Raising the Incredible Hulk
Father's Day
Steve Jones
Judges 13
Introduction: A little boy went to his father after school and said "Dad, I think I flunked my arithmetic test." His Dad was a positive thinker and constantly working on his son's attitude so he responded: "Son, don't say that; that's negative. Be positive." So the boy said, "Okay, Dad. I am POSITIVE I flunked my arithmetic test."
Having the right attitude is critical to successful parenting. Not only do we need to have the right attitudes as parents, but we want to impart the right attitudes to our children. Samson is "The Incredible Hulk" of the Old Testament. Bruce Banner's most famous, oft-repeated line could easily have been uttered by Samson: "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
But before Samson was born his parents had an encounter with God in which Samson's father, Manoah, models for us the proper attitudes of a Godly father. In fact, when it comes to Godly character, Manoah was much stronger than Samson ever was. As Alex Karras said "Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not the muscles." Let's review those attitudes today with an eye to incorporating them into our own practice.
I. THE ATTITUDE OF A FATHER TOWARD HIS WIFE – PARTNERSHIP Judges 13:6-11
As this story begins, Manoah's wife is by herself when the angel of the Lord appears to her and predicts the birth of her son and gives her some instructions on his pre-natal care.
There are several clues in these verses that indicate Manoah's attitude toward his wife is one of partnership.
The first clue is the wife's eagerness to tell Manoah of the highly unusual experience she'd had. There seems to be no hesitation or reservation that she might not be believed or taken seriously. She viewed her husband as her trusted confidant. That level of trust and open communication could only result from Manoah's track record of respectful listening to his wife on past occasions.
The seco ...
Father's Day
Steve Jones
Judges 13
Introduction: A little boy went to his father after school and said "Dad, I think I flunked my arithmetic test." His Dad was a positive thinker and constantly working on his son's attitude so he responded: "Son, don't say that; that's negative. Be positive." So the boy said, "Okay, Dad. I am POSITIVE I flunked my arithmetic test."
Having the right attitude is critical to successful parenting. Not only do we need to have the right attitudes as parents, but we want to impart the right attitudes to our children. Samson is "The Incredible Hulk" of the Old Testament. Bruce Banner's most famous, oft-repeated line could easily have been uttered by Samson: "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
But before Samson was born his parents had an encounter with God in which Samson's father, Manoah, models for us the proper attitudes of a Godly father. In fact, when it comes to Godly character, Manoah was much stronger than Samson ever was. As Alex Karras said "Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not the muscles." Let's review those attitudes today with an eye to incorporating them into our own practice.
I. THE ATTITUDE OF A FATHER TOWARD HIS WIFE – PARTNERSHIP Judges 13:6-11
As this story begins, Manoah's wife is by herself when the angel of the Lord appears to her and predicts the birth of her son and gives her some instructions on his pre-natal care.
There are several clues in these verses that indicate Manoah's attitude toward his wife is one of partnership.
The first clue is the wife's eagerness to tell Manoah of the highly unusual experience she'd had. There seems to be no hesitation or reservation that she might not be believed or taken seriously. She viewed her husband as her trusted confidant. That level of trust and open communication could only result from Manoah's track record of respectful listening to his wife on past occasions.
The seco ...
There are 18999 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
