I Want To Be A Good Daddy

I want to be a good daddy

I want to be a good daddy

To be a good Daddy:

I. Love GodII. Love your children’s motherIII. Love your children

I. To be a good daddy, love God (be a man of God).A. Your relationship with God influences

what your children will become.

Deuteronomy 5:9-10 (NET)9 You must not worship or serve them (other gods), for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject me, 10

but I show covenant faithfulness to the thousands who choose me and keep my commandments.

The comparison study between Max Jukes/Jonathon Edwards.In 1877 a Sociologist named Richard

Dugdale published a book comparing the descendants of contemporaries Max Dukes and Jonathon Edwards. The results of the study. . .

The children of Dukes

Dukes was described by Dugdale as an unbeliever, a man of no principles, and he married a girl of like character.

Of the 1,200 descendants of Dukes studied at the time:• 310 were professional vagrants• 440 were physically wrecked by lives of debauchery and

uncleanness• 130 were sent to a penitentiary for an average of 13

years each• 7 were murderers• 100 were alcoholics• 60 were habitual thieves• 190 were public prostitutes• Of the 20 that learned a trade, 10 learned it in a state

prison.• None made a significant contribution to society. On the

contrary, they collectively cost the state of New York $1,200,000.00.

The children of Edwards

Jonathon Edwards came from a a good Christian family and married a girl of like character. He was a pastor, became one of the leading Christian Philosophers in American history, the first president of Princeton University and was a leader in America’s “The Great Awakening”.

Among Jonathon Edwards descendants:• 300 clergymen, missionaries, or theological

professors• 100 college professors• Over 100 lawyers, 30 of them judges• 60 physicians• Over 60 authors with 135 books of merit• 14 presidents of universities• Numerous giants in American industry• Three US congressmen • 75 army and navy officers• One vice president of the United States (Aaron

Burr)

God blesses the children of fathers that honor Him.God blessed Abraham’s children because Abraham loved

God.Genesis 28:12-15 (NET)

12 and (Jacob) had a dream. He saw a stairway erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the ground you are lying on. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using your name and that of your descendants. 15 I am with you! I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

So, if you want to be a good Daddy:First, love God.Second, love your children’s mother.

II. If you want to be a good daddy love your children’s mother

Ephesians 5:25-30 (NET)25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, 27 so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 for we are members of his body.

A. The foundation of love is commitment, not feelings.Acts of love often results in feelings of

love.A man asked his psychologist how he

could best hurt his wife, whom he hated. He said divorce alone was not enough.

The psychologist suggested that for three weeks he was to treat her like a queen..

Showering her with gifts and flowers, being kind to her.

At the end of three weeks hand her the divorce papers, and report back to the psychologist concerning the results.

Three weeks past, four weeks past, still no word.

On the seventh week the psychologist ran across the man on the street.

He asked, “How did the divorce go”?

The man answered,“Divorce, I’m married to a queen,

why would I want a divorce?”

Men, treat your wife like a Philly and she will never become an old nag?

B. Let your love for their mother be seen by them.• Hold her hand• Embrace her• Send her flowers• Praise her in their presence• Your expressions of love gives them

security of your relationship with her and with them.

• It gives them a model for their future relationship.

If you want to be a good daddy:

I. Love GodII. Love your children’s motherIII. Love your children

III. If you want to be a good daddy love your childrenA. Spend time with them

1. There is no such thing as quality time apart from quantity of time (try that one on your wife or girl friend). a. Kids don’t care so much what you do with

them as much as that you do it. The things that seem insignificant to us is often very significant to a child.

The fishing tripIt is said of James Boswell (the

famous biographer of Samuel Johnson), that he often referred to a special day in his childhood when his father took him fishing. “The day was fixed in his adult mind, and he often reflected upon many of the things his father had taught him in the course of that particular excursion.”

The Fishing Trip

It is occurred to someone much later to check the journal that Boswell’s father kept and determine what had been said about the fishing trip from the parental perspective. Turning to the date, the reader found only one sentence entered:

“Gone fishing today with my son; a day wasted.”

III. If you want to be a good daddy love your childrenA. Spend time with them

1. There is no such thing as quality time apart from quantity of time (try that one on your wife or girl friend).

a. Kids don’t care so much what you do with them as much as that you do it. The things that seem insignificant to us is often very significant to a child.

b. Laugh and play with your kidsProverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart brings good healing, but

a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

III. If you want to be a good daddy love your childrenA. Spend time with themB. Do things that give them a sense of

belonging.1. Things that imply an extension of the parents

love (family hugs).2. Give chores that make them feel significant

(wash car, cook pancakes).3. Celebrate the child, not the event (make the

child central, not the gifts).Psalm 127:3 Sons are a heritage from the Lord,

children a reward from him.

III. If you want to be a good daddy love your childrenA. Spend time with themB. Do things that make them feel they

belong to.C. Show appreciation and praise.

Show appreciation and praise.

Evangelist Bill Glass asked a group of prisoners, “How many of you had parents that told you would one day be in prison?” Almost every inmate raised his hand!

Show appreciation and praise.

Benjamin West (a famous painter) when a little boy had endeavored to paint a picture of his sister while his mother was gone. So he got out the bottle of ink and started. Soon he had an awful mess. His mother eventually returned.

Show appreciation and praise.

But instead of scolding him, she picked up his portrait and declared, “what a beautiful picture of your sister!” Then she kissed him.

Later in life he said, “With that kiss I became a painter.”

There are many males, but there are few men. There are many fathers, but

there are few daddies.Any fool can father a child, but it takes a

real man to raise a child into a productive and godly citizen of God’s

kingdom.

A Father’s (Daddy’s) Job

I may not be as clever as my neighbor down the street;

I may never be as wealthy as some other men I meet;

I may never have the glory that some other men have had;

But I’ve got to be successful as this little fellow’s Dad.

A Father’s (Daddy’s) Job

There are certain dreams I cherish that I’d like to see come true,

There are things I would accomplish ere my working time is through;

But the task my heart is set on is to guide a little lad,

And to make myself successful as this little fellow’s Dad.

A Father’s (Daddy’s) Job

I may never come to glory; I may never gather gold;

Men may count me as a failure when my business life is told.

But if he who follows after shall be manly, I’ll be glad,

For I’ll know I’ve been successful as this little fellow’s Dad.

A Father’s (Daddy’s) Job

A Father’s (Daddy’s) Job

It’s the one job that I dream of; It’s the task I think of most;

If I’d fail that growing youngster, I’d have nothing else to boast;

For though wealth and fame I’d gather, all my future would be sad,

If I failed to be successful as this little fellow’s Dad