Sunday school: God's Image in the Nations

Introduction:

Welcome!

Today, we are going to get started with another activity

Each person needs a partner

One person will draw something on a piece of paper on the other person’s back, while the other person will try to mimic that on another piece of paper.

We will see which team gets the closest to having the same picture!

Play game

Today, we will see that humanity was made in God’s imae.

But like some of your drawings, we don’t always look like Jesus.

Sin keeps us from showing others what God is really like

But through Christ, we can display God’s image to the world

Today, we are looking at the doctrine of the Image of God, which is one the 99 essential doctrines from The Gospel Project

First, we are going to watch a video and then talk about it!

*watch video*

Summary of video:

God made humanity in His image and likeness.

He loved each one of us before we were even born.

We don’t bear God’s image well because of sin.

Jesus restores us and makes us more life Him.

Discuss:

Based on this video, how would you define “the image of God?”

The image of God in humanity is understood as mirroring God’s attributes in our nature, actions, and relational capacities.

Why should we value everyone regardless of status or background?

Because everyone is made in the image of God.

What keeps us from displaying God’s image to others?

Our sin.

How does Jesus restore God’s image in us?

We might be made in the image of God, but Jesus literally IS the image of God.

How does this fit with what we have been going through during this unit in The Gospel Project?

As we learned in the story of Jonah, God loves all people and sends His church to all nations.

As we saw from Nahum and in the story of Zedekiah, humanity does not live as God intended and deserves judgement.

But God sent Jesus to redeem us from the punishment of sin and transform us into His image forever.

Main Point: God made you with value and purpose.

The Question: How did God make you with value and purpose?

All people are made in God’s image.

Genesis 5:1–2 (ESV)

This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.

Psalm 139:13–16 (ESV)

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

How are humans different from other things and creatures God made?

God created humans as special creatures, distinct from the rest of creation.

We were made “in the likeness of God” (Gen 5:1)

But God is Spirit, so it’s not about our physical bodies so much as it is about our spirit.

No other creatures is a morally responsible being.

What are some implications of this for us?

Humans were created as God’s representatives in the world and have a special relationship to our Creator.

Each one of us is made by God, and we are accountable to Him for how we live.

Why is it important to know that God didn’t just make humanity, he made you?

This is a really important question for me.

I went through a lot of dating frustration and loneliness in college.

There was a lot of heartbreak involved.

And I remember during that time, I was trying to rest in the fact that God loves me.

But it was weird, because my thought was “well of course he does; he loves everybody!”

I was having trouble feeling the personal love of God because of the reality of the universal nature of God’s love

But what we see in Scripture is that God’s love IS personal!

He not only made humanity; he made YOU!

He is YOUR personal creator. That is pretty awesome.

In Psalm 139, David described God as a tailor carefully knitting each person together in the mother’s womb.

Satan wants you to think that God doesn’t see or care about you as an individual.

Surely, God isn’t focused on individuals when He has an entire world to rule, right? Wrong.

You matter to God. Each one of you.

You are valuable to God, handmade by your Creator, formed in His very image.

He has a plan for each of you.

Main Point: God made you with value and purpose.

All people are made in God’s image.

All people are valued because they are made in the image of God.

Luke 10:25–37 ESV

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

How did the good Samaritan value the stranger?

The Good Samaritan went out of his way to take care of someone he didn’t even know.

“Jesus deliberately chose an outsider, and a hated one at that, for his hero in order to indicate that being a neighbor is not a matter of nationality or race.”

But why was a Samaritan considered a hated outsider?

The ten northern tribes formed a nation known as Samaria

In 722 b.c., Samaria fell to the Assyrians, and the leading citizens were exiled and dispersed throughout the Assyrian Empire.

Non-Jewish peoples were then brought into Samaria.

Intermarriage resulted, and the “rebels” became “half-breeds” in the eyes of the Southern Kingdom of Judea

“Jesus and Luke sought to illustrate that the love of one’s neighbor ought to transcend all natural human boundaries such as race, nationality, religion, and economic or educational status.”

He may have been able to think of many reasons not to help: too busy, too risky, too much work, and so on.

But He didn’t.

Why? Because each person is valuable.

The Good Samaritan shows us how to love in deed.

His actions demonstrated that he valued the stranger in need.

We must express our love for others through helping and serving them.

How can we show people that they are valuable? To us? To God?

There is nothing more important to do in life than to love God and love people like he does.

No task, assignment, job, hobby, money; nothing is more valuable than the people that we encounter throughout our days.

For this reason, we should go out of our way to love others.

It is not always convenient or easy to love people.

People are messy and complicated.

But we should prioritize people with our time, emotions, and by the way we treat them.

Main Point: God made you with value and purpose.

All people are made in God’s image.

All people are valued because they are made in the image of God.

All believers are being transformed into the image of Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:17–18 (ESV)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Why do we need to become more free from sin if we want to show others what Jesus is like?

We cannot show the world what Jesus is like when we are in spiritual bondage.

Jesus is the perfect human.

Like I said earlier, while we are made in the image of God, Jesus litterally IS the image of God

“Christ mirrors God for believers.”

He obeyed God’s law without fail and showed us how to love our neighbor.

But when we are bound by pride, envy, greed, and the like, we are not looking like Christ.

Spiritual freedom enables us to lay those sins aside and take on the character of Jesus more and more.

Why is studying the Scriptures key to becoming more like Jesus?

Jesus has been revealed to us through the Scriptures.

We cannot know what Jesus is like apart from what God has told us through His Word.

So, if we want to be more like Jesus, we must seek to know Him more through the Bible.

This is where doing your daily discipleship guide is key; this is such a great way to spend time in God’s word, and it connects with what we are studying here on Sunday mornings

Next week, you will be given a new discipleship guide for the next section *show them what it looks like*

I really encourage you to read these throughout the week, and to answer the questions.

These sections are really small; so small, that you really should do something in addition to this.

But this is what we will be doing

And guess what; i am going to start doing it too!

And i want us to hold each other accountable.

After we start, I want to take some time each Sunday morning to see how quiet time went throughout the past week

I am really excited to do this alongside of you!!

Christ Connection:

While all of humanity is made in the image of God, that image is marred by sin.

Jesus, who is the perfect image of God (being God Himself), laid down His life so that this image might be restored. Whoever trusts in Jesus has been given a new life and a new identity and experiences being transformed into Christ’s image.

Head: How might the image of God help us overcome self-defeating thoughts?

Satan tries to convince us that we are worthless, meaningless, failures, and more.

When you know your value is not based on your performance, but on your identity as a human being, then Satan’s lies cannot have as much power over your thinking.

Nothing a student achieves or fails to achieve will ever change the way they are loved and valued by God.

Heart: Why might we struggle to love people who are different? What is one way you could love someone different from you this week?

People tend to be uncomfortable with others who are not like them.

It could be different interests, personalities, skills, ethnicities, and so on.

But God calls us to love all people.

Go out of your way to make a relationship with or show love to someone who is somehow different from you.

Hands: What are some key areas (love, patience, forgiveness, purity, etc.) where we need to become more like Christ?

Paul said that we are “being transformed” (2 Cor. 3:18)

It’s an ongoing process, and none of us have arrived.

Part of becoming more like Jesus is recognizing where we still need transformation and growth.

Prayer Requests