Father's Day at Truth for a New Generation

Best-selling author, speaker and advocate for Christian apologetics Dr. Alex McFarland, best-selling author and apologist Dylan Burroughs together bringing you truths for a new generation. This is TMG radio more than 22 years ago in Greensboro, North Carolina.

It was my privilege to be part of organizing the big event in brought to town an evangelist named Dr. Bill Glasco Glass was a an NFL football player and evangelist. He had shared platform with Billy Graham very respected guy and Bill Glass came to town and in front of nearly 10,000 people in the Greensboro Coliseum. He said crime is a father problem.

The problem with our country is fatherlessness and with that, we welcome you to today's edition of truth for a new generation radio TMG radio Alex McFarland here with my good friend and colleague Dylan Burroughs hello my friend hello great to be back with you. Good to be back with you.

We had a couple weeks where I was on the road interviewing people and you've been busy doing all the work that you do with the John Ekberg ministry and with our ministry ends up let me ask you this, as we talk about family. We talk about marriage and children, and the blessing God gave the world in home and family as this years.

This is Father's Day.

What does marriage, fatherhood and family mean to you Dylan well for me. I am a father of three children. So I think immediately of my own kids and the responsibility and the privilege that I have to bring them up in the love and admonition of the Lord and over the years, I see so many times where I think that I'm a failure. But at the same time I'm still given it my best shot.

I want to encourage fathers out there today whether you think you're doing a great job, or the think you're doing a terrible job or somewhere in between. God is put you there on purpose and given you this great privilege and say when I talk a little bit about how we can do this better, and if your mom out there you're a teenager out there listing. Let's make sure all the dads out there get this message that you can do this. There is no perfect father, except your heavenly father we went to help equip you and encourage you to be better at this gift that we've been given of raising the next generation exactly and it was my privilege and I said this, giving God the glory. But I wrote a book called the 21 toughest questions your kids will ask about Christianity God in Christianity and over the course of writing that book. We interviewed a lot of families in another book came out in the aftermath of that call, abandon faith, why millennial's are leaving the church and how to bring them home. Francis Schaeffer very famously in the 60s and 70s was one of the very first voices to call the church back to biblical worldview and he said he and his wife Edith. They said that the family is the church in miniature.

It's in the family. It's in the home that we learn about love and grace restoration redemption. We learn about accountability in the in the home. We learn about law but love and the Schaeffer's very famously said that the home is the church in miniature. The family was designed by God to point our hearts and lives to the gospel to Jesus. No Dylan. That being the case I think it's no secret that Satan has attacked the family, the institution of marriage, the very definition of marriage, human sexuality, love, child rearing, in the developed world in first world nations family is not valued in childbearing and raising young people to be people of godliness and virtue and character has not been affirmed and uplifted.

In fact, it's very much been denigrated and in many ways in note looked on with contempt, but all of that is because the family is such a potent vehicle for the gospel. I would say that's why Satan has attacked the family. Would you agree will certainly and if Satan can divide the family. He can divide the church and that's what we see. Often times in our culture and it's a shame to me that when we go to church on Mother's Day. It's considered a day of honor their flowers, their videos, their special presentations but on Father's Day. It's often a time where the person speaking is making apologies and saying if you've had a bad experience with your father and giving all these caveats because there are so many people who struggle with having a good experience with her father growing up in this life, but this is not the way that it is designed to be God is considered a father and if you look at the relationship between God the father and God the son is part of the triune Godhead. You see an example where God the father says this is my son in whom I am well please. He showed unconditional love he showed great set intimacy and community and concern and this is the kind of model and example that you're talking about the we are called to have as parents, for our own children. If we hope to overcome what we see in our society today. You know, Dylan.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of years ago. Listen to the title, the Wall Street Journal, America's baby bust the nation's fertility rate is falling. This is the root cause of many of our problems and it's only getting worse. Now the Wall Street Journal reports quote 97% of the world's population now lives in countries where the fertility rate is falling and it's been long reported that in Japan the average woman that sought 3260 has had 2 to 3 abortions is very sad and their reaching what sociologists call demographic winter because they went through such a long period where consumerism, materialism, and not family were pursued and so this is kind of a first world problem, but it's interesting that study after study shows that one of the keys to happiness not only emotional stability and happiness. But even health long-term health security, even financial prosperity is so much tied to the strength and the condition of one's family, but I want to talk about the tie between family and the gospel in a culture we quoted this book before but Bradford Wilcox and Mary Eberstadt wrote how the West really lost God.

It's not an especially Christian book of the many of its conclusions to affirm what Christians and leaders like James Dobson would say, but they basically said this quote. The recent history of American religion illuminates what amounts to a sociological law that the fortunes of American religion, rise or fall with the state of the intact married family and of quote and what is that saying there's a direct tie to family life and outcomes in terms of character spirituality but were talking about walking with the gospel. Living one's life as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ men everywhere. On this day. We commend you for. We want to encourage you to just recommit and reaffirm your commitment to Jesus not only as a follower of Christ not only as husband to your spouse, but as a Christian father to your children then are the priest of our country is falling apart, political unrest, social upheaval, the breakdown of the family. The rise of atheism. The rise of Islam are religious freedoms are under attack.

There's gender fluidity gender identity is making a mess of freedom of expression. So we need to put some skin in the game and love this nation. As Christians we are to stand strong. There has to be some personal investment in the living out in the preservation of is that you face help you become a champion champion for Christ in stand strong America Jason Jimenez and I lay out the facts about our nation. The current condition and how you yes you will.

Family community can be involved in keeping this great Republic stand strong America is a guide for encouraging wherever Christian for centuries the Bible has inspired humanity and shape the very world we live in. But how do we know this book is the word of God, not merely the words of man, what we believe about the Bible is based on what we believe about the source, the God who speaks explores the evidence of the Bible's inspiration and authority to some of the world's most respected biblical scholars have essentially a geolocation sorts. True to say that Paul wrote Romans is equally true to say that God wrote Romans.

This is what we saw this and that sets the Bible apart from everything else in the ancient world and its religious pantheon of gods and goddesses.

The God who speaks is a feature-length documentary from the American family Association available now with the God who speaks.all and and and Dylan Burroughs here with Alex McFarland on truth for new generation radio and we are talking about the influence of father has on his family. The father's been called the priests of the family, and rightly so, because the influence a father has can have great impact on the life of his children in ways beyond measurement wouldn't talk a little bit about this influence and Alex.

You also have a little bit of information shared about some upcoming events that can equip us as we seek to know more about how to live out the truth of Christ, will God bless you Dylan thanks and many of you listening will know about our truth for a new generation tour we were in North Carolina in the spring of 2018 people came from 19 states and we give God the glory for that, but coming up we are going to be in September in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, September 14 and 15 and were going to be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana October 20 627 were going to have incredible people like Jay Warner Wallace and Josh McDowell and Mickey Addison of the urban family talk network and and people like Dr. Michael Brown amazing amazing working to be talking about God, the Bible, the role of Christianity in American life. And yes were going to be talking about marriage and family. TMG folks you do not want to miss the truth for a new generation is really an important conference on worldview and apologetics. It's for all ages, but it's especially for young people and if you want to win the lost equip the saved pass the baton of faith to the next generation please come to TNG go to the website, which is truth for a new generation.com truth for new generation.com. Also, I will tell you this that beginning in July. New episodes began of TNG television that run on the NRB television network throughout North America.

No matter where you are.

You can see these so please go to truth for new generation.com or my own personal website which is Alex McFarland.com but were talking about marriage and family are George Washington famously said that quote the future of our country depends on the Christian training of young people now cornerstone magazine years ago. This was reported in many outlets in 2013 since is about five years ago, but the data is is still absolutely true. A number of surveys were done on a number of pollsters. Here's what they said, quote if a father does not go to church.

No matter how faithful his wife's devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular worship. If a father does go to church regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother between two thirds and three fourths of the children will become and remain regular churchgoers. So dad's were for you we are rooting for you we we love you and God is giving you an important role, but there is we have to say very soberly and honestly, there's a direct correlation between the father's consistency in his walk and his witness bearing the fruits of the spirit modeling before your family that you are a Christ follower. There's a direct correlation between dads Christianity and the ultimate spiritual trajectory of the kids is in the Dylan will certainly and in addition to what you're saying merits not only taking your children to church and having them involved in spiritual activities, but it's living that out within the home as well that we know of many examples of father Sue may have taken their children to church growing up, but there were many problems within the home. Weatherby neglect or abuse or simply not living out the same lifestyle Monday through Saturdays you see on Sunday so there is both the need to continue to involve our children to church for the next generation but also the need to live it at daylighting which is the much more difficult task and elsewhere comes back to us as fathers that we have to step up and say not only are we going to teach the next generation of children under our authority the gospel and how to live for God.

But we have to live it day by day and talk a little bit about that that daily challenge to live out what we believe in. The influence can have on our own children will Dylan magazine called personality and social psychology review recently wrote this quote.

Kids who feel rejected by their fathers show higher rates of behavioral problems, delinquency, depression and substance abuse than those who feel rejected by their mothers and let me just say this folks, there is a direct correlation between the rise of gender confusion and homosexual ideation, homosexual activity other. There's a direct correlation of the last 40 years since all across the country. No-fault divorce laws and being able to walk away from your marriage.

Just when it becomes challenging and I know there are sometimes near the Bible says God hates divorce, and there are probably some marriages that God hates that are ungodly and and frankly toxic and I know when there is adultery abuse and abandonment sometimes in this fallen world. Regrettably, divorce is is the only outcome we know that. And God gives grace and God forgives and God restores, but over all, Dylan, we would be remiss if we didn't honestly say this the rise of character issues and violence, gang involvement, substance abuse, and yes, homosexuality is due to the state of the family and so when the father is absent in the father either physically is absent, or emotionally, psychologically rejects and doesn't lay down his life for his family that the outcomes are not pretty at all, yet the word of God tells us we quoted these verses many times in Deuteronomy 6 where very famously. God says to Israel here of Israel, the Lord our God is one that great declaration of the monotheistic nature of God.

It goes on and it talks about teaching this to your children. Having it always in front of your eyes and preeminent in your home that this family is a household devoted to the true and living God in Exodus 13 it talks about you know your kids asking dad how do I have what you've got.

When it comes to pass that your sunglass Q why do we do these things then you will say when Pharaoh wouldn't let us go God delivered us and we follow this God who is our creator Savior and daily provider protector and friend, but Dylan, the father, the Bible presupposes that the father is living in such a way that the children will ultimately say mom and dad how I have the faith that you've got and what what a sacred moment that is when a parent, especially a dad can impart to the child. The reality of Jesus that has been so prominent in their own life and nestled in a talk more about we come right back here truth for new generation radio signal if you're a Christian parent. You of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children, your pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum. The 21 toughest questions your kids will ask about Christianity. I interviewed hundreds of children ages 5 to 12 and we address actual questions from actual children. The spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids Jesus everything the book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 toughest questions your kids will ask the book study guide and video series. You'll find it@afastore.net that AFA store.net first Peter 315 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have were instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the life answers teams students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The life answers. Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams. We train speaking churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times. From a biblical perspective like is there a God is the Bible true. What about gender and moral issues. Call me at 864977 2008 and we will arrange for the life answers team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come. 864977 2008 and always be ready, how the zoning flow how vastly on the long as you deviation is only to make chairs to the Dylan back with Alex McFarland on treating the new generation radio and we're talking this Father's Day about the impact of a father on his children and there is no greater way we can do this them by taking people to the word of God showing examples showing principles, encouraging you to live out that faith in your own life so that your sons and daughters seek to have the same faith that you have an Alex as we get started in this last segment. They tells a little bit about one of the things coming up with truth for new generation all.

Thanks, Dylan. What we are so excited for what God is doing in terms of attendees and speakers speakers calling wanting to work with us national leaders that we are so honored to partner with, but folks listen to this the truth for new generation tour is rolling throughout America over the next several years and out. We need your help. God is working young people are coming to Christ. Families are being committed to the gospel and God is using this and we got a newsletter that's about to go out. So please listen very carefully. It was my privilege to do an audiobook with American family studios they took my book the God you thought you knew for your support in any amount.

This month we will send you either the book the God you thought you knew or the audiobook. Now the book is a $15 value the audiobook is is a $24 value and we recorded more than seven hours of teaching. You can get the audiobook. You can listen to it in your car or or you could give it to somebody and they can enjoy this great apologetics content while they're working out or walking, whatever, but something. Here's what we need you to do it. You can write to us and please support what God is doing. Your gift is tax deductible will be faithfully handled, gratefully received and consistently invested in the gospel. You can write to us at TNG tree for new generation just write to us at PO Box 485, Pleasant Garden, NC 27313, PO Box 485, Pleasant Garden, NC 27313 or you can go online@thetruthfornewgeneration.com. You can donate online or you could reach out to us and you could just text 555888 text the word revival and that doesn't sound like a phone number but will get it and we never share your data with anybody but if you put in your phone 555888 text the word revival. We need to hear from you and God is at work and I we wouldn't appeal to you for your help.

Unless we really believed in what God is doing and he's doing a mighty work and with that I want to bring something to take away to all this in the garden of Eden before the first church was built even before the institution of civil government.

Dylan we know God instituted the family the very first civil structure in world history was a marriage a couple, Adam and Eve and the institution of family and family is very sacred. I mean, it goes back to the very beginning and for that reason Dylan would you said the family is the cornerstone on which humanity rest really it certainly is and we see that both in the Bible as well as today, leadership expert, Dr. John Maxwell said becoming a good father is not automatic. It takes time and effort, and we must be willing to invest in this job. So dads out there and even mothers throughout their this is a calling that is from God, but a Colina takes daily practice and commitment more so even than our career more so than our hobbies and passions, our investment in our children is the ultimate investment we can make to impact both our family now and the generations to follow. So so let me give you these thoughts folks the family like the gospel and the church was given by God.

Secondly the traditional family quote unquote is the core building block of society ought to the social architects the social progressives, the people that want to affirm gay marriage and gender confusion. Let me say that there's a reason it's abuse it's pain. I've studied postgraduate studies in developmental psychology and I've interviewed hundreds of people and as a pastor counsel people all of the impetus for new definitions of family and human sexuality, and really, frankly, the, the animosity that many have toward quote traditional values. It always is born out of pain. It always is born out of wounds and and let me say this. If you've been wounded in the context of family turned to Christ. He will heal you.

He will restore you turn to Christ. Christ loves every person he will accept you as you are he will forgive your past.

He will make purpose out of your present and he can restore. The Bible says in Joel 225 that God restores the years the locust has eaten, and so don't put it off any longer.

Listen the family as designed by God has great spiritual significance.

That's my third point I want to make the family is like a gospel tract and it is no accident that the family is being attacked by Satan when he said this, the restoration of America depends on the preservation of the family. Now folks, God could snap his fingers and send a revival and a great awakening and he may and he may not. But here's the thing. The early church in the first two and three centuries.

They were able to turn upside down the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was very violent.

It was unraveling. It was fragmented.

It was brutal.

It was in many ways immoral and in many ways it was analogous to our culture today. How did the church prevail. It was on the strength of family. Great writers have documented this like Jerry Newcomb and Peter little back and Rodney Stark so we can do this. We've got to be in it for the long haul.

So want to say the time to make family your marriage your children the time to make family a priority is right now. So Dylan here. Here's the thought that I want to say if you love God and country be a champion for family say the world is a mess. Well, perhaps. So what we do love Jesus love our family be a champion for the family and impart those values your children.

Amen such great words as we close say thank you for joining us here on truth for new generation stick with this way.

The final message here for you in just a moment truth for a new generation in association with Alex McFarland evangelistic ministries exists to equip Christians with the biblical worldview through conferences and camps for information about upcoming events visit for a new generation.com or give us a call at 877 yes God one that's 877 yes, God in the number one TNG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland evangelistic ministries PO Box 485, Pleasant Garden, NC 27313 that's PO Box 485, Pleasant garden Carolina 27313 will give online@alexmcfarland.com generation.com. Thanks for listening and join us again next time. As we bring you more true for a new generation on TNG radio