WE CALL GOD FATHER HIS PLAN OF LOVING KINDNESS God the Father WE CALL GOD FATHER HIS PLAN OF LOVING KINDNESS 1

Who are You? Do you Know who you are? Where you come from? You may mention your name and town or city That is not your TRUE IDENTITY Is being a Son of God!!

God’s calling on your life Jeremiah:1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” before you came to birth I consecrated you” consecrate = “set apart” Out of all eternity - God has wanted You!

The Fatherhood of God Find God’s plan for Salvation- letter to Ephesians “Before the World was made He chose us in Christ 1) Chose us in Christ, to be holy & blameless Holiness is moral purity Blamelessness expresses freedom from guilt & sin 5

Fatherhood 2) “He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ” 6

Father seeks relationship “See what love the Father has given us - that we should be called children of God…”(1John 3) “ I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons.. (2Cor 6:18) “Lord show us the Father, & we shall be satisfied… Jesus replies to Philip “he who has seen me has seen the Father…(John 14 8-9) 7

Jesus is the Face of God Jesus was sent to reveal the Father ccc 239 God wants to have a relationship with you The Father wants to walk with you in friendship in prayer in difficulty “For I, the Lord your God hold your right hand… Fear not, I am the one who helps you” Is 41:13

God Our Father

Jesus was sent by the Father “ I have manifested your name to men” John 17:6 Jesus said to believe in my works / actions “that you may know & understand that the Father is in me - and I am in the Father” Jn 10:37 Jesus showed us the merciful eyes of the Father He raised those bowed down by sin to new life

The World did not accept Him Thee - Lie of the Devil is…. God does not Love You! Jn 1:11 says “He came to his own home and his own people did not accept him” Jesus died of a broken heart on the Cross He came to bring the Father’s love to the world

4 Things we learn from the Father

The Father’s works Providence The different “works” of each divine Person The Father Creator Father for all angelic / human persons Providence God’s intervention in the world: 1. protects 2. governs 3. keeps all things in existence 14

The Father’s Divine Providence We are divinized “partakers of the divine nature” A supernatural change in our being takes place when we are baptized (from sanctifying grace) 15

Blessing & Evil All of the Father’s work is a blessing A blessing is a (divine & life giving action) by the Father - the source of all blessings ccc1079 Evil & suffering can put the faith to the test The evil present in the world is a necessary consequence of the freedom to choose, something less than Goodness 16

God’s Fatherhood demands unity Our Heavenly Father is grieved when we turn away from Him - 1) sin 2) unbelief Our Father is grieved when we refuse to be reconciled with our brother & neighbor One Father – one people of God the Body of Christ united in one (mission) 17

Father’s might is Universal For God who created everything – Rules everything and can do everything Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent 18

Obedience to the Father The Father’s power compels holiness & obedience Obedience has more to do with - love than with submission Our choice to obey has significant implications Jesus’ example of obedience “Not my will but yours be done” Accepting death on the cross, for love of the Father & his children John 10: 17 19

Jesus’ example of Obedience “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.” Jn 10:17-18 Obedience to the Father’s will brings His plan on earth choosing to obey God strengthens our relationship with the Father Obligation becomes a response of love Great Commandment to love God & one another, as Jesus loved you, summarizes the Fathers entire will ccc 2196 2822 20

The Father’s Kingdom The coming of the Father’s Kingdom Jesus said, “the time is fulfilled & the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel” Mark 1:15 Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven Matthew 6:10 21

The Kingdom Jesus brought the Kingdom in his person and established it in his Mystical body the Church; waiting until He comes again to reveal the kingdom of the Father in all its glory We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God To those who love him & do his will Rom 8:28 Mt 7:21 ccc 1821 22

False images of Father The catechism states: 2779 -2780 Need to cleanse our hearts – false images drawn from this world Humility recognizes “no one knows the Father except the Son & anyone the Son chooses to reveal him” that is “little children” Mt 11: 25-27 23