BROKEN BUT BUILT FOR THIS

A Baccalaureate Sermon for the Middletown Christian School 8th Grade Graduating Class

Scripture Foundation: Psalm 139:14 (NKJV) "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."

Supporting Text: Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Sermon Description: This sermon speaks directly to the graduating class and their families, declaring that God does not waste broken pieces. The brokenness of middle school — the struggles, the self-doubt, the failures, the pressure — was never a sign of abandonment. It was the raw material God used to build something beautiful. This message anchors graduates in their God-given identity and launches them into their next chapter with holy confidence.

Keywords: Identity, Brokenness, Purpose, God's Plan, Fearfully Made, Faith, Destiny, Courage, Transition, Wholeness

OPENING

Good morning, Middletown Christian School!

Good morning, Class of 2026!

Good morning, to every parent,

every teacher,

every family member

who believed in these scholars

when they could not always believe in themselves!

Before I say another word,

I want to give honor

where honor is eternally due —

to the One who wrote this story

before any of us had a single line.

As we prepare our hearts for God's Word,

I summon your senses

and invite your intellect

to the book of Psalms,

chapter 139,

verse 14.

And it is there

that the Holy Spirit has highlighted our context

for our sermonic time together this morning.

The Word of God declares:

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

marvelous are Your works,

and that my soul knows very well."

And the class theme says it perfectly —

Out of Our Brokenness, God Has a Plan.

So this morning,

I came to preach to the broken.

I came to preach to the bruised.

I came to preach to the one

who almost did not make it to today.

And I want to tell you something

before I get rolling —

you are not here by accident.

You are here by appointment.

POWERFUL INTRODUCTION

Let me paint you a picture.

Picture a mosaic.

You know what a mosaic is?

It is a piece of art.

But not just any art.

A mosaic is made

out of broken pieces.

Shattered tiles.

Cracked glass.

Fragments that look like

they belong in a trash can.

But a master artist

takes those broken pieces

and puts them together

in such a precise way,

such a deliberate way,

such a purposeful way —

that what was shattered

becomes something breathtaking.

You cannot make a mosaic

with whole, perfect pieces.

The beauty requires the breaking.

Class of 2026,

your theme is not a mistake.

Out of Our Brokenness, God Has a Plan.

That theme was not chosen by accident.

Somebody in this class

knows what it means

to be broken.

Somebody in this class

knows what it means

to cry yourself to sleep.

Somebody knows what it means

to feel like you do not fit.

To feel like everybody else

has it together —

and you are the only one

falling apart.

Somebody knows what it means

to look in the mirror

and not like what you see.

Somebody knows what it means

to be laughed at.

Left out.

Overlooked.

Underestimated.

And you made it anyway.

Not because you were perfect.

But because the God

who made you

does not waste broken things.

He recycles brokenness into beauty.

He repurposes pain into power.

He transforms your worst chapter

into your greatest testimony.

NARRATIVE AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Now I need to take you to the Word.

Because I do not want to just inspire you —

I want to anchor you.

The 139th Psalm

was written by a man named David.

Now David was not a perfect man.

He was not a polished man.

He was not a man

who had it all figured out.

David was a shepherd boy

who everybody forgot about.

When the prophet Samuel came

to anoint the next king of Israel,

his own father

did not even call him in from the field.

Out of eight sons,

David was not even on the list.

He was overlooked.

He was underestimated.

He was the youngest.

He was the least likely.

And yet —

God said, "That's my king."

David also knew what brokenness felt like.

He faced Goliath.

He ran from Saul.

He lived in caves.

He lost a child.

He betrayed a friend.

He failed as a father.

David was no stranger to broken pieces.

But David wrote Psalm 139

from a place of deep revelation.

He had walked through enough

to look back and see

that God was there

in every single moment.

He wrote,

"I will praise You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

The word fearfully in the original Hebrew

means with great reverence and awe.

God did not make you casually.

God did not make you carelessly.

When God made you,

He was not distracted.

He was not rushed.

He was not having a bad day.

He leaned in.

He was intentional.

He was precise.

Every detail.

Every feature.

Every quirk.

Every gift.

Every passion.

Every dimension of who you are —

God said, "Yes. That's exactly right."

And then the Psalmist says,

"marvelous are Your works,

and that my soul knows very well."

In other words —

David was not just saying it.

David had convinced himself.

He had to look at his own life,

look at his own mess,

look at his own scars,

and make a declaration:

"I know that God made me well."

And Class of 2026,

that is what I need you to do today.

Not just hear it.

Not just receive it as a compliment.

I need you to know it.

Know it in your bones.

Know it in your spirit.

Know it so deeply

that no bully,

no bad grade,

no broken home,

no broken heart,

no broken relationship

can ever take it from you.

MOVEMENT ONE: THE BREAKING IS NOT THE ENDING

"Out of Our Brokenness, God Has a Plan."

I need you to understand something

about brokenness.

Brokenness is not the end of the story.

Brokenness is where the story gets good.

Now stay with me.

Think about a seed.

Before that seed

can become a tree,

it has to be broken open.

The shell has to crack.

The outer covering has to split.

And if you did not know

what you were looking at,

you might think

that seed was destroyed.

But that cracking open —

that was not death.

That was the beginning of life.

Some of you came through middle school cracked open.

Maybe it was a family situation.

Maybe it was a health challenge.

Maybe it was a friendship that fell apart.

Maybe it was a grade that told you

that you were not smart enough.

Maybe something happened in these last few years

that cracked you open

and you did not understand it.

But I need you to hear this today —

the cracking open was not the end.

That was the beginning.

Because you cannot grow

while you are sealed up tight.

You cannot stretch

while you are comfortable.

You cannot become

what God called you to be

without a little breaking.

The breaking is not the verdict on your life.

The breaking is the soil

where your destiny is planted.

Jeremiah 29:11 says —

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,

says the Lord,

thoughts of peace and not of evil,

to give you a future and a hope."

God knew the thoughts before you did.

God had the plan before you had the pain.

When you were going through it —

God already saw the way out.

When you were crying in the dark —

God already had the dawn scheduled.

When the weight felt unbearable —

God already had the breakthrough written.

The breaking is not the ending.

The breaking is where God begins.

MOVEMENT TWO: YOU WERE MADE ON PURPOSE, FOR A PURPOSE

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

I need to talk to some young people directly right now.

Middle school

is one of the hardest seasons

a human being can face.

Now I am not joking.

Adults forget it.

They look back and laugh.

But when you are in it —

it is not funny.

Middle school is when you start asking

the hard questions.

Who am I?

Do I matter?

Am I enough?

Do I belong?

And the enemy —

the devil —

loves to attack your identity

during the season

when you are still figuring out who you are.

He whispers lies.

"You are not smart enough."

"You are not pretty enough."

"You are not talented enough."

"You will never amount to anything."

"Nobody really cares about you."

And if you hear a lie long enough,

you start to believe it.

But let me tell you what the Word says.

God said you are fearfully made.

That means you were constructed with awe-inspiring care.

God said you are wonderfully made.

That means you are distinguished.

Set apart.

One of a kind.

There is nobody else

with your exact fingerprint.

There is nobody else

with your exact combination of gifts.

There is nobody else

who can fulfill

the specific assignment

God wrote for your life.

You were made on purpose.

For a purpose.

With a purpose already inside you.

The devil attacks identity

because he knows that if you ever find out

who you really are —

you become dangerous to his kingdom.

He does not attack what is worthless.

He attacks what has value.

So the next time the enemy

tries to tell you that you are nothing —

receive it as a compliment.

Because it means he has seen your future

and it frightens him.

You do not disturb what does not threaten you.

If the devil is after you —

it means you carry something

he cannot afford to let loose on this world.

Walk in it.

Declare it.

Live like you believe it.

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Say it like you mean it.

Say it until you feel it.

Say it until the lie has nowhere left to live.

MOVEMENT THREE: THE PIT IS NOT YOUR PERMANENT ADDRESS

Now I want to take you somewhere for a moment.

I want to talk about Joseph.

Young people, write this name down in your spirit —

Joseph.

Joseph was a young man

with a dream.

A God-given dream.

A heaven-assigned vision.

But the road to his destiny

did not look like his dream.

His own brothers hated him.

His own family betrayed him.

They stripped him of his coat.

They threw him in a pit.

They sold him into slavery.

And Joseph ended up

in a place

he did not choose,

serving people

who did not appreciate him,

in a land

that was not his home.

And then — just when things looked like

they might get better —

he was falsely accused.

He was thrown into prison.

He was forgotten.

For years.

Now let me ask you something.

If you were Joseph,

what would you be thinking?

"God, where are You?"

"God, did I get it wrong?"

"God, I had a dream — was it a lie?"

"God, I did everything right — why is this my life?"

Has anybody in here ever prayed that prayer?

Has anybody ever done the right thing

and still ended up in the pit?

Has anybody ever believed God

and still had to wait?

Well, I have good news for Joseph.

And I have good news for you.

The pit is not your permanent address.

The prison is not the period.

The pause is not the plan.

The waiting room is not the destination.

Joseph went from the pit —

to the palace.

Not despite his brokenness.

Because of it.

Because in the pit,

he developed perseverance.

In the prison,

he developed perspective.

In the waiting,

he developed wisdom.

And when his moment came —

he was ready.

Class of 2026,

you have been in some pits.

Middle school was a pit for some of you.

Family situations were a pit.

Loneliness was a pit.

Self-doubt was a pit.

Fear was a pit.

But you are not in the pit today.

You are at the palace steps.

You are walking out.

You are moving forward.

You are graduating.

And everything the enemy meant for evil

in your life —

God is already turning it for good.

Genesis 50:20 says it plainly:

"You meant evil against me;

but God meant it for good."

What they meant for your destruction

God designed for your destiny.

What was supposed to break you

only built you.

The pit prepared you.

The pain promoted you.

The pressure produced something in you

that comfort never could.

MOVEMENT FOUR: GOD DOES NOT BUILD WITH PERFECT PIECES

Now I need to go back to the mosaic.

I started there and I am coming back there

because I need you to see something.

Every great thing God has ever built —

He built with broken people.

Moses had a speech problem.

God made him a deliverer.

Gideon was hiding in a winepress,

paralyzed by fear.

God called him a mighty warrior.

Ruth was a widow,

a foreigner,

a woman with nothing.

God wrote her into the lineage of Jesus.

Peter denied Jesus three times.

God made him the rock on which the church was built.

Paul persecuted the church.

God made him the greatest missionary in history.

God does not build with perfect pieces.

God builds with broken, surrendered people.

The question is not,

"Am I good enough?"

The question is,

"Am I available?"

The question is not,

"Do I have it all together?"

The question is,

"Will I give God the broken pieces?"

Because if you will hand God the broken pieces,

He will make something

you could never imagine,

you could never design,

you could never engineer on your own.

He is the Master Artist.

You are the mosaic.

And the breaking

was just preparation

for the masterpiece.

MOVEMENT FIVE: WALK INTO YOUR NEXT CHAPTER WITHOUT FEAR

Now I need to talk to you about what comes next.

You are leaving middle school.

You are walking into high school.

And I would be dishonest with you

if I told you

high school was easy.

It is not.

The pressures get bigger.

The choices get harder.

The voices get louder.

The world is going to tell you

who you are supposed to be.

Social media is going to tell you

what you are supposed to look like.

Culture is going to try

to write your story for you.

And you are going to be tempted —

every single day —

to forget

who made you.

But today —

before you walk through that door —

I need you to plant something

in the foundation of your soul.

God made you.

God knows you.

God has a plan for you.

And God does not make mistakes.

Psalm 139 is not just a pretty verse

for a graduation ceremony.

It is a weapon.

It is a shield.

It is a declaration

you are supposed to pull out

every time the enemy tries to tell you

that you are not enough.

When the college rejection letter comes —

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

When the relationship falls apart —

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

When the job does not come through —

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

When the diagnosis is frightening —

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

When the whole world seems against you —

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Say it until you survive the storm.

Say it until the morning comes.

Say it until your soul catches up with your declaration.

MOVEMENT SIX: THIS IS YOUR MOMENT

Now let me say something

to the parents in this room.

You have carried these children through brokenness too.

Some of you worked two jobs

so your child could be in this seat.

Some of you prayed through the night

over a child you were not sure

was going to make it through.

Some of you cried tears

that your child never even saw.

And God saw every single one of those tears.

Not one prayer went unanswered.

Not one sacrifice went unnoticed.

Not one sleepless night went uncounted.

God was building your family

even in the breaking.

And to the teachers and faculty —

you poured into these scholars

when they were not easy to pour into.

You showed up.

You believed in them

when they did not believe in themselves.

That is not just education.

That is ministry.

And God will reward it.

THE CLOSING — RISING INTO CELEBRATION

Now let me bring this home.

Class of 2026,

I want you to look at where you are sitting right now.

Look at what you are wearing.

Think about what it took to get here.

The nights you wanted to quit.

The assignments that felt impossible.

The friendships that hurt.

The days when school felt like a battlefield.

And yet —

you are here.

You did not give up.

You did not break beyond repair.

You bent —

but you did not break.

And the reason you are still standing

is not because you are the strongest.

It is because the God who made you

would not let you fall.

He was there in the pit.

He was there in the pressure.

He was there in the tears.

He was there in the trial.

He was there in the silence.

He was there in the confusion.

He was there in the classroom.

He was there at 2 in the morning

when you were crying

and you did not know why.

God was there.

God is here.

God is going before you into every room

you have not yet entered.

Jeremiah said —

"I know the thoughts I think toward you —

thoughts of peace and not of evil —

to give you a future and a hope."

He already thought about your future.

He already planned your hope.

He already wrote your ending.

And the ending is good.

The ending is powerful.

The ending is a testimony.

Out of your brokenness —

God has a plan.

THE WHOOP — EXPLOSIVE CLOSING

So I need you to hear me now.

God does not waste broken things.

He doesn't waste them!

He took a broken world

and sent His Son to redeem it!

He took a broken man named Moses

and used him to part the sea!

He took a broken woman at the well

and turned her into an evangelist!

He took a broken cross on a hill called Calvary —

what looked like defeat,

what looked like failure,

what looked like the end —

and on the third day —

He turned it into the greatest victory

in the history of eternity!

If He can do that with a cross —

He can do something with your brokenness!

He can take the pieces.

He can put them together.

He can create something

the world has never seen!

You came in broken —

but you are walking out built!

You came in uncertain —

but you are walking out anointed!

You came in afraid —

but you are walking out appointed!

You came through the fire —

but you are walking out refined!

The devil thought the breaking was the end!

But God said —

"That was just the beginning!"

Middle school tried to stop you —

but it only strengthened you!

The enemy tried to define you —

but God already named you!

The world tried to limit you —

but heaven already ordained you!

And you are not just graduates —

you are evidence!

Evidence that God keeps His promises!

Evidence that His Word is true!

Evidence that brokenness does not disqualify you —

it qualifies you for the glory God is about to put on your life!

So walk out of here today

with your head high!

Walk out of here

knowing who made you!

Walk out of here

knowing why you are here!

Walk out of here

with Psalm 139:14 burning in your chest!

You are fearfully made —

that means God was in AWE

when He designed you!

You are wonderfully made —

that means there is WONDER

written all over your life!

Marvelous are His works —

and YOU are one of His works!

A MARVELOUS work!

A breathtaking work!

An unfinished masterpiece

that heaven is not done with yet!

The broken pieces are in His hands now!

And when God holds the broken pieces —

He does not throw them away!

He builds something beautiful!

BROKEN BUT BUILT FOR THIS!

BROKEN BUT BUILT FOR THIS!

BROKEN —

but BUILT —

for exactly THIS!

THIS moment!

THIS calling!

THIS generation!

THIS future!

God did not bring you this far to leave you!

He did not carry you through the pit

to abandon you at the palace!

He is FAITHFUL!

He is FOR you!

He is WITH you!

He is AHEAD of you!

And the best days of your life

are not behind you —

they are in front of you!

Walk into your future

with holy boldness!

Walk into high school

like you know who you are!

Walk into tomorrow

like your name is already written in heaven!

Because if God be for you —

WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU?!

If He made you fearfully —

WHO CAN MAKE YOU AFRAID?!

If He made you wonderfully —

WHO CAN MAKE YOU DOUBT?!

If He has a plan for your future —

WHO CAN CANCEL YOUR DESTINY?!

NOBODY!

NOTHING!

NOT THE PAST!

NOT THE PAIN!

NOT THE PIT!

NOT THE ENEMY!

NOT EVEN YOUR OWN MISTAKES!

BECAUSE GOD —

THE GOD WHO MADE YOU,

THE GOD WHO KNOWS YOU,

THE GOD WHO CALLED YOU —

HAS A PLAN!

And that plan is good!

And that plan is sure!

And that plan is already finished in eternity!

OUT OF YOUR BROKENNESS —

GOD HAS A PLAN!

OUT OF YOUR PAIN —

GOD HAS A PLAN!

OUT OF YOUR PRESSURE —

GOD HAS A PLAN!

OUT OF YOUR PAST —

GOD HAS A PLAN!

AND THAT PLAN —

IS YOU!

FINAL CLOSING DECLARATION

Class of 2026, say this with me and carry it into your future:

"I am fearfully made.

I am wonderfully made.

I am broken, but I am built.

God has a plan —

and I am walking in it."

Now give God the praise He deserves

for bringing you here today!

To God be all the glory.

Amen.

Preached by Pastor Casey Adams Middletown Christian School — 8th Grade Baccalaureate Saturday, June 13, 2026 | Middletown Seventh-day Adventist Church