For dad only:
Establish a Dynasty
Are you just raising a family, or building a legacy? If you only think of your family, you will just try to keep things happy and get these kids through school until life can return to normal.
Begin with the end in mind
Think of what you want your family to look like in five generations. How many descendants will you have? Do the math. Will they be hard workers? Will they be respectable citizens? Will the be faithful to the truth of God’s Word?
What are you doing today to make a difference for eternity?
The Future begins now
Pray for your children and their future spouses. Ask God to show you how to lead them into their respective purposes and destinies in life. Develop their strengths. Help shore up their weaknesses.
Establish them in the Word of God and deep faith. Teach them principles of leadership. Be a good parent they can copy when they have children.
Today matters for eternity
We are building more than just an earthly dynasty. Dad, what you do each day will count for eternity. Pray for your kids. Pray with them. Memorize the Scriptures together. Read the Bible together. Discuss the Bible. Take them to church. Involve them in ministry. Teach them to sacrifice, give, and help others.
You cannot seek first the kingdom of God without including your family. You cannot teach children to obey you if you do not obey your heavenly Father. Honor your Father in heaven by teaching, nurturing, and training your children (Ephesians 6:4). And He will bless you, in turn, with children and grandchildren you can be proud of.
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Pastors and Bible teachers, here is a free discipleship course for new believers. This 18-week course will cover all the practical aspects of the faith, from the nature of God to personal holiness.
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Read this story to your kids:
Dad Ain’t So Bad
“My dad is rude and lazy.”
“He is?” Misty asked. They were standing in the foyer of the church waiting on the adults to stop talking. Misty was talking with Shoshanna, who seemed to be in a grumpy mood.
“Yeah, he’s like ‘What’s for dinner?’ first thing when he walks in the house. He doesn’t even ask my mom how her day has gone. All he thinks about is himself.”
“Oh, well, I’m sure—” Misty was interrupted by Mom calling her.
“C’mon, honey. We’ve got to go, Dad’s got to work tomorrow.”
Shoshanna rolled her eyes. “Sounds like you’ve got one, too.”
Misty shook her head. “I don’t think so…”
“Misty,” Mom called.
“Well, I’ll see you Sunday.”
“Bye.”
• • •
Misty was helping Mom in the kitchen when Dad walked in the door.
“So, how was your day, honey?” Mom asked as he came through the kitchen.
“Fine, fine. Hey, what’s for dinner?”
“Roast beef, salad, and sweet potatoes.”
“Awesome, I’m starved.”
After he left to take a shower, Misty spoke up. “Boy, he’s selfish.”
“What?” Mom spun around to look at her.
“Well, he didn’t ask about your day. He just came in expecting you to feed him.”
“Shame on you, Misty.”
Misty shut her mouth.
“He works hard for you. Why do you think he is gone all day? He makes money to feed all of us and keep us in a nice house. Selfish would be if he sat at home all day and we had nothing to eat. Where did you get this nonsense?”
“Shoshanna and I were talking.”
“She’s saying this kind of stuff? Her dad is not selfish—he built their house himself. She needs to think again before she goes around talking about her parents like that.”
“Sorry.”
“You know what the Bible says about children who do not respect their parents?”
“Yes. They will not live a long, happy life.”
“Right. Misty, we honor your father because we love God. He might have some flaws here and there, but we do not wait for him to do everything just right before we respect him.”
“I know.”
Mom pointed her spatula at Misty and said, “Even if your dad came in here drunk, we would still honor him because we honor God. God doesn’t expect you to change your parents faults. You do your job and let God straighten us out. Do you understand that?”
“I’m glad he doesn’t do that! Yes, I understand.”
“Good, let’s get this table set.”
A few minutes later, Dad entered the kitchen. “Wow, that smells good.” He put his arm around Mom and gave her a squeeze. “How has your day been?”
Mom glanced at Misty as she said, “Fine.”
“And, Misty, how’s my favorite daughter?”
She smiled huge and said, “Great, Dad.”
“I am so hungry, I could—” The ringing phone cut him off. He picked it up. “Hello. Mother?”
Dad leaned up against the wall with a frown on his face. “Yeah, okay. He is? You did? When? Is he all right? Which one? Okay. Yes, I’ll be there. Bye.”
“What was that?” Mom said.
“My mother. She said my dad had chest pains and she took him to the hospital. He’s doing better, but I want to go see him. They are doing a bunch of tests.”
“Right now?”
Dad looked at the table. “Yeah, I better. I don’t know how serious this is.”
• • •
Misty had sat in the lobby with Mom and Rusty for about an hour. “When can we go home?”
“I don’t know, Misty,” Mom said.
“Is Grandpa going to be okay?” Rusty asked.
“I think so.”
“So, why can’t we go home now? I am starving,” Misty whined.
Mom looked at her sharply. “Misty, it sounds like you are being a little selfish.”
Misty’s face dropped.
“Weren’t you complaining about someone else being selfish, earlier?”
She kicked at the carpet with her shoe. “Yeah.”
“Do you know why we are here?”
“For Grandpa.”
“And who was the most hungry one when we were home?”
“Dad.”
“And you know why he’s here, don’t you?”
Misty shrugged.
“To honor his dad. So, honor your dad by honoring his dad. Does this make sense?”
Misty sighed. “I was really wrong. Dad doesn’t think about himself at all. I would have stayed home and eaten supper first.”
Dad walked into the waiting area. “Hey, guys,” he said with a big smile. “Grandpa wants you all to come in and see him. C’mon!”
The three of them got up to follow.
“Is he going to be okay?” Rusty said.
Dad shrugged and nodded weakly.
“Can we go home soon?”
“Well, I called the pastor. We are going to stay until he gets here. Maybe Mom can get you something in the cafeteria until then, okay?”
Misty nodded. “We’ll be okay. There is a great meal at home. We can wait.” She took Dad’s hand.
“That is a great attitude, Misty. I appreciate your patience.”
Misty glanced at Mom and smiled.
They met a doctor in the hallway and Dad talked to him for a minute. He asked him about the treatment and reminded him about the medications Grandpa could not take. After a couple minutes they moved on down the hall.
“Boy, Dad. I can tell you really love your parents.”
Dad laughed. “Of course I love my parents. I have to look out for them. They brought me into this world, and I have to do all I can to keep them in it.”
Suddenly lights began flashing in the hallway. An alarm sounded and a voice came over the intercom, “Code Blue! Room 4112. Code Blue! Room 4112.”
Dad stopped. “That’s Grandpa!”
Continued next time.
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Now discuss it!
Why do you think Shoshanna said what she said about her dad?
Why did Misty start looking for her dad’s faults?
Does the devil want us to honor our parents? Why not?
Does God want us to honor our parents? Why?
What promise is in Ephesians 6:1-3 for children who honor and obey their parents?
Do you think Misty’s opinion changed about her dad?
When she looked for bad, she thought saw it. What will your life be like if you only look for good in you parents?
What would life be like if you look for good in everyone you know?
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Read God’s Word together:
Many Generations of Faithfulness
When Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the LORD said to me, “Go to the members of the Rechabite clan and talk to them. Then bring them into one of the rooms in the Temple and offer them some wine.”
So I took the entire Rechabite clan—Jaazaniah (the son of another Jeremiah, who was Habazziniah’s son) and all his brothers and sons—and brought them to the Temple. I took them into the room of the disciples of the prophet Hanan son of Igdaliah. This room was above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, an important official in the Temple, and near the rooms of the other officials. Then I placed cups and bowls full of wine before the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Have some wine.”
But they answered, “We do not drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab told us that neither we nor our descendants were ever to drink any wine. He also told us not to build houses or farm the land and not to plant vineyards or buy them. He commanded us always to live in tents, so that we might remain in this land where we live like strangers. We have obeyed all the instructions that Jonadab gave us. We ourselves never drink wine, and neither do our wives, our sons, or our daughters. We do not build houses for homes—we live in tents—and we own no vineyards, fields, or grain. We have fully obeyed everything that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.
“But when King Nebuchadnezzar invaded the country, we decided to come to Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian and Syrian armies. That is why we are living in Jerusalem.”
Then the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, told me to go and say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, “I, the LORD, ask you why you refuse to listen to me and to obey my instructions. Jonadab’s descendants have obeyed his command not to drink wine, and to this very day none of them drink any. But I have kept on speaking to you, and you have not obeyed me. I have continued to send you all my servants the prophets, and they have told you to give up your evil ways and to do what is right. They warned you not to worship and serve other gods, so that you could go on living in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not listen to me or pay any attention to me.
“Jonadab’s descendants have obeyed the command that their ancestor gave them, but you people have not obeyed me. So now, I, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, will bring on you people of Judah and of Jerusalem all the destruction that I promised. I will do this because you would not listen when I spoke to you, and you would not answer when I called you.”
Then I told the Rechabite clan that the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, had said, “You have obeyed the command that your ancestor Jonadab gave you; you have followed all his instructions, and you have done everything he commanded you. So I, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, promise that Jonadab son of Rechab will always have a male descendant to serve me.”
(Jeremiah 35:1-19, Good News Bible)
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Let’s talk about it!
Why would these men not drink wine when the preacher set it in front of them?
Why did they live in tents and not houses?
Why did they raise animals instead of gardens and fields?
Their ancestor Jonadad lived many generations before them. Why did they keep following his way of life?
Because they honored him.
What did God say about these people?
He used them as an example to others of how they should honor God. They were more loyal to their great-great-great grandfather than the Jews were to God.
What do your parents do and believe that you want your great-great-great grandchildren to do and believe?
Role play: You have a friend who wants to tell you about some bad things his dad used to do. What do you say?
You have a friend who tells you her mother is too fat. What do you say?
You have a friend who makes fun of your parents behind their backs. How should you respond?
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Memorize the message: