Daddy Did It

Sunday morning, June 21, 2015 First Baptist Church, Pineville, Mo.

Our Sunday morning message was brought by our senior pastor, Dr. Larry Crawford: "Daddy Did It." We stood for opening prayer and the reading of God's word. The opening scripture reading was taken from Psalm 128:1-6:

1. Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.

2. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

3 .Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.

5. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

"Since this is Fathers' Day, I want to speak 98% of this sermon to ... you got it in one ... fathers. Now just because you are a female, or a single mother today, or even if you are a grandfather doesn't mean you can go to sleep! If you do fall into one of these three categories you still need to listen. As, if you are an unmarried female these are traits you need to look for in a prospective mate; or if you are an unmarried mother, you need to steer your kids to be like this, or to look for these things in their lives; or even if you are a grandfather, these are things you still need to be for your grandkids, and pray for your sons to be."

"My first point today is: Your Family Needs You Dad."

Malachi 4:6, And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

"Dad, your family needs you today. They need you to step up to the plate and be the kind of husband that every wife needs by her side; and the kind of father every child deserves! There is a natural law, that God instituted, that there is no way for children to get the same upbringing, leadership, and guidance that a mother and a father can provide. And I don't mean two daddies either!"

"Now if you are a single mother, you ought to do your best, while being mom and dad, but you also can steer them towards godly men to be their father figure, but even this is still not the same as having a godly daddy in the home."

Dr. Crawford then gave several illustrations from 1 Kings, of both good and bad fathers who led either Israel or Judah, once they became the divided kingdom. Asa (1 Kings 15:11), Nadab (1 Kings 15:25-26), Jehosophat (1 Kings 15:34), Baaasha (1 Kings 15:34), Josiah (1 Kings 22:2), Ahab (1 Kings 16:29-33), Ahaziah (1 Kings 22:51-53). Dr. Crawford then mentioned that Judah had 20 kings, 9 who were considered 'good' and Israel had 19 with none of them being classed as 'good.'

For good or for bad, the question is still, "Why did you live the way you did?" "Because daddy did it." For good or for bad, the question is still, "Why did you die the way you did?" "Because daddy did it." For good or for bad, the question is still, "Why did you live lost and die lost?" Because daddy did it."

"I know of godly people, preachers even, that ended up with kids that lived like the devil. D. L. Moody, and Billy Sunday are two who quickly come to mind. There is still the element of free choice on the part of your kids. But if you live for God Dad, the chances of your kids turning out right are far better, with a godly Daddy, than with a heathen he calls Father. Isn't a good chance better than ... hardly any chance? If you are going to raise good, godly children it is going to be an 'on purpose,' not an 'accidentally!' "

"My second point is: Your Church Needs You Pop."

"Our churches today are largely run, served by the women folk. Now, for the most part, here at First Baptist Church Pineville, this isn't so. But it is still going to be true not only now, but in our next generation."

Mark 15:21, And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

Romans 16:13, Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

"The trend in human nature down through the ages, has always been down hill. 'What one generation does in moderation, the next generation does in excess, and the next generation does without conscience.' But the good trend can be the same. Only backward. Remember Josiah? He is called by many, next to David, Judah's godliest king. He had no father's influence, his father died at his age of seven! He was mainly raised by the preacher and his wife Jehosheba in the temple." Two not even related to him.

Single moms, therein is also a promise for you:

2 Timothy 1:5, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

"There wouldn't have been a Timothy had there not first been a Lois and second a Eunice."

And as for you Granddads, see Psalm 103:17, Psalm 128:6 and Proverbs 17:6.

"My third point is: Your Nation Needs You Da."

Genesis 18:19, For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Ezekiel 22:30, And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

"These two verses are unmistakable for fathers' today. Our nation is in a mess, and as surely as Sodom was racing toward judgment, as the Lord told Abraham, our nation is too."

"Da, our nation needs you today. Will you come, step up today, and dedicate your life, to being the man who will stand in the gap? Maybe even be the one who will spare our nation. Pop, your church needs you today. Will you come, step out, and serve? Dad, your family needs you today. Will you come, and rededicate your life to being the godly man/husband/father you need to be?"

All verses quoted above are from the KJV, the King James Bible.

We now have two morning worship services, to better accommodate you and your family during the summer months. Our first service, the Early Morning Service, is at 8:30 a.m., with Sunday School immediately afterwards. After Sunday School, the second morning worship service, the Mid-morning Service, will start at 11 a.m.

Wednesday evenings: 7 p.m. KFC for children (meal provided), and Bible Study for adults.

Friday nights: 6:30 p.m. The Bible in a Year, and a pot luck meal.

Every Saturday afternoon, 3:30 p.m., Nursing Home Ministry at Golden Living Center in Anderson.

Saturday, June 27: ANNUAL CHURCH-WIDE PICNIC.

Please remember you can hear a rebroadcast of one of our pastors' services, on KURM radio, 100.3 on the FM dial, at 8:30 Sunday mornings. Or listen to our pastors' services on our website at:

http://www.firstbaptistchurchpineville.com/Sermons.html

If you have no church home of your own, we would love for you to join us (off the N/E corner of Pineville square, just behind U.S. Bank) in ours. No friendlier, down home church, can be found anywhere in the four-state area.