NO. LIVERMORE — At the North Livermore Baptist Church June 20 service, the congregation was welcomed in by Pastor Bonnie Higgins at 9:30 a.m. to begin the service. The Call to Worship was read and the Invocation/Lord’s Prayer was recited. The hymns that were sung were “God of Our Fathers”, “Faith of Our Fathers”, and “The Bond of Love”. The service was concluded with “Go Now in Peace”. Linda Lyman is the organist each week.

As it was Father’s Day Sunday, a gift was handed out to each man in the congregation. The sermon was entitled “It’s Father’s Day”, and the scripture reading was from Ephesians 6:4. Pastor Bonnie welcomed all the men in the service for being great fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, and mentors to others. Pastor Bonnie began with some sayings about kids and fathers (parents). As they say, kids say the darndest things! Proverbs 22:6 says “bring up a child in the way he should go…and when they are old…they will not soon depart from it”. As parents, we try and bring our children up to love the Lord and to follow in His steps, sometimes they choose another path. As you know, from the story of the Prodigal Son in the Bible, a child will return to their father and family. Sometimes as we stray from the path that God has laid out for us, but we know that God will always be there with us as we reach out to Him, He brings us back into His arms.

As fathers, or as parents, we should follow what God does for us. He loves us unconditionally. Whatever we do, or don’t do, God still loves us. God also will discipline His children. God does not discipline in anger and neither should we as parents. God’s wrath is saved for those who reject His Son, not for His children. We should bring up our children in the ways of the Lord. When a family worships together each Sunday in church, we are telling our children to put God first above everything else. We need to set an example for our children, reading the Bible, praying, and going to church. God should be our example of the way we live our lives. As we encourage our children to be the best they can be, so doesn’t God encourage His children. God encouraged Moses at the burning bush when He told him to deliver the nation Israel. God encouraged Joshua when he set out to conquer the Promise Land. Jesus encouraged the disciples to go out and spread the Good News to other nations. God is an encourager, and as parents, we should be too.

Pastor Bonnie said that those are the things that God is to us. What should we be doing to be a better parent? First, we need to love God with all our heart and soul. We must live our lives as God would want us to. We need to love the other parent. Our children are watching how we treat their other parent. Even if you are divorced, treat each other with love, as God loves you. Set an example for your children. Thirdly, we need to love our children, no matter what. Spend time with them, love them, talk to them, get interested in their lives and their friends. Fourthly, have integrity. Keep your promises to them, show them an honest day’s work, be in good relationships, and fulfill your commitments. And lastly, be a role model of God to them. Live a Godly life, show them the love God has for them and the love you have for God.
It is tough being a parent in these days, especially a father, we just need to remember that God is on our side and nothing is impossible with Him. We can conquer being a parent with God on our side. If we want our children to live like Jesus, parents need to as well. It is hard to be a parent these days, there are many obstacles in our way. God tells us to put Him first and He will make things new in our lives.

Announcements listed in the bulletin were that the congregation will be collecting Mac and Cheese for the Food Pantry. The month of June we are collecting for One Great Hour of Sharing. A special event is coming on Sunday, July 4. The AA meetings are held on Friday nights at the church. For information, check out the new website at northlivermorebaptistchurch.org. You can email the church at nlbcmaine@gmail.com. Pastor Bonnie’s office hours are Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

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