4 weeks helping students root their identity in Christ. Whether you’ve realized it before or not, we all walk around wearing labels that say “Hello, My Name Is ____,” and oftentimes what fills in the blank is a toxic lie. Since these negative labels affect the way we operate and treat others, over the next few weeks we want to explore a few gospel-inspired labels in the hopes that we can replace the old ones and embrace new ones.

Video Messages Included

Week 1 (John 1:12 NIV)

Intro: Whether you’ve realized it before or not, we all walk around with negative labels, and those negative labels hurt us and those around us.

Truth: One of the labels we wear is orphan, but John reassures us that if we’ve placed our faith in Jesus, we are God’s child. That means we’re treated like a son or daughter, and we don’t have to try to be a son or daughter. We just are. And that gospel reality has enormous implications for the way we operate and the way we treat people.

The Point: You are a child of God.

Week 2 (1 John 1:9 NIV)

Intro: When we do something wrong, guilt has a way of leading to shame. Shame puts strain on relationships, hurts your confidence as a person, and holds you back from living life the way you were created to. In other words, shame has a way of defining you.

Truth: But John tells us that because God is faithful and just, we are forgiven in Christ. Forgiveness applies to us as soon as we confess, and we’re forgiven from all sin, not just the small stuff. Wearing that label should change the way we see respond to our failures and relate to God and others.

The Point: You are forgiven.

Week 3 (Isaiah 53:5 NIV)

Intro: Words hurt. And they not only sting in a temporary sense, but they can also leave lasting wounds. We all have wounds from our past, and these wounds have the capacity to define us.

Truth: When Isaiah spoke to the wounded Kingdom of Judah, he gave them (and us) hope of a Messiah who would heal. We now have access to that healing in Christ. When we embrace the label of healed, our faith in God grows, we experience freedom like never before, and we become living proof of God’s character.

The Point: You are healed.

Week 4 (Romans 6:6-7 NIV)

Intro: Many of us are familiar with captivity to sin. It controls our actions, takes up a large amount of space in our heart and mind, and we can’t seem to get away from it on our own.

Truth: As someone who very much understood what captivity to sin was like, Paul set out to help many Christians experience freedom from bondage to sin. He writes to the Romans that our old self died with Christ, and that we are free. We’re free to live out God’s purpose for our lives. We’re free to serve others. And we’re free to love as Jesus has loved us.

The Point: You are free.