In this sermon from Act Like a Man: Real Men 101, Pastor Mark preaches on having a covenantal relationship with wives and kids rather than a contractual relationship.
FATHER: Leave Your Legacy
-FATHER: Jesus Revolutionary Word – 65X Matt-Lk; 100+X John
-God – Father XN’s – sons/children of God Father
-BIBLE: “father” 1600+ 1200+ men named (many fathers) = 2800 31,102 verses = 9%
What is covenant marriage and family?
Malachi 2:10,13-15 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?…And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.
=word “covenant” 100’sX in Bible. Hebrew “hesed” translated covenant love, loving kindness, mercy, steadfast love, loyal love, devotion, commitment, loyalty, patience, reliability
Jesus Storybook Bible “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always & Forever Love.”
- XN in covenant w/God. Jesus Head (New Covenant)
- XN in covenant w/ wife/family & man Head (Adam in Garden)
=Federal Headship – Federal comes from the Latin word for covenant
Covenant Head
- Singular headship & Plural leadership
- The head bears additional responsibility
- The head takes responsibility even when they are not at fault
- Jesus Christ perfect example male head
What’s the difference between a contract and covenant?
Contract vs Covenant
Between 2 people Between 3 people
I seek my will We seek God’s will
You serve me We serve each other
Performance is recorded No record of wrongs is kept
Failure is punished Failure was punished at the cross
Win-lose Win-win
A professional relationship A personal relationship
=A Covenant & Contract are like two hands = you need to use both
3 Kinds of People
- CONTRACT: Win at work & lose at home (all professional)
Dumbest thing I ever said to Grace
- COVENANT: Lose at work and win at home (all personal)
Guy in biz no contract
- CONTRACT & COVENANT: Win at work and win at home
What is covenant fathering?
Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
- Men Love: Sex. Women Hate: Marriage. Children
= Boy acting up kids ministry. Dad asked & handled it.
Fatherlessness is THE cultural crisis
- Census – 18.5 million children growing up w/o their fathers – #1 world
- Roughly 25% kids NO father in home
85% teens w/behavioral disorders 70% adolescents in drug & alcohol treatment
5X more likely to live in poverty 9X more likely drop out school
90% homeless & runaway children https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/america-crisis-fathers
Affects – 1). Economic 2). Academic 3). Social 4). Criminal 5). Moral
Males 25-29 11% idle w/biofather 19% w/obiofather – no school or work
Godly men are THE cultural solution
Men – lie no difference between Christian and non-Christian men (husbands/fathers)
- Bradford Wilcox – esteemed Sociologist UV, massive research Soft Patriarchs, New Men
“Conservative Protestant married men w/children are consistently more active & expressive w/their children”
“…church attendance almost uniformly promotes higher levels of paternal involvement & expressiveness among conservative Protestant family men.”
“…religious attendance…is associated w/more empathetic behavior [for] married men w/children…”
“…conservative Protestant married men with children are consistently the most active and expressive fathers and the most emotionally engaged husbands…”
“Men who are regular churchgoers are more likely to spend time in youth-related activities, they hug & praise their children more often…& they yell at their children less than other fathers…”
= God is a Father. You are His son. HS gives you Father’s Heart
Discussion questions
- If you had to pick one word to describe your father what would it be? Why?
- What part of the talk did the Holy Spirit highlight for you?
- How can we pray for you?