CORE: Everyone Matters To God

Intro:

Our CORE Values are to help govern the culture we create here at ElementChurch

There are certain attitudes and intentions we want people to sense when they gather with us or meet us in the community.

Our CORE Values are pulled out of understanding who God is, what God says, and how God calls us to live!

Why is this important?

Creating a culture where people feel loved, validated, and accepted will give us a greater chance at introducing them to Jesus

As a unified church, we should be saying ONE thing....not 150 different things.

Our CORE Values shape our attitudes and motivations as we live out the MISSION and VISION of Element Church

Vision = Lead people into a transformational relationship with Jesus

Mission = Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples [Great Command+Great Commission]

No matter how big we get, or how we multiply this movement, we always want to have ONE MESSAGE as ONE CHURCH.

Note:

Our Core Values will be saturated in this “God is love”

1 John 4:8 ESV

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16 ESV

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Since we have experienced God’s love, and since we know God through His Son Jesus, we are motivated by this LOVE towards those around us!

The Puzzle Piece:

The puzzle piece will be our illustration for the next few weeks

EVERY TIME you come here GRAB A PUZZLE PIECE!

Everyone Matters To God

If everyone matters to God then everyone matters to us!

We must remember 3 truths about every human being

The puzzle piece will be our illustration for the next few weeks

EVERY TIME you come here GRAB A PUZZLE PIECE!

There is an epidemic in our communities

It’s taking people’s lives, destroying marriages, filling up jails, over crowding rehab centers, it’s clogging suicide hotlines, and more

I believe [AS A CHURCH] we can make a huge difference in our community....just by helping people understand that THEY MATTER TO GOD!

What we see going on in the lives of others isn’t always the problem

[example: An addiction to porn, alcohol, drugs, money, etc......goes way beyond the substance! An addiction is a CRY FOR HELP, it’s a CRY FOR MEANING, it’s a CRY TO BE HEARD, it’s a CRY TO BE LOVED, it’s a CRY FOR HOPE!]

As a church, we have to be willing to go to EVERYONE and show them that THEY MATTER TO GOD!

How, we do this by showing them their VALUE AND WORTH!

We must remember 3 truths about every human being

Everyone is created by God in His imagine

Every living human is an imagine bearer.

Everything in was SPOKEN into existence but in “God CREATED [handled, formed, fashioned…etc] man in his own image!”

Every human is a CREATED one that bears God’s IMAGINE

Because everyone is a created masterpiece and imagine bearer, we restrain from casting judgments based on color, gender, or appearances.

Just because people may look different than myself, gives me no right to treat them any less than a child of God!

Just because someone has a different nationality than my own, doesn’t not make he or she any less of an intentionally planned out creation of God that bears His imagine.

In-fact, people’s diversity is just another reminder of God’s endless creativity shown in His creation.

Puzzle piece:

Just like this puzzle piece bears an image, so do we. We hold a special piece of God’s character, love, strength, grace, etc within our lives!

You are more than who you see in the mirror!

You are more than what the scale says about you!

YOU HAVE BEEN CREATED....your color, gender, height, weight, smile, voice, feet, laugh......they all were CREATED to show forth the goodness of the CREATOR [God almighty]

STOP putting yourself down

2. Everyone is of great value and worth

John 3:16–17 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Your value and worth are defined by the sacrifice that Jesus made in hopes that you’d serve, follow, and love Him as Savior!

Just the fact that Jesus dies for the WORLD, [knowing that not everyone will value or find His sacrifice of any worth] should emphasis how much He truly loves us and values us.

Your worth isn’t based on your economic status, career, martial status, educational status, nationality, age, etc. NO, what God says about you and what God has done for you has set His value and worth on your life!

Because every human life holds great value and worth, we will always choose life!

When faced with difficult situations we will do our best to value life like Jesus.

Our motivations as a church will never be to end life but to offer life!

Puzzle piece:

Every piece is VALUABLE! We may not feel that way, but our feelings don’t always tell us the truth!

If we were tasked with assembling this puzzle, and one of you walked out and threw your piece in the street.....we would never be able to get the full picture of what God is creating!

The puzzle [image] would be incomplete....it would be lacking!

Who you are is of GREAT WORTH!

STOP GIVING YOURSELF AWAY TO PEOPLE + THINGS WHO DON’T VALUE YOU LIKE GOD VALUES YOU!

You’re not just special, you are VITAL to what God is doing!

3. Everyone has a future

We believe that every person has a purpose!

God would not create you with such carefulness, if He didn’t have a purpose for your life!

We want to be the church that helps people find their purpose so that they can flourish in Christ!

Psalm 139:1–5 ESV

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

What’s the purpose of God knowing us FULLY if He didn’t have a specific plan and purpose for our lives!!?

You BELONG to something BIGGER than your job, family, car, bank account, school, football team, etc.!!

Puzzle piece:

YOU ARE VALUABLE BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE OF A KIND!

YOU FIT! YOU HAVE A SPACE!!

Just the fact that you were created with such carefulness is evidence that you have an important FUTURE!

Puzzles don’t come with pieces that don’t go anywhere

Every piece of the puzzle has a future....has a destination

Conclusion:

We all go through moments where we de-value our lives [we think we are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough, etc.] but all those are lies that we are being told by the enemy.

If Satan can get us to forfeit our value, worth, and future.....we will begin to believe that we are not created by God, that we don’t bear any image of any thing important.

Stop the lies

Help others believe the truth about who they are

Take this puzzle piece and write YOU MATTER and give it to someone who needs to hear the truth of God about themselves!