Sermon Tone Analysis

Review Series:

Creation

God the Creator is the first worker

God Designed work to be

Fall

Promise

Redemption

Introduction:

Introduction:

What is the meaning and significance of my work now?

My kids will be well taken care of?

I may have a monument or plaque?

I can honor the Lord by working hard and being honest

Set up story: Bay Area dump day (Slide)

“One man’s trash, another man’s treasure”

Restoration is becoming increasingly popular (Slide)

Some people have an incredible imagination for how to restore those things that are broken and worn down

We are a new creation, and we are being restored

The Gospel story presents a picture where because of the redeeming work of Christ and his resurrection, all things are being restored

Christ’s work began a new work of reversing the curse and since that curse affected work, we should expect there to be a shift in the way we think about our work

How is the Gospel shaping your worldview about your work?

We are going to look at a few passages this morning that help us answer the question about the significance of our work.

Text:

Question: What kind of work qualifies as work “for the LORD?”

Question: And how should we do that work?

Question: If you’re a Christian, who do you work for?

Question: What are we working towards?

Question: What are we working towards?

Question: What does Paul mean when he says, “an inheritance as your reward?”

Question: Where does Paul get this idea of an inheritance from?

Col 1:11-

Summarize passage:

So when we (21st century Americans) hear the word inheritance, we think of a large sum of money that a rich relative left for us in their will.

But in the Scriptures we get a different picture.

The first we hear about an inheritance is in the OT and in the majority of instances the inheritance referred to the land of Canaan.

God promised the Israelites that He would give them this land that flowed with milk and honey (goats and bees).

This was the best land, the land that he had set apart for his chosen people.

Now, let’s bring that image into our text.

Whatever job you have, work at it with all of your heart just as if Jesus was your boss, because you are working towards your inheritance which is the full reality of the Kingdom of Christ.

So because we’re receiving life in the Kingdom of Christ, we should work heartily?

Now, if Paul doesn’t write anything else in the Scriptures about the resurrection and the Kingdom of God, we could say Paul is basically saying, “Hey, since you are getting to go to heaven, you should work as hard as you can.” But, that’s not what he’s saying.

Could you give us a little more, Paul?

Because I don’t see how they correlate.

Thankfully, Paul does write more about the resurrection, and life in the kingdom...

Text:

Summarize passage: Paul’s audience is a mixture of Greeks and Romans.

We could say that they were a very disenchanted people.

They were on board with the idea of trusting a Creator and Savior, and doing good to others, but the idea of the resurrection of Jesus and all Christians, was a fairy tale.

It was rejected by some in the Church in Corinth.

So, Paul is saying, look just like the Scriptures say Jesus was going to die, he died and just like they say he would rise, he rose.

Guys, if you don’t believe me, go journey to Jerusalem and ask around.

Jesus presented himself to a lot of people after he rose from the dead.

Because if Christ is still dead...

:12

Summarize passage: In other words, if Jesus only died for our sin, the job is incomplete and we’re still in our sin.

Let’s go ahead and throw in the towel.

The resurrection is A BIG DEAL, church.

1 Cor 15:20-

Summarize passage:

Summarize passage: What’s happening here?

Are you zoning out, yet?

I began to talk about this last weekend, but I want to flesh this out a little more, because it’s really important that we understand this.

Much of the way that modern evangelicalism understands death and heaven and hell needs to be addressed.

Many people have a picture in their minds of what happens in the afterlife that is foreign to the Scriptural picture of the afterlife.

The way some or many think about heaven and earth is that they’re two separate domains (one physical and one spiritual).

Man lives in one and God lives in the other.

When humans die, if they’re a Christian, they go to live in God’s domain and at the end of the world, the earth is wiped out and we live as disembodied spirits on the holy clouds, playing harps, and wearing robes, and living in mansions.

Now, if that’s your perspective of heaven and earth, death and resurrection, than work is a means to an end and there is no future to your work.

To engage with the first question, our work has no meaning and no significance because there is no future to it.

But the Scriptures present a different perspective about heaven and earth.

In the beginning God walked in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, but then they were expelled from the garden.

And it is true that man’s space became separate from God’s space.

However, there were a number of times when God inner acted with humans on earth.

There was a moment when Jacob (the grandson of Abraham) had a dream, and in his dream he spoke with God.

When he woke up he said, “This place is awesome!

This is the house of God, this is the gate of heaven.”

Then there was the infamous burning bush with Moses when God said, “the place you are standing is holy ground.”

And then we can go throughout the OT and see where the tent, the tabernacle, and the temple represent the hot spot of God’s presence on earth.

And then you have Christ who comes to earth as the Son of God, the New and better Temple, God’s presence on earth.

Finally, what does Paul say in , “We (the Church) are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Are you starting to see the picture, now?

Does this sound like God’s presence is pulling out or spreading out?

I hope we’re starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Paul referred to the place we’re in now as the domain of death, or the domain of sin, or this present evil age.

But because we’re in Christ, we’re also in that intersection of the domain of life, the Kingdom of Christ.

1 Cor 15:50

Summarize: Paul uses language to describe that there has to be a Spiritual transformation that takes place in order for people to be transferred (as He says in Colossians) from the domain of darkness into His glorious light.

Summarize: So, here is where that tension lies; we’re all being changed, and it’s painfully slow, but the promise is that He who began a good work in us (through salvation) will continue that work (sanctification) until the day of Christ (glorification).

So because of the resurrection and the promise and the inheritance… Let’s stockpile the investments, let’s contribute more to our 401K, let’s set ourselves up for a care-free retirement...

So because of the resurrection and the promise and the inheritance… Let’s stockpile the investments, let’s contribute more to our 401K, let’s set ourselves up for a care-free retirement...

So because of the resurrection and the promise and the inheritance… Let’s stockpile the investments, let’s contribute more to our 401K, let’s set ourselves up for a care-free retirement...

So since we know the resurrection of all things is certain, our work has purpose, it’s not in vain.

Question: What kind of work is the LORD’S work?

Let’s think out loud about this, because this is paradigm shifting if we believe this: How can my work actually make a difference, what is the future of my work, is there any significance?

How can your work as a computer scientist not be in vain?

How can your work as a personal assistant for a financial firm not be in vain?

How can your work as an officer not be in vain?

How can your work as a school teacher, not be in vain?

How can your work as a mom, not be in vain?

How can your work as a retired person with your joints hurting, and your organs giving up, how can your work tomorrow NOT be in vain?

What if when you went to work you saw that person as more than just an object?