God Makes Us Valuable

ME: God Creates Life (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7;)

G'Day Mates!

My name is Josh Clink, I am the preaching pastor here at FBC Afton.

This past week, I got to be Crocodile Clink while playing games with the kids!

This morning, I would just like to talk about how God makes us valuable and what that means.

Our theme, as you already know,

Has been Zoomerang!

Inspired by this Australian invention,

The boomerang!

This is a pretty crafty invention.

They were able to simply carve a piece of wood into a curve,

That can be thrown against the heavy winds in the Australian Outback,

And it will come right back to you.

Such a cool invention!

Throughout human history,

People have come up with so many amazing inventions!

For example,

When I do this *mute mic*

Suddenly you guys can’t hear me as well.

*unmute mic*

Thankfully, someone invented all this audio equipment so we could hear better.

There are so many other cool inventions,

Like the chair,

Which most of you are sitting in,

Or buildings,

Like the one we are gathered in.

Fans, like all the ones we have blowing,

To help keep us cool on hot days like today.

It is stunning how creative humans can be.

Where does that ability come from?

The Bible says human creativity comes from an even more creative source, God!

While we use the things God created for our inventions,

God created everything out of nothing!

He invented creativity!

The first page of Bible says God created the earth;

He created light and the oceans and the sky and the mountains and trees and plants.

Then He started filling the earth by creating animals;

He created animals for the water and birds to fly in the air.

He created animals that walk and animals that crawl.

Then the Bible says He created something unlike anything else.

He created something in His own image!

Slide

Genesis 1:26 says:

Genesis 1:26 ESV

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Notice God says “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

This is because God is mysteriously three distinct persons:

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Yet miraculously still one God.

He is too great for us to fully understand!

He is amazing!

And what does it say this amazing God created in His image?

Human beings!

He made the first people in His image,

And His image has been passed on to every person since.

But what does it mean that we are created in God’s image?

Well, if you look in a mirror, what do you see?

You see your image!

If you make a funny face, your image makes a funny face.

So, being made in the image of God means we reflect the image of God.

Therefore, all people have their own unique personality,

Just like the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Yet, there are many ways we all are the same.

Because we are the only thing God made to reflect some of His qualities and characteristics.

There is something special about being human.

Every person; man, woman, and child,

Is made with equal value,

Because all people are made in God’s image.

So, what are these qualities and characteristics?

Well, God is a caring and compassionate God.

So, we are able to care for one another, and have compassion.

God communicates with us.

So, we are able to communicate with one another.

And God is creative and inventive.

So, we can create and invent things, too!

But most importantly,

The Bible says God is love.

So, we are able to love.

We are able to love God and one another.

Again, the Father, Son, and Spirit have always enjoyed a loving relationship with one another.

And God made us in that image,

To enjoy a loving relationship with Him,

And with our friends and families.

These qualities make us unique from everything else God created.

Slide

This is my dog Forest,

Snuggling with my cat, Fiddle in the car.

I love my pets,

And of course I am a little biased,

But I think they are pretty smart.

However, neither of them can read or write.

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As beautiful and majestic as this waterfall is,

No waterfall has ever invented or created anything.

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And yes, the ocean may wave to you,

But that is the extent of it’s ability to communicate.

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We have all likely heard birds make a beautiful melody on a nice day,

But they cannot play an instrument.

Because nothing else God has created has these qualities.

Only those who have the image of God.

Slide

So, the image of God gives us a relationship with God.

This gets at the reason why God created us,

To have a relationship with Him!

Imagine you are going to have the best birthday party ever!

It is going to be so much fun!

As you are planning the party,

You begin inviting all your friends and family members,

All the people you love and care about, why?

Because you want them to experience your amazing birthday party!

This is kinda like why God created us in His image.

He is like the best birthday party ever!

Times infinite!

So, He created people in His image to share Himself with us!

So, we all could enjoy having a relationship with Him!

Genesis 2:7 explains when God created people in a little more detail.

Slide

It says,

Genesis 2:7 ESV

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

It says God formed us from dust,

Almost like when we make something out of playdoh.

But then God does something with it that we cannot do with playdoh.

It says, He takes the physical body He formed from dust,

And breaths life, a spirit, into us.

This is what forms people into living creatures.

We are the only part of creation that God breaths life into like this.

So, this spirit in us reflects some of God’s invisible qualities:

Like knowledge, thoughts, and morality.

And it is this spirit in each of us that gives us all our distinct personalities.

But then through our physical body we experience our environment,

And enjoy the creation that is around us.

God did all this out of love.

He wanted to share Himself and His creativity.

And we know this because He also gave us His Word,

The Bible,

To tell us this.

In the Bible, He does not just show His creativity.

He also tells us how much He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us.

That is why He made us in His image.

By doing so, He creates us with inherent value.

We do not earn or create our own value.

Slide

God has made us valuable by making us in His Image.

I asked some of the kids this week to talk about something valuable to them.

For some of them, it was their favorite pieces of clothing or jewelry.

For others, it was toys.

For many it was family or pets.

But what about you, parents?

What is something valuable to you?

Maybe you have some important documents,

Like a birth or wedding certificates?

Or maybe you have some fine china or your car?

Perhaps you have some sort of sports memorabilia signed by one of your favorite athletes?

Or maybe it is your kids or other family members that you think of as well.

Whatever it is, just think about that valuable thing.

Now, how do you treat your valuable thing?

Maybe you may keep it locked in a safe.

Or you store it in a special place.

You always clean it thoroughly after your done using it.

If it is a person, you treat them nicely or take care of them.

Whatever it is that is valuable to you,

You treat it with care, right?

Because it is valuable!

So, the Bible says you are valuable to God because you are made in His image.

Every person is valuable to God.

It is so tragic how many people struggle with feeling worthless.

Perhaps that is you,

Or maybe there is someone you know who feels this way.

Hear me closely,

The Bible says you are not worthless,

The image of God is the antidote to your feelings of worthlessness.

You are valuable to God.

WE: We Devalue Life (Gen. 2:17, 3:6; Psalm 139:13-16)

So, where do these feelings of worthlessness come from?

Ultimately, they come from us.

Because we have been deceived and bought the lie that we determine what is valuable.

Slide

And by doing so, We Devalue Life.

This plays out again and again,

But the very first time this happened.

It was with Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman.

And we call this the fall.

In Gen. 2:17, God told Adam,

Not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Why?

Because, God said, if you do, you will die.

This death God warns about is talking about the death of our spirit.

Because God is immortal.

He made people immortal in His image.

But if people end up eating from this tree,

Then it would destine the human spirit for death.

So, what happened?

We humans devalued life.

Slide

Tragically, Gen. 3:6 says,

Genesis 3:6 ESV

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

It says she looked at the tree and she decided it looked good,

Despite God warning them that eating it devalues life to the point of death.

Yet, the man and the woman wanted to determine what was valuable for themselves,

So, they took the fruit and they rebelled against God by eating it.

They had every reason to trust and obey God,

But they consciously chose to disobey.

This is the fall.

This describes sin.

Sin is essentially our failure to trust in God.

It comes from a place of unbelief,

And an assumption that we as humans are independent from God.

Now, since the fall, the image of God remains in us but it has been damaged and distorted.

Because, the Bible says, we all are guilty of sin.

Since this moment in Gen. 3,

To now, all humans have devalued life and sinned.

Because, like Adam and Eve, we want to determine what has value and what doesn’t,

Regardless of what God says.

So, we too consciously choose to disobey God.

As a result, we no longer perfectly reflect all of God’s qualities.

His image has been diminished.

Which is sad because when God first made the human body out of dust,

It did not age or decline.

There was no death.

Because this was not what God wanted to be a part of the human experience.

But now, because of the fall,

And because of our sin,

Our bodies get hurt, damaged, and broken.

Our minds get tangled and twisted.

And we devalue life.

Yet, we can still praise God,

Because He continues to maintain the value of life.

Slide

As Psalm 139:14 says,

Psalm 139:14 ESV

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

This was our theme verse for the week.

And many of the kids memorized it.

Slide

In fact, anyone who knows it,

Go ahead and stand up.

And from your seat,

Say the verse nice and loud with me.

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well.”

Awesome! Thanks guys! You did great!

You can sit back down now.

We talked about this a lot this week.

But I want you all to think about what it means for something to be fearfully made.

Let me see if I can help us to understand this by talking about Legos.

That’s right, Legos.

I have seen a couple episodes of this show called Lego Masters.

Where contestants are given days to create these huge lego constructions.

Slide

As they get farther along into their builds,

I notice they often begin shaking,

They sweat,

They slow down,

They pause and take deep breaths.

They are fearfully making their lego creations.

Not because they are afraid of what they just built.

Slide

But because they don’t want something like this to happen.

Why?

Because their creation is valuable to them.

It is their masterpiece.

That is the idea the person who wrote this Psalm is getting at.

It goes back to communicating the value we have as being made in God’s image.

We are Gods’ masterpiece.

And from a human perspective,

The author of the Psalm could think of no better way to describe us.

Slide

So, we devalue life because of sin.

Yet, God still deserves praise,

Because we are still fearfully and wonderfully made.

GOD: Jesus Values Life (Matthew 1-2; Luke 2)

This means Jesus Values Life.

He was not willing to sit back while the valuable humans God created were being devalued.

So, He entered into the world the same way we do.

By being born as a baby.

But the only difference is that,

Slide

All other people are made in God’s image,

While Jesus is God’s image.

So, His life on earth perfectly demonstrated how He values life.

However, history shows how people have devalued life.

Unlike Jesus,

We have not treated one another with kindness, love, care, and respect.

We often do not treat people the way we want to be treated.

But because God loves us.

And Jesus loves us.

He empowers people to progressively grow in love for others.

He progressively restores in us the image of God we have distorted.

Jesus teaches us how to do this.

Slide

One of His most basic lessons is in Luke 6:31,

Luke 6:31 ESV

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

We often call this the Golden Rule.

To treat others the way you want to be treated.

Jesus is the only person to ever do this perfectly.

Because He values every life!

He values the people who live out in the middle of nowhere.

He values the people on tropical islands.

He values the people who live in the big city.

He values the little kids in their mommy’s belly,

And He values the mommy and daddy too.

He values sons and daughters,

Brothers and sisters,

Aunts and uncles,

Grandmas and grandpas.

He values the professional athletes,

He values those who are sick or disabled.

He values inventors and teachers.

And He values the poor and homeless too.

It does not matter who you are, where you are from, what you have done, or what has happened to you,

Jesus values everyone everywhere,

Slide

So, Jesus values you.

You are made in God’s image.

You are valuable.

So, because Jesus values every life,

The Bible records how Jesus treated every person with respect and kindness.

Therefore, we should treat others this way too!

That is why things like bullying, gossip, teasing, and lying are so terrible.

Because doing these things is acting as if your life is more valuable than others.

But you don’t want to be treated as if you were less valuable than someone else.

Therefore, the bible says to treat others as equally valuable.

Like Jesus, value life,

And treat others with kindness and respect.

YOU: Restored to Everlasting Life (John 11:25)

But let me just say,

Jesus is still growing me in this way.

I am still a work in progress.

And you will still be a work in progress.

But the Bible promises that if you trust Jesus,

You are Restored to Everlasting Life.

When that full restoration comes,

Then you will value life just as Jesus does.

The promise of everlasting life,

Goes back to you being made in the image of God.

But it is even better because you will no longer experience the consequences of the fall.

The Bible says that God loves you so much,

That He sent Jesus to die.

So, you could have everlasting life.

Remember, God creates life.

He created you in His image.

But the Bible says we devalue life by our sin.

The consequence of sin was a fall from perfectly reflecting God’s image.

So, now even though you are still made in the image of God,

You sin and disobey God.

Whether it is because you don’t listen to our parents,

Or you treat others unkindly,

Or you tell itty bitty little white lies,

You would probably admit that you are not perfect.

Slide

The Bible says it this way:

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

So that includes me, and that includes you,

That includes all of us.

This is a problem.

Because our sin means we fall short of God.

Remember the example of why you invite all your friends to the best birthday party ever?

Well now imagine some of them are on their way to the party but they get lost and never show up.

That is what your sin does to you.

It causes you to fall short of a relationship with God.

Causing you to miss out,

Like the friends who get lost on the way to the party.

But you cannot perfectly reflect God’s image on your own,

You will always fall short.

That goes back to the reason why Jesus came to earth.

Even though we all fall short,

He still values life.

So, He came down to us.

But He never sinned.

He never fell short of the glory of God.

He was the perfect image of God.

He loved people,

Cared for people,

Healed the sick,

Valued those with diseases,

Ate with the poor,

And spent time with the people that no one else valued.

Slide

Then, He made the ultimate sacrifice to prove how much He values life.

Remember, God told the first person that if he ate from the tree he would die.

Elsewhere, the Bible clearly says the consequence of sin is death.

So, Jesus took the consequence of my sin and your sin.

He values you so much,

That He gave His life to give you life.

But the incredible thing is,

Jesus did not stay dead!

He rose to life!

Slide

Proving true what He said earlier in John 11:25,

John 11:25 (ESV)

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

This means life does not end at death,

If you trust in Jesus,

Because He restored everlasting life.

Therefore, when you acknowledge that you have sinned,

And you ask God to forgive your sins in Jesus Name,

And trust that Jesus gave His life to give you life.

The Bible says you are then restored to eternal life.

You will get to have a relationship with God forever!

You won’t miss the party!

Now, this does not mean you or your life will suddenly become perfect.

But the Bible teaches that being restored to everlasting life,

Means that God is with you,

Through the good stuff and the bad stuff in this world.

And it means that there will come a time when God gets rid of all the bad stuff,

And you get to be with Him for all eternity.

WE: A Purposeful Life (Eph. 2:10; Matt. 28:19-20)

Until then, Jesus gives us all a purposeful life.

Slide

God tells us in Eph. 2:10,

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

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

So, God has special jobs for each of us.

We are all needed.

The Bible says every person who trusts in Jesus is a member of His body.

We all become a part of His team,

To work together,

To do amazing things for His glory!

Slide

We are valuable and have valuable work to do.

We all have different jobs and talents and when we work together,

We can get things done for God!

For example,

Imagine if at VBS everyone had the lesson as their job.

You would come to the gym,

And no one would greet you, give you a name tag, or sign you in.

Then you would come and sit on the floor because nothing would be setup.

Then we wouldn’t have any songs,

Instead, it would be a lesson.

Then we would go outside but their would be no games,

We would have a lesson.

Then we would go upstairs,

But there’s no craft,

We would have a lesson.

Then we would come back into the gym,

Tummy’s rumbling, hungry,

But there is no table,

No snacks,

You sit down on the gym floor again,

And we would have a lesson.

Then you would go home and come back to do it all again tomorrow!

There are so many things we would miss out on,

If we all had the same job.

So, God gave us all special jobs,

Slide

That contribute to the main job Jesus gave us all in Matt. 28:19-20,

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is the purpose of our life.

The share the good news about Jesus to others.

So, that more valuable people,

Who are made in the image of God,

Will trust in Jesus,

And be restored to everlasting life.

Slide

We all have a purposeful life.

Because every life is valuable.

So, I am going to close with a prayer that expresses trust in Jesus,

That you can repeat in your head to God.

But if you have any questions about anything from this morning or this past week,

Or if you trust in Jesus and repeat this prayer.

Please talk to somebody before leaving today.

I will be at the welcome table immediately after service.

You can talk to me.

Better yet, could everyone who served at VBS this week just raise their hand.

Look around,

After service,

We are hanging out,

Having some games and food.

During that time, talk to one of the people who have their hands up,

They would love to talk to you about this.

Okay, thank you, you can put your hands down now.

Let us Pray.