21 Words for Fathers from Canon Wired on Vimeo.
Mechanics of Fatherhood
INTRODUCTION:In this series, we have been emphasizing the gospel of free forgiveness, and we have also noted that God is the kind of Father we want to become. This means that perfect love casts out fear—we are liberated by the blood of Christ to a life of imitation. Always remember that being precedes doing, and …
Honoring Fathers
INTRODUCTION:Human flourishing depends in large measure on the faithfulness and happiness of families, and this depends, in its turn, on the honor rendered to the parents by the children. This is, the apostle Paul tells us, the first commandment with a promise. The promise originally applied to the land of Canaan, as it was spoken …
Repentance and Fatherhood
INTRODUCTION:The word repentance means a “change of mind,” but in the biblical vocabulary this entails much more than mere intellectual assent to a different proposition than was held to before. If sincere, it represents an entire turning, and it includes what we would call the heart. THE TEXT:“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet …
Father of All the Living
INTRODUCTION:The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a glorious sermon that was preached by God the Father. When the Father said that He was well-pleased with the Son at His baptism that declaration was not all the Father had to say. In the resurrection, He now declares the entire truth, holding back nothing. In the gospels, …
Our Father David
INTRODUCTION:Fatherhood is a gift, and it is based upon promise. It is not a reward, or a trophy. And when a man receives the gift of fatherhood as a gift, the result is that it is a gift to others. THE TEXT:“And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount …
What Fathers Are For
INTRODUCTION:The fact that God is a perfect Father is a two-edged sword, and we must take care that we not emphasize just one of them—lest we damage our souls . . . and our families. God is a perfect Father, and we are fallen creatures. This means that God is a perfect Father as an …
Fatherhood and Pleasure
INTRODUCTION:Our world is filled with fathers because it is a world created by God the Father. Fatherhood lies at the center of all things, and because the Father created the world, the world has to reflect that reality. But because it is a world that has—because of the disobedience of our first father—fallen into sin …
The State of the Church 2012
INTRODUCTION:Our duties toward God and man are concrete duties. All of our duties are attached to names, and faces, and places. We have no duties in isolation; all duties occur in the context of relationships. But in order to love as we ought in each particular instance of a relationship we need to understand how …
The Gospel and Thanksgiving
INTRODUCTION:The gospel is good news for everyone, and this includes all those who have already heard and believed it. The gospel is food, not just information, and so when the gospel is declared rightly it creates and reinforces true faith. The gospel does not unsettle true faith. You are a congregation of God’s people, a …