• Great is Thy Faithfulness is a getter, especially for James today. In Joshua 3 (in the men’s Bible study currently) we’re reminded of God’s faithfulness on a long journey with many difficulties
• But on topic, we need to look at our agency thru the image of God which God has given to us
• As we proceed branching off to different aspects of agency, remember the foundation which Josh preached over the last couple weeks. And feel free to get a refresher on YouTube
• Recall the term “Imago Dei”, referring to us being created in the image of God
• Genesis 1:24-31
• There’s a pattern of creation–”let there be ________”. But it shifts to “let us make…”
• There’s a big difference between the nature of Mankind and all the rest–even animals
• Even in Shakespeare’s romantic language praising Man, we’re still declared a “paragon of animals”. And this is more straightforwardly stated all over the place today. But they’re wrong.
• Being an animal is used as an excuse to live with less accountability–but its at the sacrifice of power and agency and much more
• Psalm 8
• The world would have us believe that we’re higher than animals but lower than God
• But we’re not even on the same spectrum as animals, but different in our very nature
• We’re created in God’s image and designed to reflect and imitate His character
• We’ve decided to just claim autonomy, but this has degraded us
• Us as God’s creation and masterpiece needs restoration
• Ephesians 2:10
• God even created a way for us to reflect Him even better after we vandalized ourselves
• We’re also created in a very relational way, with communication–and as male and female in relation to one another. From the start these relationships were necessary
• We’re created for dominion, too, with our specific gifts even. But this too we abuse with a tyranny of power which strips creation instead of harnessing and caring for it
• But under God, we’re capable of being the proper caretakers we’re made to be
• Genesis 9:6, the value of life is not based on capability or specifics of the individual, but based on our very ontological nature as an image-bearer of God
• Almost all crimes–especially the most serious ones–are founded in the violation of God’s image
• We should expect and value opportunities to support and protect the image of God in others
• Our primary drive & goal is not to make the world a better place. This doesn’t address the issue
• How do we deal with heinous crimes? Ephesians 5:11. Expose them
• We’re created with intricate care, and God even chose to sacrifice His Son to restore us
• We’re not defined by anything we do or claim. These truths affect the way we see ourselves
• We also should see our enemies by their nature in the image of God
• We all have agency and a place and are needed by others. With Christ…all hope is never lost 
• Decide if you’ll pretend that you’re nothing more than an animal
• This is why we have this growing epidemic of young people having no hope or value
• We’re created for a purpose, and with agency to work toward it

 QUESTIONS

• WHAT IMPLICATION DO YOU THINK THE IMAGE OF GOD HAS FOR YOUR WORK?
• HOW DOES BEING MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD AFFECT YOUR THOUGHTS OF SELF?
• WHERE DO YOU SEE BEING MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD DIRECTING YOUR RELATIONSHIPS?