Philippians 3:8-12 (NLT) 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so thatI could gain Christ 9and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 12I don’t mean to say thatI have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

• How do you treat things you don’t value? How do you treat things you do value?
• What does your relationship with God, yourself, and others reveal about their value to you? What something is worth to you determines how much you will pay for it.

THE CHRISTMAS STORY IS A STORY OF GOD TELLING YOU HOW MUCH HE VALUES YOU!

Luke 1:76-79 (NLT) 76And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. 77You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 78Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.

IN A REAL RELATIONSHIP,YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU’RE VALUED BY WHAT EXTENT SOMEONE WILL GO TO IN ORDER TO SAVE THE RELATIONSHIP.

• What have you done to strain your relationship with your God throughout your life?
• What has God done to save your relationship, and what does that tell you about your value?
• What is the most you have sacrificed for someone else, and what did that say about their value to you?

WHAT SOMETHING IS WORTH TO YOU DETERMINES HOW MUCH YOU WILL FIGHT FOR IT.

Matthew 2:11 (NLT) They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 13:44-46 (NLT) 44The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. 45Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the look out for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

THE HEART OF THE FATHER

1. God wants us to value Him enough that we would revolve our world around Him.

2. God wants us to value ourselves enough that we would see ourselves the way He sees us.

3. God wants us to value others enough that we would help others focus in on His heart.