Total Sermons: 201
Total Amens: 1
Love as a Catalyst at Work
Authentic Lover of People I Cor 13:4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Practical We are patient with our co-workers We genuinely care about their well-being and express it through action We affirm their abilities and celebrate their successes. We do not try to impress them with our own successes. We are civil and polite with them. We do not take advantage of them. We are not irritable with them. (At least we apologize later). We forgive and forget their offenses. We encourage their honesty, and discourage dishonest ideas. We help them lift heavy work loads. We believe in them. We hope for the best. We stick with them through tough times. We are there for them when they need us. Treating People Like Jesus What would I do if this customer, co-worker, or client was Jesus? What would I do if Jesus was going to use this software? What would I do if my student was Jesus. What would I do…
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Why and How We Choose Our Morals At Work
Exodus 20:1-17 Worldview Premise – Ultimately, all legitimate moral order is determined by God, not by my boss, the Board of Directors, my customers, my co-workers, my culture. Ex 20 1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery… (10 Commandments) Eph 1 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Eph 4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. Reality– Through Jesus’ Work – God and us are connected. Implications - We live a life worthy of our calling. Worldview Premise- The non-optional and non-negotiable moral order of God applies to every aspect of work, and should be followed for our own good. Deut. 10 12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. 13 And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. Reality– We are people of God. Implications – We live in a way that pleases him. Worldview Premise: Since the Fall, human beings (including myself and every co-worker and customer I come in contact with) have experienced an internal problem with sin – a natural “bent” to go our own way rather than God’s way and to be a law unto ourselves. Romans 6 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Reality – I have the ability to sin and bent toward sin. However, I can exercise freedom under God’s grace through Jesus’ finished work on the cross and the Holy Spirit’s enablement. Implications – I should have realistic expectations about the people I work with while praying for God to bless my work environment. Worldview Premise - The two foremost workplace responsibilities I have are to love the Lord with all my heart, mind and strength, and to love my co-workers and customers as myself. Matthew 22:36-40 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Reality– We are loved by God. Implications - We love God and each other.
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Invite Your Father To Work
Psalm 139 Reality God is present everywhere in my workplace. Reality - God knows all my thoughts and my co-workers thoughts and is fully aware of the details of each individual life connected with my work. General Implication We should examine our ways in the workplace and invite him to evaluate and help restructure how we do things. I Timothy 2 Reality – God cares about our quality of life. General Implication – We ought to pray toward that end. We ought to work toward that end. II Timothy 3 Reality – God communicates with me on the job and He will give me wisdom when I ask. General Implication – Through prayer and study I can learn how to conduct myself at work. Jeremiah 32 17 "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. Reality – God is all powerful and there is no problem I face at work that is too difficult for Him. Psalm 33 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. Reality – God cares about justice being done throughout every aspect of my work. Implication – God loves it when we are honest with clients and when we treat co-workers fairly. I John 1 Reality – God is merciful and forgives Ephesians 2 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Remember Romans 12 as well Reality – God has given people great diversity of gifts and abilities which he desires to be freely exercised for the benefit of all. Implication – Do what you were created to do – job, church, home, community. Luke 11 Reality – God answers prayer at work. Conclusion: Get to know your heavenly father. He works, he delegates work to you, and cares about that work. Learn to think through the implications of the Gospel while you work. Let us take some time and take communion together as a reminder of Jesus and the unsearchable riches of his grace and how those riches extend to our work.
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