Pastoral Letter 181
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and Peace to you all.
I write this Pastoral Letter returned from my leave. It was three great weeks of touring around, relaxing and enjoying quality time with my daughter Lori. We have been in Lebanon, Cyprus and Egypt. I will share some of our experience later in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to joining you tomorrow and celebrate Father’s Day and appreciate our fathers and give thanks to God for them.
I hope you were welcomed at Crows Nest Uniting Church last Sunday and enjoyed their fellowship and hospitality. My thanks again to James and Liam for preaching the previous two Sundays and thanks for Crows Nest Uniting for having us as guests. I hope you enjoyed the new faces and their preaching.
Next Sunday 10 September 2023 will be a great and memorable day for us, St. Andrew’s mob, which will mark the 100th Anniversary of the laying of the Foundation Stone of our beautiful Sanctuary as well as the 121st Anniversary of the start of the Services. Our special service will commence at 2:00 pm with many guests, church leaders, families, friends and dignitaries. The Order of Service has been finalised. We will hear message for the occasion, brief congratulatory messages, live and on video, enjoy special music by special musicians, Zela Margossian and Adam Yelmaz will perform and present two pieces of music. Opera singer, Natalie Aroyan, will sing and present two songs. Mark on the organ and David on his wind instruments will give additional taste to the music and our singing. Please make an effort to come and celebrate with us.
If you are not able to join us tomorrow, please light a candle, have a small roll of bread and a cup of wine or juice for Communion and join us following the attached Order of Service.
Be safe and well, continue to pray, remembering those who need care, support and love. Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for Artsakh as they go through the toughest time with the dire situation resulting in hunger, starvation, and death. Clearly the people are in a humanitarian crisis as they are under complete siege and even, they can’t find bread to eat. The number of deaths from starvation and malnutrition is climbing quickly.
- Pray for Adrienne and Ned as they recover and continue to pray for Soo-Tee.
- Pray for world peace in the world.
- Pray for those who suffer, who are persecuted and abused.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the struggling and the stressed.
- Pray for those who are facing natural disasters and the global warming.
- Pray for our Worship and Praise Service planned for Sunday 10 September 2023.
- Pray for the Fathers as they celebrate their Special Day tomorrow.
Best Regards
Krikor
MESSAGE
The Value of a Father
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord”. Ephesians 6:4
Today we live in a confusing culture where we lose our understanding about the ideal and the value of man. Our entire culture is entrapped in the most basic definitions of what a man is, what a woman is; and certainly, lost in all the confusion is the role of a man, husband and father. Hence, we see that the definition of man and woman has no meaning at all. People don’t want to see the difference between man and woman and their God given roles. We have difficulty to distinguish between right and wrong, the good from the evil. The human being usually forgets that he/she is created in the image of God, and he/she is indebted to personify Him in the world.
This morning we want to look at these roles and to know what God says about this important question of identity, without being influenced by the culture we live in. The Bible says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). We were made in the image of God, and it is important to live out that identity.
In this respect it is important to see how God has formed and modelled the human being and especially the male or the father. If we read the Scripture with care, we will see the value of man and what is the important role that he has to play. The following points show the role of a father.
1. To be a man of character
Whether single, married without children or married with children, the man should be a man of character. Paul tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). A man of character does not conform to the world around him. He chooses to reflect the image of God and endeavours to imitate Christ and models Him. He longs to have the qualities and character of Jesus. He does not only want to avoid sin in his life, but he tries to concentrate on the quality of life that Jesus lived. He wants to transform his heart and tries to show His good in him. John wrote to the men of his day saying, “I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning” (1 John 2:13). These are the kind of fathers, who make a difference in the lives of their children and wives, and in the world, because they know Christ and their character reflect it. They don’t care what everyone else is doing or how they try to act out their manhood, they live with integrity and strength.
When people look at our life, to the fathers, what characteristics they see?
Do they a person of character who shows the genuine spirit and heart of Christ?
We should be a man of integrity and faithfulness. This is what pleases God and makes our life pleasant as well.
2. To be a man of consistency
A man’s value should be seen in his consistency. It is not acceptable to give advice to others, but not practically demonstrate them. A man should be the one who talks the talk and walks the walk.
Timothy was a man of consistency. Paul said about him: “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel” (Philippians 2:19-22). Paul says that Timothy has proved himself, the word in Greek means something that has been proven by testing. Its genuineness has been proven by trying it over and over again. It is consistent. Timothy had proven himself because he was consistent in his life through the various trials he faced with Paul. It is expected from the father’s to be consistent, in other words men of their word.
3. To be a man of faithfulness
Meaning, to be true to himself and his nature. He doesn’t try to be someone he is not. He lives his God-given masculinity. He understands that God has made him a male for a reason. Every cell in his body is different from a woman. God has made every cell in his body a male cell. He is not a little bit different; he is a lot different. God has made him that way. His value is in being a man. He has to provide for his family, take on responsibility, and protect and nurture the family. Unfortunately, at the present the man’s absence from home is felt. Time magazine article says, “Studies of young criminals have found that more than 70% of all juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes.” Children from broken families are nearly twice as likely as those in two-parent families to drop out of high school. This picture shows how important is the role of the father in the family and nothing can take its place.
Therefor the role of the father in the family is important especially for the good of the children. The psychological problems caused by absent male figures in the formative years of a child’s life are enormous. This proves that men are valuable. No one can take their place. Fathers are not only important for the physical welfare of the children, but they are important for the psychological welfare. Fathers should spend time with their children. They may give them many things, but if they are not giving them their time it won’t mean much. Children deserve to live in a home where the man of the house is a living example of the life and love of Jesus Christ.
Dear fathers let us be sure that we have to play our important role in our homes. Let us be a man of character, consistency and faithfulness.
Amen!