Being a Father to the Fatherless

Follow Along with the Message

“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

--Malachi 4:5-6

 Statistics About Fatherlessness:

• 85% of youth that are incarcerated grew up without a father in the home.
• 1 in 3 Children live without a father in the home. A total of 24.7 million.
• Children living in a home without a dad are 47.6% more likely to live in poverty.
• Men who grew up with absent father are more likely to be an absent father.
• Individuals from father-absent homes were 279% more likely to carry guns and deal drugs than peers who had a father living in the home.
• Children who grow up in a father-absent home are 2 times more likely to deal with obesity.

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

-1 Corinthians 4:14-17

Three Types of Fathers:

1.  Fathers
2.  Fathers
3.  Father

And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.

--2 Corinthians 6:18

Three ways to deal with fatherlessness:

“…For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me.”

--1 Corinthians 4:15-16

1. Get freedom from your own earthly father wounds.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

-- James 5:16

2.  a father and be a father.

Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

--1 Corinthians 4:15

3.  on our Heavenly Father.

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

-- James 1:17-18