Bible Text: Psalm 139:13\u201316 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Jonas Bur\u00adger | Series: Teens Bles\u00adsing | What makes a person\u2019s iden\u00adti\u00adty? A person\u2019s worth is given to him or her by God, who crea\u00adted all peo\u00adp\u00adle uni\u00adque and valuable. On this basis we may joyful\u00adly explo\u00adre life. In doing so, we find a sus\u00adtai\u00adning and ful\u00adfil\u00adling iden\u00adti\u00adty only with God.<\/p>\n
Bible Text: Psalm 139:13\u201316 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Jonas Bur\u00adger | Series: Teens Bles\u00adsing | What makes a person\u2019s iden\u00adti\u00adty? A person\u2019s worth is given to him or her by God, who crea\u00adted all peo\u00adp\u00adle uni\u00adque and valuable. On this basis we may joyful\u00adly explo\u00adre life. In doing so, we find a sus\u00adtai\u00adning and ful\u00adfil\u00adling iden\u00adti\u00adty only\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[],"wpfc_sermon_series":[55],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":["wpfc_sermon_series-teens-segnung","wpfc-sermon-single","post-2204","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","hentry","wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"],"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nWhat do you think \u2013 is the\u00adre a con\u00adnec\u00adtion bet\u00adween how Max sees hims\u00adelf and how he tre\u00adats others? I am con\u00advin\u00adced that our iden\u00adti\u00adty, our self-image, has a huge influence on how we behave.
\nMost peo\u00adp\u00adle here have alre\u00ada\u00addy con\u00adscious\u00adly or uncon\u00adscious\u00adly asked them\u00adsel\u00adves the ques\u00adti\u00adon: \u00abWho am I?\u00bb What makes me me? Am I anyo\u00adne at all? How do my fri\u00adends and acquain\u00adtances per\u00adcei\u00adve me? Who influen\u00adces my iden\u00adti\u00adty? What does God say about who I am? I have an object here. A drink in an alu\u00admi\u00adni\u00adum can. Some see it as a wel\u00adco\u00adme refresh\u00adment. Others dis\u00adagree with the con\u00adtents and find it unhe\u00adalt\u00adhy. And thirds only see the alu\u00admi\u00adni\u00adum, which is expen\u00adsi\u00adve to pro\u00addu\u00adce, expen\u00adsi\u00adve to recy\u00adcle and pol\u00adlu\u00adtes the envi\u00adron\u00adment. Depen\u00adding on who looks at the object, it is valuable or not or even just was\u00adte. This is also how we feel about our own lives and our fel\u00adlow human beings.
\nWho are you? Who am I? If you ask me, I could say: I am Jonas. Well, does that make me? That\u2019s my name. All right \u2013 I\u2019m a youth pas\u00adtor. Actual\u00adly, that\u2019s my job. I would also be me as a ban\u00adker or far\u00admer. I\u2019m about 180 tall and about 80 kg. Is that who I am? I could be shorter\/thinner and still be me. Even if I lost my arms and legs in an acci\u00addent, I would still be me. So I am more than what descri\u00adbes me. But what is our identity?
\nA strong foundation
\nOur iden\u00adti\u00adty seems to be stron\u00adgly rela\u00adted to our self-image. It is for\u00admed super\u00adfi\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly from our abili\u00adties, expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adces and self-image. Self-image, in turn, is stron\u00adgly influen\u00adced by our envi\u00adron\u00adment, par\u00adents, upbrin\u00adging, expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adces, fri\u00adends, tea\u00adchers, and so on. Howe\u00adver, all the\u00adse things do not defi\u00adne what value we have. All the\u00adse things are con\u00adstant\u00adly chan\u00adging and can chan\u00adge from one day to the next. Take a look at our deco (many thanks to Katha\u00adri\u00adna). At the bot\u00adtom it has a stur\u00addy, hea\u00advy root\u00adstock. Atta\u00adched to it are indi\u00advi\u00addu\u00adal plat\u00adforms deco\u00adra\u00adted with all sorts of per\u00adso\u00adnal items of our teens being bles\u00adsed. I think this is a super image for our lives. If we want an iden\u00adti\u00adty that does not waver and is depen\u00addent on x num\u00adber of dif\u00adfe\u00adrent fac\u00adtors, that is sta\u00adble and immo\u00adva\u00adble, just like the root\u00adstock of our deco\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon, then we need to turn to God, we need one who is hims\u00adelf immo\u00adva\u00adble, if we want secu\u00adri\u00adty and safe\u00adty. The Bible says about God: \u00abFrom abo\u00adve come only good gifts and only per\u00adfect gifts; they come from the Crea\u00adtor of the hea\u00adven\u00adly bodies, who does not chan\u00adge and with whom the\u00adre is no chan\u00adge from light to dark\u00adness.\u00bb (James 1:17 NG\u00dc<\/span>). God does not chan\u00adge. He is not like all the things we deal with every day. God is good and he remains good. He does\u00adn\u2019t sud\u00adden\u00adly turn dark and chan\u00adge his mind. And this God plays a decisi\u00adve role when we ask our\u00adsel\u00adves what our value (and thus also the value of others) is.
\nWhen God crea\u00adted man, he had an idea, he had a pur\u00adpo\u00adse. Regar\u00adding the crea\u00adti\u00adon of man, it says: \u00abThen God said, \u00abWe will make man in our image, like our\u00adsel\u00adves. They shall have domi\u00adni\u00adon over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over all catt\u00adle, over wild ani\u00admals, and over every cree\u00adping thing.\u00bb So God crea\u00adted human beings in his image, in the image of God he crea\u00adted them, male and fema\u00adle he crea\u00adted them\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 1:26,27 NL<\/span>). As a human being, you are an image of God. Wow \u2013 what digni\u00adty that gives you. What a value that gives to every human being when we rea\u00adli\u00adse that they are an image of the God who made hea\u00adven and earth. The God who is in con\u00adtrol of ever\u00ady\u00adthing. You are not just a pro\u00adduct of chan\u00adce, a freak of natu\u00adre. You are an image of God. No mat\u00adter how you see yours\u00adelf, or what others say about you, you basi\u00adcal\u00adly have a huge value that no one can deny you! In a way, this is the foun\u00adda\u00adti\u00adon of our iden\u00adti\u00adty. You may and should be.
\nThe free\u00addom to discover
\nWith this know\u00adledge in mind, you may set out to know your iden\u00adti\u00adty. The teens who are being bles\u00adsed today are more at the begin\u00adning of this jour\u00adney. You are like the plat\u00adforms of our deco. Not ever\u00adyo\u00adne is at the same level, not ever\u00adyo\u00adne car\u00adri\u00ades the same item. The items can also be taken away and repla\u00adced. I want to encou\u00adra\u00adge you to get to know each other bet\u00adter. Dis\u00adco\u00adver your talents and your poten\u00adti\u00adal. Try things out. Ask your par\u00adents, tea\u00adchers, men\u00adtors and fri\u00adends what they see in you. Get invol\u00adved in dif\u00adfe\u00adrent are\u00adas and explo\u00adre your per\u00adso\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty. Do not be afraid. For the foun\u00adda\u00adti\u00adon of God\u2019s pro\u00admi\u00adse and love stands firm and does not chan\u00adge. Your digni\u00adty is given to you by God.
\n\u00abYou are the one who crea\u00adted my body and my soul, you artful\u00adly for\u00admed me in my mother\u2019s womb. I thank you that I am so won\u00adderful\u00adly crea\u00adted, it fills me with awe. Yes, I have rea\u00adli\u00adsed that: Your works are won\u00adderful! I was not hid\u00adden from you when I took shape, when I was crea\u00adted in the dark, artful\u00adly for\u00admed in the deep womb of the earth. Your eyes saw me alre\u00ada\u00addy when my life was born in my mother\u2019s womb. All the days that were to come were alre\u00ada\u00addy writ\u00adten in your book befo\u00adre any of them arri\u00adved\u00bb (Psalm 139:13\u201316 NG\u00dc<\/span>).
\nHave you ever felt infe\u00adri\u00ador and insuf\u00adfi\u00adci\u00adent? It has pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly hap\u00adpen\u00aded to each of us that we did some\u00adthing becau\u00adse of which we were told or thought that we were insuf\u00adfi\u00adci\u00adent and wort\u00adhl\u00adess. But the Bible tells us that we are not only an image of God, but that God also deli\u00adbera\u00adte\u00adly crea\u00adted us the way we are. With all our rough edges. God crea\u00adted you won\u00adderful\u00adly and your life is laid out befo\u00adre him and not\u00adhing that hap\u00adpens to you is a sur\u00adpri\u00adse to him. God is never over\u00adwhel\u00admed by what is going on in your life. Of the teens, many are on the cusp and after the sum\u00admer some\u00adthing very new is coming your way. You will pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly not always suc\u00adceed in ever\u00ady\u00adthing and you will reach your limits. And God sees it! He wants to be with you and make you awa\u00adre of your worth again and again and pro\u00admi\u00adse you your identity.
\nDeep roots
\nSo far, we have main\u00adly loo\u00adked at the value of every human being. Ever\u00adyo\u00adne is made in God\u2019s image, is wan\u00adted and loved by God. But God did not sim\u00adply crea\u00adte us humans to popu\u00adla\u00adte this earth like ants that always have to work and then die. God made man to have fel\u00adlow\u00adship with him. That was his inten\u00adti\u00adon. After God made the first humans, they rebel\u00adled against God and pre\u00adfer\u00adred to be inde\u00adpen\u00addent of God. We still feel the con\u00adse\u00adquen\u00adces of this decis\u00adi\u00adon today. Every human being longs to belong, extre\u00adme\u00adly many have low self-esteem and we have a need for strength and self-con\u00adtrol. I belie\u00adve that our soul can only beco\u00adme calm when we have retur\u00adned to com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adon with God. But we can\u00adnot do that on our own. God had to take a step towards us and he did so in Jesus Christ. Jesus lived in this world and show\u00aded us in a very prac\u00adti\u00adcal way how God inten\u00added life to be and how much he loves us. Jesus even died the ago\u00adni\u00ads\u00ading death on the cross so that we can beco\u00adme God\u2019s child\u00adren. \u00abBut to all who recei\u00adved him [Jesus] and belie\u00adved in his name, he gave the right to beco\u00adme God\u2019s child\u00adren\u00bb (John 1:12 NG\u00dc<\/span>). When we are united with Jesus, our iden\u00adti\u00adty chan\u00adges abrupt\u00adly. Along with the digni\u00adty and good thoughts of God over our lives, we beco\u00adme child\u00adren of God. As his child\u00adren we no lon\u00adger have to be afraid, he vou\u00adch\u00ades to pro\u00advi\u00adde us with ever\u00ady\u00adthing we need. As child\u00adren of God, we belong. Extre\u00adme\u00adly many peo\u00adp\u00adle are lonely. Thanks to Jesus, we are allo\u00adwed to belong to God\u2019s fami\u00adly wit\u00adhout having to do any\u00adthing. It is a gift. As child\u00adren of God, we are for\u00adgi\u00adven \u2013 we no lon\u00adger have to car\u00adry our old bur\u00addens around with us, God for\u00adgi\u00adves us.
\nI want to encou\u00adra\u00adge you who are being bles\u00adsed today to seek your spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal iden\u00adti\u00adty abo\u00adve all, in addi\u00adti\u00adon to your natu\u00adral abili\u00adties and talents. Life is exci\u00adting, adven\u00adtur\u00adous and has much to offer. That is also a good thing and we are allo\u00adwed to enjoy it. But all the things of the world can\u00adnot give us real sup\u00adport and ful\u00adfilm\u00adent. We can only find an iden\u00adti\u00adty that is relia\u00adble and worth living for with God.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"