Sermon Illustrations

God the Father Loves His Children ... and He is also quick to .... encourage His children. (Long Pause)

I learned that ...as a parent ... the hard way.

As a father ... you want the best for your children ... you want them to succeed.

To succeed ... at everything they do.

Kristin ... our first born .... was extremely motivated.

When she was told ... there was something that she could not do ... or could not .... accomplish.

Well ... she would ... press on ... and do whatever it took ... to make it happen.

Then I would encourage her ... and praise her ... after she accomplished the task.

I tried this same approach ... of negative challenges ... with our second child.

Our son Justin ... through grade school had wonderful report cards.

When 7th grade ... junior high came ... his grades began to slip ... and I would ride him ... and challenge him ... to do better.

And to be honest ... I became extremely critical ... of his commitment ... to his schoolwork.

And my relationship with Justin was not good and had deteriorated greatly.

At the end of the school year ... my wife Lee came to me ... and said ... you need to get right with your son.

You need to spend time together ... and work this out.

So that summer ... we spent a week together in Canada fishing.

Something we had done as a family ... in the past.

I know Lee was praying for both of us ... during that week.

And one evening ... while I stood under the stars looking toward the heavens:

God made it clear to me ... that as a father ... and as a follower of the Christ ... I Am called to be a light of encouragement ... especially to my family.

Justin and I had a wonderful time together in Canada ... it was a week ... with my son ... that I will always cherish.

Lee shared with me ... a few days after we got home ...that she had asked Justin ... how things were ... with your Dad?

His response was ... "Dad's my best friend". (Pause)

Beloved ... Each child ... and each grandchild ... is a gift ... and each is very different.

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