Day: June 15, 2014

25 Facts On The Importance Of Fathers – Reblog The Gospel Coalition

25 FACTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FATHERS by Joe Carter, editor, Gospel Coalition (June 13, 2014)

fatherandson

In Scripture the word “father” is found more than 1,100 times. Yet in America it’s become increasingly harder to find a father in the home. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children in America — one out of three children — now live in a home in which the biological father is absent.

Increasing father involvement in their children’s live is one of the most important ways to address material and spiritual poverty in this country. One way we can do that is to reiterate the importance of fathers and the difference their presence makes. Almost every study conducted in the social sciences confirms what the Bible teaches — fathers matter.

Here are 25 facts from social science research on the effects of having a father in the home:

1. Children living with fathers in the home tend to fare better on cognitive achievement and behavioral outcomes.

2. Adolescents living in intact families tend to report closer relationships with their fathers.

3. Among urban fathers, those who frequently attend religious services tend to be more engaged with their children.

4. Close relationships between adolescents and their fathers are positively associated with adolescents’ psychological well-being.

5. Adolescents with more involved fathers tend to exhibit lower levels of behavioral problems.

6. Adolescents who report having more positive relationships with their fathers are less likely to engage in delinquency.

7. Adolescents who report having more positive relationships with their fathers are less likely to abuse substances.

8. Individuals whose fathers showed more involvement in their lives early on tend to attain higher levels of education.

9. Growing up without a father appears to be associated with greater likelihood of incarceration later in life.

10. Fathers’ religiosity is linked to higher quality of parent-child relationships.

11. Fathers’ engagement in their children’s activities was linked to higher academic performance.

12. Among adolescent girls, those who have a strong relationship with their fathers are less likely to report experiencing depression.

13. Close father-adolescent bonds protect against the negative influence of peer drug use.

14. Adolescent girls who have a close relationship with their fathers are more likely to delay sexual activity.

15. Adolescent girls whose fathers were present during their childhood are less likely to become pregnant.

16. Adolescent males who report a close relationship with their fathers are more likely to anticipate having a stable marriage in the future.

17. Men who become fathers outside of marriage are more likely to be poor.

18. Fathers of intact families spend, on average, more time with their children.

19. Children raised in intact families by happily married parents tend to be more religious in adulthood.

20. Children raised in intact families are more likely to have stable and healthy romantic relationships as adults.

21. Intact families are more likely to provide a safe home for children.

22. Adolescent girls who have never lived apart from their parents are less likely to report sexual abuse than those who have.

23. Girls who experienced a parental separation during childhood are more likely to engage in early sexual activity.

24. Among teenage boys, those from intact families with frequent religious attendance average the fewest sexual partners.

25. Children in father-absent homes are almost four times more likely to be poor.
_____

For more information: go to FAMILYFACTS.ORG

Trinity Sunday: Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9; Daniel 3:52-56; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18 ~ Holy, Holy, Holy

TRINITY SUNDAY

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence:

On this Trinity Sunday, we worship the One who creates, redeems and sanctifies, three persons, one God, without end.

Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy”


__________

A Reading from the Old Testament: Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9 (NLT)

Trinity symbol

So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.

Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,

“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness….”

_____

Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped. And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.”
__________

A Reading from the Book of Daniel:  Daniel 3:52-56 (DRA)

Blessed art thou, O Lord the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever: and blessed is the holy name of thy glory: and worthy to be praised, and exalted above all in all ages.

Blessed art thou in the holy temple of thy glory: and exceedingly to be praised, and exceeding glorious for ever.

Blessed art thou on the throne of thy kingdom, and exceedingly to be praised, and exalted above all for ever.

Blessed art thou, that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the cherubims: and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever.

Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise, and glorious for ever.
__________


__________

A Reading from the Letters: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 (NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

Greet each other with Christian love. All of God’s people here send you their greetings.
__________

A Reading from the Gospels: John 3:16-18 (NLT)

christ-on-cross (1)

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son….”

Intercessions:

To You, Great God, be the glory – Trusting in Your grace and confident of Your mercy, hear our prayers.

+ For all believers – that we may know and experience Your love in whatever circumstance we find ourselves today….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For people who search for the truth – that You may embrace them with love and draw them into Your family….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For all who seek peace and justice – that we may inspire the peoples of the earth to work together toward that end….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For our faith communities around the world – that our Christian witness may be visible in the kind way we treat each other….
Lord, hear my prayer.

+ For all who are brokenhearted, confused, lost, sick, weak or poor – that the generosity of your people might offer help and hope….
Lord, hear our prayer.

+ For our loved ones who have died and those who mourn their loss – that we may live with the certain hope of resurrection, amd give glory and praise to God for ever more….
Lord, hear my prayer.

God of infinite mercy, hear the prayers of your people — who give praise for all the good things that come from you, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
__________

Hymn “To God Be the Glory”


__________

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Married Fathers: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty – Reblog

Married Fathers: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty

By Robert Rector

AB54462The mainstream media, liberal politicians, activists, and academia bewail child poverty in the U.S. But in these ritual lamentations, one key fact remains hidden: The principal cause of child poverty in the U.S. is the absence of married fathers in the home.

According to the U.S Census, the poverty rate in 2008 for single parents with children was 35.6 percent. The rate for married couples with children was 6.4 percent. Being raised in a married family reduces a child’s probability of living in poverty by about 80 percent.

__________

Here are some of the highlights of this report:

+ Marriage is rapidly declining in American society… creating a two-caste system, with marriage and education as the dividing line…. Single parents now comprise 70 percent of all poor families with children.

+ Children from single-parent homes are:

  • More than twice as likely to be arrested for a juvenile crime
  • Twice as likely to be treated for emotional and behavioral problems
  • Roughly twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school
  • A third more likely to drop out before completing high school.

+ The effects of being raised in a single-parent home continue into adulthood.

  • Children from broken and single-parent homes are three times more likely to end up in jail by the time they reach age 30.
  • Girls from single-parent homes are more than twice as likely to have a child without being married.
  • Children living in single parent homes are 50 percent more likely to experience poverty as adults.

+ Government Complicity

In social service agencies, welfare offices, schools, and popular culture in low-income communities across America, one finds deafening silence on the topic of marriage. The welfare system actively penalizes low-income couples who do marry.

At the beginning of the War on Poverty, a young Daniel Patrick Moynihan, serving in the Administration of President Lyndon Johnson, wrote a seminal report on the negative effects of declining marriage among blacks. The Left exploded, excoriating Moynihan and insisting that the erosion of marriage was either unimportant or benign.

Four decades later, Moynihan’s predictions have been vindicated. The erosion of marriage has spread to whites and Hispanics with devastating results. But the taboo on discussing the link between poverty and the disappearance of husbands remains as firm as it was four decades ago.

+ Marriage: The Antidote to Poverty

To reduce poverty in America, policymakers should enact policies that encourage people to form and maintain healthy marriage and delay childbearing until they are married and economically stable. Marriage is highly beneficial to children, adults, and society. It needs to be encouraged and strengthened, not ignored and undermined.

__________

For the full report, click here.

Robert Rector is Senior Research Fellow in the Domestic Policy Studies Department at The Heritage Foundation.