We welcome you to Stone's Hill today!

A typical Stone's Hill service has:

* music (so feel free to sing out);

* some announcements (things that are upcoming that you can be a part of);

* a message out of the Bible (God speaks to us through his Word);

* and an opportunity for you to respond to the message (either immediately in the case of a decision that needs to be made OR in the future as you live out the message in your daily life.)

So relax and enjoy your morning! We're so glad you are here!

MESSAGE TEXT
Psalm 8:1-9
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INTRODUCTION
You are made in the image of God. Everything in creation reflects God’s glory. But when it comes to mankind, you are the crown of creation.In other words, there is no higher reflection of God’s glory that can be seen outside of a human being. When David says, “Who are we?” one of the answers is we’re the only ones in the world sitting around asking, “Who are we?”[1] Animals don’t ask this and write Psalms about it – humans do. We have been fashioned by God – to exercise dominion, create culture, and reproduce.
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Who are you? To know that, you have to ask and answer the questions: who made you and for what purpose? That’s what David does. It is a way of saying from the outset that we will never understand human beings unless we see them as God’s creatures and recognize that they have special responsibilities to their Creator. You are a wonderful, glorious, and complex human being.
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One cannot read Psalm 8 without recalling the language and categories of creation in Genesis 1: the heavens and the earth (Ps. 8:1, 9), the moon and the stars (8:3), the beasts, fish, and birds (8:7–8), and finally, humanity as the culmination of the works of creation (8:4–6). Even though he does not use the term “image” of God, he is conscious of the general concept and seems to allude to it with the words, “You have made him a little lower than heavenly beings…” (8:5).
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MESSAGE OUTLINE
In Psalm 8, David marveled at the fact that God had committed the dominion of the earth to mankind, and he reflected on the dignity of human beings. Humankind, dwarfed by the immensity of the universe, is yet taken up by the Lord, given glory and made its master. Let’s notice the wonderful thing David saw (dignity), the frightening thing David felt (destiny), and the amazing thing David learned (dominion).
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Dignity: The wonderful thing David saw (v.1-3)
Destiny: The frightening thing David felt (v.4)
Dominion: The amazing thing David learned (v.5-9)
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CONCLUSION
Are you polishing your mirror or are you tarnishing it? What the Bible teaches is that the mirror of our life has been shattered. We can still reflect God’s glory, but not as clearly now. And what Christ does is He gradually fixes the mirror of us so God can shine brighter through us even though we’ve been broken.
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When you see Jesus Christ losing his glory for you, when you see Jesus losing his beauty for you, that’s the most glorious, that’s the most beautiful thing possible. That will turn your heart to him. With the power of the Holy Spirit using the gospel, that will turn the mirror of your soul more and more to face him fully.
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In fact, everything that’s happening in your life is turning your soul’s mirror toward him, even the bad things that are happening to you right now. Everything is doing that.
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The ultimate glory and the ultimate beauty is to see the Lord losing his beauty and love and his glory and honor for you, that you could have it. Then he becomes your glory.
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Let Psalm 8 change your nature, change the way you look at yourself, change the way you look at other people. Let it revolutionize your life.
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"I am a child of God. I have been forgiven of my sins. I am accepted in God's family. He has marked me out as his own. He has put his Spirit within me, releasing to me the full–life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every power that Jesus himself had to perform his life upon earth, I have in him. I am equipped to handle whatever comes today. I can take whatever life throws at me because I have him and all the fullness of his life."