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All right, welcome back to All Things Reformed Baptists. Today I want to talk about the role of the father in the household. Did you know that as a father, you are called as the shepherd of your household? So let's let's talk about that. Let's talk about fathers. I I am a father of five beautiful, wonderful kids. So let's talk about fathers. Not the sitcom version, the ones that you see on TV that make an absolute mockery of today's father. Not the cultural version that reduces a man to a paycheck, a coach, or a buddy. No, let's talk about the biblical version of fathers. The Bible gives fathers a weighty, non-negotiable calling in the home, and we need to recover it with clarity and courage. Much of what I'm going to say resonates deeply with the principles that an excellent guy who passed away this past year, his name is Bodhi Bacham, lays out in a book called Family Shepherds, that the home is the primary place of discipleship, and fathers are the primary disciplers. So start, let's, let's let's start with the plain command. In Ephesians chapter 6, verse 4, it says, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Notice who is addressed: fathers. Fathers, not mothers only, fathers, not the youth pastor, not the Christian school, dads. The word bring them up carries the idea of nourishing and nurturing towards maturity. Discipline and instruction at the Lord means forming children in the fear of the Lord, correcting them, and teaching them the ways of Christ. This is not a side project. It is actually the central calling of a man. Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 6 to 7 presses the same truth with even more intensity. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. So that's Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 6 to 7. See, the primary classroom is the home. This is not outsourcing, this is ownership. And this is where Vodhi Bakam has been especially helpful here. In Family Shepherds, again, you should you should pick up that that mighty impactful yet small book. He argues that the family is the first and foundational sphere of discipleship. The church supports and equips, but it does not replace the father. When men treat the church's programs as the main engine of their children's spiritual formation, they have already stepped away from their God-given posts. Balcom insists that fathers must actively shepherd leading family worship, catechizing, correcting, encouraging, and modeling the gospel in everyday life. The goal is not perfect performance, the goal is faithful presence and intentional leadership. Scripture shows us what this leadership looks like. Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. We get that right out of Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25. That same sacrificial posture shapes how a man fathers. He does not lead by selfish demand, he leads by laying himself down, his time, his energy, his preferences, for the spiritual good of his household. 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 make managing one's household well a basic qualification for an elder. If a man cannot shepherd the little flock under his own roof, he is not ready to help shepherd the church. The home is the quote unquote proven ground. Fathers are also called to a multi-generational vision, right? Psalm 78, verses 5 through 8 speaks of God establishing a testimony and appointing a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, so that they should set their hope in God. You see, fathers are links in a chain. We receive the faith and we are responsible to pass it on with clarity and conviction. When fathers are absent, passive, or distracted, well that chain weakens. Practically, this means several things. It means leading regular family worship, you know, reading scripture, praying, singing, talking about the things of God in the home. It means knowing your children well enough to apply the gospel to their specific sins and struggles. It means consistent loving discipline that is not reactive anger but formative correction. It means prioritizing the gathered church so that your children see that the body of Christ matters. It means confessing your own sins to your family when you fail so they learn that the gospel is for real sinners. This calling can feel heavy. Many men did not see it modeled. Many feel inadequate. But the same gospel that saves us also empowers us. Christ shepherds his people, and by his spirit, he enables fathers to shepherd their homes. You do not have to be a perfect theologian or a natural teacher. You have to be present, intentional, and dependent on grace. Open the Bible in your living room. Pray with your children. Talk about Jesus when you sit, walk, lie down, and rise. Correct them in love. Point them to the cross over and over again. The church needs men who will own this. Families need fathers who refuse to outsource the discipleship of their children. The next generation needs to see that the faith is not a Sunday event, but a whole life reality lived under the headship of a godly man. Dads, the assignment is clear for you and I. Shepherd the flock that is under your roof. Do it with the word, do it with patience. Do it in the strength that Jesus supplies. The Lord of the household is watching. And he is able, he is able to make your labor and my labor fruitful. But that is it for today. I look forward to seeing you next time.