September 6, 2026
Made in His Image
Pastor Ricky Smith

Sermon Notes

Genesis 1:26-31
Then God said, “Let us make man 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 over all the earth and over every creeping thing that 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. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

I. You were made with intention.

II. You were made to carry His likeness.

Your worth was never a wage you earned. It was a gift you were given the moment you were made.

III. You were made for a mission.

You represent God where you live, work, learn, and play.

IV. You were made and called very good.

See others as image-bearers of God and then treat them like it.

Next Steps

• I confess my sin and turn to Jesus as King for the first time.
• I commit to stop building my identity on performance and reframe my identity in Christ alone.
• I choose to see others as image bearers of God this week.

Deep Dive

1. Read Matthew 22:15-22. Where in your life do you find yourself acting as if you belong to something other than God: your job, your image online, your bank account?
2. Read Genesis 9:1-7. Where in our culture right now do you see human dignity being denied to a group of people because they’re seen as inconvenient or unproductive? How does this text call you to respond, in your convictions and in your actual relationships?
3. Read James 3:1-12. Be honest with yourself: who is the person you’ve most recently talked about, or to, in a way that didn’t treat them like an image-bearer? What’s one specific way you can make that right this week?

Springboard

1. When was the last time someone asked you a hard question about your faith, and you didn’t feel ready for it? What was the question, and how did you respond?
2. Read Genesis 1:1-2:3. What part of the creation account is easiest for you to believe? What part raises questions?
3. Have you ever felt like you had to choose between what science teaches and what the Bible teaches? Talk about where that feeling came from.