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Why is God Father?

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. GALATIANS 4:4-7 ESV

God knows…

Everyone needs a great dad

(Jesus said) Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. MATTHEW 6:9 NLT

Our heavenly father is great because…

He is good and stable

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. JAMES 1:17 NLT

He is strong

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. JOHN 10:29 NLT

He is loving

The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love… 1 JOHN 4:8 THE MESSAGE

He is always available

If you then,who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! MATTHEW 7:11 ESV
(Jesus) went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” MATTHEW 26:39 NLT

Women need to see that masculinity can be safe

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father…‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” JOHN 20:17 NLT (see also JOHN 4:23-24 NLT)

Men need a male role model

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 1 JOHN 2:15-16 NLT

Men need a male rule giver

… I bow my knees before the Father. EPHESIANS 3:14 ESV
… Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. LUKE 6:36 ESV

Men need a male _rule enforcer _

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” 1 PETER 1:17 NLT

Only Jesus the son can connect you to God as Father

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” JOHN 14:6 ESV

Community Group Discussion Guide

  1. What are some of the words that come to mind when you hear the word “father” and why do you think those are the words that pop up for you?
  2. In what ways has your experience with your earthly father (or other men) shaped your view of God?
  3. Read Matthew 6:9. Of all the things that God is as our father (good, loving, strong, stable and available), which one do you find yourself needing the most and why?
  4. Read 1 Peter 1:17. What silly or sinful things has the fear of God kept you from doing or jumping into?
  5. Read Matthew 7:11. What are some of the good things God has given you when you have asked him? What “good things” are you still waiting for?
  6. In what practical ways can you or your group help dads be better OR what is one thing you or your group can do to personally help kids without dads (either in your group or at Sandals Church)?

Personal Reflection Guide

Spend a few minutes quieting yourself before God. As you do, release to him your cares and the things that are competing for your attention. Reflect on Jesus’ statement that “no one comes to the Father except through me.” How do you experience God fathering you? How can the love and trust that Jesus had for God the father help you to relate to God as your father as well? Ask God to give you a path toward Jesus this week, and that you would experience God’s true and good fathering as you pursue Jesus intently. Pay attention to the ways in which you see God’s hand in your life this week, and thank him for these glimpses of his goodness.

My Notes