"Everyday Is Dads Day"

When I was a little boy well my daddy, he could do anything.

Around age six well, my dad is smarter than your dad.

By the time I was ten well, dad really doesn’t seem to know everything.

And when I hit twelve, naturally dad doesn't know anything about that!

At the ripe old age of fourteen, well my father is just too old- fashioned.

At twenty-one, my father is hopelessly out of date.

But you know when I hit my thirties things began to change:  Maybe I should ask dad what he thinks.  After all, he's had a lot of experience.

At forty, ENLIGHTMENT sets in and things really change.  Now I'm am not doing a single thing until I at least talk it over with my dad.   

These last comments are meant for those of us, including me who’s earthy DAD has passed on. 

As I get older still:  - I think, if dad were here now I would want to talk things over with him again, and I would tell him how much I love him.  

In a moment of thoughtful silence, consider what is special about your DAD. ---------------------------------------------Amen

Not everyone has experienced good earthly fathering, but you know we all have the same DAD and He was with us from the very beginning, and has never left our side, he’s in you and in me because he made us in his image the image of love, and he loves us no matter what, he has never left us or forsaken us. God is our Heavenly parent.

June 17, 2018  Psalm 92  VU page 810   Mark 4: 26-34

The first 34 verses of Chapter 4 in Marks gospel tell us stories or parables about ordinary people like you and me, going out to sow seed for the Kingdom of God.   

In Mark 4: 26-27 Jesus said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like a man scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how."  

How many of us here like apples?   Of course all of us know the story of a man called Johnny Appleseed.  As you might guess, Johnny Appleseed was not his real name. His real name was John Chapman. He was born in 1774 in the state of Massachusetts. When he was in his early twenties, John started an agricultural career working in a nursery learning to grow plants, trees, and shrubs.  John Chapman especially loved apple trees and he planted them all around the town where he lived.  But that wasn't enough for John, He wanted people everywhere to enjoy apples just as much as he did, so he traveled all around the country planting apple trees and giving away apple seeds.

John’s life wasn't easy thought, but he loved what he was doing. He never married, and collected more friends than he could count. He lived a long and happy life enjoying the great outdoors and the beauty of God's creation until his death in 1845.

You may be asking, "What does the story of Johnny Appleseed have to do with Fathers and our Bible lesson for today?" Well, the story of Johnny Appleseed is a much like the parable that Jesus told in our Bible reading about man scattering seed I mean.  Seeds for the Kingdom need to be planted everywhere and we who have been blessed to be fathers have a great responsibility when sowing seeds within a family unit.   It is not an easy task you know to maintain the scattering of Gods seeds of unconditional love and forgiveness because often as hard as we try not to, our love has unspoken hidden conditions, and our forgiveness is sometimes short-lived.   It is not easy to scatter the seeds of integrity, of trust, or selflessness in a world that is constantly offers us lies, dishonesty, and self-contentedness.   As a father myself I have to confess that I often found it difficult in maintaining the sowing of seeds for the Kingdom of God in my own family.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he is asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows.  The wisdom we might take home from the 4^th chapter of Mark today is that God wants us to act out the Good New of our Lord Jesus Christ not just to family but to everyone we met.  In doing so, we will be scattering seeds of unconditional love and forgiveness wherever we go.  These seeds will sprout and begin grow within ones own life.  With great gratitude as the Kingdom’s soil, peace of mind and a contentment heart will begin to take its root. 

Just as John Chapman was passionate about planting apple seeds, God wants you and me to be passionate about planting Kingdom seeds.   If we will take the Good News of our Lord Jesus to the people we encounter daily, it will begin to take root in their life and begin to they will begin to grow as they act out his love forgiveness and compassion for others.   We may not fully understand it, but we know that, that is the way the kingdom of God grows -- by people like you and me planting seeds of unconditional love and forgiveness and then watching as they grow.   God chose ordinary people like you and me to carry His message to the world, don't you want to be a builder of Gods Kingdom Come.