Walking with God…at Work

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“There is no work better than another to please God: to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a [cobbler], or an apostle, all is one; to wash dishes and to preach is all one, as touching the deed, to please God.”

~William Tyndale (c. 1492-1536), English scholar and reformer

“There is no sphere of existence over which Jesus is not sovereign, in virtue of his role both in creation (Col. 1:16-17) and in reconciliation (Col. 1:18-20). There can be no dualistic division between some areas in which he rules and others which he does not…. The logic of this message requires that those who announce it should be seeking to bring Christ’s Lordship to bear on every area of human and worldly existence.”

~N.T. Wright, Anglican theologian

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

~Steve Jobs (1955-2011), entrepreneur

“The only Christian work is good work well done.”

“A society in which consumption has to be artificially stimulated in order to keep production going is a society founded on trash and waste, for such a society is a house built upon sand.”

“It is not the business of the church to adapt Christ to men, but men to Christ.”

~Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), English writer

“There are few dangers threatening the religious future more serious than the slow shallowing of the religious mind. Our safety is in the deep. The lazy cry for simplicity is a great danger. It indicates a frame of mind which is only appalled at the great things of God and a senility of faith which fears that which is high. And if so, it means much for the future of religion and much which is ominous, and the poverty of our worship, its lack of solemnity, is the fatal index of the peril.”

~P.T. Forsythe (1848-1921), Scottish theologian

SERMON PASSAGE

selected passages (ESV)

Ephesians 4

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace....

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Genesis 2

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Acts 4

34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

1 Timothy 6

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Jeremiah 9

4 Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every brother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6 Heaping oppression upon oppression,
and deceit upon deceit,
they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.