Dads and Grads

Today we showed appreciation for two special groups of people in our congregation - dads and grads. For the graduates, I wanted to do a little bit more than what we typically do, which is to call them to the front, present them with a gift (usually one of the 'devotions for graduates' books that they seldom if ever read - I still have mine from 17 years ago, and have never finished reading it!), say a prayer for them, and applaud as they take their seats. It's nice to recognize them and do all of that, but I've always thought we could do a little more to make it more memorable and meaningful. So, this year I asked their families to send me photos of each graduate, and I compiled the pictures into a powerpoint slide show, with "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts as background music. It went VERY well, and gave the congregation a glimpse into the lives of the graduates from childhood through high school. The goal was to send them off to wherever God is leading them with the blessings and affirmation of their home church, and to encourage them to remember where the roots of their faith took hold. I think we accomplished this admirably, and thank God for the inspiration for this addition to our worship service today. For Father's Day, I preached on Ephesians 6:1-4, specifically vs. 4 - "Fathers, do not exasperate your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." I shared how my own father had brought up me and my siblings in such a way, and highlighted some of the lessons we learned from him. Then I shared how those very lessons that my dad taught us, had been taught to him (and everyone else) in the Scriptures, and we looked at some of the important 'training and instruction' lessons from the Bible. A very touching and special service today, and one which I hope will draw people closer to God as our Father in Heaven.