Fathers day

GODLY FATHERS

FATHER’S DAY ORIGIN (US)

Father’s Day is celebrated today in over 30 countries around the world.

In 1909 a woman named Sonora Dodd was listening to a sermon on the newly recognized Mother’s Day at Central Methodist Episcopal Church in Spokane, Washington and felt strongly that fathers also needed recognition with a special day.

FATHER’S DAY ORIGIN (US)

As her mother had died when Sonora was 16, she had assisted her dad (a devout and godly Civil War veteran) in raising her 5 younger siblings. She approached the Spokane Ministerial Alliance and YMCA and on 19 June 1910, “sermons honouring fathers were presented throughout the city” - the first Father’s Day.

In 1916, US President Woodrow Wilson sent a telegraph to Spokane praising their Father’s Day services. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a proclamation declaring that the third Sunday in June would be set aside as a day to honour and pay tribute to fathers. In 1972, President Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day. 1

1 https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Sonora_Smart_Dodd, https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Father%27s_Day

ONE HEAD

The head of the family is the father. In God’s wisdom he has given each family one head. After all, anything with two heads is a monster!

But this is not a privilege as much as it is a responsibility! The hardest thing a man can ever do is to be a good husband and a good father to his children.

Eli could run the tabernacle but could not bring his sons into order (1 Sam 3:13).

David could run a kingdom but could not control his own children (1 Kings 1:5-6).

FATHERS, YOUNG MEN, CHILDREN

1 John 2:13 (NIV) I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.

John differentiates between 3 types of Christians:

Children

Young men

Fathers

What is the difference?

Children – Need someone to look after them.

Young men – are able to look after themselves.

Fathers – not only look after themselves, but look after others.

GODLY FATHERS

The home doesn’t need a man in the house, it needs a father!

Fathering a child does not make a man a father.

“Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers - and fathering is a very important stage in their development.” - David M. Gottesman

Carrying the title of father carries with it great responsibilities. Let’s look at some of the characteristics of a godly father.

A FATHER LOVES HIS CHILDREN

It’s been said, “A father carries pictures where his money used to be.” So while you may have less money as a father, you’ll have more important things in its place.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. - Elizabeth Stone

Part of demonstrating love is investing time with your children:

Kids spell love T-I-M-E. - John Crudele

Your children need your presence more than your presents. - Jesse Jackson

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.”  “We’re not raising grass,” Dad would reply.  “We’re raising boys.”  - Harmon Killebrew

A FATHER ENCOURAGES

1 Thess 2:11-12 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

A FATHER PROVIDES

Luke 11:11-12 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

PROVIDES

Prov 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

“A father is a banker... provided by nature.” - French Proverb

A FATHER PROTECTS

Matt 2:13-15 … an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.

A FATHER SEEKS THE BEST FOR HIS CHILDREN

Jairus sought out Jesus when his daughter was sick. Note that he sought out Jesus - he did not send his wife, or someone else. When you take on the role of a father, you also take on the responsibilities of the father.

Don’t abdicate your responsibility and leave it up to others to look after and teach your children about God.

A FATHER DISCIPLINES

One of the qualifications of a church overseers (elder) is that “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (1 Tim 3:4-5)

Heb 12:7-10 … For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it… Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best...

Prov 23:13-14 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.

Prov 29:15 The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

Discipline must be restorative and not punitive though:

Col 3:1 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

Prov 3:12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Eph 6:4 (ESV) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way… The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The word “provoke” means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. 

Bur this must be done gently

 Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.

The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction—educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities). *

*https:// www.gotquestions.org/ fathers-Christian.html

A FATHER TRAINS

In Ephesians 6:4 fathers are instructed to bring their children up “in the training and instruction of the Lord”.

One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.  -George Herbert

Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever. 

Deut 4:9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

“Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” - Ruth E. Renkel

Psalm 44:1 We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago.

It’s important to give our children a godly heritage:

Prov 14:26 He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.

How long does it take for a people to forget God?

Just one generation!

Judges 2:10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.

Parents need to pass the baton on.

Psalm 78:4-7 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

Prov 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.

Show him the duties, the dangers, and the blessings of the path; give him directions how to perform the duties, how to escape the dangers, and how to secure the blessings, which all lie before him… The Hebrew word “chanac”, which we translate train up or initiate, signifies also dedicate; and is often used for the consecrating any thing, house, or person, to the service of God. Dedicate, therefore, in the first instance, your child to God; and nurse, teach, and discipline him as God’s child, whom he has entrusted to your care. These things observed, and illustrated by your own conduct, the child (you have God’s word for it) will never depart from the path of life. *

*Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible

Prov 23:22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Prov 1:8-9 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” - Charles Wadsworth

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.  But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.  - Mark Twain

Prov 4:1-9 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor.

Prov 4:10-13 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

Prov 4:20-27 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

A FATHER IS A RELIGIOUS LEADER

A father is the family prophet. He is a messenger from God to his family. He provides biblical instruction and training. He prepares family devotions and insists on regular church attendance, leading by example.

Josh 24:15 “… But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

A father is the priest of the family and sets the spiritual temperature in the home. He intercedes before God for his wife and children. He prays for the salvation of his children.

Prov 14:26 Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

The classic example for this is Job, who regularly asks God to forgive the sins of his children.

Job 1:5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job's regular custom.

A FATHER IS A ROLE MODEL

The best way to teach your children is by providing a good example.

Clarence Budington Kelland (US writer) said, “He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”

Douglas Macarthur (1880-1964), American field marshal of the Philippine Army during WWII) said:

“By profession, I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder – infinitely prouder – to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle field but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer, ‘Our Father who art in Heaven.’”

A FATHER IS TO BE HONOURED

The fifth commandment is, “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” (Ex 20:12)

Dad, you’re someone to look up to no matter how tall I’ve grown. 

HUMAN FALLIBILITY

As human fathers we are fallible and sometimes fail in our duties:

Heb 12:10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best…

But despite their human fallibility, most fathers still try their best for their children:

Matt 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children...

SPIRITUAL FATHERS

Just as we can be earthly fathers, so we can be spiritual fathers to others. This is the kind of relationship Paul held with those in the churches he had founded:

1 Cor 4:14-17 ... Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love …

GOD IS OUR FATHER

Jesus taught his disciples to pray and call God, “Our Father in heaven” (Matt 6:9).

The great English poet William Wordsworth wrote: “Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name.”

FAMILY NAME

One of the most important things we receive from our earthly father is our family name. Our surname or family name conveys a sense of belonging and worth. It reveals to others our identity and links us with an earthly family and heritage.

Likewise, we have received a name from our heavenly Father, showing to all that we belong to God’s family.

Eph 3:14-15 For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

2 Cor 6:18 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

FAMILY NAME

AS A FATHER, GOD LOVES US:

2 Thess 2:16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us…

John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

John 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

John 16:27 “No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

OUR FATHER GOD HAS COMPASSION ON US

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

In the parable of the lost sheep Jesus said: “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” (Matt 18:14)

FORGIVENESS

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus used the example of a father’s forgiveness to demonstrate God’s forgiveness.

Luke 15:20 ... But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

Matt 6:14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

HE ALSO ENCOURAGES AND STRENGTHENS AS ONLY A FATHER CAN

2 Thess 2:16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Eph 3:14-17 For this reason I kneel before the Father … I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER PROTECTS

Jesus prayed, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name …” (John 17:11)

Rom 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER PROTECTS

Our lives are in his hands:

Matt 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER PROTECTS

Deut 1:29-31 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER TRAINS

Matt 16:17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”

The Father teaches us though the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER REWARDS GOOD BEHAVIOUR

Matt 6:3-4 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus says the same about praying (6:6) and fasting (6:17-18).

BUT GOD ALSO PUNISHES BAD BEHAVIOUR

Like an earthly father, he disciplines his children.

Prov 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Matt 18:32-35 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

DISCIPLINES

God uses hardship as discipline.

Heb 12:7-11 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS A ROLE MODEL

Eph 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children...

Jesus tells us to imitate our Father in heaven:

Matt 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

ROLE MODEL

Jesus said the way we live – shows who our real father is:

John 8:38-42 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.” “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.”

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER PROVIDES

Matt 6:25-30 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?... And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin… If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

Matt 7:7-11 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Matt 6:9-11 “… Our Father in heaven… Give us today our daily bread.’”

Matt 6:7-8 “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

He also gives us spiritual gifts:

Eph 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Acts 1:4-5 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with a water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS GIVEN US AN INHERITANCE

He has made us his heirs:

Gal 4:6-7 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Col 1:2 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Rom 8:16-17 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Matt 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

Eph 1:17-18 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS TO BE HONOURED

As we are commanded to honour our earthly fathers, Jesus taught us to honour our Father in heaven:

Matt 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...’”

1 Tim 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

IS GOD THE FATHER OF ALL?

Many falsely claim God as their father, but have no relationship with him:

John 8:41-42 …“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.”

Matt 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

RELATIONSHIP

God is the Creator of all men, but not the Father of all. However, like a Father with a child, God wants to have a relationship with us:

1 John 1:3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Eph 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

How can God become my Father? We have to be born into his family.

John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of http:// sweetpublishing.com & http:// freebibleimages.org

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB: New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation; Used by permission. (http:// Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV: Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

AUTHOR: Gavin Paynter

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For more sermon downloads by Gavin Paynter: https:// agfbrakpan.com/ free-sermon-downloads-by-speaker/ Gavin%20Paynter

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of http:// sweetpublishing.com & http:// www.freebibleimages.org

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV: THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB: New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation; Used by permission. (http:// www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV: Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.