IndividualLessonPlan:On Purpose, With Purpose

Leader and Student Guide

GiftsoftheGeorgiaBaptiststhroughtheCooperativeProgramenableustopartnertogetherinfulfillingtheGreatCommission.Dateupdated:4/6/2016|www.gabaptist.org

Session 1 - Leader Outline OPENING IDEA: Ask for 2 volunteers. Give one a tub of Play-Doh and allow them to form a play dough version of your head while you begin the lesson. Give the second person a big sheet of paper and all the different pens, pencils you can find and ask them to draw a picture of you. You could let them work on it as long as they want to and occasionally go over and take a look at it and interact with them, or you could give them a time limit of 5 minutes. Whenever you choose for them to be done, you could play with your artists quite a bit saying things like, "You think I look like that? I must look horrible to you. You missed my best features." Ultimately, you will want to get the point across that no matter what someone else might think about you, God made you ON PURPOSE with a PURPOSE, and it is all VERY GOOD, whether someone else's image of you is VERY GOOD or not. (Part of what will make this activity fun is your interaction with the artist. You can be as funny and creative with that as possible. You can tell them you want to hang their picture over the fireplace at your home so that everyone can see how magnificent you are the moment they walk into your home, etc.) Genesis 1: 26-27 (It would be very appropriate to read the all of Genesis 1 to reveal the difference between all else that God created, and the uniqueness he placed on MANKIND.) "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." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Image Is Everything! Self-Image, Self-Esteem, Self-Criticism, Self-Confidence, Self-Centered: there's a whole lot of "SELF" in the world. Some might even say that we are a SELF-OBSESSED society of individuals! At the same time, that doesn't mean all people love themselves. Some people are self-obsessed in reverse. They are the complete opposite of arrogant. They are SELF-OBSESSED by not liking who they are or what they look like. On the SELF-OBSESSED continuum, Stuck up and Self-hate are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Both are equally wrong. What we need is a balanced view of who we are. We can only get that balanced view from scripture. Clear Vision: How do you see yourself? God has 20/20 vision. Yet, sometimes our vision gets blurry. Do you see yourself the way that God sees you? God created you in His own image. The mark of God is on you. If that is true, why do some people and even some believers seem so arrogant, or so insecure? · 40% of teens have considered plastic surgery. · 33% feel like they are too heavy. · 25% have struggled with eating disorders. · Only 8% say they are happy with their "image." That means 92% of teens are less than happy at whom they see in the mirror.

When people describe what they don't like about themselves, they usually point to physical things. We are told that surgery can fix our outside, pills can fix our moods. Going into debt can get us a nicer car. We hear things like, "clothes make the man," so if you buy a new wardrobe you can feel better about yourself. A little compromise can get you a bigger, better reputation at school with people you don't even like. Even if you changed all of those things, what have you accomplished? The REAL YOU is on the inside. What we need is not found in a MAKEOVER! We don't need someone to REPACKAGE our IMAGE! What we need is to see ourselves, and others, like God does. We were CREATED in HIS IMAGE! For all that advertising agencies get wrong, they did get one thing right, IMAGE IS EVERYTHING! HIS IMAGE IN US IS EVERYTHING! It makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE in your day to day life. · The fact that we are created in His IMAGE makes us VALUABLE! · The fact EVERY LIVING BEING is created in His IMAGE is what makes us treat others as valuable. · The fact that we are created in His IMAGE gives us something in common with everyone else. · The fact that we are created in His IMAGE means that you BELONG to GOD. · The fact that we are created in His IMAGE means that you are here on purpose and for a purpose. · The fact that we are created in His IMAGE means that we have the potential for a relationship with Him. · The fact that we are created in His IMAGE means that we should pattern our lives after Christ. Image Obsession: We focus so much on our outside appearance that we avoid dealing with what is on our inside. It is very comforting that no one will ever be able to change the fact that in the deepest part of your heart, you were created in God's IMAGE. SOME people may have communicated to you that you are not valuable, that you don't measure up, or that you will never amount to anything. Others will try to get you to change certain things about yourself so you will be more valuable to them. BLUNTLY, SOME & OTHERS could not be more WRONG! They disagree with what GOD has already said about you. When you replay those voices in your mind, you need to replace those voices with this one from God's Word. 1 Samuel 16:7 – "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Purpose Defined "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." GOD MADE YOU . . . 1. In His Image . . . – So that you could have relationship with Him. Nothing created before MAN had the distinction of being created in His image. 2. In His Likeness . . . – So that others around could see what God is like by looking at you. Nothing created before MANKIND had the distinction of being created in His likeness.

3. With His Assignments . . . – So that you could give order and direction to His creation. No other being has this leadership potential. God placed you OVER plants, animals, and creation. Because you were created in His Image, in His likeness and with His assignments, YOU ARE UNIQUE. An interesting by-product of these realities is that because you have an ability to relate to God, you also have the ability to relate to other people in a unique way. You have the opportunity for creating COMMUNITY with others, and a CULTURE of infinite CREATIVITY. Think about it, when you and all the other people who can relate to God connect, the CREATOR can get loose amongst you, and you get to CREATE a CULTURE within the COMMUNITY of the CHURCH that is far better than anything the world has to offer. What you have in common with all of mankind is that you were all CREATED IN HIS IMAGE. That reality unlocks unlimited potential for CREATIVITY as we learn how to tackle his assignments together. (This would be a good time to refer back to the artwork.) Some people might call this a creative reproduction of me. Whether it looks good or not, I know what God has said about me. I know what I was created to be. I was created for relationship with Him, to represent Him on this earth, and to give order and direction to the world I influence. SO WERE YOU! (Translate that to the world of your age group. Even at 12, 14, 16, 18 you can ADD quality to your family, youth ministry, church, and community.) The potential is there, what will you do with it?

ON PURPOSE, WITH PURPOSE

God made me on Purpose! I am not an accident waiting to happen. I am a person with Purpose!

“26Then 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." 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. BECAUSE GOD CREATED ME IN HIS IMAGE . . . 1. “I AM infinitely valuable.”

Sometimes we don’t feel very valuable. Plenty of people even tell us that we are not very valuable. The problem is that they are not in agreement with God.

2. “IMAGE is everything.

It isn’t our outward appearance that makes us valuable. It is the IMAGE OF GOD that has marked us with value. 1 Samuel 16:7 – “The LORD does not look at the things manlooks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart ."

3. “God made me in His image, in His likeness, and

for His assignments.”

Because you are created in God’s Image, you are His representative on this planet by virtue of your existence.