Sermon Tone Analysis

My Ministry

Livestream!

Last week we started a new series about work we are calling “Equipped.”

This study is based on a series by Christ’s Church of the Valley titled “Made for Mondays.”

In this study we are exploring what God thinks about work.

Last week we talked about the work that God did when He showed up on Monday.

When He showed up on the very first Monday, God poured excellence into His work.

He created with exceptional detail and He went above and beyond, literally, as He created the skies, worlds, and galaxies.

He didn’t stop at good enough, instead He created more than we would ever be able to discover in an eternity.

Thinking about the huge galaxies that God created down to the smallest atom reminds me of a joke.

“Why can’t you trust atoms?

Because they make up everything.”

Last week we looked at some of God’s work and saw how important it is to Him.

He created humanity and the first thing He told us to do was to work.

Later, when Adam and Eve messed up, God didn’t punish them by cursing their work, He cursed the environment in which they worked.

He cursed the ground and said their work would be tough.

The work was still important to Him.

One of the key thoughts we focused on last week was the truth that…

Your work is WORSHIP.

God designed work to be an act of worship.

That doesn’t mean that we should all be workaholics, but what it does mean is that we should view our work as one of the ways that we worship and honor God.

We should change the way we think about work on Monday morning and view our job as an opportunity to worship God and serve other’s.

When that is the way we view our work, God will work through us.

What job we have doesn’t even matter, God wants to work through us whether we are police officers, construction workers, music ministers, janitors, stay-at-home mom’s, or whatever.

That’s what we talked about last week.

Today, let’s dive into your job, your ministry, by asking this question…

How do I live my faith where I make my living?

Just as your work is worship, your job is your ministry.

The place where you work is your mission field.

For a lot of people that thought could be a turn off because when we think of living our faith at work we feel some kind of pressure to tell people to “repent before it’s too late” or hide bible tracts in people’s desks.

You don’t have to do that.

In fact, you shouldn’t do that.

There is no reason to preach, be weird, or come at people like a high pressure salesman.

It is just as uncomfortable for them as it is you.

Being a follower of Christ is about relationships.

Your ministry at work is all about living in a way that reflects God’s heart and His values while building and developing relationships with the people around you.

In Genesis chapter two, God put Adam in the Garden to work it and take care of it.

In the same way, He has put you in your garden to work it and take care of it.

When you go to work you are serving the company and the customers.

In God’s mind, your greatest work is when you serve other people.

You are where God wants you to be so that you can serve other people.

Adam took care of the Garden.

Part of taking care of something is protecting it and making it better.

Our work attitude in our garden should be to take care of it and create a better world for people to be a part of.

God created this amazing universe and everything in it.

Then He partnered with us to continue creating.

Look around at the world we live in today.

The art, the cultures, the buildings, cars, and so on.

We partnered with God and have created the world we currently live in.

What kind of world to we want to leave to the next care takers?

It all starts by plugging more people into the source of creativity and generosity.

It all starts with me and you being the pastors of our workplaces.

Taking care of the people in our gardens.

Our ministry is our workplace.

Mark Moore from CCV says it this way, and I love this thought…

“Care for the people in the garden where you live.”

- Mark Moore, Christ’s Church of the Valley

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul said that being raised to new life with Christ changes everything.

Having new life means that you have a new focus, new goals, a new way of treating people, and a new way of thinking.

Everything is new!

This new way of life should fill our lives and fill our hearts with thankfulness.

Then in verse 17 he says…

Whatever you do!

No matter what it is.

Whether you are at home, at work, at church, on vacation, or stuck on the side of the highway with a flat tire.

You are always a representative of Jesus.

For the next few verses, Paul describes what this looks like at home.

He describes how this plays out inside of the family structure.

He says, “Wives, if you love your husbands you need to honor them.

Husbands if you honor your wives you need to love them.

Children, if Jesus is your authority you need to obey your parents.

Fathers, if Jesus is your leader you need to lead your children well.”

Then in verse 22 he takes the focus out of the home and back to the workplace.

In Paul’s day, 60% of the Roman population were slaves.

A fraction of 1% of the population were Christians.

There was no way that Paul or the Christian movement would be able to stand up against slavery, but the work ethic Paul taught the slaves was the first step in freedom for those who followed Christ.

He taught them to work for their owners as though they were working for the Lord.

Eventually what happened was that by working to please their masters as if they were working to please God, their masters were so satisfied with them that they would continue to give them more and more latitude and freedom until eventually it made no sense to keep them in bondage.

They were already living as free men as citizens in the master’s household serving him well.

What kind of a difference could that make for you at your job?

Have you ever showed up to work and felt like you were in bondage to that job or that boss?

How much would working for your boss as though you were working for Jesus change your job?

How much would it change your employer’s appreciation for you?

The principle Paul is teaching here is simple.

Your work is worship.

I’ve been repeating that thought from last week a lot today.

If you are taking notes, Paul is adding to that thought here.

Paul is showing us that our work is worship, but only when Jesus is our boss.

Your work is WORSHIP when Jesus is your BOSS.

This principle is the same for employers and employees today.

What boss wouldn’t be proud of an employee who went above and beyond?

God will for sure be pleased because it is His desire for us to serve others.

Paul's reminder is that, in the end, the work isn’t the important part.

The paycheck isn’t even the important part.

What is important to remember is that Jesus is our true boss and He is signing the only truly important paycheck.

In verse 24 Paul says…

We are serving Christ and it is the people that are important to Him.

Your work is important to Him BECAUSE the people you serve are important to Him.

If you are taking notes you could write it this way…

Your work is MINISTRY when people are PRIORITY.