Everyone Has a Story
October 4, 2026 · Derek Griffon
“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” - Robin Williams
Mission gives us direction. Values shape our culture.
Mission answers: What are we trying to accomplish?
Values answer: What kind of people are we going to be while we accomplish it?
The Bayou Church Values:
- Everyone Has a Story
- Life is Better Together
- Rescued People Reach People
- The Best is Ahead!
Everyone has a story but very few people know the whole story.
“So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” Genesis 1:27 (CSB)
Our dignity begins with the God who made us, not the opinions people have formed about us.
“1He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. 4So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.’ 6So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully. 7All who saw it began to complain, ‘He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.’ 8But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.’ 9‘Today salvation has come to this house,’ Jesus told him, ‘because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.’” Luke 19:1-10 (CSB)
The Five S’s of the Savior Who Seeks And Saves:
- Jesus saw Zacchaeus - Luke 19:5
- Jesus sought Zacchaeus - Luke 19:5; 10
- Jesus stayed with Zacchaeus - Luke 19:5-7
- Jesus saved Zacchaeus - Luke 19:8-10
- Jesus redeemed Zacchaeus’ story - Luke 19:7, 9
People may judge you by your worst chapter. Jesus still sees the whole story.
“23For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24 (CSB)
“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” - Oscar Wilde
The Two Trees
- Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus.
- Jesus died on a tree to save Zacchaeus.
- One tree lifted a sinner to see the Savior. The other lifted the Savior to save the sinner.
Zacchaeus’ story reminds us that grace refuses to let your past have the final word.
What the value of Everyone Has a Story teaches us:
- See the people everyone else passes by.
- Let the place you limp become the place you testify.
- Grace reaches farther than anyone has fallen.
- Give people the dignity God gave them.
Everyone has a story—and no story is beyond the reach of Jesus.
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