The Perspective That Makes All The Difference

[ Colossians 3:23-24 ]

Work MattersHow the Gospel Connects

Faith & WorkSummer Series at New City Church

40 hoursThe average adult will work

2000 hours

94,000 hours

per week

per year

over the course of life

Heigh Ho, Heigh HoIt’s off to work we go

Snow White & The Seven Dwarves

Bachman Turner Overdrive“Taking Care of Business”

The Bangles“Manic Monday”

Donna Summer“She Works Hard For The Money”

Huey Lewis & The News“Working for a Living”

Loverboy“Working for the Weekend”

Dolly Parton “9 to 5”

Workin' 9 to 5 What a way to make a livin'

Barely gettin' by It's all takin' and no givin' They just use your mind

And they never give you credit It's enough to drive you

Crazy if you let it

What if there was a perspective that

would change the way you think about work from this day

forward filling it with meaning and

significance

?

The Perspective That Makes All The Difference

[ Colossians 3:23-24 ]

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for

Colossians 3:23-24

the Lord and not for men, 24 knowingthat from the Lord you will receive theinheritance as your reward. You areserving the Lord Christ.

Key Thought #1

Work as though the Lord Jesus is your Ultimate Boss

“It is the Lord you are serving.”

“Work…as for the Lord and not men…”

~ The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 & Philippians 3:12

“…the Son of God, who loved me and gave

himself for me.”

“…Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

How would it changes things

Monday morning if you went to work knowing that you were ultimately serving the Lord

?

Key Thought #2

Work with all your heart for your Ultimate Boss

“…work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men….”

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with

all your might….”~ Ecclesiastes 9:10

Christians are to be fully engaged at work as whole persons, giving their minds, hearts, and bodies fully to doing the best job possible on the the task at hand…. Christian workers can think

of their work this way because they have a new motive for they work. They

work as if they were “serving the Lord.”

“I’m pretty much agnostic at this point in

my life. But I find atheism just as hard to

get my head around as I find fundamental

Christianity. Because if there is no such thing as cosmic justice, what is

the point of being good?

Vince Gilligan, Creator of “Breaking Bad”

“...That’s the one thing that no one has ever explained to me.

Why shouldn’t I go rob a bank, especially if I’m smart enough to get away with it?

What’s stopping me?” Vince Gilligan, Creator of “Breaking Bad”

The Parable of the Talents

~ Matthew 25

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little;

I will set you over much.Enter into the joy of your master”

~ Jesus of Nazareth in The Gospel of Matthew 25:21

The only Christian work is good work well done.

”~ Dorothy Sayers Creed or Chaos?

“

Key Thought #3

Whatever you do, do it for your Ultimate Boss

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord….”

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the

glory of God.”

~ The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:31

“One day I was mopping the kitchen floor and my mood was anything but grateful. I

grumbled with each push of the mop. Complained with each dip in the bucket.

Here I am mopping this floor again and no one even appreciates it. I feel like this

housework is never finished. Clean today. Dirty tomorrow. Why do I even bother?”

“Thank You, Lord, for the privilege of mopping this dirty floor. Thank You for

the health and strength to hold this mop in my strong hands and to wrap my agile fingers around its handle. Thank You for the sight to see the

crumbs, the dirt, and the spilled juice.”

“Thank You for the sense of smell to enjoy the clean fresh scent of the soap in my bucket. Thank You for the many

precious feet that will walk through this room and dirty it all up again. And

Lord, thank You for the privilege of having a floor to mop and a family to

clean up after.”

“Thank God For My Muddy Floor” by Sharon Jaynes

“[The Scriptures] present to us a seamless under-standing of work and worship, thereby eliminating any compartmentalization of a worshipful life whether its Sunday or Monday. Jesus teaches us not only how to live but also how to work… [placing] vocational faithfulness at the heart of apprenticeship with Jesus and a 24/7 life of God-honouring worship….”

~ Tom Nelson, Work Matters

Your job is your prayer offered up in service to the Lord Jesus.

Christ offered himself up in service to us. Therefore, we are able to offer ourselves— including our work—up in service to Christ.

Bonus Thought

What if in addition to seeing Jesus as your ultimate Boss, you also saw in your clients

an opportunity to serve Jesus?

Whatever you did for the least of these, you also did for me.

~ Jesus of Nazareth in The Gospel of Matthew 25

Concluding Thought

Work well done enhances our witness in the city &

further God’s mission here.

May whatever you do be done wholeheartedly as if you were serving

the Lord Jesus.

other images used for educational purpose

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Bachman%E2%80%93Turner_Overdrive.png

Image Credit: gerarthttps://pixabay.com/en/board-school-homework-slate-928381/

Pixaby Images

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanity-fair/the-infamous-proust-quest_b_2009013.html

https://aewlabode.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/7-dwarfs.jpg

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Image ID:423131611

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