THE FATHER’S HEART

Father’s Day

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Sunday, June 15, 2025

(Ephesians 1:4–8, NLT) “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”

Through Christ, your Creator can become your Father

(Luke 15:32, NLT) “We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!”

1.  To be adopted by the Father, is at the expense of Christ.

(Hebrews 2:11, NLT) “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.”

(Ephesians 1:7, NLT) “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”

• A new life.
• Debts are canceled.
• Legal heir.
• The Father becomes liable.
• Guidance
• The son has the responsibility of carrying on and honoring the name of the Father.

2.  Our Father loves us with the same love He has for Jesus.

(John 17:26, LB) “And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you so that the mighty love you have for me may be in them, and I in them.”

(John 15:9, NLT) “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.”

The great spiritual task facing me is to so fully trust that I belong to God that I can be free in the world–free to speak even when my words are not received; free to act even when my actions are criticized, ridiculed, or considered useless; free also to receive love from people and to be grateful for all the signs of God’s presence in the world. I am convinced that I will truly be able to love the world when I fully believe that I am loved far beyond its boundaries. –Henri J. M. Nouwen, Beyond the Mirror

3.  There is coming a day when the fullness of God’s glory will be manifest in us.

(Romans 8:21-23, NLT) “With eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. … And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.”

GROWTHWORK

(Galatians 4:6–7, NLT) “If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. … Because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”

1.  Live secure in Christ. – I am loved like Christ is loved.

2.  Live to encourage others in Christ. I am honored like Christ is honored.

3.  Live a grace filled life. I am his forever son.