Father Figure

A father figure, according to dictionary.com, is a man (not a woman) embodying the qualities of an idealized conception of the male parent, eliciting from others the emotional responses that a child typically has toward a father. An older man respected like a father. A father is one who produces children. If a father figure is defined in terms of respect and a father is not, then this suggests that producing children in and of itself does not necessarily garner respect. Respect is commanded. Respect is earned. For those who have produced children or are contemplating producing children I would like for you to consider the long-term effects that not having a consistent father figure can have on children.

According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, children with consistent father figures in their lives function better academically, socially & emotionally and they have higher reading scores with less behavioral problems. What does this imply? Children without consistent father figures in their lives do not function as well academically, socially, or emotionally as those who do. Children without consistent father figures in their lives have lower reading scores and more behavioral problems. The respect that comes with fatherhood requires action on the part of fathers. It only takes an emotional act to produce a child. It takes multiple intentional acts to raise a child. Whereas the actual act of producing a child is often unplanned, on the contrary genuine fatherhood takes planning, preparation and persistence.

A real father understands that his children are a reflection of himself (John 10:30). A real father figure is intentional about both the production and rearing of his children (Genesis 4:25). A real father figure is proactive in terms of spending quality time with and providing social, emotional, financial, and most of all spiritual guidance and support for his children (Proverbs 22:6). On Father’s Day and beyond,

I challenge all fathers, both biological and legal, to go figure. Be intentional about spending quality time with the children that you produce. Be intentional about setting a

good example for the children that

you produce. Be intentional about providing finances to accommodate the basic needs of your offspring. Not every male is a model father therefore I implore all fathers to go figure.

Respectfully Submitted,

D. White, Ph. D

Godly Attributes

The following attributes are exclusive to God Almighty:

Eternal – Without beginning or end of existence; perpetual; ceaseless; continued without intermission.

Omnipotent – Almighty; possessing unlimited power; all powerful.

Omniscient – Having universal knowledge; knowledge of all things.

Omnipresent – Present in all places at the same time.

Perfect – Finished; complete; consummate; not defective; having all that is requisite to its nature and kind.

Transcendent – Very excellent; superior or supreme in excellence; surpassing others.

Triune – Three in one; an epithet applied to God, to express unity of the Godhead in a trinity of persons.

Unchangeable – Not capable of change; immutable; not subject to variation.

Church leaders should grow into the following Godly attributes:

God is Love (1 John 4:16)

God is Compassionate (Psalms 145:8-9)

God is Faithful (2 Timothy 2:13)

God is Good (Psalms 100:5; Mark 10:18)

God is Gracious (Psalms 103:8)

God is Merciful (Ephesians 2:4-5)

God is Patient (Psalms 103:10; Nahum 1:3)

D. White, Ph. D

Poetry Isn’t Justice

I had this thought: What could it be?

This feeling of awe had come over me.

Well, I was feeling kind of bad, it was early one Sunday morn.

I wasn’t happy at all because my heart had been torn.

The day fit my mood: I had lost all my pride.

The sky was grayish blue, and it was cold outside.

I didn’t know where I was going, only Lord knows where I had been.

So, I just kept right on going until I found my truest friend.

I headed for a place where they use the Bible as their sword.

I headed for a place where they all sang in one accord.

Yes, I finally reached this great place: It was the house of the Lord.

So, I stepped inside and before I had realized…

I had walked down the aisle and was proudly baptized.

I rose up a new creature, what was I to do?

For old things had passed away and all things were made new.

You see what Christ does for me; he does for you too.

Just open up your heart and let Jesus come through.

I thought I was finished until I was saved by the lamb.

My soul had been replenished by the great, “I AM.”

At first, I was sad because I had no sight.

But now I’m so glad because I can see the light.

I had this thought: What could it be?

This wonderful feeling had come over me.

And now overjoyed forever I will be…

Because my thought was not just a thought, but it had become reality.

Just Thinking

The Sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.

Written by Philip N. 

1 Chronicles 1:28

To accept and move on, is bringing an end to a bad experience. Many voters were excited that their candidate will become president of the country. Unfortunately, whether true or not, it seems the election was not free and fair. Something mischievous happened and their candidate lost the election. The announcement of results causes anger and feelings of helplessness against a corrupt system that would never be fair. For a moment everything comes to a standstill.

Things can get either worse or better in such a situation. It can get worse if they reject the results and start violent demonstrations to demand justice. They may also respond by totally giving up hope in the future welfare of their country. Tension may prevail for a while, thereby killing business and the economy. However, they can also choose to accept and move on. Oftentimes people are advised to accept and move on.

You accept not because it was acceptable but because you have reconciled it yourself. You accept because you have forgiven. You accept because you have chosen peace over violence. You accept because the welfare of the country is better than your own personal or group interest. You accept because you want to live to fight another day. You accept not because you approve of the electoral fraud, but because you have put closure to that painful experience. When people accept and move on, we should never misunderstand that to mean that our wrong decisions were right or we have convinced them. Oftentimes after terrible experiences, people are advised to accept and move on!

The alternative of not accepting and moving on is a total breakdown of a relationship. Degeneration of the situation. A series of chaos and death. A loss of nationhood such as how Somalia and Zaire now the Democratic Republic of Congo lost it when presidents changed. Somalia was a nation but when Major General Mohamed Siad Bare left in 1991, the warring factions refused to accept and move on, and we no longer have the same proper nation of Somalia. Somalia broke into two.

There are international attempts to maintain peace. Warring factions are engaged in mass killings, and the situation has been dire since 1991to this day thirty years later. Why? They refused to accept it and move on. The same thing with Zaire after President Mobutu left in 1997 and factions refused to accept the new governments. To this day the country is in pieces and at war with itself twenty-four years later. They could not accept and move on!

If we do not accept and move on, the harm is greater. Christianity teaches forgiveness and reconciliation. It is forgiveness and reconciliation that allows us to accept and move on. The death of a loved one can traumatize and one of the healing processes is to accept and move on. When property and other losses occur, you will only excel and prosper if you accept the loss and move on. If you are rejected by a loved one, you will not move into another relationship properly, until you accept and move on!

Abraham offended God. God had promised Abraham and Sarah that He will give them a child, who will, in turn, become a great nation. After waiting for long, Abraham and Sarah mistrusted God and decided to have a child through adultery between Abraham and his servant Hagar. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. God was angry at their decision. Ishmael became a symbol of Abraham and Sarah’s lack of faith in God. God was offended but He accepted and moved on!

In our text today, God inspires historians to write the genealogy of Abrahams’s descendants. God gets to naming the children of Abraham and He allows both the son He gave that is Isaac to be named together with the one who came from disobedience that is Ishmael. This is a clear sign that God accepted and moved on. God is no longer grumbling and whining about being mistrusted and Ishmael’s birth. God was significantly offended, but God accepted and moved on!

God is offended by David having a child with Bathsheba. God is offended that David kills Uriah

in order to cover the pregnancy of Bathsheba. This is adultery and murder, the two worst sins according to poor-sighted human beings (because all sins are equal in terribleness). Yet God forgives David. Yet God allows Bathsheba’s son Solomon to be heir of the Kingdom of Israel. Yet God allows the son of this immoral union, the son of a union that caused the murder of Uriah, to be a great grandfather of Jesus Christ our Lord. Clearly, God accepted and moved on!

If God can accept and move on, we too should learn to accept and move on. Jesus said if someone slaps you on one side, give them the other side. That is as good as accepting it and moving on. God promises that He will revenge all the pains and heartaches that others have caused us. God’s revenge is right here on earth and also at the end of time. When you accept and move on, you have allowed God to revenge. God will not revenge until you accept and move on.

When Joseph accepted his situation in Egypt, God revenged on the brothers who sold him. They came and bowed before Joseph totally humbled and feeling stupid about their previous actions. God revenges when you accept and move on. Accept and move on.

Some troubles are best handled by accepting and moving on. Paul prayed about a thorn in his flesh, a physical situation that bothered him. God responded by saying the situation will not change. He will remain with the physical challenge. God tells Paul to accept that bad situation and move on. In accepting a bad situation, he becomes strong because God’s grace covers him. God’s grace effectively helps us in bad abiding situations when we accept and move on!

Everyone has something and some situation in life that they need to accept and move on. Without accepting and moving on, the pain will be greater and future prospects of success will be killed. We need to accept some illness and move on. We need to accept some death and move on. We need to accept some losses and move on. We need to accept some offense that was done and move on. We need to accept that it has not turned out as we expected and we must now live with this disappointment. Whatever it is, God’s grace is available and sufficient, if you accept and move on!

If God accepted and moved on, we too can accept and move on. Help us dear God to accept and move on, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Dropping Jewels

God gave you the authority to protect your boundaries. Ephesians 6:10-18

Sermon Outline

1 John 4:7-11

Scriptural Proposition: God’s children ought to love one another because God first loved us.

Introduction:

Do you know what love is?  2. How do you define love?

Commentary:

God’s love is born in His children.

(v. 7)

To know God is to Love God and to love God is to love others. (v. 8)

God’s love was manifest by giving the very best He had to offer. (v. 9; John 3:16)

God loved us when we were not able to give him anything in return. (v. 10; Rom. 5:6)

We are compelled to love others the way God loved us. (v. 11)

Explanation:

There are many ways to define love.

God’s love is the greatest love of all. (John 3:16)

DELIGHTFUL INVITATION: WON’T YOU PLEASE OBEY THE GOSPEL TODAY?

Hear – Romans 10:17   Understand – Acts 8:30-31

Believe – Mark 16:16   Repent – Luke 13:3 

Confess – Matthew 10:32-33   Water Baptism – Acts 2:38

Lifetime of Faithful Service – Revelation 2:10

In Christian Love & Service,      

Bro. Darrell

Darrell Anthony White Woodard, Servant 

Church of Christ, Littleton, New Hampshire      May 04, 2025

Please send all questions & comments to: woodardsworld@gmail.com