Series Title: Remain
Sermon Title: Rooted Men
What’s true on the outside isn’t always true on the inside.
Disconnected things can look healthy long after they’ve stopped receiving life.
John 15:5 NIV
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Children who grow up without an involved father are statistically more likely to experience things like:
• Poverty
• Behavioral problems
• School discipline issues
• Substance abuse
• Incarceration
• Mental health struggles
Father’s Carry Influence
Deut 6:4-7 NIV
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Faith was never intended to be something we occasionally attend, it was meant to be something we intentionally live.
Kids imitate what we (fathers) demonstrate more than what we declare.
Culture isn’t built by what we occasionally or even consistently emphasize. Culture is built by what we consistently practice.
Our kids don’t learn our values simply because we talk about them. They learn values because they watch us live them.
John 15:16 NIV
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Jesus wants us as men to think differently…Jesus wants us to think generationally.
Ps 1:1-3 ESV
1 Blessed is the man[a] who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
Eventually what flows into us flows through us.
The greatest thing you can give the people you love is a life deeply connected to Jesus.
Talk It Over Questions
1. Who is a man (father, grandfather, coach, pastor, mentor, etc.) who has had a positive spiritual influence on your life? What made their influence so impactful?
2. Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." Why do you think it's possible for someone to look spiritually healthy on the outside while being disconnected from Jesus on the inside? Have you ever experienced a season like that?
3. The message emphasized that fathers and men carry tremendous influence and that "rooted fathers create rooted families." Who are the people currently being influenced by your life, and what do you hope they are learning from your example?
4. The sermon challenged us with the idea that faith is caught more than it is taught. If the people closest to you only learned about following Jesus by watching your life—not listening to your words—what would they learn?
5. The message talked about leaving behind "fruit that lasts" and a spiritual legacy that impacts future generations. When your children, grandchildren, family, or friends look back on your life one day, what do you hope they will say mattered most to you? What evidence of that are they seeing today?
6. What is one practical step you can take this week to deepen your connection to Jesus and bear fruit that lasts?
Ask Your Kids
Where I Live Matters to God
Jeremiah 29:1-4
1.If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
2. When God’s people were far from home, God told them to seek peace and pray to God for the city they were in, called Babylon. Where the Israelites lived mattered to God, and where we live matters to God too. How can this Bible story remind us that where we live matters to God?
3.God sent Jesus so we could have a relationship with Him. We can follow God no matter where we live, whether we like where we are or not. How can you follow God right now where you live?
