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Fathers Day 2026 Discussion Guide
weekend in review
This Father’s Day, Dave unpacked Paul’s closing charge to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 16:13–14: “be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, and do everything in love”. Using the story of the Titanic’s missed distress signal, the interlocking roots of coast redwoods, and a tense encounter in a parking lot, Dave showed how these five commands shape the kind of man — or woman — others can run toward instead of fear. The thread tying it all together is this phrase: “Strength without love isn’t character, it’s just a threat”. Jesus, both Lion and Lamb, is the one who has lived all five out perfectly.
WARM UP
Think of someone who felt like a “hero” to you when you were young — a parent, coach, teacher, or mentor. What made them feel that way to you?
DISCUSSion
Select questions from the list below to guide your discussion time.
- Dave described how easy it is to “sleepwalk” through life — distracted by phones, Netflix, or a hobby — and miss warning signs that matter, the way the SS Californian‘s radio operator slept through the Titanic’s distress call. In 1 Corinthians 16:13, Paul urges believers to “be watchful.” Where in your life right now might God be asking you to wake up and pay closer attention?
- Dave compared standing firm in faith to coast redwoods, whose shallow roots intertwine with the trees around them for strength. He said, “a man rarely drifts from God in a crowd. He drifts alone.” See Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 for a good description of this dynamic. Who are the people functioning like those interlocking roots in your life right now, and where might you need to get more known by others?
- Dave pointed out that the Greek word translated “act like men” (andrizesthe) is the same word God used when He told Joshua to “be strong and courageous” in Joshua 1:9. He then shared Erwin McManus’s story of choosing to pray that his son would be “dangerous” rather than merely “safe.” What’s one place in your life where you’ve been praying for safety instead of asking God to make you bold?
- Dave pictured two boats — one man rowing under his own power, the other catching wind in his sail — and said, “You can’t whistle up the wind, but you can raise your sail.” Read John 3:8 and Acts 2:1-2. Where have you been white-knuckling life on your own strength instead of relying on the Holy Spirit?
- Dave told a story about stepping into a tense, even dangerous, situation in a parking lot, and said afterward, “strength without love isn’t manhood, it’s just a threat.” Re-read 1 Corinthians 16:14 and read 1 Corinthians 13:3. Where have you seen strength used without love — in yourself or someone else — and what would it look like to let love direct your strength this week?
WRAP UP & PRAYER
You can close your time together by praying over these themes from the sermon:
- Pray for watchfulness — that God would help us notice the people and warning signs we’ve been missing.
- Pray for connection — that we’d build the kind of community that holds us up, rather than drifting alone.
- Pray for courage — that God would make us bold in the places we’ve been settling for safe and comfortable.
- Pray that our strength would always be covered in love for a specific situation someone is facing this week, so we become people others feel safe with, not threatened by.