On Mother’s Day we had a lesson centered around mothers and the importance of a mother in the life of her children and her being able to let go and let them find their way in the world equipped with the knowledge she has prepared them with to face life.
Today our nation has set aside this day for us to pause and be thankful for the fathers we have in our lives. So, it is an appropriate day for us as Christians to observe with a lesson because fatherhood is a position Jehovah created for men in order to bring leadership, structure and guidance to the family unit.
Today, all across America, families will be gathering around tables.
Some will gather around restaurant tables after worship today.
Some around backyard picnic tables.
Still others will gather around dining room tables covered with fried chicken, potato salad, and sweet tea.
And in many homes today, there will be a chair at the table that means something special.
Maybe it’s “Dad’s chair.”
The chair no one else sat in when you were growing up.
The chair where he read the newspaper.
The chair where he bowed his head to pray, where he corrected you, where he laughed with you.
The chair where he sat exhausted after a long day of work.
For some people this morning, that chair is still occupied. For others… it sits empty.
An empty chair can preach a sermon all by itself.
It can remind us of love, or possibly sacrifice.
Sometimes that empty chair can fill us with regret or possibly absence and sometimes it can remind us of wounds that never fully healed.
And whether we realize it or not, every father leaves something in that chair when he’s gone.
Today I want us to think about “The Chair at the Table.”
Not merely furniture that is in a house… but the place of influence, leadership, memory, and spiritual presence that God designed fathers to occupy.
I. God Intended for Fathers to Have a Place at the Table
From the very beginning, God established the family intentionally.
Not accidentally. Not culturally. And certainly not politically. But it was established divinely.
In the home, fathers were meant to provide more than income. Fathers aren’t supposed to be a glorified ATM machine. They were meant to provide direction.
Deuteronomy 6 paints a picture of spiritual leadership in ordinary life.
“6 And these words, that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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 your rise.”
Deuteronomy 6:6–7
Notice something important:
God did not picture spiritual instruction happening only at the synagogue or temple. He pictured truth being taught:
• In the home
• In our workday
• When we recreate
• When we gather around the table to eat
In other words… the table mattered. The home mattered. The daily presence of a father matters.
Let me relate a story to you. A father was sitting on the edge of his son’s bed, his voice quiet and tired. The hospital had just given him the news: this chemotherapy might not be enough. He looked down at his son, who was still small enough to believe that everything his dad said was true and strong.
“Dad, are you scared?” the boy asked.
The father didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want to crush his son’s heart. He took a breath and said, “I’m scared of some things. But I’m not scared of God. He’s been my father in the ways that matter most.”
Then he pulled out his aging Bible, the one he’d carried since he was a new Christian, and he said to his son “Remember how we used to read this every night before bed? Even when you were little, I told you, ‘These words are for your heart, and I’m going to keep talking about them with you.’” He quoted Deuteronomy 6 without thinking about it. “When you sit, when you walk, when you lie down, when you get up—we’re going to talk about God.”
Years earlier, his own father had barely spoken to him about faith. Now, as he faced what might be his last stretch as a dad, he realized this was the inheritance he was most afraid of losing: not the house, not the money, but the quiet rhythm of Scripture and prayer that had shaped his son’s heart.
He didn’t have grand plans. He just kept reading one more chapter, telling one more story about Jesus, praying one more time. Sitting at the kitchen table, driving to school, lying down at night, waking in the morning—those ordinary moments became the place where God’s words stayed alive in his son.
That’s what Deuteronomy 6:6–7 is calling fathers to: a faithful presence. To put God’s words in your heart, and to keep talking about them with your children through the small, daily rhythms of life, especially when the future feels uncertain.
A father’s chair was never supposed to be merely occupied physically. It was meant to be occupied spiritually.
II. Some Chairs Are Empty Because Life Took Them
There are people here today who would give anything to hear their father’s voice one more time.
My own father passed away in 1991. He was a great man. Greater than I realized at the time. I recall there came a day some years ago when I realized I couldn’t remember the sound of my father’s voice. That tore at my soul. Fortunately after mom died I came across some DVD’s with videos of him talking. I just broke down crying.
A father’s voice matters.
But let’s face it - some chairs are empty because death came.
Maybe suddenly or possibly after illness. It could have been years ago or recently enough that the wound is still raw.
And holidays have a strange way of magnifying empty chairs.
You can be doing fine for weeks… and then one glance at a recliner, one smell from the kitchen, one old photograph… and suddenly you remember.
You remember the way he prayed, how he drove. Or the way he sat quietly at the end of the table. For me, I remember the smell of him as I hugged his neck when he left me at Freed-Hardeman University (it was College back then).
And grief rushes back in.
Even faithful Christians struggle with that ache. David understood grief. When his son Absalom died, David cried:
“33 O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!”
2 Samuel 18:33
Even strong men break under loss and perhaps today some are grieving fathers who are gone.
But Christians do not grieve as those without hope. For faithful fathers in Christ, the chair may be empty here… but it’s occupied elsewhere.
There is a greater table. A table with a heavenly banquet and a reunion beyond death.
Jesus said:
“2 I go to prepare a place for you.”
John 14:2
And what a beautiful thought that faithful fathers who once led prayers around earthly tables will be sitting at the table of the King Himself when we get there.
III. Some Chairs Are Empty Even Though Someone Is Still Sitting In Them
This may be the hardest part of this sermon. Some homes have fathers physically present but spiritually absent.
The chair is occupied… but leadership for the family is missing. Conversation is missing as is prayer, guidance and affection - all missing.
Sometimes a man can provide a paycheck… and still fail to provide himself.
That was part of Eli’s tragedy.
Remember Eli? He was a religious man, the priest at Shiloh and he served as a judge over Israel. He was respected and connected to worship. But at home it was a different story. Scripture says this concerning his sons:
“13 His sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.”
1 Samuel 3:13
Eli occupied a seat of authority, his sons were priests also but they abused their priestly powers and Eli failed to reign them in and put a stop to their corruptness. In doing so he failed to spiritually lead those Jehovah entrusted to him. His story serves today as a warning about passive leadership and family discipline.
Unfortunately, we live in a world filled with empty chairs. They are empty figuratively because they are occupied by distracted fathers who would put worldly things ahead of their family. They may be consumed by work, coming home so late the family is already in bed and leaving for work before they rise – so they are not around enough to know what is going on with their children, much less to lead them.
It doesn’t stop there either. Distracted fathers could be absorbed in their hobbies or have their faces buried in phones. They can be emotionally detached and worse they can be spiritually passive.
A father does not have to leave home to abandon leadership. How many times have I encountered families where the mother “wears the pants” as we say. She makes the hard decisions for the family. She is the primary breadwinner, the one who puts the food on the table, the one who makes sure the family is at Sunday school and worship. Folks, that is not the design for the family which Jehovah God wants for his people!
Sometimes absence happens while sitting ten feet away.
And you know who notices? His children notice. Oh, how children notice. Do you think that years down the road they’ll remember how much money dad made or what kind of truck he drove, or what position he held? Not likely.
But what they will remember is whether he prayed, loved their mother, listened to their day-to-day problems. They’ll remember whether he was kind and whether he made God important in the family.
You see, the chair at the table always leaves an imprint.
IV. Some Chairs Were Never Filled Properly
For some people, Father’s Day is painful not because of loss… but because of disappointment.
Some grew up with fathers who were harsh, angry, addicted, absent, abusive, or just indifferent about how they grew up.
Today across the country there will be many sermons preached that glorify fatherhood. Unfortunately, a lot of those sermons will not acknowledge brokenness.
Not everyone in pews have warm memories attached to the chair at the table. Some remember fear or chaos.
And yet one of the most beautiful truths in scripture is this: God understands imperfect fathers. In fact, many of the great fathers in scripture were deeply flawed.
David failed morally and relationally.
Isaac showed favoritism for his older son Esau over Jacob as we see in Genesis 25:28 –
“28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”
Genesis 25:28
That resulted in Esau hating Jacob and planning to kill him. Because of that Jacob had to flee home and the family was deeply fractured.
Jacob repeated the cycle by damaging his family through partiality and favoring his son Joseph over his other sons.
Lot made catastrophic decisions. When the wicked men of Sodom demanded Lot’s angelic guests so they could harm them, what did Lot do? Let’s read the account in Genesis.
“4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Getting to know them wasn’t a friendly greeting type of getting to know them either. In the Hebrew it more accurately means “so we can have sex with them.” How vile. Skipping down to verse 8 Lot tries to reason with them but in a very bad way: “8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”
Genesis 19:4-8
Lot was willing to sacrifice his own daughters because he was willing to let the men of Sodom rape them in order to save his guests. Talk about a terrible father!
The Bible never pretends our earthly fathers are perfect. But it does point us toward a perfect Heavenly Father.
Psalm 68:5 says:
“5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”
Psalm 68:5
What a powerful phrase: “A father of the fatherless.”
God steps toward those whose earthly chairs sit empty.
Some people spend their lives trying to heal from what happened—or did not happen—with that empty seat at their family table.
But God specializes in restoring wounded hearts.
V. The Prodigal Son and the Waiting Chair
Perhaps though, one of the most moving stories of the chair at the head of the table in scripture belongs to the father in Luke 15. The story of the prodigal son.
Imagine the evenings after the younger son left. There was one less voice at supper. One less set of footsteps sounding around the home. You can just imagine that father glancing down the road. Wondering. Hoping. Praying.
Maybe he replayed old conversations in his mind. Possibly wondering: “Did I fail him?” and “Will I ever see him again?”
There are fathers today who know that pain. Children who are estranged from family.
Broken relationships. Waiting on phone calls that never come and holidays filled with silence.
But I love what Jesus shows us about that father.
When the son finally returned… the father didn’t meet him with vengeance. He met him with compassion.
Luke 15 tells us in verse 20:
“20b But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20b
He ran. Now you have to understand that in that culture, old dignified men did not run.
But love ran. Grace and forgiveness ran.
And suddenly the empty chair at the table was filled again.
That is the heart of God.
And perhaps today:
• a father needs reconciliation
• a son needs repentance
• or possibly a family needs healing
The lesson here for us is - do not underestimate what God can restore.
VI. Every Father Is Teaching Something From the Chair
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, fathers disciple their children.
They teach, they teach:
• how to handle anger
• how to treat women
• how to respond to hardship
• how to speak, love and how to worship
• how important God truly is
Children watch far more than they listen.
A father who says:
“God matters,” yet that father never prays… teaches one lesson.
A father who says:
“The church matters,” but he treats worship casually… teaches another lesson.
A father who apologizes when wrong he teaches humility.
When he repents he teaches sincerity.
A father who worships faithfully teaches the priority of God.
You see, that chair at the head of the table becomes a classroom.
And for you fathers, one day your children may not remember your sermons… but they will remember your example.
VII. One Day Every Chair Will Be Empty
That’s a sobering thought.
Eventually every chair becomes empty. Every earthly father leaves the table one day. Ecclesiastes reminds us life is vapor. It is brief, fragile and very temporary.
So, the question isn’t: “Will my chair one day be empty?”
The question we need to be asking as father’s is: “What will I leave behind when my chair is empty?”
Will your family remember anger? Absence? Selfishness?
Or will they remember faith? Integrity? Kindness? And a devotion to Christ?
Long after fathers are gone, their influence often remains seated at the table.
Invitation / Closing
This morning perhaps you see yourself somewhere in this sermon.
Maybe:
• you miss your father deeply
• Maybe you carry emotional wounds from your father
• Possibly you are estranged from your children
• Or it could be you are sitting in a chair physically present but spiritually absent
• Or maybe, just maybe you are trying to become a better father
Or maybe… you realize you have never come home to your Heavenly Father.
There IS a seat waiting for you at His table.
Jesus Christ made that possible through the cross.
And the beautiful truth of the gospel is this:
God still welcomes prodigals. He restores broken families and changes hearts. He still fills empty places.
One day the tables of earth will all be gone.
But for the faithful, there awaits a greater table in the kingdom of God. A kingdom where no chair will ever again be empty. A kingdom with a table where every person – man or woman – will be welcomed. And a Father who sits at the head of that table who will make sure you nevermore know pain, suffering, trials, burdens, grief or longing.
That table awaits you – you have only to seek and obey in baptism and then journey through life to please the Father to achieve it.
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