to fear the enemy
2. We will not have reason to fear the future