Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

The father of five children had won a rather expensive toy at a raffle.

So he called his kids together to ask which of them should have the present.

"Who, here, among you is the most obedient?" he asked.

"Who never talks back to mother?

Who does everything she says?"

The Five small voices finally answered in unison.

"Okay, dad, we know, you get the toy."

Today is the day that we honor fathers.

It is proper we honor our fathers, and our mothers, and this day in June is set aside for us to honor the fathers in this country.

Why?

We are to honor our fathers, not because it’s a holiday, not because it’s a tradition, not because there are sales going on all over the country, but because God said so.

In all seriousness, we are to honor our fathers, and our mothers, and this day in June is set aside for us to honor the fathers in this country.

But we are to honor our fathers, not because it’s a holiday, not because it’s a tradition, not because there are sales going on all over the country, but because God said so.

In fact, He commanded us very specifically in ,

Notice that the bible doesn’t say, honor only good moms and dads.

It doesn’t say, honor them only if you agree with them.

It doesn’t say, honor only the right ones.

It says, “honor your father and mother.”

And so, today, we ought to honor all fathers.

So I want to speak directly to the fathers here today.

However, if you’re not a dad, don’t fall asleep just yet, because we all can benefit from what I am about to speak on—we all just might need to hear this: We are involved in warfare here today, and the battleground is not in a foreign land such as Iraq or Afghanistan.

The battlefield is actually in our homes and in our hearts.

And what is at risk is not our land so much, and it is not just our freedoms we may lose.

It’s a bit more important I think.

I fear that the biggest thing at stake is our children.

And it is not too radical to call it warfare—it is a real war, it’s an important war, and in this country, we as Christians are currently losing the battle.

Children are turning from the faith in record numbers.

It’s as if as soon as they leave home and go to college they leave the church.

And if you don’t believe me, look around here right now.

Ask yourselves : how many children do we have here at Grace Baptist Church?

And lest you think that its only a problem here, it is true in all churches all over this country.

Children in numbers, never quite seen before in America, are turning away from church and from YHWH.

Transition:

And although these record numbers might be new to America, it’s not really new considering world history.

It’s the same as been happening over the course of time even in the scriptures.

I want to look at a brief Biblical account this morning that’s going to be our passage for the remainder of the time we have today.

It’s in the book of Judges chapter 2

And it is not too radical to call it warfare—it is a real war, it’s an important war, and in this country, we as Christians are currently losing the battle.

Children are turning from the faith in record numbers.

It’s as if as soon as they leave home and go to college they leave the church.

And if you don’t believe me, look around here right now.

Ask yourselves : how many children do we have here at Grace Baptist Church?

And lest you think that its only a problem here, it is true in all churches all over this country.

Children in numbers, never quite seen before in America, are turning away from church and from YHWH.

And although these record numbers might be new to America, it’s not really new considering world history.

It’s the same as been happening over the course of times in the scriptures.

I want to tell you a brief Biblical story this morning that’s going to be our guide for the remaining time we have today—and I’ll be brief.

It’s found in the book of Judges in the Old Testament.

Genesis, exodus, Leviticus, numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges.

Scripture Reading:

The nation of Israel has finally entered and now occupy the promised land.

However, it wasn’t a completed victory, because when they went in, they didn’t completely follow what YHWH commanded, and so instead of conquering all of it, they instead just settled into some of it along side the previous occupants of Caanan.

And the verses just before what we’re going to look at, they were visited by "The angel of the LORD” and told that they didn’t obey what YHWH told them so clearly, and vv.4-5 tell how they repented of it.

With that as the context, let’s read our passage this morning:

Once Joshua and his generation passed away, the next generation immediately turned their back on YHWH and worshiped the gods of the peoples around them.

Today, in 2018, they don’t have the patience to wait for mom and dad to pass on.

Instead, they turn away immediately, and worship the god of television.

They worship the god of comfort.

They worship the god of convenience.

They worship the god of this world.

They worship the things of this world.

We all live in a culture that celebrates turning away from the God of the Bible.

From current court cases, to the news broadcasts, to popular movies, it’s now okay to make fun of Christianity, because it’s rendered impotent, it’s not relevant.

“It might have worked for mom and dad, but it’s not for me.”

The younger generations in America truly believe Christianity is now powerless, ineffective, ineffectual, inadequate, weak, feeble, useless, worthless, futile.

Do you realize we live in a culture that celebrates turning away from the God of the Bible?

From current court cases to the news to popular movies, it’s now okay to make fun of Christianity, because it’s rendered impotent, it’s not relevant.

“It might have worked for mom and dad, but it’s not for me.”

The younger generations in America truly believe Christianity is now powerless, ineffective, ineffectual, inadequate, weak, feeble, useless, worthless, futile.

Do you realize we live in a culture that approves of turning its back on God? From court cases to tv to popular movies, it’s okay to make fun of religion, because it’s not important, it’s not relevant.

It worked for mom and dad, but it’s not for me.

Transition:

Well, let me tell you this morning dads, and moms, and grandparents, you are in the spiritual battlefield right at the front lines.

This is a war that we are forced to be a part of despite our reservation.

This morning, I want to give you some ammunition against the prince of this world to fight for our children, and we are going to look briefly at a few tools that will help us to do so.

How might we win the war?

The three ways Pastor James Buchanan offers this morning I’ll give to you: First...

I.

With our words

Just as we saw in the video at the beginning of this service, The Shama “Hear O Israel our Lord is one...” Then there is the specific commands in verse 6 and 7

We have to first talk to our children.

Be involved in their lives!

Tell them about God, and teach them about the Bible—how to read it, how to use it, and how to live it.

Tell your children your testimony about how and when you were saved.

Share daily what God has done for you, so that your kids can share it with others.

The question then becomes dad: Are you sharing it with your children, what God has done for you this week, this year, your life?

You need to teach them, you must.

According to Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper a book by several authors, Dr. James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family tells of a study done in the 1970s to determine the amount of interaction between fathers and their small children (around preschool age).

First, the fathers were asked to estimate the amount of time they spent each day communicating with their child.

The average answer was about fifteen to twenty minutes.

Next, microphones were attached to the father so that each interaction could be recorded.

The results of this study were shocking to say the least: The average amount of time spent by these middle-class fathers with their small children was thirty-seven seconds per day.

Their direct interaction was limited to 2.7 encounters daily, lasting ten to fifteen seconds each!

How could we ever expect our children to turn to Christ and remain in Christ with less than 37 seconds a day teaching them of the timeless truths of scripture!

Can with the Shema be fulfilled in less than 37 seconds a day?

Do you want to know how much time the culture—babysitters, cartoons, songs have with your children? 37 seconds does not come close combating the world’s influence.

Spend time with your children; tell them about Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and about the Bible!

: Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

Don’t let the schools be the only thing that instruct the children.