In 2007 the congregation read through "The Message" New Testament by Eugene Peterson. This lesson is taken from the assigned reading from June 10-16.

1. Two Views of Fishing Sometimes there are effects of our influence that we may never know. G. Brook Adams kept a diary from his boyhood.

2. One special day when he was eight years old, he wrote in his diary, "Went fishing with my father; the most glorious day of my life."

3. Throughout the next 40 years of his life he never forgot that day he went fishing with his father, he made repeated references to it in his diary, commenting on the influence of that day on his life.

4. Brook's father was an important man; he was Charles Francis Adams, the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain under the Lincoln administration. Interestingly, he too made a note in his diary about the fishing trip. He wrote simply, "Went fishing with my son; a day wasted."

5. Of course the day was not wasted; its value may well have proved to make it one of the most well-spent days in his life. No one can measure the influence of a man on his children, and that is all the more reason to take the job and its responsibilities seriously.

6. Someone has written, "last night my little boy confessed to me some childish wrong; and kneeling at my knee, he prayed with tears, 'O Lord, make me a man like Daddy - wise and strong. I know you can.”

7. 'Then while he slept, I knelt beside his bed, confessed my sins and prayed with low-bowed head, 'O God, make me a child like my child here; pure, guileless, trusting thee with faith sincere.'“ What kind of a father are you?

8. Luke 15:20 MSG He got right up and went home to his father. "When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.

9. 21 The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'

10. 22 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

11. 23 Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time!

12. 24 My son is here--given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time.

13. God the Father, in Luke 15 In Luke 15 Christ related to the people one of the most poignant stories in all literature, that of the prodigal son.

14. In verses Luke 15:20-24 we learn some things about the father that Christian fathers need to imitate as they try to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

15. He was patient -Although the son had been gone a long time (long enough for a famine to ravage the land), the father was still looking.

16. He "saw him a long way off." His eyes never tired of looking for his wayward son. Fathers, how patient are you with your children when they falter on life's pathway?

17. He was loving -When he saw his son coming, he ran to him. He could not wait for his son to come to him.

18. He immediately hugged and kissed his son. The father did not even ask for an explanation of where he had been or what he had been doing.

19. He was forgiving -We know he was forgiving because his actions demonstrated it. So anxious was he to forgive his son that he did not let him finish his plea.

20. Luke 15:18 MSG I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; 19 I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.'

21. (In Luke 15:18-19 the son plans to ask his father to make him a servant. But the father cuts him off before he gets that far, Luke 15:21-22 ).

22. Luke 15:21 MSG The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'

23. 22 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

24. The father restored his wayward son to his original place and treated him with the highest honor. Fathers, how forgiving are you of your children when they do wrong?

25. He had his priorities in the right place -The most important thing was not that his son had sinned, not that he had taken advantage of his father,

26. not that he had caused his father untold grief; the most important thing was that his son was alive and had come home.

27. The Family Gail Dean Peterson Diadems and Magistrates Are all part of God's plan But He reserved for His most holy work The little family clan.

28. A father and a mother Were chosen to do God's work. What kings and princesses couldn't do With all their glamorous looks.

29. A parent’s job can change the tide Of a government out of control. If they teach the principles of God That keeps a nation whole.

30. A family is a government, Though small I will admit. But it can keep us law abiding If all the policemen quit.

31. A family is a small, small school, With the Bible the only book. The children will be so very wise, When to God they daily look.

32. The Family is a little church, To worship and obey, To stand out in front in God's defense, to hold till that great day.

33. Without this little nucleus, The government, church, and school, God has lost His perfect plan, The family was his tool.

34. So don't destroy God's strategy, Don't tear the family apart. God's plan is always the best design, Father the head and mother the heart .