My Greatest Joy

Every woman is a potential mo uh mother, and I want to say today that every man is a potential father in in one way or or another.

And uh many of you may not have children, but uh uh we look to you as uh fathers uh in our lives and mentors and friends, and uh so happy father's day to all our men today.

I want you to say God's word and turn to the book of Third John.

Please the book of Third John and verse one, we don't often uh see the my daughter works in the sound of the booth back there, and she always asked me what verse, and I said third John one through four, and she said every chapter, and I said, No, no, no, just just four verses, just one little chapter here, and uh so we'll read these four verses together.

I appreciate the opportunity that we have to serve the Lord together.

I was thinking about uh Phoebe helping us on piano today, and Christy is absent, uh and uh bridges are out of town today, and so Phoebe serving the Lord, and RI serving the Lord, and Selah serving the Lord, and he's an attaining extreme.

Uh hey, that's what it's all about, is uh allowing uh the Lord to use us uh to serve him, and we get to do to do that together, and that's what a privilege that that is.

I was thinking this morning, uh it's kind of an interesting cultural thing.

Oftentimes on Mother's Day, the mom's wish is for uh all the kids to go to church.

And sometimes we think about fathers maybe going to the ocean or going to the river or spending time.

But we've never needed in our society more than we do today men to be spiritual leaders in your home and in our society, in our churches, and in our world.

And I want to encourage you to be the leader that God saved you to be.

There's lots of different types of leadership.

Uh there is, as Nancy Pearcy talked about, the real man versus the the good man.

We hear so much today about toxic masculinity, and I think we have an idea of what is meant by that term.

And in her book, she talks about the difference between the real man and the good man.

The real man is the toxic man.

But the good man is mentioned for us in scripture.

I want to be a good man.

Don't have to be powerful, don't have to be rich, don't have to be prominent, I don't have to have any of those things.

But I want to be a good man.

And I want to walk with God.

And I want my children to walk with God.

I recognize years ago I can't give to others what I didn't get from God.

And that's what we're going to talk about in the Word of God today.

Let's all stand together, may we, in reverence for God's Word, to the book of 3rd John, and verse 1.

The scripture says, the elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee.

Even as thou walkest in the truth, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

I want us to read that last verse together.

Ready, begin, please.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

And I speak on this subject today.

My greatest joy.

My greatest joy.

May we pray.

Our Father, we thank you for the loving kindness of our Lord.

That is a gift to us through the grace of our wonderful Lord.

Thank you for Jesus Christ.

Thank you for his merits that we enjoy today.

Thank you for grace, free, full, and forever, that is sufficient, that is sustaining, that's life-changing.

As was mentioned already in this service, thank you for being our Heavenly Father, a perfect picture of what on earth is often a very imperfect view.

And so as we enter into prayer, we we cry out, Our Father, which art in heaven.

Lord, may every shortcoming in my life today be overcome by a view of my Father in heaven.

May every shortcoming in the pew today be corrected by a fresh glimpse of our Father in heaven.

Speak to our hearts is our prayer.

And we praise you for we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you for standing.

Please be seated together.

Last couple of days, my wife and I were attending a wedding of a former student in the state of Vermont.

And often, as I do, I come into a town, I see something interesting, and I look it up on the internet and see if it's worthwhile, and we kind of run that way.

So I had seen an obelisk on a hill in the town of Bennington, Vermont, and discovered that Bennington was one of the real turning points in the American Revolution.

So we went to the obelisk and went to the gift shop, and I was speaking to the lady in the shop, and I said, I noticed that Calvin Coolidge was from Vermont.

Where is his home?

And she said, Well, it's a couple hours from here, but thank you for asking.

She said, Coolidge is my favorite president.

I wonder if there's anyone in the room this morning that would say their favorite president would be Calvin Coolidge.

Would you raise your hand?

Okay, okay.

One one lucky person back there in the back.

And she said, Do you know the story of his squaring in as he became president?

And I said, No.

And she said, Well, you ought to look it up, and I did.

On August the 3rd, 1923, one of the most unusual inaugurations in American history took place.

In the quiet mountain village of Plymouth Notch, Vermont.

Vice President Coolidge had just learned that Warren Harding had died in San Francisco unexpectedly.

So in the early hours of the morning, Coolidge was sworn in as the President of the United States.

Not by a Supreme Court justice.

He was not sworn in in Washington, D.C., but he was sworn in by his own father in his family home.

His father was a justice of the peace.

Now, as the oath was administered, Coolidge raised his hand and placed his left hand on his mother's Bible.

When the ceremony was concluded, it's debated how many witnesses were there, whether it were six or seven.

You have a painting here that's the recollection of a state senator that was there that evening.

I read an interesting part of the story that Coolidge's father was a Justice of the Peace, and they had collected the whole family together and to read the Constitution to make sure they did it right.

Father Coolidge took a lamp.

He held it with two hands over the desk upon which people were reading the United States Constitution.

And it finally came time for Calvin to take the oath of office.

It is said that they couldn't find his father.

They said, Where's Dad?

Well, he was in the bedroom getting his best suit and shirt and tie on for the special occasion, not emblazoned in pictures, not emblazoned anywhere in the media, but it meant so much to him to have a level of decency that fit the moment.

How awesome is that.

Calvin Coolidge said under his breath, So help me, God.

It was finished.

I loved these words, a scene the like of which you may not find in all of history.

In the mountain notch where prevails the ancestral influence of generations of righteous men and saintly women.

At night among the hills from whence cometh the strength from which men have praised God since ancient days, a venerable father had sworn his son by the oath which made him chief executive of the greatest nation in the world.

The scene reminds us of a truth far greater than political success.

Calvin Coolidge had reached the highest office in the land, but long before he became president, someone had invested God's truth in his heart.

Here in 3 John, the aged apostle John expresses a similar burden.

He rejoices not primarily because Gaius, the recipient of this letter, was prosperous or healthy or respected.

But he rejoices because Gaius was walking in the truth.

I have no greater joy, he says, than that to hear that my children walk in truth.

In a world obsessed with outward success, John reminds us that the greatest prosperity is not found in a title or a bank account or a position of influence.

It is found in a soul that prospers in the truth of God and his word.

The greatest achievement of a parent this morning remains the same, not in raising a president, but in raising a son or daughter who walks with God.

Here in 3 John, in these four simple verses, I find as a parent my greatest desire.

I hope it's your desire as well.

First of all, I want you to notice the premium of the soul.

Notice the premium of the soul.

Verse 2.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

We as human beings have a great need for prosperity, and we pursue it all of our lives.

You know, when you move, you come across little things that you never see until you come upon them in moving.

As we were moving into our house, I found straight A little diplomas that my children received when they were in elementary school.

Even at that moment, they were in their own little way searching for meaning and success in their lives.

Pursuit is in our breast, isn't it?

We spoke of that last week.

Our children will seek to make some kind of name for themselves in one of two worlds.

Now I want you to hold your place here, and I want you to go back to the book of beginnings, to the book of Genesis and chapter number four.

Genesis chapter four.

Now I want to speak for a moment about the world in which our children will seek to gain this success.

The word success is an important word.

I years ago had a friend that had been in ministry and had a very difficult pastorate.

He'd come to join our church after having to leave that ministry, and he was dejected.

He was down.

And he said, I'm just so tired of failing.

He said, I failed as a pastor, and I failed as an assistant pastor, and I failed as this, and I failed at that.

And I said, I called his name, I said, and what is your definition for success?

And he said, not failing.

Do you ever feel like that?

Do you know the word success is only found one time in the Bible?

It's found in Joshua chapter 1, verse number 8.

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate it therein day and night, and then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Success is not a goal of our lives.

Success is a byproduct of seeking the ultimate goal, and the ultimate goal of our lives should be Jesus Christ.

Here in Genesis chapter 4, we have the story of the children of Adam and Eve.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

The first two children, of course, were Cain and Abel, and we know the story.

Cain had killed his brother.

By the end of chapter 4 of Genesis, they have produced another child.

Notice in verse 17, Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch, and he built a city and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch.

And unto Enoch was born Irad, and Irad Mahujael, and Mahugiel begat Methusiel, and Methusiael begat Lamech.

And Lamech took unto him two wives.

The name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other Zillah, and Ada bare Jabal.

He was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle, and his brother's name was Jubal.

He was the father of all such as handle the harp and the organ, and Zillah, she also bare Tubulcane, and instructor of every artisfer in brass and iron, and the sister of Tubalcane was Namah.

And Lamech said unto his wives, Ada and Zillah, hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech, for I have slain a man to my wounding and a young man to my hurt.

Go down a few more verses here.

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and called his name Seth, for God said, She hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

And to Seth, to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enos.

Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

There are two families in this passage.

One seeking an earthly life, the other seeking a heavenly life.

Notice the family of Cain.

It says Enoch was a builder of cities.

It says that Lamech took two wives.

Later in the passage, identified that Lamech committed murder and would be avenged of this crime.

Ada developed livery working with cattle.

It was Jubal that made musical instruments.

It was Tubalcain that worked with metal, which might make for industry and weapons of warfare and making infrastructure possible.

It was the family of Cain that maximized their earthly potential.

They built cities, they developed cattle keeping and slaughtering and musical instruments and weaponry and city building and all of this that might make our earthly life more comfortable.

And we're not against those things.

But there's another pursuit that should be made.

And the Bible says that Adam knew his wife again.

She bare a son.

They called his name Seth.

And this fourth chapter of Genesis ends with this phrase: Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

One family had members to build cities and civilizations and frivolities and instruments to dominate the natural world.

But the other family, though very imperfect, focused on the things of God and they pursued the eternal with their lives.

One family line chased the world and lost both worlds, the then and the now.

But those who pursued Christ were most gifted to enjoy this world and the world to come.

I ask you a question today.

Which world are you seeking this morning?

The Bible says in Matthew 6.33, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

It may be a bit out of order in your notes, but notice, notice the quote I have in here.

The devil offers the false dichotomy, an either-or proposition.

The devil says to you, you can have this world or the next world.

That's what the devil says.

The devil splits you into making a decision that you can be a success in this world or you can be a success in that world, but if you seek that world, you'll have no fun and no enjoyment in this world.

But Jesus does not make the dichotomy between this world and that world.

Jesus offers the truth, a both and proposition, where if you seek his kingdom and his righteousness, you are most fitted to enjoy the life that now is.

Can I just go on record and tell you, I am going to heaven someday.

Not by my own righteousness, not by my own works.

I am going to heaven through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ who bled and died on a cross for my sin.

I'm going to enjoy heaven for all of eternity.

Who's with me?

Say amen, please.

But can I tell you something?

When you pursue Jesus Christ and you set your affection on things above, you know what God does for you?

He doesn't just give you that world.

Oh no.

He gives you this world too.

Now I'm not saying he gives you everything you want.

I'm not saying you're going to get to go everywhere you want to go and own everything that you want to own.

I'm not saying that.

I'm saying when you set your affection on Christ, it means he'll put love in your home, he'll give you peace in your heart, he'll give you joy.

I know people that are seeking this world and they never find it.

But I know people that have sought the next world and have discovered that all of this and heaven too is our inheritance as we pursue the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I want us to go back to our text and have this idea in mind as we look at what John says to Gaius.

And he speaks about three prosperities in our text.

Notice them in verse 2.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Now notice the first prosperity.

The first prosperity involved Gaius's social and domestic domain.

I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper.

That's the first one.

He wants him to succeed in business.

He wants him to succeed in his business adventures.

He wants him to succeed in his domestic life, in his social life.

The word here is used in Romans chapter 1, verse 10, where Paul says, making request if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God.

Romans 1:10

That's first level prosperity.

I want you to be blessed of God, to have the touch of God upon your life and your daily life and your family life.

I mean, if if you've had the gift of marriage and the gift of rearing children, you'd want the same gifts for your children, wouldn't you?

To have the joys that God brings in in this life.

Do you want your children to succeed in school?

To be productive members of society, to build a happy home, to start a business, to earn degrees, and pursue other things.

Sure, that's level one prosperity.

That's what John wishes for Gaius.

But notice second level prosperity.

He speaks of his physical domain.

I pray that you would be in prosperity and to be in health is the second level.

John's heard that Gaius was in good health.

So one author called our body, our earth vehicle.

Prosperity in the physical life.

But there's a third level that becomes the foundation of Gaius' life, and it ought to become the foundation of our children's lives, and it's the ultimate thing we want them to seek.

Notice how John phrases this.

I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth.

The spiritual life.

Just tell you what the soul is.

The soul is the real you, your inner life.

The Bible speaks of our spirit, our soul, our mind, our conscience, our will.

That's our soul.

One author said, Your soul is what integrates your intentions, your thoughts and feelings, your face, your body language and actions into a single life.

A soul is healthy or well-ordered when there is harmony between these three entities and God's intent for us.

When you are connected with God and with others in your life, you have a healthy soul.

As I thought about this passage, it reminded me that few men advanced further in the spiritual realm than in the other realms of life, but Gaius did.

His soul was the healthiest part of who he was.

I pray your soul prospers.

This is what John calls the premium of the soul.

In 1 Timothy 4, verse number 8, if you'd like to look it up quickly, you can do that.

Paul makes another comparison between the inner life and the outer life, saying, now you're going to think I'm going to read this quote for the first part, but just hang with the verse.

I'll get to the good one in a minute.

But bodily exercise profiteth little.

But godliness is profitable unto all things.

Here's my here's the line.

Having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Bodily exercise, the physical realm.

Godliness profits in every way, he says.

And then he says, we have the promise through being godly people of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

Again, if you're a Christian, your eternity is settled in Christ.

But I wonder how healthy your soul is today.

Having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

We cannot chase the world and find the Lord Jesus Christ.

He speaks of the premium of the soul, the real you, the most important part of you.

Verse 3.

He speaks of the proof of true success.

Notice, I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

What is the proof of Gaius' success?

There's two things John mentions here.

First of all, Gaius' behavior was observed in John's absence.

The measure of your character is not how you act when the apostle is around.

The measure of our character is what we do when we know that only God is observing our conduct.

We're thinking of our children today.

We're thinking of dads looking at their children.

We're thinking of children looking at their father.

John's rejoicing not in his children's conduct, in his observation.

No, he's rejoicing in what they do when they know he cannot see them.

The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, looking for someone in whose heart is a desire to please God.

Paul said in Philippians 2, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only now, much more in my absence, work out your own salvation, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

I think this verse is a charge for us to be the Christian God saved us to be in that place where only God sees what we do, and we do what we do not because others are watching us.

We do what we do because we know there's a God who sees us and he knows everything we're involved in, and we give account of ourselves ultimately to God someday.

Gaius' behavior was not only observed as being faithful in John's absence, but notice the second truth here.

Gaius's behavior was ongoing.

I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

The verb here has the idea of a continual process.

He was working out his faith, his sanctification was progressive and continual.

He had a pattern, shall I say?

He had a habit of righteous living.

That's what God wants for us.

And can us as parents just say an amen that the goal we have for our children is that they would continually walk in the truth.

Sometimes I preach to the church, sometimes I just preach to my kids.

Have no greater joy than to hear than you continually walk in the truth.

We had no greater desire for our children than to know that they were walking in the truth.

We're not omnipresent as parents.

We can't be everywhere at the same time.

We don't know everything, but we know that God does.

And when we're not around, we pray that they would make wise decisions.

Not just because it might disappoint us, but because sin hurts the heart of God.

And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

A true mark of success.

But notice number three, he says in verse 4, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.

And I want to speak on placing the truth in your sons and daughters.

How did Gaius get this truth in his heart?

He has the truth, he's walking in the truth, he's giving the truth, he's walking faithful.

Well, he came under instruction.

Someone gave him the truth.

He maintained a healthy soul from which he obeyed the truth.

So if it's Gaius' responsibility to live out what someone has poured into him, then someone needs to be focused on pouring the right things into him.

Hey Dad, can I just tell you this morning, your child's heart is a blank slate.

Who are you letting paint on it?

I'm going to sound like an old man for a few seconds.

Your children are forming a self-perpetuating algorithm through technology, and it will vindicate every belief they have, whether it's true or not.

We may not be intentional in our discipleship of our own children, but I can tell you there are agendas outside the walls of this church that are extremely intentional about winning the heart of your child.

Gaius, go go live it out.

Go live it out.

Go be faithful, go walk in truth.

Well, Dad, what did you write on my heart?

So I took the word teach, real creative.

Did this at 30,000 feet on Friday.

Teach.

I want to give you five things about placing the truth in the heart of your sons and daughters.

Letter T.

Transmit God's truth as much as you can, as early as you can, whenever you can, while you can.

Transmit the truth of God.

As often as you can.

Put the truth of God in their hearts.

As early as you can.

If you have young children sitting on your knee, I see some precious little babies in the room this morning.

As early as you can, whisper in their ear the name of Jesus.

As early as you can.

Transmit God's truth to them whenever you can.

Moses wrote in Deuteronomy chapter number six.

He spoke of instilling God's word into the hearts of their children when they rose up in the morning and when they went to bed at night, and when they sat by the way, and when they walked by the way, golden moments of opportunity to give the truth whenever we can.

Obviously, I was a parental expert before I had children.

Now I have children.

And I'm just thinking, God, can I can I do some things over?

But be intentional.

Whenever you can.

Give them the truth of God's word.

We were having a meeting recently, I think it was at Bible school, we did some parenting classes, and it just so happened when we were in New Smyrna, we had a super long driveway, and so we'd have one of those come to Jesus moments in the car.

Do you guys know what I'm talking about?

Like a come to Jesus moment, like nobody's going to bed.

Life has officially paused for a while.

We're going to talk this thing out.

And a lot of times we did those in the driveway, sitting in our car.

So when we moved to California, I had a retired LA County Sheriff Deputy who was my neighbor.

And fantastic neighbor, maybe slightly nosy, but we're having a come to Jesus meeting in the driveway in California, and Greg calls me and he says, Someone's sitting in a car in your driveway.

I said, Yeah, it's me, Greg.

We're having a come to Jesus moment.

He said, What is that?

I said, Well, you keep up and we'll include you in it too.

Some things can't wait.

We're going to transmit the truth whenever we can.

And we're going to do it while we can.

It's a morbid thought.

I know it is.

But one of these days, this stammering tongue will lie silent in a grave.

And my influence will be over.

Oh, but how I pray that I transmitted the truth while I could.

Teach the truth.

Listen, don't depend on the Sunday school.

Don't depend on the school teacher.

Don't depend on the pastor.

You are the discipler of your child's heart.

Take that seriously today.

E.

Exude an infectious joy in God.

Exude an infectious joy in God.

You know what I believe?

I believe that your child ought to want to pursue Jesus because of the joy that they see Christ has brought into your life.

I've known so many spiritual curmudgeons that make Christianity look like a burden and like a ball and chain.

No wonder people are ostracized by it.

No, exude a radiant joy in whose you are and what you have in the person of Jesus Christ.

Can I just say to you, if you're standing in church and your kids look up at you, you know what they ought to see?

They ought to see a worshiping, happy Christian who is gainfully, joyfully involved in worshiping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Exude a joy in God.

Letter A.

Apply the truth to your own life.

Apply the truth to your own life.

Marie and I have lots of conversations with people in ministry, lots of people whose parents were in ministry.

I'll tell you a quick story.

I was riding on my iPad on the airplane, and the stewardess came through.

So we have a we have one of those airline credit cards.

The only reason we have the airline credit card is so we can get a free drink on the plane.

And so we were getting a soda, and this lady came by and she saw me riding on my iPad, and she said, Excuse me, sir, are you a doctor?

And I said, No, ma'am, I'm a Baptist preacher.

She said, Oh, when I saw your handwriting, I thought you were a doctor.

I'm a pastor, these are my children.

I'm a PK too, she said.

How was it?

How was it?

She said, I had a great childhood.

My parents loved the Lord, but they lived what they preached.

Can I tell you how many times I've sat across the table from someone who said, My parents were Christians.

My dad was a pastor.

And he preached and believed things in the pulpit.

But he was a different person at home.

Can I just charge you with something?

The most lasting remark, the most lasting mark we make in our children's lives is not just what we transmit to them, but the transformational aspect that truth brought into our lives.

Do as I say, not as I do.

No, just do.

Apply.

Letter C.

Center your whole life on the person of Jesus Christ.

Don't be a Jesus plus Christian.

Revolve your whole life on Christ.

Jesus is not a part-time job.

Being a Christian is not just part of your Facebook profile.

Being a Christian means to adapt to Jesus' way of life.

Center your life on Christ.

Let me give you the last one, the letter H.

Hedge your children's lives with people and pastors and influences and schools and churches that seek to reinforce the truth.

Prominent politician years ago said it takes a village to raise a child.

Well, hmm.

Depends who's in your village.

Can I ask you a question?

Who's in your village?

I'll send you something a little bit, or I'll say something a little bit personal this morning.

I got a text from one of my kids.

I didn't plan to say this, but I read something that said when you're a young child, you see your dad as your superhero who has no weaknesses.

And then you become a teenager and you see your dad's weaknesses and think he's weak.

He doesn't know anything.

But then you become an adult and see that your dad was never weak, he was carrying weight.

You were too young to understand.

There are no perfect parents.

But I learned a long time ago I was going to need as many people who loved God and believed his word, speaking into my children's lives to reinforce what we were trying to put in their hearts in our home.

It's frustrating sometimes, isn't it?

We'd say, this is it, this is it, this is it, this is it, and your kid looks like you okay.

And then they have this revolutionary epiphany in their life.

And they'll come home and they'll wholeheartedly believe something said that you've been saying for years, but they believe it because someone else said it.

Takes a pastor to raise a child, it takes mentors to raise a child.

See him this week.

Want to come home and work this summer?

I said, Ethan, you think you already know everything I know.

You need to come under someone else's influence for a while.

I'm glad that God's put some great people in my children's village.

I'm grateful for many of you that God's put in my children's village.

I heard one of our men before church today giving some dating advice to my three girls.

Hey, you know who you are.

I'm really glad you're in my village.

Hedge their lives with as many faithful people as you can find.

I say as I close, you can't give what you don't have.

Your children need Jesus, but you can't give him if you don't know him.

Your children need the truth, but you can't give it if you don't have it.

But I tell you where you can find it, and in whose heart he will graciously provide it, his name is Jesus Christ.

And he wants to change your life, and he wants to change your marriage, and he wants to change your children, he wants to change your generational destiny, because that's who he is.

Come to him today.

Come to him today and let him change your life.

May we pray all around the house together.

Thank you for listening so well.

I can't force this.

I'd like to force it.

I can't force it.

But if if you are in the room today with your family, I want you to find each other.

I just want you to find each other.

Phoebe, just start playing something there.

And I I just want you to find a place of prayer today.

Some of you are in church with your parents today, and they're so grateful that you're here.

Lord, thank you for the gift of these children that you've brought into our lives to bring up in the fear and the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Lord, we confess, we confess our failures, we confess our shortcomings and the impact of our flesh upon our family.

But Lord, we've we've done the best we can to honor you.

And these presents that you've given to us, we give back to you today.

And we thank you for them.

Thank you, Lord, for what you've done in their lives.

Help them to be faithful.

Maybe a child ought to pray, Lord, thank you for my parents, thank you for my dad today.

Thank you for his faithfulness.

Help us to love each other, to encourage each other, to seek your face, to continue to walk in the truth.

May God help us.