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Hi Calvary,
This Sunday is Father’s Day at Calvary Church. During our services, we will honor all the dads in the house. At the close of the service, we will have a special prayer for all our fathers. Outside, after service, we will have games for the dads and their children, and soft pretzels for everyone! Invite your unchurched neighbors and friends!
In their article, John Stonestreet and Shane Morris wrote,
The connection between physically present, emotionally available fathers and mentally healthy kids is so strong that researchers have termed it the “good father effect.” A recent review published in the journal Children surveyed nearly four dozen studies on the father-child relationship. In Wallace’s words, these studies conclude that,
“Fathers who were involved in caregiving and play, and who reacted with warmth and greater sensitivity to a child who expressed emotions, were significantly more likely to have children with better emotional balance from infancy to adolescence.”
Such emotional stability in turn predicted “higher levels of social competence, peer relationships, academic achievement, and resilience” among kids.”
None of the above should surprise any of us. The vital influence that fathers exert on the mental, emotional, and spiritual health of their children is one of the few propositions that has been confirmed by decades of social science research. Recent research has demonstrated that it is not simply enough for fathers to be physically present in their children's lives. It is also vital for the father-child relationship to possess a high measure of relational warmth. As we honor fathers for the important role they play in the lives of their children this weekend, I urge you to pray that our fathers draw near to their heavenly Father so they can receive the strength and wisdom to fulfill their awesome responsibility. Let us pray that the church, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, will be a powerful witness to the world of the beauty of God’s design for the family.
“This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.” -G K Chesterton in The Superstition of Divorce
Pastor Randy
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