DISCLAIMER:  This text is not a verbatim transcript.  Communication Access Real Time Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication credibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.  


>> Thank you for joining us online today. We want to let you know about a few items of interest. First, go to our website, firstcolonychurch.org, and go there often. We have a unique page dedicated to resources for you during this season. You'll find links to our worship services, Bible study options; online giving; and our new podcast, Anchor Point. You can also download our church app. Just search for "First Colony Church of Christ" in the App Store or on Google Play. Every link is there were be the app is a great resource where you can stay connected to First Colony Church. Anchor Point is our new podcast. We are posting a new episode every weekday. In addition to finding our podcast on our website and the church app, you can find it across all podcasting platforms. Our Children's Ministry is posting a weekly kids online Bible lesson. Be sure to check that out. And our Student Ministry is creating lots of daily content on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Be sure to follow them. Thank you for joining us online today. We are glad you're here. 
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>> Thank you for joining us online today. We want to let you know about a few item of interest. First, go to our website, firstcolonychurch.org, and go there often. We have a unique page dedicated to resources for you during this season. You'll find links to our worship services; Bible study options; online giving; and our new podcast, Anchor Point. You can also download our church app. Just search for "First Colony Church of Christ" in the App Store or on Google Play. Every link is there; the app is a great resource where you can stay connected to First Colony Church. Anchor Point is our new podcast. We are posting a new episode every weekday. In addition to finding our podcast on our website and the church app, you can find it across all podcasting platforms. Our Children's Ministry is posting a weekly kids online Bible lesson. Be sure to check that out. And our Student Ministry is creating lots of daily content on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Be sure to follow them. Thank you for joining us online today. We are glad you're here. 
>> Richard: Good morning, everybody! How's everybody doing this morning? Let me be the first to wish you happy birthday -- I mean, happy father's day -- or maybe has a birthday in here today. But happy father's day, and for those of you watching us from home, we're so glad that you are worshiping with us this morning and are part of this community so let's all stand together and worship the Lord! ("The Lion and the Lamb" playing) 
>> Richard: Our God is the Lion! Conquering King! Faithful God. ("Because He Lives" playing) 
>> Richard: Our God lives. 
>> Richard: Do you believe that this morning? 
>> Richard: Because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Amen? We trust Him. I want to invite my very good friend Joel Smith to the stage right now. 
>> Joel: It's good to be here this morning and see you all, whether you're at Foster Creek or online right here in the congregation. Now, I love puzzles. Now, the kind of puzzle I like, actually, is the mind puzzle where there is a box you can't open unless you open it a certain way or a Rubik's cube or those types of puzzles. So there is a challenge where you take eight nails -- and I have some rather large nails so hopefully you can see them -- and the challenge is, can you balance all eight nails on top of one other nail? You can imagine, you know, it's easy to get one, but things quickly fall apart when you attempt to get number two -- Hey, I've never done that before. Number two. Let's suppose I get number two. Definitely number three will be harder and goes downhill from there. So the verse I want to focus on today is actually in Psalm 37: 3 and talks act trusting the Lord and doing good. As a kid, your parents may ask you to clean your room; and when I was a little kid and my parents would say, "Joel, clean your room." That meant hide everything under your bed. I know. Confessions. But my mom was pretty smart and she would look under my bed and make me put those things away. And so you learn skills by cleaning your room. 

Well, in the same way, we learn skills in Scripture that will help us the rest of our life, that will help us clean our room. And one of those skills is in James 1:19, a skill you need to learn as a kid that will help you the rest of your life. That is to be slow to speak; slow to get angry; but -- excuse me -- yeah. And quick to listen. So we need to be listeners and not be getting angry. So the point is that now is the time to learn, and when you learn -- looks like I will lose one nail -- but you know what? It will still hold. Pretty cool. It's lopsided but still holds. When you learn how to clean your room and learn the basic of Christianity, you're able to make a difference in your home, in your neighborhood; at your school; in your community; and it spreads. So my prayer is you start and obey, starting with the principle of being quick to listen; slow to speak; and slow to get angry. So trust and obey for there's no other way. (Applause) 
>> Richard: Thank you, Joel. We want to enter into a time of communion right now and as we're getting ready to do that, I want to let you know that the bag that has the elements in it -- whether you have one or two -- is also your bag to put your trash in. You can put your trash on your way out in a receptacle or there's a basket at the end of the pew, whichever is easiest. 
>> Sam: This is Elijah Walker. I'm Sam. We have the pleasure of leading you in communion today. If you can please bow with me as we pray. Lord, we just thank You so much for this day that You have given us, Lord, for Father's Day. You, our Heavenly Father, sent Your Son, which is so difficult to even process as a father, to die for us, Lord. And we remember that today at this time. We're so thankful for the bread and for the cup that represents the sacrifice that was made for us, that we can have in eternity for You. Thank You for everything you do for us on a constant basis and the ultimate sacrifice You made for us. In Your Name. 
>> Elijah: put on the full armor of God so you can take the stand against the devil's stream for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm with the belt of truth bucked around your waste with the breastplate of righteousness in the place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the world of the account spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit of all o occasions with all kinds of praise and request. With the mind, be alert, always keep on playing for all the saints. 
>> Sam: Ephesians 6:11-18. (Applause) ("Build My Life" playing) 
>> Kyle: Good morning, again, everyone, and welcome. To those of you joining online, I want to welcome you again as well. We will enter into our offering this morning. Let me give you a couple of instructions and ways in which you can give this morning. You can continue to give online or if you've never done that, you can do that this morning. You can simply text the number on the screen. You have our assurances that all of our online offerings are safe, simple, and secure. Many have been mailing in their gifts, and you can continue to do that as well. You'll also notice the four giving receptacles at the four entrances for those of you in the house -- the four entrances of our Worship Center. You can place your offering on your way out this morning. We are so thankful for your continued generosity in our partnership for the sake of the Gospel here in the First Colony Church in Fort Bend County. Let's pray over our offering this morning. Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gifts that we receive from You. We thank You for those first. We pray that those gifts and those blessings will enable us to do greater things for You and Your Kingdom. We pray You energize and multiply all the gifts and offerings that will be given this morning and this week, and we pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen. Hey, we still have a fellowship greeting here so if you're in the house, I want to ask you, church, to go ahead and stand up. Go ahead, stand up right now, and stand look at the camera in the back center and just wave at everybody watching online today and yell "Good morning!" It's okay to do that. Say good morning to somebody next to you. We're so glad that you're here today. ("Only King Forever" playing) 
>> Richard: Amen! You may be seated. 
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>> Ronnie: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the First Colony Church of Christ. To those of you in the room, so glad to see you. To those of you watching online -- to our church family to our church village -- happy to have you with us and happy Father's Day. We'll certainly honor and celebrate the ministry of fatherhood and three of our dads -- actually, three of our church elders -- will help with the message. I promise you will be incredibly encouraged by what you will hear from Kim, cure us, and Chad. -- Curtis, and Chad. Before we get to the message "Dad is Home," let me show you a couple of photos from last Sunday's food drive. Thank you for your incredible response to last Sunday's food drive as we partnered with our ministry partner Second Mile Mission Center. We collected eight full pallets of food, weighing 7,000 pounds. Second Mile tells us that will make an incredible difference in the lives of about 700 families so thank you for making a big, big difference. Well, dads and granddads, I salute you. I'm with you in this thing called fatherhood. I love being a dad. I love being a granddad. It's been one of the great joys and privileges of my life. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is worth it. Now, some dads really, they make it look easy and make it look too easy at times, sort of like this dad in this video. 
>> Foul ground. (Laughter) 
>> Whoa! 
>> So Gonzalez had it taken away by the fan. 
>> The baby is actually locked in on the bottle. Baby is not giving up the bottle at all. That is a heck of a play. 
>> Great play by that young man with the young child. (Laughter) 
>> Ronnie: Nothing diet, right? Hold the kid; protect the kid; you know, one hand, the foul ball. Have a seat. Your wife looks at you with this adoring look. And some guys, they just make it look so easy. Is fatherhood easy? Well, as Lee Corsa would say, "Not so fast, my friend." But there is hope; there is help; there's encouragement. We encourage one another in this church and we believe in God's help because no one is cheering on your family more than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. You know, there's a well-known passage of Scripture Ephesians 6:4 that said -- We don't want to do that where you're impossible to please. Instead, we bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. So the Bible lets us know that dads play such an important part and we celebrate that, thank our Gods, and God's vision for your family is what theologians call covenant success. I pass the faith to my children; and my children pass along the faith in a healthy way to their children. The danger, of course, is presages, assuming because I believe, then, by osmosis it's passed along. Presages. So as fathers, we just say no to passivity; and we say yes to following Jesus and exalting Him in our home. And dads, Godly masculinity where you bring your masculinity home but is shaped and trained by the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is shaped and trained by the Sacred Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit. That can be a fantastic and beautiful thing. Well, woe want to encourage all dads today and here are some thoughts from three of our elders so let's get started. First of all, Kim Brigham. 
>> Kim: Well, if you ask me, how do you know your children love you? I would say they will tell you that I was always there. I made it a point to be. It was, fatherhood was a joy for me. My dad was always there so I made it a point. Knowing what I know now, if I were to talk to myself back then, I would probably say, "You need to listen more. Trust your kids more." because after all, you are the one that taught them, right? So trust them to do the right thing. As I journey through fatherhood, one of the biggest surprises that I've come across is that -- I'll use this old adage -- the more things change, the more they stay the same. What has surprised me is that my son has had to deal with some of the same things I had to deal with, and I had to help him navigate through that. At times it wasn't easy for him because I could see myself in him -- you know, young, you're full of testosterone, and someone thinks if they do something wrong to you, you will lash out. So I had to teach him not to do that. It was hard at first, but he quickly learned why I was doing that. The Bible verse that gives me more comfort is Philippians 4: 13. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. I think that kind of sums it up not just for me but every dad out there. And what do I enjoy most about being a dad? Well, that's real easy: grandkids. No, that's not it. But actually, it was watching my kids grow to manhood and to womanhood, helping them navigate through their successes and their failures. 

One of the things I found out about kids is that they -- this is probably all of us -- we hate to fail. But through failing, we learn so much. So what I wanted my kids to do is always give maximum effort in whatever they did. I didn't want them to be afraid of failure, but I wanted them to be terrified of regret. And no one needs to live like that. And what, what important lessons did I learn from my dad? Well, my dad was, he was a man's man so in his own words, "Think for yourself." "Be your own man. If you're right, stand on it; don't ever back down." And he made us live that way and that's the way I was. 
>> Ronnie: Thank you so very, very much, Kim Brigham; such a good man, great friend and elder in our church. Some are familiar with Steven Covey and his best-selling books "Seven habits of highly effective people." He said he used to do something as a father and did this practice virtually every day. It was just a good mental picture for him. He said, as a dad, it's important every evening to just readopt your children. He said as he would drive home he would mentally picture himself taking off his work hat and putting on his dad had. Mentally resigning the process with all the responsibilities we have, as much as possible, to resign from those other tasks I have been devoting myself to during the early part of the day. And then, as a dad, when I have that chance to very intentionally be there and be with children. In just a moment, I'll talk to you a little more about "I can dads" and that acrostic. But now I want us to hear from Curtis Duncan, and Curtis has great things to say. 
>> Curtis: The biggest surprise of father food for me was being in the delivery room. I knew at that moment there was a God. This is a miracle, and it's okay to love something more than yourself. I think as a parent, as a father, you have to be flexible. You know, my children are both different. I have two boys, Graham and Schaffer, and they're different. One is an extrovert. The other is an an introvert. One likes peanut butter and the other is allergic. One love to win and one hates to lose -- and there is a difference. But what we learned most is they're smarter than you think they are. 

As a parent and father, I have to be flexible. There are two or three points I want to make for my boys for them to carry on with them in their life. Number one: follow Jesus, not only in word but also in deed. Let the Spirit of God come out of you. Number two: I think it's always important to work hard. Work hard and pray and pray without ceasing. I mean, sometimes we work hard and we don't think it's benefiting anyone, but pray about it. Don't ever get discouraged. You work hard and you stay focused and you stay positive and you move on. And number three: don't ever be afraid to do what is right. Don't ever be afraid to tell the truth. Don't ever compromise your Christian values. And whatever you do, don't ever justify wrong. Wrong is wrong, period. We can't justify wrong; but we can always do what is right. And Jesus has our back. How do I become a better father? First of all, fatherhood is on-the-job training. It is what it is. There are very few books that can relate to my family so fatherhood is on-the-job training. I would say in order to be a good father, you first got to be a good husband because I think it's very important that your children see you in a relationship between you and your wife. I want my boys to know I love their mother. I also want them to know that their mother and I are one. I didn't become a father until I got to First Colony, until a member of First Colony. Ronnie talks about being in that village. I had a great village. First Colony was a great village for me because I had other members, part of the church, that were young fathers like myself; and then there are those members that had older children that we use as role models so I was very fortunate. And I also think it's important or believe it's important to hang around like-minded people. What lessons did I learn from my father? Well, my father grew up in Mississippi in the `40s and the `50s, and a person who could have been bitter about the future wasn't. He was awesome. He was incredible. He was an old school dad. He loved me as much as I wanted to be loved, and he taught me the lessons I needed to know.. My dad, he had a forgiving heart. I never saw him speak bad words about anybody, and he was the nicest guy. He was just awesome. I mean, I love my dad, and, you know, so much so, my oldest son Graham is named after my dad. It's for that reason that I did that because my dad was pretty incredible. He was incredible. He's just -- he was just an old school dad who loved his children and I am so grateful my boys knew my dad and my dad knew my boys. I couldn't have had a better father. What's the hardest part about being a dad? Well, for me that took place many years ago. I had to tell my children, "The world we live in right now, some people will judge you by your appearance and not your character. And that's okay. You pray for them." 

Number two: it's tough as a father in our society today to let go, but I've had to do that and rely on God more. This is where my faith comes in. I love my boys. I don't want anything bad to happen to them, and I pray for them every night. That's important for me. In the world we live in, we have to pray for our children. You know, it's tough -- and this is something I never, I never want to experience, losing a child, whether it's on the battlefield, whether it's by disease, whether it's on the streets of this country. No one wants to lose their child, and it's tough. That's where my faith comes in. I am so thankful. God has blessed us. Letting go is the toughest thing I have to deal with, and pray that the people they come in contact see their character way beyond their appearance. 
>> Ronnie: Thank you so very much, Curtis Duncan, for those wise, profound, and so apropos words of insight and encouragement. The National Center for Fathering talks about the "I can" mind set for dads. It's an acrostic I-C-A-N. I: involvement. C: consistency. A: awareness. We're not in will will-land -- La-La land. Involvement, consistency, awareness. And N for nurturing. You know what? If you have been blessed by a dad or granddad who's involved, aware, consistent, and nurturing in your life, it's a great gift. Make sure you say thank you. Billy Graham said a good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society. I would say amen to that. Now, we've already heard from a couple of generations, and we've got one more generation to go -- actually, one more elder in our church. And now, let's hear from Chad Baker. 
>> Chad: It's such a blessing to be speaking to you dads today. I look back with such joy on the days that have come and on, and I look forward with it with such anticipation with the days and the moments that are to come; the new phases of life; the next steps with our family. I feel like if you were to ask my children how much I love them, Abby and Allie and clay Son would say "I would love them more than this much" because it was big. It was not big to Cole. I would say I love him more than a daddy T-rex because that he received and how he communicated when he little. Any time I was called to discipline him, there were two phrases I would and to this day still use. "I don't like your behavior right now." "But I love you just the same." Or "I love you too much to let you act this way. I love you too much." If I were to tell my children two or three things before they were in this world, I would look them and say, Abby, Cole, alley, and Clayton, you choose this day. You choose every day to love the Lord your God with everything you've got and to put Christ in front of everything else in your life. If you don't make that intentional, purposeful choice, the world will choose for you and is not a choice that will go well for you in your life. 

Secondly, be prepared to stand Allen. They're going to be plenty of opportunities for you to have the requirement to stand firm when the world is telling you to go in different directions; when the flow of culture is leading you down the wrong path. Be prepared to stand firm when necessary and learn to be comfortable out of place in your own place. Finally, I will be praying that the Spirit gives you the eyes to see people the way He sees them; the heart to feel the way they feel; and the ability to love them in a way that only Christ's love can just cover over the hurts and the damages to the hearts that so many people have through just walking through this world and not knowing truth. I love ocean scenery, and James 1:6 has always been a verse that I have come back to and I tend to anchor to. James is talking about asking for wisdom. He said, "Let him ask in faith without doubting for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind." Don't be driven and tossed by the wind. Who wants to be fluttering here one day and fluttering the next day as a father and not training and teaching and anchoring our children in truth? I feel like we're called to be lighthouses. We're called to have our light just constantly twirling around in the darkness and telling people where home is, telling people where solid ground is found. We don't always get this right. We just don't, and there's so many times I have to ask my children for forgiveness. I have thrown an adult fit, again, and I just have to say, "Hey, kids, I need a daddy do-over." That happens a lot, probably more than I care to admit; but there is something so human about asking your children for forgiveness, and it just helps them really know that there's no manual for this other than truth. This is our first time -- most of us -- and we're just trying to do the best we can to make the best choices for them in their lives. If I were to leave you dads with any other encouraging words, I would say this: reject passivity. Don't just hear what this world has to tell you and believe that's true. 

Don't believe that our children are just gonna "Get it," they will learn and they will make their mistakes and go and learn their lessons. You speak truth into their lives. Don't let the world take them on a journey that will put scars on their little heart. Accept the responsibility that we have, that we have been given by the Lord, and candidly, it just -- we just need to be there. We just need to be present. There are so many times that I remember my father, who was just present -- anything that I loved, he love. Anything that I was involved in, he was involved in. And that showed me love and something he did so right. Another thing he did so right is told me what he did well as a father and what he didn't do. He would say, "Chad, don't do these things because I wish I would have done these things differently." So, dads, just take that advice. Take that wisdom. Take what you know now you would have done differently and do it, do it right this time. Go forward without any regret as a parent so you can look one day and say, "I gave my kids and my wife everything I have, and now I can be at peace with my stage in life." 

Thirdly, courageously. In a world where "True" is sometimes hard to ascertain if you're not listening to that one true voice, lead your children directly to what is true. Lead them directly to our Lord Jesus Christ. And finally and most importantly, remember that you need to expect the greater reward. There's a greater end game. Christ has already won, and our main call as a parent, as a dad, is to send our kids correctly back to Christ; to just directly focus everything they do back towards that truth, that Anchor Point. In Ephesians 3:20, Paul would say, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than what we have could have ever asked or imagined according to His power that is in work within us." This is amazing. The Lord, through us, is able to do His work and speak to our children's hearts and to lead them directly back to Jesus. What an incredible call as a father and incredible blessing and what a position of humility to reflect even an ounce out of the character and the depth of love in mercy and grace that God, our Father, has for us. Dads, I would just say, let's be there. let's be 100% there. Let's be fully present. Let's grab our little children's faces -- whether they're 5, 15, 25, or 55 -- and just say, "It is such an amazing blessing and has been my life's honor to be your daddy. To be your forever daddy." Happy Father's Day, everybody. 
>> Ronnie: Fantastic, Chad. Thank you so much. Also Curtis and Kim. Just very, very inspirational. Here's a passage of Scripture from 1 Corinthians 16 as the apostle Paul is winding down this letter. He gives some very short statements, staccato messages. You would have heard this message in the three videos earlier. Let's read this passage together. 
>> Ronnie: I think that's a dad's motto: be on your guard. Don't be naive. Be alert to spiritual dangers. Know there will be subtle forces trying to attack your family so be on your guard. Stand firm in your faith, like a tree with deep roots. Keep feeding your own knowledge of the Word of God and what you believe and why. Be courageous; be strong; and do everything in love. Teach and love. Redirect in love. Coach in love. Counsel in love. Apologize in love. And if our kid, when they know we care, you know, they're with us. And, you know, no dad bats 1.000. That's why we need a Savior. When our children and families know we care, we do everything in love, even apologize in love -- that goes a long, long way. What you see here is -- Chad said this -- as men of God, we choose to reject passivity. We believe that a dad who loves the Lord in his home is a good, good gift. Guys, I salute you. I honor you. I respect you. I'm cheering you on. Never underestimate the influence of a good father. And dads, you are uniquely postured and uniquely qualified to speak into the lives of your children. No, your child may not grow to change the world but may change their community, neighborhood, and family for good as you breathe forward grace and truth -- not compromise -- grace and truth into their lives. 

Here's another passage, Psalm 103. Dads, you know how you have compassion on your children. That's how the Lord feels about you. Jesus called God "Father" over 200 times. That's the most popular term in Scripture for God, and that's His heart for you. Now, one more statement -- you'll see it here on the screen -- the essential is invisible to the eye. Now, that's not a quote from Scripture. It's a quote from Mr. Rogers, who actually has been really popular the last couple of years with a couple of movies about him. "The essential is invisible to the eye." That's a little phrase from the book "The Little Prince," and Fred Rogers kept that quote in his office; and he just said, "Pay attention to people, because what's essential about them is not something you can just observe from a distance. What's essential about me is not the color of my skin or the color of my eyes. What's essential about me is my character; my soul; my heart; and as a dad, I'm encouraging you to, in a fresh way, pay attention to your children; to those things that are not so obvious; and be intentional about building within them those incredible but yet such vital qualities, the big three. Martha and I pray over these almost every night. We pray for you as a church family to grow in these big three. What are they? Faith. Hope. Love. So, dads, I salute you in your ministry. I hope the journey will be rewarding, and my prayer for you is the statement from the Old Testament book of Malachi. "I hope the heart of your children will be turned to your and your heart will be turned to them." Now, before we conclude today, rocky Hudson, one of our elders, will come up here and will lead us in a special prayer over our families; over our dads; over our nation. Just remember, we love you. We care for you. We're praying for you. All God's very best to you, and happy Father's Day. Rocky? 
>> rocky: Will you join me in praying. Righteous Father, we praise You as our example of a good, good Father. And on this Father's Day we look to You as our model to imitate as earthly fathers. Love has been demonstrated by the Trinity, who had a love for one another even before the beginning of time. We were created in Your image. We were made for love, and the most authentic way for us to reflect Your image is to love -- not just to be recipients but to share love. You showed us love, even when we were undeserving and sent Your Only Son as the ultimate sacrifice for us. Today we honor and give thanks for our earthly fathers. We celebrate that You gave us the bless of family and ministry of fatherhood. Fathers play such a vital role in the development of children, and we thank You for all the fathers who have provided a treasure chest of love and devotion to their children. As a mentor, protector, and provider, a father influences and shapes a child's character to help them become healthy adults. Children learn by example and need a father's positive influence. We give thanks for all the fathers who have given themselves selflessly to the well being of their children. We praise those fathers who have strength to balance the demands of parenting, work, and marriage with an awareness of both joy and sacrifice. We know a childest sense of security can be influenced by seeing parents in a loving and faithful marriage. A father's loving presence provides an example of virtue and demonstrates the love of our Heavenly Father; and we honor these fathers who imitate You and share spiritual values that can have an impact for eternity. Today, we reaffirm the important role of fathers in our country. Fathers play a unique and important role, not only in the lives of children but also our nation. We pray for unity in our families and that unity is reflected throughout our nation. Now, more than ever, we pray fathers will rise to the challenge in developing a family that reflects the sacrificial love You have shown, God.. Fathers who see all children as created in Your image, no matter their color, as pressed in the children's song "Red, yellow, black, or white/they are precious in Your sight." Fatherhood remains one of the best opportunities to build a nation of people who love God and love our neighbors. To this vision we ask You to provide our fathers a heart of grace like Yours. Today we acknowledge and give thanks for those fathers who, lacking a good role model for a father, have worked to become good fathers. We acknowledge those men who have no children but cherish the next generation even as their own. We ask Your blessing on those who are about to become fathers, the new ones who endure sleepless nights, and those single fathers parenting a child alone. We give thanks for those fathers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children's lives. We give thank for stepfathers and fathers whose children are adopted. Both freely chose the obligation of fatherhood and earn the love and respect of their children. And we give special thanks for all fathers who love and have offered support and healing to their children. We ask Your comfort and peace rest upon those who have lost a child. We also give honor and praise for those fathers who have died but live on in our memory, whose love continue to nurture us even today. It is special prayer today for You go bless every father in our church. We pray You will provide wisdom; guidance; patience; protection; and perseverance. May they be strengthened to continue to serve You in such an important role. We pray You will guard their hearts and minds and keep them from evil. Let the example of their faith and love shine forth as a beacon in their family and to the world. In Jesus' Holy Name we pray, amen. Thank you for attending our services today, for joining us both in person and online. We want to ask you to go this week and your heart be a heart of Thanksgiving and that God will provide you and allow you to be blessed by His divine faith upon you. In Jesus' Name, we do dismiss you.