Top 10 Father's Day Bible Verses for Sunday Sermons

For nearly 100 years, families have celebrated Father's Day honoring fathers, grandfathers and other paternal figures. On the third Sunday in June, families gather for fellowship, food and fun. Families may attend church together for Father's Day, even if they do not do so regularly.

Every year, on Father's Day. pastors, preachers and teachers tend to present messages directed at fathers, praising and admonishing fathers or expressing items of particular interest to fathers.

Several Scriptures offer excellent advice and encouragement for fathers.

Top Ten Bible Instructions for Fathers

Those attending church services on Father's Day are likely to hear some of these Scriptural passages cited from the pulpit or lectern in a Father's Day sermon or teaching.

A Father's Orders

"Hear, O Israel!
The Lord is our God,
the Lord is one!
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your might.
These words,
which I am commanding you today,
shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently
to your sons
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 up.
You shall bind them
as a sign on your hand,
and they shall be as
frontals on your forehead.
You shall write them
on the door posts of your house
and on your gates."
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9, NASB)

This classic Old Testament passage, taken from the Torah (or Pentateuch, in Greek), is known as the "Shema." These Bible verses offer the basic foundation for biblical parenting, making this Scripture ideal for a Father's Day sermon or teaching.

A Father's Treasure

"Don't you see
that children are God's best gift,
the fruit of the womb
his generous legacy?
Like a warrior's fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies
don't stand a chance against you;
you'll sweep them right off
your doorstep."
(Psalm 127:3-5, MSG)

Although parents may grow weary and frustrated at times, the Scriptures remind fathers (and mothers) that children are to be treasured as gifts from God. These Bible verses may ring truer in a Father's Day sermon or teaching than any other date on the calendar, but they are ever true.

A Father's Discipline

"My son, do not hate the Lord's training.
Do not object when He corrects you.
The Lord trains those He loves.
He is like a father
who trains the son he is pleased with."
(Proverbs 3:11-12, NIrV)

Must fathers be reminded in a Father's Day sermon or teaching to discipline their children? Perhaps not, unless they are permissive parents. Discipline is certainly a far cry from punishment, or it ought to be. The motive and method may differ drastically.

These Bible verses offer encouragement for godly fathers, attempting to steer their children through Scriptural parenting. Father's Day is a great day to honor those fathers who offer consistent and loving discipline.

A Father's Character

"Honesty lives confident and carefree,
but Shifty is sure to be exposed."
(Proverbs 10:9, MSG)

An honest father, who lives with authenticity and integrity, may be honored and celebrated daily, but particularly on Father's Day. This Bible verse highlights a father who is the same man at home as he is at work, at church and in public. The Scriptural promise of peace and confidence for such an honest man is a true blessing, especially in a sermon or teaching.

A Father's Words

"He who has knowledge
spares his words,
and a man of understanding
has a cool spirit."
(Proverbs 17:27, AMP)

Words have power to bring encouragement or discouragement, motivation or distress, particularly from a father to a child. This Scriptural admonition points particularly to fathers, who carry nearly unlimited influence over their youngsters, at least for a time.

This Bible verse fits neatly into a Father's Day sermon or teaching, as it offers a clear description of the speech habits and self control of a godly father.

A Father's Leadership

"Don't fail to correct your children.
You won't kill them by being firm,
and it may even save their lives."
(Proverbs 23:13-14, CEV)

Dads who dare to discipline, tempered with wisdom and patience, actually demonstrate their love for their children. Fathers who care enough to pay attention and exercise godly authority can steer their offspring in a positive direction.

Although this Scripture may seem aimed at correcting children, as it is, the Bible verse is also fitting for a Father's Day sermon or teaching, because it offers important instruction for parenting.

A Father's Sonship

"Hearken unto thy father
that begat thee,
and despise not thy mother
when she is old."
(Proverbs 23:22, KJV)

Although they may grow into adults, sons remain sons of their parents, as long as those parents live. This Bible verse offers a wonderful Father's Day reminder for fathers. Although adults may not be guided daily by their own parents, they are still called by Scripture to respect and honor them. This Bible verse is most appropriate for a Father's Day sermon or teaching.

As fathers enjoy the affection and accolades of Father's Day, may they remember to honor and bless their own dads as well.

A Father's Testimony

"Tell it to your children,
and let your children
tell it to their children,
and their children
to the next generation."
(Joel 1:3, NIV)

Wise words are not lost on younger generations, even when they do not seem to be listening. The lessons and legacies of the past can only be continued, if they are shared with future generations.

This Old Testament Bible verse admonishes fathers to pass on their experiences, stories and lessons of faith to their offspring. What could be a more appropriate Scripture for a Father's Day sermon or teaching?

A Father's Temper

"Fathers,
do not irritate and provoke
your children to anger
[do not exasperate them to resentment],
but rear them [tenderly]
in the training and discipline
and the counsel and admonition
of the Lord."
(Ephesians 6:4, AMP)

Has any father not been irritated or exasperated at some time by the behavior, words or attitudes of his children? Even so, the Scriptures warn fathers about the dangers of provoking children through tyrannical parenting and unfair parenting.

This Bible verse contains plenty of truth for a Father's Day sermon or teaching on fatherhood with firmness and fairness, the blessed balance.

A Father's Patience

"Fathers,
do not provoke or irritate
or fret your children
[do not be hard on them
or harass them],
lest they become discouraged
and sullen and morose
and feel inferior and frustrated.
[Do not break their spirit.]"
(Colossians 3:21, AMP)

This Bible verse might be a strategic tandem for the previous one in a Father's Day sermon or teaching, as it confirms the Scriptural truth expressed in Ephesians 6:4.

Perhaps the fact that the Apostle Paul had opportunity to address the same issue with both the Ephesian and Colossian churches indicates that this may be a common concern for fathers and children. Why not address this issue in a Father's Day sermon or teaching?

Paternal Preaching and Prayer

Of course, a Father's Day sermon or teaching ought to be accompanied by specific prayer for fathers and families. Without the Lord's help, who could be a suitable, faithful and godly parent?

About Father's Day

Actually, Father's Day started in 1909. Sonora Smart Dodd, a young person in Spokane, Washington, was listening to a Mother's Day sermon in church. Sonora's mother had died in childbirth, and her father, Henry Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran and farmer, was raising Sonora and her five siblings as a single parent. Sonora decided, then and there, to celebrate a special day to honor her father.

In 1924, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge officially urged Americans to celebrate a national Father's Day. By 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a Presidential Proclamation, designating the third Sunday of June as Father's Day. President Richard M. Nixon signed a 1972 bill, making the holiday legal, official and permanent.

Abbreviations of Scripture Translations Used:

AMP = The Amplified Bible (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation).

CEV = Contemporary English Version (Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society).

KJV = King James Version (Public Domain)

MSG = The Message (Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson).

NASB = New American Standard Version (Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation).

NIRV = New International Readers Version (Copyright © 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society).

NIV = New International Version (Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society).

NLV = New Life Version (Copyright © 1969 by Christian Literature International).

NLT = New Living Translation (Copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.).