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This Is Us
July 9, 2026 · 45 min
The story of "us" begins with a creative act. In the beginning....God created us as both men and women. Distinct. Different. Both reflecting the glory of God, but but both clearly created with unique intention. What was God's original intention for "us"? What does God's word say about men, women and all of creation?
Series This Is "Us" - God, Creation, Men & Women
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July 9, 2026 · 45 min · This Is "Us" - God, Creation, Men & Women
The story of "us" begins with a creative act. In the beginning....God created us as both men and women. Distinct. Different. Both reflecting the glory of God, but but both clearly created with unique intention. What was God's original intention for "us"? What does God's word say about men, women and all of creation? ...more Show the full description Show less The story of "us" begins with a creative act. In the beginning....God created us as both men and women. Distinct. Different. Both reflecting the glory of God, but but both clearly created with unique intention. What was God's original intention for "us"? What does God's word say about men, women and all of creation?
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In this video 0:00 You're Not Alone: Our Shared Human Story7:00 God's Creative Act: From Nothing to Everything16:00 Created in God's Image: Mentally, Morally, Socially29:00 Male and Female: Created for Intimate Oneness38:00 Respond to Your Creator: Know Him and Find Joy
You're Not Alone: Our Shared Human Story 0:00 Let's turn a page. We're starting a new series. It's called, This Is Us. And, if you're familiar at all with pop culture, you know that the number 1 show on television0:11 is a show about the Pearson family. Right? How many of you guys, just by way of hands, are familiar with that show? This okay. That that's incredible. Alright. Just about everybody else raised their hand. And it's a0:22 story of the Pearson family. You know, there's Jack and Rebecca and Kate and Randall, and Kevin, and, there they are. And this this show0:34 resonates so deeply with people, to the point where it's got this reputation that if you watch it, grab the Kleenex. Because they're sort of the outer0:46 character and plots that are developed, but then there's this these subplots. There's these issues that are connected to each of the people in the show, and you get attached. And then you you see0:58 them walk through these highly, personal issues. And whenever I'm watching a show and, I feel tears welling up inside,1:09 it's because there's something about that story that connects with me. Not on the outside, but where? On the inside, in my heart. That's right. I'm I'm watching1:21 this and all of a sudden and and, you know, as a guy, it's just like, what's happening to me? You know? There's some things going on. There's actually a heart in there that has feelings, and I start to feel things. And
1:33 all of a sudden, my eyes are getting watery, and it's, it's just a sign that, we all share the human experience. We're human beings. Human beings have feelings. Human beings have
1:44 circumstances. Human beings have challenges. And, you know, being in the the human experience world myself where I travel, I put on conferences, every conference I do, I ask for people to give me feedback.
1:57 Like, what'd you think of our time together? Right? 3 sessions, 45 minutes, and I've must have read in the last 18 years, I would say, well over 100000 of these evaluations. Do you know what the
2:09 number 1 comment is on a personal level? I realized I'm not alone. Now that says a lot. And it doesn't matter whether I'm
2:20 in the southwest or the northwest or in Brazil or anywhere. I ask the same question. Hey. What do you think about today's experience? And what people write consistently over 18 years, the number
2:32 1 resonating comment is, I realized that I'm not alone. And translated, they're saying, it's comforting. It's comforting to know that I I'm not
2:44 unique when it comes to the challenges that I face. But sometimes we walk around and we feel like we're alone. We feel like, gosh. We're the only ones going through this. We're the only ones
2:56 struggling to find a job. We're the only ones having marital difficulties. We're the only ones with a health challenge. We're the only ones who are disconnected and fragmented and experiencing chaos and dysfunction, and
3:07 I don't really wanna talk about it. Instead, what we do is we put this image out there that betrays the reality going on in our private lives. Okay? And so when we started this series and I think this is
3:18 us, you know, we we realized that people are sort of like icebergs. Alright? Where there's this public you and then underneath the waterline of your image
3:30 is a real person, and you're thinking things that we all think. You're wondering about things that we all wonder about. You're facing challenges that we all face. You're tempted by things we're all tempted by.
3:42 You're anxious about things that we're all anxious about. You're asking questions about life and about your purpose that everybody on the face of the planet is asking. You see,
3:54 it's a common human journey. Right? But sometimes we're made to feel like, no. Yours is uncommon. Everybody else's is common, and we compare ourselves with people and go, oh, they have it all
4:05 together, and I'm just this uncommon person who's experiencing stuff. K? Newsflash. Everybody's got stuff. Can we say that together? Everybody's got stuff. Alright? And that's what This Is
4:17 Us is all about. So in this series, we wanna dive below, the waterline and the big reason why our teaching team wants to go there with you literally. It's because we want you to know 1
4:29 thing, you are not alone. You're not alone. And as we kinda talk about things and we discuss life and life's purpose and and realize, gosh, I'm
4:41 realizing I'm not alone. Not only do we get closer to 1 another, you get closer to God. We experience God as we recognize that we are created
4:53 in his image, and that's what we're gonna talk about this morning. So this morning, kicking it off, we're gonna ask the most basic and most fundamental questions of the human experience. Who are we? Where do we
5:05 come from? And more importantly, do we matter? Now that's the tip. That's the general sort of questions, but let's make it more specific to you. Who am I?
5:17 Where do I come from? And where am I going? And it's relevant this morning because if you don't know the answers to those questions, life doesn't make sense. Life, because of all of its injustices and evils
5:29 and brokenness, if you don't know the answer to who am I, where do I come from, and where am I headed, then you're just an accident. Then you're just this random glob of
5:41 biological material where you just randomly came together, and you live and you die, and you might have some joy and sadness, and then you go back to being,
5:53 you know, inorganic matter, and that's a sad life. That's a life without meaning. But we all know that we're all in search for that meeting.
6:05 Why am I on this earth? Why am I here? What am I put here for? And if you get the answers to those questions from a reliable source, right,
6:17 it's a game changer. It changes everything. It doesn't change some things about your life. It changes everything about your life when you know
6:29 your purpose. And so the Bible says that includes everybody here and everybody watching us online, that no person ever born is
6:41 an accident or a surprise to God, the creator. Now you might have become a mother by accident. You might have become a father by accident. Alright? You might feel because of your family system that
6:53 that you were in accident or that people didn't even know you were there. But let me make something very clear. There are no accidental babies, and there are no accidental people.
God's Creative Act: From Nothing to Everything
7:04 You are created by God, and that's what we're gonna talk about today. We're gonna answer the how, the when, and the why of us. Okay? This is us. And so in your bulletin, you can take out your
7:16 message notes. We have some notes in there for you to follow along. So take those out and, for all of you fill in people, you're gonna have a great day today. Alright? So this is the
7:28 story of us, and the story of us begins in the 1st line of God's word, the Bible. And it says this, in the beginning, God
7:40 created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters,
7:52 and God said. And then it's on. This 1st sentence of God's word, the Bible of scripture, in the
8:03 beginning God created the heavens and the earth. With that statement, the Bible affirms that the existence of the universe and everything in it,
8:15 every product of that universe is God's creative act. Let's say that together. God's creative act. That's right. This is Us begins with a creative act. If you're taking notes, write
8:27 that down. That's where it all starts. Now I have to ask you a question. I want everyone to be really, really honest with me. How many of you have ever decided
8:39 that you wanted to make chocolate chip cookies? K. And okay. Next set of hands. And you actually made them. K.
8:51 And then next set of hands. And then you consumed more than you should. Okay. Alright. So I just wanna get everybody on the same page. Everybody, either has a desire for some kind of food or something like that. I just
9:03 picked chocolate chip cookies because, usually my wife makes them, but every now and then when I get a hankering, I get out all the stuff and and I make them. But but there's a process from going from no chocolate
9:15 chip cookies to chocolate chip cookies appearing. Right? And, there's this there's this process of them going from nothing to the warm and
9:26 the sweet and the melty. Gotta be a little melty. Amen? Alright. Gotta be a little melty. And, and the way it all starts is something inside of you says, I want some chocolate chip cookies.
9:39 And then you go about the process of creating chocolate chip, cookies. And when something's created, it means that something
9:50 outside of it informs something else, and there has to be some kind of intelligence behind it. You know, chocolate chip cookies don't just come about. There's this human
10:02 intelligence called me and it's because I want it, I make it happen. Alright? When we look at the scripture, God, as we learn from the Bible, is eternally existent and in his
10:14 eternal past, he's just existing and then all of a sudden here in Genesis chapter 1 1, he decides on the inside of his person, I'm gonna start creating.
10:27 And that's where when the scripture says and God said, it kicks off the whole thing. Now, in Genesis 1 3 20, chapter 1 verses 3 through 25, there's this series of and
10:38 God said. Alright? Light. And God said dry land. And God said waters. And God said vegetation. And God said stars. And God said living creatures. And at the end of each little exercise of God
10:50 deciding to create, he says, and it was good. In other words, it's complete. It's full. It's mature. It's done. And I like what I make. You know, when you make those chocolate chip cookies, you know the color it's
11:02 supposed to be. Right? You know, depending on your it's it's in a range. Right? You got it can't be like black on the bottom, but it can't be like gooey on the bottom. It's gotta be that, you know, that that
11:14 caramelly color on the bottom. And then, you know, those are gonna be good. God, when he was finished doing creative things after each thing, whether it was land or sea or vegetation
11:26 or stars or living creatures, he would say, and this is good. And this theme of God deciding to command and create is all through scripture. I just pulled 1 out
11:38 of the Old Testament and 1 out of the New Testament. Psalm 33 verses 8 and 9, it says, let all the year fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
11:49 For he spoke and it came to be. He commanded and it stood firm. In the New Testament, in the book of Colossians, it says this, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth,
12:01 visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. Let's finish it together. All things were created through him and
12:13 for him. And so when you think about this world that we live in, this solar system, this universe, all galaxies, all nebulae, all solar systems, all grains of
12:25 sand, all bacterial microbes, every form of energy, every cellular and nuclear structure was created because God said, I want that to happen.
12:36 Now some people say, Kenny, what came 1st? The chicken or the egg? And here's your answer. You ready? The chicken, fully grown. Alright? God,
12:48 when he spoke, he created things out of material that did not previously exist. And this is where my chocolate chip analogy breaks down. God didn't, like, go to the cabinet and say, let's see. Cellular structures,
13:00 mitochondria, nebulae, planets, stars. No. God created in a fancy terminology, ex nihilo, something comes out of nothing.
13:12 That's why in Romans chapter 4, Paul affirms this when he says he calls into being that which did not previously exist. So it's not chicken or the egg. It's the chicken full grown. When god says I want
13:23 something, boom. It's there. It's mature. It's complete. It's all done, and it's done in the time frame that the bible says. Because it's god who's doing the creating. When he wants something to happen, he doesn't have
13:35 to wait for a process. He's not sprinkling seed around going, okay. I'm just gonna wait and see if it grows. He just says, I want that. Boom. And it
13:46 happens. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and it happened at a point in time when God he felt like creating. And boom, it came into being. Alright? So when God
13:58 creates the heaven and the earth, he creates it fully mature and fully grown. That's what we need to know. This is us. This whole human story starts with a
14:10 creative act. And so we read the creation account in Genesis 1 1 through Genesis 2 3. K? He's not creating and then all of a sudden God decides to
14:22 start creating. And let me just say for for clarity, I just wanna be really clear this morning. This is not allegory. This is not a metaphor. This is not a literary style. This is not
14:34 creative poetry. This is pure history. God giving an eyewitness account of creation, telling it to Moses,
14:46 and Moses writing it down. In fact, Genesis chapter 1 and 2 is the only eyewitness account of creation, out of pre no pre
14:58 existing material. He just decides. And so then the story takes a turn in Genesis 1 26 when he goes from creating land and light
15:10 and living creatures and sea and expanses, the scripture says this. In Genesis 1 26 and 27 and into chapter 2, then God said, let us make man
15:23 in 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 and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that
15:35 creeps on the earth. So god created man in his own image. In the image of god, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Moving into chapter 2, it says this.
15:47 Then the lord god said, it's not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper for him. So the lord god caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. And while he slept, he took 1 of his
15:59 ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the lord god had taken from the man, he made into a woman, thank you, God, and brought her to the
Created in God's Image: Mentally, Morally, Socially
16:10 man. Then the man said, this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore, a man will leave
16:22 his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become 1 flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Alright. We got some cookies. We're cooking chili. We're cooking good stuff
16:33 right there. That is the story of us. There is the eyewitness account of how all things began, how this universe began, god's god's existing, and then god says, you know
16:45 what? I want to start creating, and god speaks. Because God is omnipotent, because God is sovereign, because God's over everything he makes, all he has to do is will it and to speak it,
16:56 and it's done. Fully matured, fully reproductive, fully sustainable, it happens. Boom. And then he says, you know what? I'm gonna create this special being. I'm
17:08 gonna I'm gonna create a human being. I'm gonna start with the man, and then I'm gonna fashion a woman out of his rib. And all of this seems so mystical and fantastical, but it's very practical if you're God. You can do
17:20 all of this. And so we're gonna unpack what we just read with the time that we have remaining. Alright? And here's the 1st thing we gotta know about the story of us. Write this down. We are
17:32 created with intention. Can we all say that together? We are created with intention. You look in the scripture and it says, then god said, let us make man. And I have
17:44 underlined in your notes, let us. When you let something happen, you're giving permission for it to happen. You want it to happen. Okay. Let it go. Alright. Let us start this process. It means that
17:56 there's intention, behind it. In Proverbs 16 4, it says this, the lord has made everything for its purpose. Alright? You might wanna circle that, for its purpose.
18:08 Alright? In Isaiah 44, it says this, thus says the lord who made you, who formed you in the womb and will help you fear not. When we talk about the story of
18:19 us, part of the goal of us talking about these things is to take anxiety and fear out of your soul. Why? Because you know that you're
18:31 created, that God formed you, that god made you for a purpose, that this moment, the next few minutes, the next hour, the next day, the next weeks, as long
18:43 as your heart is beating on this planet, you have a purpose. Do you know how many problems that solves? Do you know how many quests can stop to try to find meaning once you
18:55 find meaning in that? That I'm created by God, and I'm created for God, and then I'm going back to God. Do you know how many problems that solve? And so we have to realize that we're created,
19:07 with intention. You know what I love about God is God has a purpose for just telling us that. It's to take away fear and anxiety. You know, there's
19:17 173000000 children in this world who are orphans right now. They don't have anybody telling them who they are. In fact, they start at
19:29 a negative. And it's like, why am I here? No 1 wanted me, and I'm by myself. And I know that many of you may have been in an intact
19:41 family, but there wasn't a lot of connection there. And you were wondering, hey. Am I an accident? Will anybody talk with me? Will anybody spend time with me? Will anybody pay attention to me? And in a world that is so
19:51 full of heartache coming out of the brokenness of man, there is hope when you know that you're created by God and that you're his and that you have
20:03 purpose. And it actually transcends the brokenness of humanity and gets into your being and your soul, and now you can that longing inside for meeting can be realized.
20:16 So the short answer to why are we here? Why are we alive? Is that God planned for you to live? Now, we have to stop and think for a little bit. It's really important that
20:27 when you talk about creator created, that you realize that there is an intelligent source behind the person called you, the person who pressed the button on you. So I've got
20:39 a I've got a couple props. Okay. So when we look at this chair, do we tell ourselves, well, you know, the leather was on a cow and the cow died and somehow the leather got
20:51 caught up in the wind And then it met this tree that had fallen but was was cut into specific pieces, and then magically, the metal studs came and popped themselves in
21:03 there, and the leather got buttoned in there, and the wood just all kinda came together random. I'm being facetious. No 1 in
21:15 their right mind would think that. Right? Why? Because this chair, as simple as it is, it manifests order. Everybody say manifests order. Manifests order.
21:27 Okay. Let's move along with the continuum. This is my good friend. You know, if this goes down, a person goes down in our home. You know what I'm saying? I know you know what I'm saying.
21:39 So we go from not so complex to a little more complex. Alright? But we don't say to ourselves, wow, polymer and plastic just kinda randomly happened and these little silver switches
21:51 on there and, you know, that just kinda magically attached itself. You know, who made this goodie? Mister coffee. That's the maker of
22:03 this guy. A little bit more complex, not too complex. You know, coffee makers are simple things. But then, we get over to Eric Clapton and John Mayer's best friend, the
22:15 electric guitar. Alright? Much more complex. Right? It's got strings, frets, little things, little chord buttons on it, little volume switches. You know, when you when
22:27 you look back at the chair and then you look at the guitar whose maker is mister Fender, okay, you say to yourself, man, somebody definitely
22:39 made that. Alright? May I ask the Schwartz to come up? I hijacked them, before the service started and I said, when I call for you, please come up. Everybody welcome. Fred and Kathy Schwartz.
22:54 My my my human props. Okay? Not so complex, a little complex. The guitar is is more complex. It's a quantum leap.
23:07 Super complex. Systems, respiratory systems, cardiovascular systems, musculoskeletal systems, DNA, code. If I were to draw blood, which I'm not, it's not
23:19 a part of this message. K? And we were to look at it under the microscope, you'd see that DNA stuff. We really tested it, and it's unique to them. Super,
23:31 super complex. And when you see complexity and order, you naturally common sense think, wow, somebody made that. So what I'm saying is, is that
23:43 what we think about that, and what we think about this, and what we think about a guitar, we cannot, it is impossible to look at this and go: Oh, that's just a random thing.
23:55 Oh, that DNA computer code that is them, that doesn't require any intelligence. And, oh, by the way, in evolution, you can't mutate upward. Can't prove it, never have proven it, it's irrational,
24:07 it's impossible. It's the biggest lie ever foisted on planet Earth. It just doesn't happen. You can't take inorganic matter and make it manifest itself and organize into this. Hasn't been
24:19 done? Never will be done. Okay? Let's give them a great hand. You're created with intention. Alright? 2nd thing we need to know in the story of us is that we're created
24:31 in God's image or likeness. Right? That's the 2nd thing. If you're taking notes, write this down. We are created in God's image or likeness. That means that, our substance and our core is meant to
24:43 resemble God himself. There's a thought for you. When you're created, you're you're created to re resemble God. Right? And that refers not to the physical
24:55 part of you, but the immaterial part of you. Adam doesn't look like God. The Bible tells us that God's spirit. Alright? God's not a physical form, but god is spirit. So Adam didn't reflect
25:07 his physicality, but he reflected the immaterial substance of what makes up god. What's that? How are we image bearers? Alright? Write this down. We're image bearers mentally.
25:20 Alright? What does that mean? It means that humanity was created to exercise thought, exercise reason, exercise the ability to
25:31 choose. You're in the likeness of God because you have a thought process. You could be creative. And whenever you see somebody invent something, whenever you see someone enjoying a symphony,
25:43 whenever you see computer code being written or buttons being clicked on a web browser, you are confirming the fact that we are made in God's image mentally.
25:56 Let's make them in our likeness. What does that mean? It means that you can reason and you can choose. In Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18, the Bible says, it's God talking. He says, come, let us reason together. God likes
26:08 to interact with, us on that level, on that intellectual level. You have intellectual freedom, just like god has. Secondly, we're like god morally. Alright?
26:21 We're like god morally. That means that that humanity was created in its original state with righteousness and innocence. You know, every time that you feel guilty over doing something you shouldn't do, that's a
26:32 reflection of God's image in you. Whenever you're repulsed by something evil, that's a reflection of God's image in you. Whenever, you are
26:44 mad at evil happening, some mass shooter, that's a reflection of god's image in you. You reflect him mentally, you reflect him morally. Every time you're pinged by your conscience, like, I don't
26:55 know. That's right. If I should do that. You're you're confirming that you're made in god's image. And then lastly, god created you in his image socially. K?
27:07 Humanity was created for friendship and fellowship. In fact, that's the creative act. You hear father, son, and holy spirit in Genesis chapter 1 when it says, let us make
27:19 man in our own image. Let us make him in our image. Did you know that that your god is a friendship, father, son, and holy spirit? It's a fellowship, father, son,
27:31 and holy spirit. And every time you wanna connect with another person, every time you wanna attend church, every time you walk through the door at a party and you hug someone, you are confirming the fact that
27:43 you are made in god's image. Why? Because mentally, you have the capacity to reason morally, you have a conscious, you reflect his righteousness and innocence,
27:54 and then socially, you're made for fellowship. Now, all creations of god are image bearers of god. Alright? Every person on the planet, all 7
28:06 point whatever billion of us are created in the image of God mentally, morally, and socially, but there is another level. When you go from being a creation of God
28:18 to becoming a child of God, we talk a lot about that process here at Crossline. When you decide, not only am I a creation of God, but I wanna become a member of the family of God and say
28:30 yes to Jesus Christ and enter God's family. That whole image of God in you goes to another level. And we read about it in Romans 8 29. It says, for those whom
28:42 he foreknew, in other words, those who would choose him, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. In other words, if you're a follower of Jesus and you're listening to my words right now, you're in
28:53 the process of becoming like Christ. That's god's ultimate vision for you. It's not even that you attend church or go on a missions trip or read the bible. It's I want you to have the family resemblance.
Male and Female: Created for Intimate Oneness
29:06 So you are created with intention. You are created in his image. 3rd, we are created with a specific identity. Write that down. In verse 27 of Genesis 1, it says, in the image
29:18 of God, he created them. Male and female, he created them. God is cooking up this little idea in his mind. It's like, well, she's different and he's
29:30 different. Let's make more. Right? And he creates man and woman. Jesus affirms a creation account when he says, but from the beginning of creation, God made them
29:42 male and female. He creates 2 unique beings who will start creating human beings. That's why we're all here. You affirm creation by you
29:53 just being here. You're a created thing. 2 human beings came together, a sperm fertilized an egg, and boom, you were born. God formed you in the womb. Now, in the age of gender wars,
30:05 can we just say some things? Alright. Let's write this down. Each sex is distinct. Alright. There is a vision and a value behind each sex, male and female, equally.
30:17 Alright? Each sex is valuable. Right? Male, valuable. Female, valuable. Right? They're image bearers, number 1. That's why they're valuable. They're made in the image of god, instant
30:29 dignity. So each sex is distinct. Each sex is valuable. Both are required to flex god. Think with me on this just for a 2nd. He looks at Adam and goes, no.
30:41 Eat a little bit more. And you need you need to look way better. You know? So let's let's do the female. Alright? And she's going to be intuitive, and
30:52 mysterious, and creative, and she is she's gonna be so amazing. And guess what? She's gonna help you. She's gonna help you be all that you can be.
31:04 So you're okay, but man, you're so much better with her. Did you hear what I just said, man? Especially you married men. Right? You are so much better. I want all the guys to say, I am so much
31:16 better. I am so much better with her. That's right. That's what god says. He's like, you know what? You're incomplete. Both are needed to reflect me and both are given as a gift to the other. Don't miss this.
31:29 1 is the gift to the other. How cool is that? So, we are created with intention, we are created in God's image, and we're created with
31:41 a specific identity. Now, this is all pointing toward what theologians call creation orders. Life is a creation order.
31:53 Man, the creation of man, is a creation order. Alright? Marriage is a creation order between male and female. This is
32:05 God's original template. And as we look at that, we're like, okay. What's the end game? Male and female, what is God after? What's gonna be the product that is gonna be so deep? What's the purpose? That gets to
32:17 our our our last point, right, which is we are created for intimacy. In Genesis 2 22, it says, and the rib that the lord god had taken from the man, he
32:28 made into a woman, and I underline this in your notes, he brought her to the man. Now, guys, I don't know what Adam's reaction was when he saw her,
32:41 but, you know, it's like, you know, those Looney Tunes cartoons where the eyes come popping out in hearts. You know, things start expanding. Alright? Just saying. Alright? Wow. Oh
32:52 my lord. Okay? This sorta explains the attraction thing going on. Right? It also explains the evil of pornography. It's
33:04 a distortion of god's original intention that devalues, that doesn't respect the image bearing, that woman is
33:16 created in God's image. But, man, I would give anything to see it's sort of like, you know, a snapshot in time. Can I get into a time machine and go back to creation? And when Eve just
33:28 struts onto the scene, and what is going on inside of Adam. Alright? Good afternoon.
33:40 Right? And the reason you're laughing is because we feel this creative force. We're confirming the image of God right now, even as we chuckle, even as we laugh, because it's there.
33:52 It's a force. It's good God. Put it there. Alright? So we're created for intimacy. Alright? Now, what does that intimacy look like? Write this down. To be deeply invested, number 1. Can't get any more deeply
34:04 invested than bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Okay? That's like Adam's just going, you're me. I want you to be me, and I wanna be you, and all that other
34:16 stuff that goes on. Alright? So we're called to be deeply invested. This just doesn't speak to human marriage. It speaks to relationships as well. That we're called to be deeply invested, 1 with another.
34:27 2nd, deeply identify. You're here and you're married, you're called to deeply identify with your spouse. In Genesis, it says, and a man will leave his father
34:39 and mother and be united to his wife. You can't be I mean, united isn't separated. United isn't partially together. This
34:51 is united. It's called the concept of oneness. So what's God's intention for intimacy between a man and a woman? Oneness. Right? And it's mystical, and it's
35:03 God ordained, and it's a creation order. K? 3rd, God calls us to be deeply intimate. Now, you can go the physical route, but I want I don't want you to miss
35:15 the less obvious but more important picture Genesis is is painting, which is they were both naked and, what, unashamed. Okay? So fully
35:27 exposed, but accepted when they're fully exposed. This goes to the heart of this is us. Because guess what? You know what I said in the beginning, we all have our
35:38 stuff? We all have our stuff. But it's hard sometimes to let our stuff out because we're afraid we won't be fully accepted.
35:51 Really hard. And so we, in fear of not being fully accepted, even though we could fully expose ourselves, we hide and we self protect.
36:03 And then to make up for the lack of connection and the lack of intimacy, we find this false intimacy out there. In substances, in stacks, in things, in material things, in
36:15 pursuits that don't give us life. Why? Because it's false intimacy. You are made to experience intimacy with your creator and
36:27 intimacy with 1 another. And those 2 dynamics are true authentic intimacy. The other stuff is synthetic and destructive.
36:40 I love what Jesus said about this union between man and woman. So they are no longer 2, but 1 flesh. What, therefore, God has joined together, let not man
36:52 separate. That's a, a clue to what's coming in our series, This Is Us. Because when we see God's original intention,
37:05 and we see that he makes us in our in his likeness, and he sees that he makes us with a specific identity, And he's we see that in those specific identities, he's
37:17 created us for healthy and wholeness and intimacy. Forces that separate come into play. Why? Exactly. Because we're made in his
37:28 likeness. We can reason, and we can choose him or not choose him. And that's what pastor JP is gonna talk about in week 2. So knowing what we've studied this morning, that that
37:40 we're created with intention, that we are created in God's image, that we are created with a specific identity, and that we're created for intimacy with God in
37:52 marriage and with each other, that we're created for fellowship and a deep connection where we're invested 1 with another, and we identify with 1 another, and we're intimate, and we're fully accepted.Show more
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