Robert Wolgemuth - The Fathers Plan: A Bible Study for Dads

THE FATHERS
PLAN

A BIBLE STUDY FOR DADS

2010 by Robert D. Wolgemuth

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

The publisher is grateful to Steve Halliday of Crown Media, Ltd., for his collaboration and writing skills in developing the content for this book from the text of the Dads Bible; notes written by Robert Wolgemuth.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from New Century Version. 1987, 1988, 1991, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4185-4305-1

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

With the busy schedules you and I keep, and with plenty of unfinished tasks clamoring for our attention, is it really necessary to set aside time to study the Bible? Dont we have more productive things to do than spend a few minutes each day with an ancient book? Wouldnt God rather have us use this time to enjoy a second cup of coffee with our wives or hang out with our kids?

These are good questions, for sure. Ones Ive asked countless times since getting married and having children.

Let me take a run at an answer that I think makes sense...

When I buy something new, Im always tempted to start assembling without reading the instructions. Its the ultimate challenge. Sure, it looks complicated with all those loose parts littering the floor, but sometimes I whisper to myself, Am I man enough to put this thing together on my own?

Unfortunately, more often than not, Ive had to go back to those dreaded instructions. Sometimes going it alone has cost me time and energyand frustrationthat I would have avoided had I read the instructions to begin with.

Since you graduated in the top half of your class, youre way ahead of me on this, arent you?

The Bible is the ultimate instruction Book for your life and mine. Its our inspired source of absolute, divine authority and instruction. The Bible is the most reliable place for you and me to hear God speak. We could dive into managing our lives and trying to assemble the pieces without reading the Instruction Book... or we could do the smart thing.

Im voting for the smart thing.

There is no other book like the Bible. God took more than fifteen hundred years and used forty-five different authors to write it. No small task! You probably know its the best-selling book of all time, with almost 500 million copies distributed every year and a total of more than 6 billion in print. I know its hard to imagine, but men and women down through the centuries have literally given their lives to preserve the Bible.

Although we could say a lot more about it, the Bible has some very important things to say about itself. Consider just a few:

[Jesus said to His Father], Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17 NKJV). The Bible is truth.

Jesus said... Blessed are those who hear the teaching of God and obey it (Luke 11:28). The Bible brings us blessing.

As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can grow up and be saved (1 Peter 2:2). The Bible helps us to grow.

Your word is like a lamp for my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105). The Bible gives us guidance.

[The apostle Paul said,] I am proud of the Good News, because it is the power God uses to save everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). The Bible gives us power.

Several years ago, Thomas Nelson Publishers asked me to write the notes to the Dads Bible. It was released in 2007 with the goal of helping menhusbands and fathersdiscover for themselves the wonder of this amazing Book. Then the publisher asked me to put together this book, The Fathers Plan: A Bible Study for Dads, to help you dig for yourself into some of the truth, blessing, growth, guidance, and power found in the Bible. Having your own copy of the Dads Bible would help as you go through this study, but it certainly isnt required. Although youll find occasional references to stories and comments in the Dads Bible, youll be able to get by in this study without having one. Your own Bible should work just fine.

My friend Steve Halliday, a gifted editor and writer in his own right, helped me organize this study guide in order to make it both user-friendly and helpful for your study, by yourself or with a group of other men who also want to hear Gods voice through the pages of His Word.

We suggest that you block out seven weeks to go through The Fathers Plan. Maybe this will begin a new habit (they say that it takes forty days to start one) of reading and studying the amazing things God tells us through His Word.

While the arrangement of the contents of each week may vary slightly from lesson to lesson, the material always offers an in-depth opportunity for you to dig into selected Scripture passages and discover the truth that God has for you (we also provide page numbers from the Dads Bible for your convenience). Youll find five separate lessons marked Day One through Day Five that you should be able to complete in a week. Each days lesson includes questions that will lead you into a deeper understanding of the text and give you an opportunity to make personal application of Gods Word.

Then we encourage you to get together with your groupthree to five men who have agreed to do this study togetheronce a week to discuss what youve been learning. Look for a few Huddle Up questions at the end of each weeks study to guide your group conversation.

Just so you can see where were going, take a look at the seven lessons well be covering:

1. Your Primary Responsibility as a Father

2. Developing Personal Holiness

3. Building Godly Character into Your Children

4. Asking for Directions

5. Your Closetful of Hats

6. The Greenhouse Effect

7. Pick Me, Pick Me

Theres also an epilogue at the end, called Thou Shalt Smile. This includes some of my favorite funny material. Its tucked back there for no other reason than to give you a chance to smile. You may never get to this material, and thats fine, of course. Or you may use it like the candy dish on the coffee table... popping a sweet in your mouth whenever you walk by. Theres no secret reason for this section to be in this study guide. Its there just for fun.