Over the course of the last several months a small group of young dads gathered at our church once a month to deepen their understanding of fatherhood. The goal was to mine out the truths in the many "hints" scattered throughout the New Testament. For instance, what do passages like this tell us about fatherhood:
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,as I teach them (1 Corinthians 4:14-17 ESV)
There is no direct instruction there but there is something, something to research and discuss. So, without much more than that sense of direction, we set out to find the truth and, hopefully, be transformed by it.
Here is my encouragement. If you are looking to grow with other men in Christ-like fatherhood, grab these questions and spend a couple of hours on 5 Saturday mornings discussing them together. Don't have any one teach. Pray (a lot) for God's grace to reveal things in the Scripture and to convict your hearts each time and have someone facilitate a discussion.
New Testament/Old School Fatherhood
Week 1 - Fathers are an example
Week 2 - Fathers set a Christ-centered agenda
Week 3 - Fathers bring discipline to their children
Week 4 - Fathers admonish holy living
Week 5 - Fathers leave and inheritance
Oh and I almost forgot... You're going to want a big whiteboard to make lists and organize your thoughts.
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