I Am Wanted and Loved
Genesis 2:7, 18, 22-25 NIV
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being… The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him…” So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Matthew 3:16–17 NIV
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
The affirmation of our IDENTITY unlocks our DESTINY.
Knowing you are Wanted and Loved by the Father is where you’re meant to live FROM, but if it’s not where you live FROM, it’s what you’ll live FOR.
We’re trying to squeeze WANTED and LOVED out of:
- Possessions
- Accomplishments
- Family
- Sexuality
“When it comes to gender dysphoria, puberty fixes what counseling cannot.” — Mark Yarhouse, Psy.D.
3 John 1:2 NLT
Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in BODY as you are strong in SPIRIT.
The #1 question of our generation is, “Who gets to define me?”
God the Father says I am Wanted and I am Loved.
Christian identity is RECEIVED, not ACHIEVED.
Worldview Questions
Origin: How did we get here?
Predicament: Why is everything so messed up?
Solution: How can we fix it?
Atheistic / Naturalistic Worldview
Origin: Big Bang
Predicament: Chance/Christianity
Solution: Stop religion and be a good person.
Psalm 2:1–4 NLT
Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.
Christian Worldview
Origin: We are the special creation of a Holy God.
Psalm 139:13–16 NLT
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Christian Worldview
Origin: We are the special creation of a Holy God.
Predicament: All have sinned.
Solution: Reunite humanity to the Father through the Son.
Acts 3:19 NIV
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Galatians 3:26–29 NLT
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NIV
Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you WERE. But you were WASHED, you were SANCTIFIED, you were JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
