Family Drama - Part 3 | Father's Day | Dave Willis - MESSAGE ONLY

Happy Father's Day. How about a hand for the dads? We love you guys. Happy Father's Day. Welcome to Stephen Street Church. Welcome to Grovetown Campus, South Campus. All you guys on vacation, tuning in from wherever you are. We're thrilled that you guys are here. It's gonna be a fun day. You know, it's gonna be a good day when there's a grill on stage. All right, so we'll get to that in just a little bit, but we love this day. We want to honor the dads, but also, as has been said earlier in the service, if today is a complicated day, an emotionally complicated for you for any number of reasons, maybe your father's passed away. Maybe there are some estranged relationships in the family. Maybe you have a desire for a family of your own, and that hasn't happened yet. Just know. Listen, we're so glad you're here. God is so glad you're here. He is with you in that. And we just pray that today is an encouragement for you as well. But we do want to honor and celebrate the dads today, starting with my dad, who's not here. He's up in Kentucky. But I brought a picture, too, actually. An old and a new. So a lot's happened through the years, but I still want to be like him when I grow up. He's a great guy. I sent him some slip on sneakers for Father's Day because his knees are kind of having a hard time now. And you'd have thought I sent him a million dollars. He's like, it's amazing. I don't even have to bend down. So thoughtful. Gifts go a long way. I got four sons. I brought a picture of them as well. They're joy of my life. Cooper Connor Chandler Chatham. Our oldest is. Is 18 now. He just graduated high school, headed off to the University of Georgia in a couple months. Go dogs. I know. We're so, so proud of him, you know? And the older your kids get, though, the more you realize that part of why God gave you children in the first place is to replace you. I mean, it kind of like makes you think about your own mortality. And then you think back and it all makes sense because baby's very first words are mama, Dada. Bye. Bye. So getting to that age, I guess. But just because a kid is 18, you don't stop parenting. I've learned this. It's a lifelong thing. 18 just means you cannot claim them on your taxes anymore, but they're more expensive than ever, and you still have to kind of continue in it. It's a lifelong thing. So even last month, we were doing all the end of the year stuff for high school, and Cooper had a band banquet, meaning the end of the year. We're celebrating four years of band. Now, the word banquet in there is a hint that this is something that you should maybe shower before. I would think that's fairly obvious. But we get there, I hadn't really paid attention. I'm dressed fairly nice. I'd even ironed a shirt, which I never do. So, you know, it's an important thing. And I look back at Coop and he has come straight from the gym, and he's got a sweat ring on his T shirt, and he's got gym shorts on. And I'm like, buddy, you can't wear that. You're at a band banquet. He's like, it doesn't matter what I wear. I'm like, well, it does, right? And so this, we start having kind of a heated family exchange, right? Not. Not a fight, but like a. An impassioned disagreement. How many of you guys have ever had an impassioned family disagreement? When all of a sudden some friends walk by and you have to go into academy Award winning acting and switch into friendly mode. Some of you did that at church today. You're like, stop. We're in church. Stop. Hey, God bless you. Hey, it's good to see you. If you lost weight, man, it's good to see you. So we had one of those, you know, wave to some friends and it's good. Great to see you. I know. Where's the time gone? I know, it's great. And you roll up the window. I can't believe you're wearing that. So then I gotta park somewhere and think about what to do. And it's already time for this to start. So I'm like, okay, here's what we're gonna do. Cause he and I wear the same size clothing. I'm like, I'm gonna have to strip in this parking lot, give you my clothes so you and mom can go in there and be on time. Then I'm gonna have to drive home in my underwear, pray I don't get pulled over just for you. I'm doing this for you. Because parenting is a sacrifice. I'm doing this for you. And I thought he'd be grateful, but instead he's like, I'm not doing that. I'm 18. I can wear what I want. I'm like, oh, no, you did it. And I go, I become the least mature person in the vehicle. At that point, because he's saying, I'm 18. And so I start ripping my clothes off, saying, I'm 44. I'm 44. And I got to get naked in a parking lot because my kid, who's 18, doesn't know how to dress. And I'm throwing clothes at him. And he starts laughing, and I start laughing. And I know what you take away from that story. He's only 44. He looks older. You know why I look older? Cause parenting is hard. It's hard. I used to look so young, but he got there on time. I went home and changed. It all worked out right, you know, but parenting is a lifelong adventure. You continue to learn. You continue to grow through every season of it. And truly, boys, I love you. I'm so proud of you. Thanks for letting me tell embarrassing stories about you every now and then, but you guys truly are the joy of my life. And we're going to celebrate dads today. But again, even if you're not a dad, I think there are going to be some principles in this message for you. And so we're going to dive into our family drama series. We're in week three. If you've been here the last couple weeks, you know, we've been studying God's plan for family dynamics and that every family has a little bit of drama sometimes a lot of. But God wants this. This is the first point if you're following along. God wants us to be peacemakers in our families. Peacemakers. That doesn't mean doormats. It doesn't mean we just roll over and let people bully us. No, but what it does mean is that God has given us so much grace that we need to be ambassadors of grace in our families, in our homes, being the bigger person, accepting apologies when they come asking for forgiveness, when we've blown it, building bridges instead of tearing them down. And a verse we've come back to each week is in Romans, chapter 12. And it says this. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. And that live at peace with everyone should start right in our own homes, in our own families, because that's where peace can break down the fastest. That's where we see people at their worst, and they see us at our worst. And that's where forgiveness needs to happen the most often. And so as far as it depends on you, be a peacemaker in those places. Be the bigger person. Be somebody to extend grace whenever you can, because nobody in your family is perfect. You're not Perfect either. And so how do we honor dads? What do dads need in this climate, this climate of families having tension, how do we honor that? What do dads really need? I mean, we give dads presents this time of year. We give them bottles of Old Spice, we give them slip on sneakers, we give them some grill tools and all that. But what do they need even more than that? This is what dads want and need, not only on Father's Day, but all year round. Dads deserve and need our respect and our gratitude. I mean, that's really. We're simple. We dads are simple. That's really what we're after. Like just give us some respect and give us some gratitude and maybe some steak and we're going to be just fine and that's it. But when we dishonor and disrespect our fathers, then really it creates tension and turmoil, not only for them, but really the whole balance of the family is thrown off. God has a lot to say about this. Ephesians chapter six tells us this. Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with the promise, if you honor your father and mother, things will go well for you and you'll have a long life on the earth. But fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them, rather bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. So this passage has an important message both for children and for fathers. Children, it starts with you first. It says, I want you to honor your dad. Honor him. And what does honor look like? Ashley and I talked about this a bit last week in our message on in law relationships. Honoring a parent, honoring a father looks different in different seasons of life. When you are under your family's roof, when you are at home and they're paying the bills and you're under their roof, your job is so easy, kids, it's this. Your whole job essentially is to obey your parents with a good attitude. Like, that's it. Life's never going to get simpler. And I know you think well, but it's so lame. Their rules are so lame. They are feeding you and loving you and provide just, just your job is so easy right now. Obey with a good attitude. That's it. That's how you honor them in that season. Now when you get grown and you get out on your own, honor looks different. You're an adult now. You don't have to obey your parents. Anymore. You've stepped out from under their authority, but you continue to honor them. And in this season of adulthood, honoring your parents, it means making time for them. It means listening to them. It means listening to their advice. You don't always have to take it, but acknowledging that they have wisdom and life experience that you don't, and learning from it. Honoring means forgiving. It means looking back and instead of focusing on all the mistakes they made, giving him grace and saying, dad was doing the best that he could, and I know that he worked so hard, and I'm gonna forgive those things that he did wrong because I know he was trying, and I want to honor him by forgiving him. It just means being gracious, saying, thank you. Some of the most honoring words you can say to someone are thank you. Thank you for what you do for us. Thank you for all that you did for us, for all the sacrifices that you made for us. I didn't see it then, but, man, I see it now, and I so appreciate everything that you did. And then in the third season of life, you know, when your father, your parents are much older and potentially they might need you to physically care for them the way they cared for you when you were little. You honor them by taking care of their needs, you know, by making sure they have what they need. In some ways, the parental role can even sort of switch in that season, and you almost have to take on the role of a parent. But even as you do, you continue to honor. Honor them and count as a blessing to be able to serve them. There's a beautiful song by an artist named James Blunt singing a song to his much older father about this dynamic of being in that dynamic where you're now the one caring for a parent. And part of the chorus says, don't worry, dad. It's my turn to chase the monsters away. And it might get to that point in your life where you honor your parents by really being their protector, being the one to care for them the way that they did. But through every season, let's honor our dads, right? It's something they need and deserve. And the family dynamic thrives when we trust God. God, the ultimate heavenly father, the only one who's perfect. When we honor our earthly parents the way we told us to, we're actually doing it as an act of honor to God, the father who tells us to do these things. So what else do dads need besides our respect and our gratitude? This is something I think all dads, this is built in us. And I'm going to say this point and then kind of explain what this means. I think all dads want to win in a noble battle. Like, there's something in us where we just. We want to engage in a battle that matters and to have victory in it. Now, this doesn't always mean we're putting on armor and going into a physical battle. Especially like in the, in the times we live now, we won't often have to hold a spear in our front yard to fight off enemy raiders. But though we would gladly do it if we needed to, but the battles that we fight now are really to protect the minds and hearts of our family, of our children in a world that's throwing so much false information at them and so many confusing messages at them that we stand on God's truth and we protect our family with God's truth reminding them what's true and what's real in a world that's always trying to bring those things under attack. You know, the Bible tells a story of this guy named Nehemiah, who was a regular dude who ended up in a really unique set of circumstances. He worked a normal job for a king. But Nehemiah's hometown of Jerusalem had fallen into disrepair. It had been raided, it had been ransacked. And when Nehemiah learned that, he felt such a burden to go back to his hometown and to lead the charge, to really repair it and to rebuild the wall around the city so that that place could be a safe place again for the families and future generations. And so he led the charge and it was dangerous work because there were enemy raiders and people coming against them. And this guy, who wasn't even military trained or anything, found himself in this position where he was having to be a leader and an architect and a warrior and all of these things that were not on his resume. But out of love for his family and his community, he stepped into that role and he challenged the others to join him. This is his call to action. Nehemiah says. Then I looked over the situation. I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and I said, don't be afraid of the enemy. Remember the Lord who is great and glorious and fight for your mothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes. And there are times that we are called to a battle. We're called. We're called to fight for our families. And when those times come, we have to courageously stand in the gap. We have to defend those who are at our back and to do it with, with honor and with dignity. And again, Those. Those battles, thankfully, are not usually physical battles. Sometimes they might be, but more often than not, the most dangerous battles are the spiritual battles that are happening in our time. And that's why we need to be so grounded in God's word. This is our sword. This is our weapon in those battles that we can go forward as a protector of our families. But as I was thinking about this point of battles, and we men want to win battles, and I thought, well, it's Father's Day, and I don't want it to be, like, too heavy. So what's a battle that's important, but also fun, right? And I thought of something that's just a gift for you dads today, because one of my favorite thing is dad jokes. Dad jokes are these terrible puns that make people groan and sometimes make your family laugh even though they don't want to. And there's a guy on our staff who appreciates dad jokes as much as I do, and it's Pastor Ryan, our. Our very buff children's pastor. So I challenged him to a battle, a battle for the ages, an epic dad joke battle. And it took place this last week, and we captured it on video for your viewing pleasure. So this is a little Father's Day gift from me to you. Let's take a few minutes and watch this together. What happens when doctors get frustrated? They. They lose their patience. That's terrible. I changed my Facebook username to nobody. That way, when I like a post that I don't really like, it will say, nobody likes this. Hey, Pastor Ryan, it's you.

These are pretty good jokes.

Thank you. I'm working on it.

Some more like Mother's Day jokes.

That's pretty good.

Well, hope you're ready for this epic battle.

Bring it on. Let's do this.

I got it. I'm ready.

Welcome to the epic dad joke battle. Here's how it's going to go, sitting here with my buffest friend, Pastor Ryan McDermott. We're gonna face off this way. One of us is gonna fill our mouth with water. The other one's gonna tell dad jokes. Whoever can hear the most jokes without spitting water is the winner of this incredible prize. Yoda. Best dad ever. Round one. Chug. Chug. Fillet. Fillet. All right.

It's on a kid's meal at McDonald's today. Mom got really angry at me. My wife asked me if I've ever seen the dog bowl. I said no. I didn't know that he could. You know, I got fired at the bank today. A woman Told me to check her balance, so I pushed her.

Round two. If you can talk. It's not full enough. Where'd it start? Did you hear the tragic news? Tony the Tiger and Captain Crunch were murdered yesterday. Turns out it was a serial killer. They're all that dumb. Be ready. You hear about the accident out here on i20? Semi truck hauling Vicks VapoRub. There was no congestion for 8 hours. Is the water still in there? Your cheeks look so. You know, I mean, I'm not. I'm not.

There we go.

That's more like it. I went to the doctor the other day. He asked me to come back today and bring a stool sample. So I've been taking some carpentry classes. Well played. Well, you are the winner, Yoda. Best dad ever. Thank you. I appreciate it. Pastor Ryan. Means a lot. Who does? Cost me $7 at Walmart.

Set this in my office, and I'll cherish it every day.

But before we go, on a serious note, you're doing amazing, important work with our kids. I'm so thankful to have my kids growing up in your ministry. But to challenge the men out there, whether you're a dad or not, we need more men in those roles in both children and youth ministry, to just be a presence and to be part of what's going on. Tell. Tell guys how and why they should get involved.

Yeah, there's several reasons, Dave. One, I think that men need to be active in teaching children and raising them up in the way that they should go, the same way that the scripture tells us. Raise a child up in the way they should go, and they will never turn from it.

Right? Yeah.

I think that men need to play that spiritual role for the spiritual leaders in our household. We should be the spiritual leaders in God's house also. And raising up the next generation is one of the most important things that I believe that men can do for the generation that is to come. And so having more men in our ministry is only going to make not only our generation strong, but it's going to make our church strong, too. So I would love to have more men to come in and be a part of student ministry or kids ministry just so they can help raise up the next generation.

I love it. So if a guy's interested in doing that, where do they. Where do they start?

They can go to the next step class, learn a little bit more about our church and who we are and what we do, and then also the ministry. And they can pick whichever part of the ministry they want to work in. If it's kids ministry in preschool, elementary or nursery, or if it's in student ministry, they want to be a small group leader or worship leader or security, whatever it might be. There's so many different areas within the ministry where men can serve.

I love it, man. Thanks for the great work you do. And happy Father's Day, my friend.

Happy Father's Day.

Congrats, Pastor Ryan. The winner of the epic dad joke battle. But to follow up on that point real quick about just needing and wanting more men in our youth and our children's ministry spaces. First off, we need women there, too. And you women have stepped up, and we've got a lot of great women. We can always use more. But there's a gap right now. We've got a lot more women than men volunteering in those spaces. And, guys, just your presence makes such a difference. I think sometimes guys think, well, I'm not qualified. I don't know enough about the Bible or this or this. There are other guys who are better guys. We need you. We need your experience. I read a story recently about this. This herd of elephants, the wild elephants that didn't have many older male elephants survived in this herd. And so in that absence, the younger male elephants, the juvenile male elephants, were acting crazy. They were destroying stuff and causing all this chaos. And so these researchers decided to try something. They took a few of the older male elephants from another herd and transplanted and just put them in this herd that had the wild young ones. And what they found by watching them was amazing. That just with the presence of these older males, the younger males, chilled out just by these older guys just being there, just their presence brought peace and brought balance and brought stability. And that's just the way that God wired things up, not just in the animal kingdom, but especially in humans. And we see that all the time when fathers are present and. And they're present and they're also loving and healthy themselves. It brings peace and stability to a home, to a community, to a church. But in their absence, in that void of older men around then, it creates just some tension and chaos. And so, guys, there's great things happening in children's and youth ministry because we've got some amazing leaders, amazing volunteers, but we would love to have you join us there. And I'm telling you, your presence will make a difference and it will impact you as well. It really, really will. We've got a lot to teach the kids, but what I've learned is the kids, in their joy, their enthusiasm, their faith, they've Got a lot to teach us as well, so don't miss out on that. All right. What else do dads need? As we kind of prepare to. Prepare to land the plane? This is something that all of us needs. This is not just for dads. But we can't figure life out on our own, and we're not supposed to. I think sometimes we dads, you know, we want to feel as confident. Like, I'm never going to ask anybody for help or directions or anything. I'm going to figure it out on our own and. But God wants us to seek him first and seek his word, because that's the guide that we need. Dads need. We all need, for that matter, God's Word to strengthen and guide us. The book of Joshua, chapter one, verses eight and nine, says this study the book of instruction continually. That's the Bible it's referring to. Meditate on it day and night, and be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you succeed and prosper in all that you do. This is my command. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. And that second verse, be strong and courageous. That's a bumper sticker verse. That's one of those verses that people highlight. They put it on stickers. We see it a lot of places, and it's a powerful verse. It's a reminder that God is always with us and we can be strong and courageous. But taken out of context, we miss what happens right in front of it. That sets the stage for that. If you want to be strong and courageous, if you want to know that God's leading you wherever you go, you got to do the first part of this scripture. You've got to meditate on God's word. You've got to seek his instruction. You've got to let him speak to you through his word. Because without this, guys, we don't have a foundation to build our lives on. We need His Word. Now, I've got this grill behind me. One just because it's Father's Day and it's cool to have a grill on stage. But more than that, most guys they've ever grilled, you know, some of the basics, and that is you can't cook any piece of meat by just letting it cook on one side only. At some point, you got to flip it over, and then at some point after that, you got to take it out of the oven altogether. And you have to know when it's time. If you leave something in there. And you close it off and come back hours later, it's going to be burned on one side, it's going to be undercooked on the other side, and it's going to be completely inedible. Now, we understand these principles with grilling, but I think sometimes in life with bigger issues, we don't apply these same principles of balance. God's word helps us to know when it's time to flip things over, so to speak. And this is what it looks like in life. It's not burgers and chicken and steak. But in life, if you're working too much, if you've been cooking the career side of your steak way too long, God's word will let you know when it's time to flip that over and focus on the rest. The rest part of life. You gotta be able to rest, too. If you've been using your skills, just so focused on only making money, he'll let you know when it's time to flip it over and use those same skills as a way to serve in your community and serve perhaps within the church. If you're focused solely on the achievement side of life, he'll let you know when it's time to flip it over and focus on the relationship aspect of life. Because relationships are the most important thing. But if we're not making those adjustments when necessary, then life's going to be out of balance. God's word will give us the wisdom to know when it's time to put some new things into the fire, when you're too busy, there's too much going on, and it's time to take some things out of the fire and simplify a little bit. His Word makes those things more clear. In a world that's so confusing, he doesn't want you to have a spirit of confusion. He wants to guide you. And so often I talk to people and they're like, I have no idea, like, what God wants me to do in my family, what God wants me to do in my work, what God wants me to do with my finances. And I'm like, well, are you spending time in his word? They're like, no, I don't have time for that. And I'm like, well, then do you have time to be confused about all these other things? Because that's going to continue. His answers are in his word. He wants you to know him, and he wants you to know his truth and his principles. He doesn't want you to go through life half burned and half undercooked. He wants you to have that balance and success and peace through all areas of your life and wisdom to know how to get there. And he's given it to us. His word is a gift. Gift. And so it's good that we're here on Sundays, learning and gathering. But don't make this a once a week thing every day. Make time to connect with God and put his word into your heart. When you do that, you're going to leave your kids a great inheritance or refuge. The Bible says this. Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress for their children. It will be a refuge. Most dads want to leave their kids an inheritance of some kind. But guys, I'm telling you, more than any kind of trust fund or property you could leave them. The best inheritance you can leave your kids is a legacy of faith. The refuge that comes from letting them, having grown up seeing their father seeking the Lord, you give them that foundation and it's going to give your kids a foundation. But let me tell you something. Even if you yourselves did not have that foundation, maybe you think, how can I give that to my kids? I didn't have it. My dad wasn't like that. You can be the ones to go first. Even if your dad wasn't around at all, you can be the one to go first and change the story generationally for your family. In fact, I think those are the real heroes in the world, those who maybe endured abuse or endured the absence of a father and said, but it's going to be different. I'm not going to continue that legacy of brokenness. I'm not going to pass more baggage on to my kids. But it changes with me from me going forward. I'm going to pass blessing onto my kids. I'm going to be present, I'm going to be loving, I'm going to get healthy so that my kids have that benefit. And most important, I'm going to point them to the one perfect father, their Father in heaven, who's with them all the time. And that's the final principle. Even if your earthly father has failed you, your heavenly father never will. And even if you got the best dad in the world, he blew it some. I mean, we all do. We're all imperfect. But the best thing we can do as dads is point our kids to the one perfect father who will never let them down. He will never leave them, he'll never forsake them. And if you are here today and maybe you didn't have a father, maybe he wasn't there for you the way that he should have been. Or maybe he was, and you wish he would have been gone because he was so unhealthy. Don't let that turn you away from the one perfect Father who wants to offer you his love and his guidance. The Bible says this. God has such a heart for you. And I will be your father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. That's 2nd Corinthians 6:18. Psalm 27:10 says this. Even if my father and mother abandoned me, the Lord will hold me close. Psalm 68. 5. Father to the fatherless, defender to the widows. This is God whose dwelling is holy. I'm so thankful that my own dad is one of those guys who broke the cycle in his family because his father had been abusive, had been unhealthy in every, every possible way. I think dad wishes his father would not have been around because the only thing that he got from his dad was. Was pain. Now I'm thankful that my grandfather, at the end of his life, did come to faith in Jesus Christ. And because of that, I'm going to see him in heaven. But. But all those years of his life and his fatherhood he wasted. And so dad grew up in that brokenness. But instead of passing that on, dad came to faith in Jesus Christ as a young man. And he trusted God with all that pain and bitterness in his own heart. And he said, lord, I'm refusing to pass that on. One more generation, it stops with me. And instead my kids are gonna have a foundation built on your word, knowing that you love them and you're for them. And God, as imperfect as I am, work through me, work through me to show them your love. And he did. He and my mom did. And they continued to do that. And he's a hero for that. And you can be that hero in your family if you didn't have what you wanted in a father. It can change with your generation. It really, really can. And God is with you in that. He is for you in that. And it starts with just surrendering your life to him, saying, lord, I can't do this on my own because none of us are meant to. I need you, Lord, to be that perfect father for me. And he will. He really, really will. And I'm going to, in just a minute, as we close, I'm going to pray that prayer for all of us, especially for those of us who've never yet made a decision to follow Jesus. Today can be your day. What better day than Father's Day to say, lord, for the first time, I'm calling you Father for the first time, Lord, I'm running into your arms where you can welcome me home. It's an invitation that's been there my whole life. But today's the day I say yes to you. And that's the moment everything changes for us. Young old man, woman, wherever you are in life, that's God's invitation for you. That's his plan for you. Before we get there, though, I'm going to make one prayer first. This is what's going to happen as we close. Just a second. I'm going to pray a prayer just for the dads. All right? In a moment, I'm going to have the dads stand. I stole this idea from my wife, Ashley. She spoke at a church in Texas on Mother's Day and had all the moms stand up. And it was really precious moment. I'm like, I'm stealing that because my wife's smarter than me, and I'm going to take her idea. So I'm going to do that in just a second. But then after I pray for the dads, I'm going to invite everyone to stand. And at that time, I'm going to pray across all of our campuses. I'm going to pray for all of us here and specifically for those here today who need to make that decision to make the Lord their father. Their father, their Savior, their redeemer. All right? And then it's going to be lunchtime, and you can spoil your dad the rest of the day. So, dads, if you're a dad, a stepdad in this room, I want you to stand to your feet. And as they stand, will we give them a hand once more? We love you guys. Thank you. Thank you for all you do. Thank you, man. It fills my heart seeing a room full of so many generations of men who are here on a date on Father's Day to lead and love their family so well and to learn from the Lord. And it is a privilege to be on this journey with you, man. It really, really, really is. The Bible says, iron sharpen iron. We sharpen each other. I'm so honored to be sharpened by each and every one of you. If your dad's standing up and you're near him, if you would just kind of put. Put a hand on his arm, just on his back. Let him know you're there with him. If you're not here with your dad, maybe just extend your hand toward one of these men who are standing, and let's just pray a prayer of blessing over them. Father we come to you as dads, as imperfect as we are. We thank you for the privilege it is to have the children that we have, to have the families we have. Give us wisdom and strength to lead and love them well. And each day, Lord, help us lean to you, our perfect heavenly Father. Thank you, God, for your love and your grace. Help us each have the wisdom to be able to leave a generational blessing to those who come after us. A blessing, God. Something so much more valuable than money, but a blessing rooted in faith and love and truth. Let our lives point people to you, Jesus. Give these men hope, encouragement, strength and honor in all that they do. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Now let's all stand together across all of our campuses. I just want to pray a prayer of blessing over all of us. Let's pray once more, Father. All of us today we commit, we recommit ourselves to you. And for anyone here today, Lord, who's never called you Father, they haven't made the most important decision of their life, which is to receive the gift. Jesus, you made possible by giving your life on the cross, dying in our place, paying the price for our sins, so that through faith in you, we could be made right with God forever and a part of your family forever. Let today be the day. In their own mind and heart, they pray a simple prayer and they say, jesus, save me today. Forgive me of the way that I've lived. I'm asking you to be my Lord and my Savior today. I am calling you, Father, and I'm asking you, God, to lead me and guide me all the days of my life. I trust you with my life, with my past, with my present, and with my eternity. And for all of us, Lord, as we leave this place, in just a few moments, I pray we would leave with our hearts full, knowing that you love us and you're for us. Help us honor the dads in our life. And most importantly, God, we choose to honor you, the one perfect Father. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Let's give the Lord a hand. Happy Father's Day once more. Spoil these guys today, they deserve it. We love y'. All. See you next week.