INTRODUCTION: We live in an age of depersonalization. Everyone is known by an account number and not by name. Our communities are not communities anymore, but rather just a grouping of lonely castles. People don't know their neighbors and feel alone. People at work no longer stay at the same job all their lives but move every year or two, thus discouraging friendships.

There's good news today! You are important to God! He values you highly!

BODY

I. YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD BECAUSE HE CREATED YOU IN HIS IMAGE.

A. You are God's highest creation.

1. Psalms 8:4-8 "What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5- For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6- You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7- All sheep and oxen; Even the beasts of the field, 8- The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas."

B. The Bible speaks of mankind as the offspring of God.

1. Acts 17:26-29 ""And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27- so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28- for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' 29- Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising."

2. Genesis 1:27- "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

3. Genesis 9:6- ""Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man."

A. God providentially cares for the needs of mankind.

1. Matthew 5:45- ""that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

2. Acts 14:17- ""Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.""

B. God has put the seasons and the rain on the earth to care for all of us.

1. Acts 14:17- ""Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.""

III. YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD BECAUSE HE LOVED YOU SO MUCH THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON TO DIE FOR YOUR SINS.

A. We are all lost and in need of salvation.

1. Romans 3:23

2. Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

3. Ephesians 2:1-3 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2- in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3- among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

B. Jesus coming to earth to die for our sins is the expression of God's love for you.

1. John 3:16

2. Romans 5:10- "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

3. Ephesians 5:2- "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."

4. 1 John 4:10- "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

A. God has a record of everyone who has ever lived. He knows us all by name.

1. Revelation 20:12-13 "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13- The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works."

2. 2 Corinthians 5:10- "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

B. If we are Christians, we can rest assured that God knows us personally as His children.

1. Matthew 10:29-31 ""Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30- But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31- Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

2. 2 Timothy 2:19- "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.""