You Matter to God!

 We will get back to Genesis in the next service.  For now, I ask you a simple question.  What is a sermon?

You may have different answers.  I hope you do, and they better not include the words naptime or hostage situation.

In its most basic form, a sermon is just a collection of phrases and sentences strung together.  That’s all I’m going to do this morning is put some sentences together.  Here we go.

 

God is great.

God is good.

God created everything good, even very good.

God knows all.

God is above all.

God is love.

 

God loves you.

God will never stop loving you.

God will never leave nor forsake you.

God is with you wherever you go.

God lives within you and will be with you through the end of the age.

God will fight for you.

God has stood in your place to pay for your sins.

God has ransomed and redeemed you.

God has released you from the power of sin and death.

 

God has an inheritance for you.

God has a place prepared for you.

Eye has not seen and ear has not heard what the Lord God has in store for you.

God has good plans for you.

God’s ways and his thoughts are higher than our own.

God gave us the mind of Christ.

 

You are made in God’s image.

God loves you so much that he gave his one and only Son to die for you.

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world.

You will be with God forever.

You are God’s crowning jewel of his creation.

You matter.

You have important work to do as part of God’s will, as part of  his plan.

God trusts you with important things.

God has already promised to forgive you even before your sin is conceived in your heart, mind, or actions.

God wants you to talk to him and listen to him every day.

God wants you to lift up your voice to him.

God wants you to ask him for what you need, and to be bold about it.

 

We deserve condemnation.  We receive mercy.

We deserve little.  God gives us his grace generously.

We live in a world of disorder.  God brings order to chaos.

Our sin is extensive.  God’s grace goes far beyond our sin.

 

A few weeks ago, I talked with the session about challenge and support.  I know my nature is to challenge, but on occasion, we need some support. 

So, as we go through Genesis and sometimes it’s hard to see the message for today, know with certainty that you matter to God, and as his children and brothers and sisters with Christ, that means you matter to us.

Know that God wants you to know his peace, not peace as the world knows it, but true peace.

Know that God wants you to experience hope.  You are not confined to only those things that you can see, touch, smell, and feel but you hope in the promises of God and believe them as if you could see and touch them.

You know faith.

You know joy.

You live in God’s love.  You love others.  You are known as followers of Jesus by your love.

Paul wrote:  Faith, hope, love, but the greatest of these is love.  We know all three and are blessed to know that God’s love which we know so well in his mercy and grace goes far beyond anything that we can mess up.

God loves you.  You matter.

Yes, you are playing for the right team.  Even when it seems like things have gone to hell in a handbasket—a crazy metaphor but the one that caught on—God’s got this and he has you.

God’s got this!

I hope this morning, I gave you some phrases of affirmation and support so when the world is coming at you a little faster than you think you can handle, remember:  You matter to God.

You matter to God.

Amen.