Sermon Central
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Divine Dirt Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jan 9, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: God says we were created in His image. But what does that mean to us and how can that effect our lives?
OPEN: In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
On the 1st day He spoke “Let there be Light” – and there was light.
On the 2nd day He spoke and He created the sky (atmosphere) above the earth.
On the 3rd day He spoke and dry land appeared/ and plants & trees began to grow
On the 4th day He spoke “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky” and the sun, and the moon and the stars came into existence
On the 5th day He spoke and the waters filled with living creatures & the sky with birds
On the 6th day God spoke and animals walked the earth/ livestock and wild animals
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’" Genesis 1:26
“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
(PAUSE - I had talked to a volunteer ahead of time and called him up at that point). I want you your “sanctified imaginator” for just a minute. I want us to go back in time and imagine what it might have been like to be there the day that God created the most perfect man who ever lived.
(I paused and looked doubtfully at my volunteer which drew a laugh)
I want to visualize God kneeling down in the mud and beginning to shape Adam. Some believe that God may have started with the feet and worked His way up but I think it was more likely He began at the head. This is where the mind is/ nerve center/ spinal cord begins.
(I began to pretend to shape the head, the eye sockets, the nose and mouth, standing a little off to the side so the audience could see).
Then God began to work His way down the body (had the volunteer extend his arms and stood behind him as I moved my hands just above his arms and hands) and as He shaped and formed the arms and hands, you can almost see sparks coming from God’s hands as he formed and shaped the man.
THEN, when God had completely formed the man He breathed the breath of life into the man (pause)
Anyone have some breath mints?
(I let the volunteer sit down without “breathing the breath of life” into him).
Everything else God created… HE MERELY SPOKE and they appeared.
BUT when God created man He climbed down into the mud and got His hands dirty.
Nothing else in all of creation required…
Nothing else in all of creation called for that degree of attention that depth of involvement by God.
And the reason was simple: Man was the only created being on earth that was formed by God. Man was the only created being made in the image of God.
Evolutionists believe there is no divine in man… just dirt. They tell us that man gradually evolved from lower life forms. They’ll tell us that life was just an accident and man is nothing more than a higher order of animal. To evolutionists you and I are animals borne of chaos and lacking any real reason to exist. We have no higher purpose. We no real value beyond being a scientific curiosity.
But the Bible tells us that’s not true.
You’re not just dirt.
Evolution may see us as one step above apes.
But Scripture sees us as one step beneath angels. Allen Webster.
You and I are NOT like the other creations of God.
We’re not like Apes, the Chimps, the Orangutans.
We are a special creation MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD!
Now, why is that important?
It’s important for a couple of reasons.
1st – Because you are made in the image of God… you have intrinsic value.
If for that reason alone – you are WORTH something.
ILLUS: Norman Vincent Peale told of seeing a tattoo parlor in Hong Kong. In the window were displayed samples of the tattoos available. On the chest or arms you could have tattooed an anchor or flag or mermaid or whatever. He said: “what struck me with force were three words that could be tattooed on one’s flesh, ‘Born to lose.’
“I entered the shop in astonishment and, pointing to those and, pointing to those words, asked the Chinese tattoo artist, ‘Does anyone really have that terrible phrase, Born to lose, tattooed on his body?’
“He replied, ‘Yes, sometimes.’
‘But,’ I said, ‘I just can’t believe — that anyone in his right mind would do that.’
