Are you familiar with those redneck jokes that all begin with, "You might be a redneck if…."  "You might be a redneck if your wedding cake was made by Sara Lee."  "You might be a redneck if you’ve had a custody fight over a hunting dog."  "You might be a redneck if you’ve ever sold your car for gas money."  I found a website that numbers all these jokes for easy reference.  Number 817 is, "You might be a redneck if your toothbrush is a hand-me-down."  Of course that is just a joke and not to be taken seriously because rednecks don’t have any teeth.

Whether or not we are rednecks, we have probably all been treated to hand-me-downs of one kind or other.  If you grew up in a school with uniforms, you probably wore hand-me-downs.  Even if you grew up in a school without uniforms your high school jacket might have been a hand-me-down.  If you had an older sibling of the same gender, the continual stream of hand-me-downs could become a drag.  But some hand-me-downs can become precious to us.

In Rev. Horak’s closet there is an old sweater that he used to wear to school—a lot.  It originally belonged to his father.  It is precious to him, and we can understand why.  Some of us may have tools that once belonged to our fathers, and perhaps we even have memories of them using those tools to make repairs around the house or to make something new.  This morning I am wearing a hand-me-down tie bar that I acquired after my Dad died.  It says, "Million Miler," and it was awarded to him the first time he flew a million accident-free miles as a corporate pilot.

But the most precious hand-me-downs we receive from our fathers are not tangible at all. They are the values, wisdom and teachings they have handed down to us through word and deed. These are what we are celebrating this Father’s Day with our message entitled: ""Dad’s Hand-Me-Downs." These are what the author of our text is referring to when he writes: Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding (Verse 1).

The author of our text is King Solomon, the son of King David. Solomon is a complex character in the Bible. On the one hand, he is both the wisest and the wealthiest man around because he listened to his father and made the most of what was bequeathed to him. On the other hand, there are some critical ways he departed from his father’s instruction and made some very foolish choices which resulted in a great deal of pain, disappointment and grief.

David had charged Solomon to walk in all the ways of the Lord, which included not marrying idol worshiping women who would turn his heart astray. But did Solomon listen? No. First he hooks up with the Egyptian Pharaoh’s daughter. But that was just the beginning. King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter--Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods."

Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been (I Kings 11:1-4). As a result, Solomon’s latter life was just as cursed as his earlier life had been blessed. So he sought to counsel his sons about both the wise and the foolish moves he had made, and how he wished he had not forsaken his father’s teachings.

In our text he continues: I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching (Verse 2). Interesting how some of the most demanding fathers with such high expectations for their children were, themselves, once quite rebellious. Solomon loves his children and wants to spare them from making the same mistakes as he, so he hands down to them the same wise counsel that his father David had handed down to him.

When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live (Verses 3-4). Last Sunday’s message was entitled, "Life Without Limit," and we saw how our heavenly Father wants for his children the same thing that earthly fathers want for theirs—a good, full and abundant life. Solomon says to his children, keep my commands and you will live. Solomon wants his children to have life and have it to the full.

I think just about every father wants that for his children, even those who have made some pretty big mistakes in their lives which have negatively impacted their children. There was a show on TV the other day about incarcerated convicts. These were hardened criminals covered with menacing gang banger tattoos and plotting how to get away with murder even while confined behind bars. Yet when they were interviewed about their children, they softened right up and spoke tenderly about how they missed their children and hoped for a better life for them, counseling them to stay away from gangs and study hard in school.

The question is, will those children learn from both their fathers’ mistakes and wise counsel? I think they will learn most from their fathers’ example, and that even an incarcerated convict can be a good influence upon a child’s life if that convict finds a way to turn a failed life around with the opportunities God provides even in a place as oppressive as a prison. And if that can be the case in a prison, I think it can be the case in our homes as well.

Yesterday there was a memorial service in this sanctuary for long-standing church member, Robert Harris Sr. Robert and his wife Bea had two boys, Bob Jr. and Bruce, both of whom spoke lovingly of their father. Bob entitled his talk: "A Eulogy for a Hero—My Dad." He said: "… (Dad) was a living role model who taught us the value of doing our best while always playing within the rules." Bruce echoed that sentiment saying: "Dad was a tremendous father. Bob and I idolized him."

I have known Bob and Bruce a long time now. I have known them both to have a strong work ethic, a commitment to doing things right and well, and a desire to cultivate almost a sense of family in the respective companies they came to own and operate. I have known them both to be not only trustworthy but trusting—even after the disappointing experience of having that trust misplaced. But after having heard them speak of their father, I now know that these values were their Dad’s Hand-Me-Downs to them.

There are lots of pictures in my office here at church—mostly Nancy and the kids and some friends. But there is one picture on my desk, and it is of my father and me. He’s holding a glass of beer and I am holding a glass of coke. If you look carefully, you will note that the glasses are filled exactly to the same level. That was a staged shot I wanted to have taken. When I was a kid, my Dad would sometimes take me with him to visit a friend or relative. We would naturally be offered a beverage. When Dad would take a sip, I would take a sip, and then I would put my glass next to his to make sure that they remained at the exact same level. That is how much I wanted to be like my Dad in every way.

Because he was a pilot, I became a pilot when I was 18. But I could never be a pilot like him. He was a great pilot who had flown not one but several millions of miles without accident by then. I was an accident waiting to happen. I guarantee you wouldn’t have wanted me to be your pilot. We would start off for Baltimore and end up in Boise. But my Dad did not expect me to be a pilot. All he expected was for me to find something I was built to do, and then do it the very best that I could. That was one of Dad’s Hand-Me-Downs.

Whether you had a Dad like one of those convicts in prison or one like the Harris’ boys or a mixed bag like Solomon, there are probably some of Dad’s Hand-Me-Downs in your life. Or maybe you never knew your father at all because of circumstances beyond your control. Even so, we all have a heavenly Father who has spoken his Word to us, which has been handed down from one generation to another. Why? So that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

We can choose to view that hand-me-down as ratty and out-of-date and useless to us, or we can cherish it as a precious gift--much as Rev. Horak cherishes his father’s sweater. But if you have children of your own, and if you think about how much you hope they will pay attention to the best you have to offer and not forsake the lessons you have learned the hard way and handed down to them, maybe you won’t be so inclined to forsake what has been handed down to you.

To all the fathers who are here today, Happy Father’s Day to you and thank you for being a good example for your family by being in the Lord’s House on the Lord’s Day—one of Dad’s best hand-me-downs. Ingrid Cuppage has a father like that who passed into the larger life this past year. His name was Gil Gilbertson. He was a Swede. His favorite hymn was by a Swede named Carolina Sandell Berg entitled, "Day by Day." She composed it shortly after the tragic death of her father in a boating accident expressing her unswerving faith in the love and protection of a caring heavenly father. Let us rise and sing this beloved hymn which has been handed down to us.