Happy Father's Day

[heartstrings]

^{Deuteronomy 5:16} Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

 

^{Matthew 5:19} Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

I remember one of the last sermons one of my former pastors preached on Fathers' Day, He scolded the men up one side and down the other, In front of our wives and children. I don't think my kids or wife were learning to have any "honour" for me that day. As the husband and father, they heard what a lowdown despicable failure I was as he angrily raked us over the coals. I also remember being with this pastor in a store, calling a store clerk the "N word" when he could have been witnessing to the man, so I wonder if I should follow his example?. I also recall that the whole 20+ years he was pastor at our church, his son never once visited him..  Anyway, every year moms received flowers and praises. but when "Father's Day" rolled around, dads got dishonor because, for the past 20+ Father's Day sermons we were shown to have never measured up. Maybe he was preaching to himself?

There are 52 weeks in a year: 51 other Sundays a year to "reprove and rebuke" whoever you want. I can say "whoever you "want" because I'm pretty certain the Holy Ghost has nothing to do with some things said from pulpits. But, go ahead, say nice things about Moms, they deserve it, and it's certainly Biblical to do so, but Deuteronomy 5:19 says to honor Fathers too. I know that's speaking of how children are to treat parents; I get that. But pastors, preachers: if you're going to say anything on our day, about us, how about finding some way of teaching our kids to honor us. Because we already know that we are sadly lacking and don't always "measure up" and guess what: We know that Moms fail sometimes too. 

Study your Bibles a little more; Peter and Paul rebuked and admonished BOTH mothers and fathers but they did it in the same letters. From that, I am inclined to believe that they would have preached it that way too. We all have faults and need correction but to correct at the same time, lets us know that neither is better than the other. It's really worldly to do as the world does. The world treats men and fathers like we're dishonest, unfaithful, "toxic masculine" jokes and characterizes us as buffoons; I'm told that "Homer Simpson" is an example, though I've never watched that show.

 

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[BrotherTony]

1 hour ago, heartstrings said:

^{Deuteronomy 5:16} Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

 

^{Matthew 5:19} Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

I remember one of the last sermons one of my former pastors preached on Fathers' Day, He scolded the men up one side and down the other, In front of our wives and children. I don't think my kids or wife were learning to have any "honour" for me that day. As the husband and father, they heard what a lowdown despicable failure I was as he angrily raked us over the coals. I also remember being with this pastor in a store, calling a store clerk the "N word" when he could have been witnessing to the man, so I wonder if I should follow his example?. I also recall that the whole 20+ years he was pastor at our church, his son never once visited him..  Anyway, every year moms received flowers and praises. but when "Father's Day" rolled around, dads got dishonor because, for the past 20+ Father's Day sermons we were shown to have never measured up. Maybe he was preaching to himself?

There are 52 weeks in a year: 51 other Sundays a year to "reprove and rebuke" whoever you want. I can say "whoever you "want" because I'm pretty certain the Holy Ghost has nothing to do with some things said from pulpits. But, go ahead, say nice things about Moms, they deserve it, and it's certainly Biblical to do so, but Deuteronomy 5:19 says to honor Fathers too. I know that's speaking of how children are to treat parents; I get that. But pastors, preachers: if you're going to say anything on our day, about us, how about finding some way of teaching our kids to honor us. Because we already know that we are sadly lacking and don't always "measure up" and guess what: We know that Moms fail sometimes too. 

Study your Bibles a little more; Peter and Paul rebuked and admonished BOTH mothers and fathers but they did it in the same letters. From that, I am inclined to believe that they would have preached it that way too. We all have faults and need correction but to correct at the same time, lets us know that neither is better than the other. It's really worldly to do as the world does. The world treats men and fathers like we're dishonest, unfaithful, "toxic masculine" jokes and characterizes us as buffoons; I'm told that "Homer Simpson" is an example, though I've never watched that show.

 

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I have to be honest...my wife and I no longer attend corporate services on Mother's or Father's Days. For nearly 25 years, no matter what church we've been in, pastors have used these days to praise mothers, and to lambast father's, as you've described. Not being able to have children of our own, the over emphasis on mothers with the asking for the oldest, youngest, ones with the most, least, married, widowed,  etc, mother's did it for my wife. The same for comments on Father's Day that married men without children weren't living biblically. Even when we were raising other people's children we were scrutinized and unfairly and many times treated unjustly because we took in kids of different skin colors, or medical conditions.  At one IFB church in our area we were approached about the possibility of undergoing fertility treatments. This was nobody's business but our own. In lieu of the regular church service, there were several of us families that would meet together for breakfast and Bible study those Sundays...at least we'd all had similar experiences in these areas. 

[Napsterdad]

Personally, I don't see the need for a Father's Day; or for a Mother's Day. I have four children ranging in age from 34 to 13 and I know without a doubt that they love their mother and me unconditionally. We celebrate Mother's and Father's Day all year long. I am blessed. Valentine's (and now Sweetheart's) Day are equally ridiculous. If you need a special day set aside to tell someone you love them, I have to wonder about the sincerity of that love. I love my wife with all my heart 365 day a year, and I make sure she knows it (not just on February 14). All these "holidays" are just money grabs by Hallmark.

[TheGloryLand]

14 hours ago, BrotherTony said:

I have to be honest...my wife and I no longer attend corporate services on Mother's or Father's Days. For nearly 25 years, no matter what church we've been in, pastors have used these days to praise mothers, and to lambast father's, as you've described. Not being able to have children of our own, the over emphasis on mothers with the asking for the oldest, youngest, ones with the most, least, married, widowed,  etc, mother's did it for my wife. The same for comments on Father's Day that married men without children weren't living biblically. Even when we were raising other people's children we were scrutinized and unfairly and many times treated unjustly because we took in kids of different skin colors, or medical conditions.  At one IFB church in our area we were approached about the possibility of undergoing fertility treatments. This was nobody's business but our own. In lieu of the regular church service, there were several of us families that would meet together for breakfast and Bible study those Sundays...at least we'd all had similar experiences in these areas. 

Don't be so cheap, buy something for your wife and your loved ones on special worldly occasions. It's not a sin

[BrotherTony]

16 minutes ago, TheGloryLand said:

Don't be so cheap, buy something for your wife and your loved ones on special worldly occasions. It's not a sin

Who are you calling cheap, Eddie? You have no idea when or where money is spent in my household. Here again is an example of your intrusive and overwhelming interest in others funds and how they're spent.

[TheGloryLand]

5 minutes ago, BrotherTony said:

Who are you calling cheap, Eddie? You have no idea when or where money is spent in my household. Here again is an example of your intrusive and overwhelming interest in others funds and how they're spent.

We have to spend to help the economy. By spending our money to trickle down economics. Republican Thing

Edited June 6 by TheGloryLand

[Napsterdad]

30 minutes ago, TheGloryLand said:

We have to spend to help the economy. By spending our money to trickle down economics. Republican Thing

We have to spend responsibly and save where we can, being good stewards with what God blessed us. It’s a Christian thing. Buying cards to tell someone what I can personally is not responsible spending.

[BrotherTony]

40 minutes ago, TheGloryLand said:

We have to spend to help the economy. By spending our money to trickle down economics. Republican Thing

And? What relevance does this have to what posted? Again, your preoccupation with money, especially other people's money is very troubling.

Edited June 6 by BrotherTony

[HappyChristian]

Well, I've been off for a while because the power company cut our phone/internet line. Yay. Just got fixed today.

I just have to say: I've been in churches where both mothers on Mothers' Day and fathers on Father's Day were lambasted for  being horrible parents (well, honestly, in one church that was a main theme throughout the year, so at least consistency, right? LOL).

So it is refreshing to hear my hubs on these days. We do recognize mothers and fathers because we "use" those days, if you will, to invite folks to church. But we don't do the prize giving. For the ladies, there are carnations they can get after the service. For dad, there is also a gift to pick up after the service. This year it happens to be bacon (I can say that now cuz none of our members are on here. lol).  Hubs will often preach about a mother in the Bible, but the application fits everyone. Same with dads. 

As a daughter, I do like honoring the parents. But we quit having a Mother/Daughter tea due to too many ladies around who have very poor relationships with their mother or their daughter (in some cases both). So now we just do a ladies' tea. That will be this Saturday...but it's the last time I'll schedule it so close to Fathers' Day because there's men's dinner Thursday night, and men's camp from another church to which a few of our men will be going. Too busy with not enough workers to help. lol

So, anyway, I wanted to add to @BrotherTony - in our books, you and your wife would be considered parents because you parented children. You both deserve a hat tip and an atta boy, atta girl for that. Not enough people do it. So, if you were ever in our area on one of those days, stop by. You'll hear a biblical, non-lambasting message and your wife would get carnations, and you might get bacon (if that's the gift - previous years its been things like a mug and a Dad's root beer so dads could make themselves a float at home...one year we had ice cream there so they could have it then).

While these special days are not in scripture, I do believe churches can use them to encourage folks to attend. But always, always they must be conscious of doing more harm than good. The cause of Christ is primo (or should be) and if observing these days causes folks to turn away, changes should be made.  And never, ever, should these days be used as a sledgehammer by the pastor toward those the days honor. 
 

[TheGloryLand]

I believe most holidays are commercial aimed here in the USA not so much for families' wellness. But I participated in them. I'm not a Jehovah Withness

[BrotherTony]

5 hours ago, TheGloryLand said:

I believe most holidays are commercial aimed here in the USA not so much for families' wellness. But I participated in them. I'm not a Jehovah Withness

Over the years they have become very commercialized, but they weren't originally so. Advertizers see $$$ and don't really care about the original meaning, much to their shame. 

[Pastor Matt]

I use mother's Day and Father's Day to get mother's and father's out to church, but once the service starts, it's a worship service as normal.