Wonderfully and Fearfully Made in the Image of God

Wonderfully and Fearfully Made in the Image of God

Psalms 139:1-6, 13-16

Mark 1:16-20

We’ve got a new sermon series that we are kicking off…and to get us started, we got a little jingle to go along with it!

<<play jingle>>

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name

And they’re always glad you came

You want to be where you can see

Our troubles are all the same

You want to be where everybody knows your name

What a beautiful place we have here at Gloria Dei! And, maybe all of you know everyone’s name, but I’ve got a confession…I don’t know everybody’s name.

Pastor Dan asked me what I wanted to work on in my vicarage and seminary work. I told him that I wanted to know people’s names. I’m great with faces. But I’m horrible with names. And perhaps I’m too embarrassed to admit I don’t know the name of someone that I should.

I want to walk alongside of you in your faith walk. I want to know your name when I give you the very body and blood of Jesus. I want to know your name!

So…

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name

And they’re always glad you came—what a joy and blessing it is for us to be in worship together!

You want to be where you can see

Our troubles are all the same—our troubles are the same…we are all broken sinners in need of a savior!

You want to be where everybody knows your name—so that is what we’re going to do with name tags and pictures and a little celebratin’ and fellowship fun with root beer and pretzels!

So…for those who do not know me, my name is Steve Garrabrant, and I am blessed to serve as Vicar here at Gloria Dei and serve as the Head of School at Lutheran South Academy.

And, this week we start our new sermon series, “Known.”

We are known by God because He has wonderfully and fearfully made us in His image—in the image of God. When we look at the beginning—God’s creation of all things—we are told in Genesis: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26). God created all things by merely speaking them into existence—and we understand that because His Word has power; however, in regard to His prized creation of man and woman, God created not just by speaking, but rather He fashioned man out of the dust of the ground and breathed life into man and gave man a soul. He then fashioned woman out of the rib of man. God made man and woman special and in His image.

God didn’t cease in His special creation with the first man and woman. He still is the author of life—in the womb He still fashions life. Psalm 139:13-16 tells us:

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,

when 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. (Psalm 139:13-16)

The miracle of life! All at God’s permission and a result of His work!

<<show fetal ultrasound picture of Silas>>

The picture you are looking at is Silas in the womb 17 years ago! I can’t quite remember why we didn’t have these pictures of Jonah or Eli—maybe the technology wasn’t as good or maybe we couldn’t afford it, but we were blessed to have these images taken. To me, these images are quite remarkable, and I can definitely see Silas’ identifiable fat chubby cheeks that he was born with!

Our first two pregnancies did not go well. Both ended in miscarriage. Rachel and I often wondered if we would ever have children. And then we were blessed with Jonah just before 9/11 in 2001. And on this 21st anniversary of that horrific day, I remember laying on the coach with Jonah on my chest sleeping while Rachel and I watched the news wondering how the world would forever be different for our son than the world in which we grew up in.

And then a mere few months later, we were surprised to find out that she was pregnant again! It definitely threw us for a loop, but less than 14 months after the birth of Jonah, we welcomed Eli into our world.

Both the pregnancies and deliveries of Jonah and Eli did not go all that well. Rachel was on strict bed rest for a long stretch while pregnant with Jonah. And, one’s umbilical cord was too long and the other was too short—and both deliveries resulted in extra time in the hospital because of meconium aspiration.

A few years after Eli was born, we endured our third miscarriage, and Rachel and I agreed that we were done having kids. We were happy with our two sons…the pregnancies were hard…the deliveries were hard…and the miscarriages were hard.

But sometimes our plans, don’t align with God’s plans! I remember the day Rachel told me, “You remember how we said we were done having kids?” I nodded. She then said, “Well…we’re not quite done yet. I’m pregnant.”

3 boys in 4 years!

Silas’ delivery went so much easier than Jonah’s and Eli’s. In fact, it might have gone a little too easy! Silas was born around Noon and my mother-in-law dropped a sandwich off at the hospital for me to eat…well, because you know, I needed to eat…I needed strength for the squeezing of hands and all that good supportive stuff husbands do! And as I was eating my sandwich as far away from Rachel as possible…because she was in labor…the doctor said, “Dad, you might want to get over here, we see the head!” Well…I only had two bites left…so I quickly finished the sandwich and came to the rescue of my wife, holding her hand and encouraging her with my onion laced cabo chicken sandwich breath. Have I ever told you that I married up in life?!?

For Jonah, for Eli, for Silas…for the three children that died in Rachel’s womb…for every single one of us here this morning…for every pregnancy past, present, and future…we were wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God. And, our worth is connected to our Creator. We all have an intrinsic value placed upon us by God—given to us by God—because He wonderfully and fearfully made us in His image.

Listen to the words of Isaiah 43:1…

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)

We have value, not only because we were made in the image of God, but because we are His—we belong to God. We are His!

And speaking of being His—of belonging to God— We are known by God because He has wonderfully and fearfully made us new at our baptism.

I said that Jonah and Eli’s deliveries were difficult and Silas’—well, maybe just a little to easy! But it was Silas who was baptized in the hospital compared to Jonah and Eli who had a “normal” baptism in church. You see, discovered by the newborn blood screening, Silas was born with a genetic metabolic disorder called MCAD. He actually was quite the celebrity in our rural county in Michigan. At the time of his birth, he was the only one on record to have such a condition—a condition where his body does not break down fat for energy. So, in his 17 year old adult life, he can never fast, never go without carbs, and must take 15 giant sized pills every day to help his body metabolize fat as best as possible. Rachel and I are so appreciative and thankful that he does so well with this, but when he was an infant it was outright scary. And with the uncertainty of what he was facing and how dangerous it could be, we relied upon the certainty of God’s Word and of His Grace, and so Rachel’s Dad, a Lutheran pastor, baptized Silas in the hospital with a dixie cup of water.

In baptism we become a part of God’s family. We are adopted into His family. We are His, and we are given His name. In baptism, we share in the name of Christ.

Think back to the end of Isaiah 43:1, “Fear not, for I have redeemed; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

<<show image of Woody with Andy’s name>>

Since Pastor Dan is gone to Honduras, I am going to steal something of his that he has shared before about baptism…it comes from the very first Toy Story. For those of you who have seen that animated movie, do you remember the scene when Woody sees Andy’s name written on the bottom of Woody’s boot? Regardless if you like the movie or not, what a simple and beautiful reminder that just as Woody belongs to Andy, because of our baptism…

<<show image of Woody with God’s name>>

…we belong to God! He has put His stamp of ownership on us. Yes, we are known by God because of our baptism.

We are known by God because He has wonderfully and fearfully made us and transforms us into something different.

Mark 1:16-20 speaks about how God makes us something different than what we already are.

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (Mark 1:16-20)

We just saw in our last sermon series that God calls us out of the darkness and into His Light. Here in this text, God calls us and makes us something different—to accomplish His Will. When Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men,” this means that Jesus will train up these disciples for a far greater work than the one they have been doing thus far, namely the work of winning men for the Gospel and salvation.

Because God has wonderfully and fearfully made us, He knows us intimately. And, what I mean by this is that God knows everythingabout us.

Psalm 139:1-6 says…

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1-6)

Because we are His—we belong to God who has wonderfully and fearfully made us and continues to make us a new creation in Christ beginning with our baptism, we should not have any fear that God knows us. It is not a threat but of comfort that God know our struggles, our weakness, our hurts, and our needs.

The beginning of the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John speaks about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. In verse 14 it says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me (John 10:14).”

Sheep need a protector! Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows his sheep! We are His sheep and He knows us!

Because God has wonderfully and fearfully made us, He knows us by name.

In Exodus 33:17 we read: And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” (Exodus 33:17)

And, even though I mentioned this earlier, in Isaiah 43:1 we read:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)

Names matter to God, and sometimes He even changes names.

God changed Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter, and Saul to Paul.

When God changed a person’s name and gave that person a new name, it was usually to establish a new identity. Why did God choose new names for just some of the people? The Bible doesn’t really give us His reasons, but perhaps it was to let them know they were destined for a new mission in life. The new name was a way to reveal the divine plan and also to assure them that God’s plan would be fulfilled in them.

And, while our names may not have changed like some of those in the Bible, we do know that in our baptism we bear the name of Christ.

1 Peter 4:16 says: Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. (1 Peter 4:16)

You see, our identity is in Christ, and being a forgiven, redeemed child of God, we have the opportunity to live out our identity in everything we do!

And, as we understand that we are known by God because He has wonderfully and fearfully made us complete in Christ, and that our identity and value is founded upon God, I ask you to repeat after me so that you may know how God knows you…

I am accepted.

· I am God’s child.

John 1:12 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (Early: Bret Schroeder Late: Jenny Blackley)

· I have been justified.

Romans 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Early: Rachel Garrabrant Late: Wyatt Schultz)

· I am a member of Christ’s body.

1 Corinthians 12:27 - Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (Early: Jon Mueller Late: Afton Hoch)

I am secure.

· I am free from condemnation.

Romans 8:1-2 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Early: Gretchen Hagge Late: Tina Hergenrader)

· I am citizen of heaven.

Philippians 3:20 - But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Early: Bret Schroeder Late: Jenny Blackley)

· I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

1 John 5:18 - We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

(Early: Jon Mueller Late: Wyatt Schultz)

I am significant.

· I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (Early: Gretchen Hagge Late: Afton Hoch)

· I am God’s workmanship.

Ephesians 2:10 - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

(Early: Rachel Garrabrant Late: Tina Hergenrader)

Friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, our self-worth cannot be tied to what people think of us, but rather who we are in Christ. In Christ we are accepted and loved. In Christ we are secure and protected from the evil one. In Christ we are significant…we are valued…we are God’s masterpiece!

Friends, I pray that you walk out of here this morning knowing that you are wonderfully and fearfully made and made new and known intimately by God—He knows your struggles…your weaknesses…knows what you need.

And, He loves you. You are His. And, He will be with you—in this life and in eternity. And, may knowing that grant you peace in Christ! Amen.