Redeemer just completed a season studying the relationship between the Christian faith and our everyday work. Here are a few insights and resources from this season.
As Christians, we know Jesus changes everything, but it is often difficult to understand how the gospel relates explicitly to our work. We had two big aims in this season: to know how our work matters to God and how God matters to our work.
Dorothy Sayers definition of work was beneficial to us: "Work is the gracious expression of creative energy in the service of God and neighbour." This definition highlights the many creational activities that bring glory to God in different ways.
One of the most helpful ideas we considered is that not all fields are the same. Some vocations provide a clearer path for glorifying God in that space than others. There are also different ways that we can honour God in different life callings. If you're a train conductor, the best way to honour God in your work is to get to the station on time - probably not walking the aisles trying to share the gospel with your passengers. However, if you're a movie producer, you have a very different dynamic to consider as you seek to make many creative decisions about what is essential. In both cases, you can work "unto the Lord" but that expression will look different in each field.
Here are the teachings on Faith and Work...
We began our study in Colossians. We considered the principle of preeminence and what it means to do everything for the glory of God.
J.D. Greear spent part of his sabbatical in London with us and preached one of the messages at Redeemer. We also enjoyed spending time with him as a staff team.
If we're honest, work feels like it's cursed. As good as the bible describes the design for work; work is often frustrating. This message explains more about why that's our experience.
Is there any good news for work? Where is it going? How can things be made right? Here we consider the fact that all of our work is part of God's larger kingdom program where he is working out his purposes in the midst of our work.
One of our friends and fellow elder at Redeemer, David Brown, brought a strong message to conclude the teaching series. David preached a powerful vision for the future of our work from Revelation 21-22.
We hope these resources are an encouragement to you.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
