Welcome to Christ the Redeemer this morning and happy happy Father's Day.
My name is Charles Joseph and I'm honored to be one of the elders here at Redeemer.
I know what you're I know what you're thinking, so I'll just go ahead and say it.
It's finally an elder that looks elderly.
I'm okay with that.
I'm okay with it.
We come to worship each week, and we like to remind ourselves of this truth, that we're much more broken than we originally thought.
But we are more loved by God in Christ than we dare to dream.
On this Father's Day, it's the love of this father that I'd like for us to keep in mind this morning.
You know, it's a fact that we all have different father experiences.
First, our our earthly fathers, our role models as fathers, were all different.
Some were present, some were not present.
Some loved much, some loved not much at all.
Some were near, and some were far.
If you're a father here this morning as I am, you must admit that we are often inconsistent.
We see our imprint on our children, and sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's not good.
As young fathers, we fret.
Am I doing it right?
Am I doing enough?
As older fathers, we sometimes regret.
Did I do it right?
Did I do enough?
Well, the great news this morning is that Jesus speaks directly to us, right where we are in our fatherhood.
He said in Matthew 7, if you are evil, flawed father, if you know how to give good gifts to your children, if you, as a sinful man, know how to do anything right as a father, in comparison to our Heavenly Father, who loves you more than you dare to dream, how much more will He provide you all that you need, all the good gifts if you just ask Him as His child.
We have a Father who is perfect in all of His ways.
In contrast to our shared reality of either having or being an imperfect Father, we have one thing in common as children of our Heavenly Father.
We have a Father who is always present, who is always near.
He even pursues us and spared nothing for his love for us.
He's ready to give us those good gifts of grace and peace.
Indeed, we have, as fathers, we fathers should have a happy Father's Day.
Amen.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer.
Our Father in heaven, we we come to you now remembering that you want to be known as our Father.
While you're rightly entitled to be called Lord and King and Creator and Savior, Protector, you want us to approach you as a Father.
You've called us as your children.
And you're not ashamed of us as children when we come to you acknowledging that we need forgiveness.
So, Father, we ask that your Spirit rule in our hearts and minds as we confess our sins to you.
Father, we we bring to you now the desires of our hearts, mindful that we need your guidance.
We pray for this body that we have members, Lord, who are sick in body and in spirit, those who are not able to be with us today.
We pray that you would bring them to healing and peace.
We pray for the ministries of this church that you have brought about, the children's ministry, the youth, the adult ministries, those of the of the women and the community care ministries, the music and the worship ministries, the work of our staff, Lord, that you would be honored and you would use these ministries to change hearts and lives.
We ask, Lord, that today in this place your word would be effective in reaching our hearts as we claim your promise, that your word never returns void.
Bless Russ as He gives us your words to say.
Bless us, your people, that you will give us ears to hear and change these hearts of stone to flesh.
We pray these things in the name of Jesus.
Amen.