Session #1 Made on Purpose (Revised)

Hey everyone - my name is Michael Toovey .

I have the joy and priviledge to share from the bible this week.. but before i do i want to share a couple things about myself.. And i think i will do it in a way that is a bit more fun.. We are going to do this true or false, im going to say a fact about myself, and if you think it is true or false i want you to stand up..

Ready?

True or False: I work at a youth centre where my job is basically “professional Just Dance player.” (Answer: TRUE — Turning Point Youth Centre in Meadow Lake. Program Director.)

True or False: I grew up in Saskatchewan. (Answer: TRUE.)

True or False: I’m married to my wife Kimberly, and she’s here this week. (Answer: TRUE — point her out)

True or False: In a couple months, we’re going to have a baby boy? (Wait… let them react.) Answer: FALSE. We’re actually having TWIN girls.

True or False: I love airplanes. (Answer: FALSE — I do not love airplanes. I survive airplanes.)

True or False: I recently graduated from Nipawin Bible College. (Answer: TRUE — Bachelors in Christian Ministry.)

Alright this one might be a bit weird… True or False: I have never clogged a toilet. (Answer: FALSE) this is one of my pride and joys in life…

Alright—now that you know I’m a real human and not a robot here just talking to …

I tell you that because I don’t want to just be a speaker you listen to; But friends I want to be someone you know a little bit and can trust.

I love Jesus, I trust the Bible, and I really care about young people like yoursleves… And so my hope here is that this will be a time whether you are a beliver in the bible or not, that this would be a safe to be still and just be reminded and undestand some truth about who God is, what he’1s done for us, and the hope that there is in Jesus Christ.

Tonight, we’re starting a series of talks, and we’re going to take our time walking through one big story from the Bible. Before we talk about mistakes, or sin, or the cross, we have to start at the beginning.

And so our main point for today are

God is Holy

God is the creator

We are made in God’s image

You were made to know God

Before we start today… I just want to open tonight up in prayer…

Illustratrion

Now, I want to show you something. I need one volunteer to come up here.

Alright, I want you to draw anything you want. It can be an animal, a house, or your best friend….It has to be appropriate. You have 30 seconds to draw whatever you want. Ready? Go.

Okay, time’s up. Wow, good job. Let’s give them a hand.

Now I need one more volunteer to come up here. Alright, I want you to create the exact same picture.

But here’s the rule. You’re not allowed to draw. You’re not allowed to touch anything. You can only create it by speaking. Do you think you can do it?

Alright, you’ve got thirty seconds. Ready? Go.

Hmm… nothing happened. Why is that? It’s not because you did anything wrong. It’s because people can’t create like that.

We can draw.We can build. We can shape things that already exist. But we can’t speak something into existence. Only God can do that. And that’s why this matters.

If humans could create like God creates, then God wouldn’t be different from us. But the Bible says God is completely different.

When God creates, He doesn’t use materials.He doesn’t need help. He doesn’t need time.

God speaks, and things exist. And that’s not my idea. That’s what the Bible says.

Friends I want you to know the Bible starts by telling us exactly who God is.

If you guys have bibles you can turn to Genesis 1..

……

God Is Holy

But before i Get into that, we need to talk about who God is. Because if we misunderstand who God is, we will misunderstand everything else.

The Bible uses one word over and over again to describe God, and that word is holy.

In the book of Isaiah6:3

Isaiah 6:3 NLT

They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

When the Bible repeats a word three times like that, it’s not trying to be dramatic—it’s trying to show us how important that word is.

So what does holy mean?

Holy means that God is set apart. It means He is different from us. God is perfectly good, perfectly pure, and completely trustworthy.

God never lies. God never does wrong. God is never cruel, and God never makes mistakes. He is not broken like people are broken. He doesn’t change His mind about what is right and wrong, and He doesn’t wake up in a bad mood.

And here’s why that matters for us tonight.

A holy God doesn’t make accidents. A holy God doesn’t create things carelessly. A holy God doesn’t create people without purpose.

Everything God does is intentional and perfectly good. So when God created the world, it was good. And when God created people, the Bible says it was very good.

That means your life is not a mistake. God is not confused about you. God didn’t accidentally make you the way you are. Because God is holy, everything He creates has meaning—including you.

And that holiness leads us straight into the next truth, because the same holy God who is set apart and perfectly good is also the One who created everything that exists.

God is the Creator

The very first verse of the Bible says this:

Genesis 1:1 NLT

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

That verse already tells us something really important.

Before there were people — God existed.Before there was land, water, sky, or stars — God existed.

The Bible doesn’t start by trying to prove that God is real. It starts by telling us who God is.

God is the Creator.

So the Bible doesn’t begin with people. It begins with God.

Look again at what Genesis 1:1 says:

Genesis 1:1 (NLT) “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

That verse already tells us something really important.

Before there were people — God existed. Before there was land, water, sky, or stars — God existed.

The Bible doesn’t start by trying to prove that God is real. It starts by telling us who God is.

God is the Creator.

That word “created” matters. It means God didn’t find the world. God didn’t discover the universe. God didn’t borrow materials. God didn’t need help. God didn’t need time.

As you keep reading Genesis chapter 1, you’ll notice the same phrase shows up again and again: “And God said…”

God said, “Let there be light,” and light existed. God said, and the land appeared. God said, and living things filled the earth.

God speaks — and things exist.

That tells us something important about God. God is powerful. God is not limited. God is completely different from us.

And it also tells us something important about us.

If God is the Creator, then we are the created.

That means our lives don’t start with us. Our lives start with Him. It means the world doesn’t belong to people — it belongs to God. And it means the One who made everything has the right to speak into everything, including our lives.

And this brings us to the picture we’re going to use all week.

Session 1 looks like this:

GOD - US

At the beginning, there was no distance. No separation. No broken relationship.

God created people to be close to Him, to live in relationship with Him, and to walk with Him.

But before we talk about relationship, we need to understand something else God did when He created people — something very specific and very important.

And it is that we are…

Made in God’s Image

The Bible slows down when it gets to humans.

Genesis 1:26–27 NLT

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

The Bible is saying people are not just another part of creation. We’re not accidents. We’re not meaningless. We’re not just animals.

Being made in God’s image does not mean we look like God physically.

Being made in God’s image means God made us like Him in important ways. It means we can think. It means we can love. It means we can choose between right and wrong. It means we can have relationships. And it means we can know God.

this is what separates us from the rest of creation, the fact we are made in the image of the creator. This makes us precious in the sight of God.

Gender

Now I want to say this exactly the way the Bible says it, and I’m not changing the words, because this matters:

The Bible is also very clear about something else. When God created people, He created them as male and female. That means gender was not an accident. It was part of God’s good design. Both male and female are created by God. Both are made in God’s image. Both have equal value and dignity. No one is more important than someone else. No gender is better than the other. The Bible teaches that being male and female is part of how humans reflect God and live in relationship with Him and with each other. God decided gender and he didn’t make a mistake.

That means when God created people, He did it intentionally. Carefully. With purpose.

God didn’t rush. God didn’t guess. God didn’t make a mistake.

And because God is the Creator, and because He is holy, everything He creates has meaning — including you.

You Were Made to Know God

So now let’s slow down and put everything together.

God is holy. God is the Creator. You were made in His image.

That leads us to the most important question of the night:

Why did God make people at all?

The Bible’s answer is not vague, and it’s not complicated.

God didn’t create people just to exist. He didn’t create people just to work. He didn’t create people just to survive.

While yes those are aspects of why God created us..

From the very beginning, the Bible shows us that God created people for relationship.

That’s why, in the opening chapters of Genesis, we see God walking with people, talking with them, and being close to them. There is no distance. There is no fear. There is no separation.

This is why Session 1 looks like this:

GOD - US

No gap. No barrier. No broken relationship.

God made people to know Him, to walk with Him, and to live in relationship with Him.

And this isn’t something people came up with later. This is how it was meant to be from the very beginning.

You were created to know personally know God.

Not just to know facts about Him. Not just to know rules. But to actually know Him and be in a real relationship with the all powerful God…

That is mind Blowing!!

Our theme verse for this week, might be a verse that you have heard, or maybe it might be a new thing you have heard….

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Notice how that verse starts.

It starts with God’s heart. It starts with the Love of God… ....For God so loved….

Relationship always begins with God. Purpose begins with God. Love begins with God.

That means something really important for you tonight.

Your life is not an accident. You are not forgotten. You are not random.

Guys… you are not a mistake…

You exist because God wanted you to exist. In the perfect body that he created you in… You matter because God made you.

And you don’t need to understand everything yet. We’re going to take this story one step at a time all week. But tonight, I want you to leave with this truth clear in your mind and heart:

God created you on purpose and for a purpose; He made you to know Him.

Closing Moment

I want to take about 10 quiet seconds.

No talking. No moving around.

Just think about this:

God made you. God knows you. God is not confused about you.

But guys again:

God created us on purpose and for a purpose; He made us to know Him.

(10 seconds of silence.)

Then pray:

“God, if You’re real, help me know You this week. Amen.”