On Labour and Leisure
Knox (Westport) Presbyterian Church
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Good morning! Happy Labour Day weekend and welcome to Knox (Westport) Presbyterian Church on this Sunday, September 5, 2021.
Each year, Labour Day weekend signals the end of summer vacations and the return to work and school and the routines of daily life. We are still making adjustments for Covid-19 with restrictions still impacting what we can do and how we can gather. Many workplaces have still not returned to their normal activities and churches and community organizations are still limited in what they are able to do, but we are going to celebrate the start of a new season of ministry as we look forward to a more productive future post-Covid-19.
The guidelines for in-person gatherings will continue to evolve as more and more people receive two shots of the Covid-19 vaccine and complete their incubation period. We ask you to be patient and respectful with the rules that prevent us from being a more friendly people. According to current guidelines regarding indoor gatherings, masks or face coverings are still required.
We will continue the practice of no greeting one another with a hug, no coffee hour, no passing of Offering plates or using hymn books or pew Bibles. When you join us in singing hymns and praise songs, we encourage you to reduce the volume of your voices or just hum along.
Following our worship service, people can feel free to linger and visit with each other outdoors when the weather is good as long as you are careful to maintain at least six feet of separation from each other. Masks and face coverings are no longer required for outdoor gatherings if you are fully vaccinated. Please be aware that not everyone may be fully vaccinated and wearing a mask or face covering may still be advisable to protect everyone. As more and more people get vaccinated and the cases of infections continue to decline, we will be able to resume a more friendly approach to each other.
Thank you for being here. Let’s stay safe and be well.
Announcements
- Any Further Announcements
Are there any further announcements that we need to make people aware of?
Greeting One Another
We are delighted that you chose to join us this morning as we come together in fellowship to celebrate our shared faith in Jesus, the Messiah. Let’s stand and greet one another by applause instead of the customary hearty handshake or caring embrace.
A Moment for Reflection
Take a moment now to prepare for worship.
Let the many things that have occupied your attention this morning, even as you were planning to come for worship with us, fade into the background to give space for thoughts about God, about life and about faith.
I’m going to ask Ruth to play a brief musical selection as we come into the presence of God.
Call to Worship – Psalm 23
The Call to Worship is from one of the best loved passages in Scripture known as The Shepherd’s Psalm. The author, David, was a shepherd when he wrote this psalm about his greater Shepherd’s all-sufficiency through the experiences of life.
I am going to project the words on the screens at the front and I invite you to read it along with me:
1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Praise and Worship
Ruth and I will lead us into the presence of God in praise and worship. Please sing along where lyrics are provided.
#410 - Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
#498 - Sing Them Over Again to Me
#645 - Follow Me, the Master Said
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
Eternal God, first and last, our beginning and our end,
beside you there is nothing or no one greater.
You gave breath to all living things.
By your Spirit, you are among us still, breathing new life, turning anger into reconciliation, division into unity, grief into consolation.
Through your grace, you open up new directions and new possibilities for the world you love.
So, we offer you our lives and our labours in worship and in service, joining in creation’s song of praise and adoration:
Holy, holy, holy are you, O God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always. Amen.
God of mercy,
We know you judge the world with an eye for the poor and outcast.
We confess we fail to live with the same eye for those on the margins. We have been silent when we should have spoken up, and uncaring in the face of injustice. We have not shown the same generosity to others that you have shown us. Forgive us for putting ourselves first, and help us to serve you with the kindness we meet in Jesus Christ.
O God in whom we live and move and have our being:
We come to you in prayer as the summer season draws nearer to its close: We give you thanks for the occasions we have enjoyed to catch up with family and friends; to travel for recreation and restoration and let our worries go. We are grateful for each moment to savour the beauty of creation. Refresh us for the season ahead we pray, and renew our commitment to serve you.
O God, Jesus faced many demands wherever he went, and pressure from critics, whatever he did.
We pray for all those who have not found rest this summer: for those whose work is stressful, exhausting, or unappreciated; for those whose livelihoods remain uncertain, because of the pandemic or through disasters caused by heat, fire, or storm. We pray for those which hard choices to make, about work or school or what comes next, about relationships and priorities, or about social policy and community leadership.
(Hold silence for 20 seconds)
May they know your strength and guidance day by day.
Today we remember those for whom this summer has been filled with suffering: We pray for those who have lost loved ones, and those facing an uncertain future or a difficult diagnosis. We pray for those who have lost their homes, for whatever reason, and for those who despair about the climate crisis and what can be done to repair the suffering earth.
(Hold silence for 20 seconds)
We pray for all those who join efforts to relieve suffering of any kind. May each one find courage to face tomorrow in your company. O God, we need the embrace of your presence, each in our own way.
As we prepare to leave this service, walk with us, and show us how to live each day as those who follow Jesus, for we dare to pray the words he taught us, saying:
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive sinners. And lead us not into temptaton but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN.
The Offering
Offering plates have been placed at the entrance into the main auditorium for you to leave your offering as you enter or leave this morning. Thank you.
Sharing Our Thoughts on Life and Faith
I realize that the majority of the people in our congregation are retired and no longer in the active workplace as we look at the importance of fruitful labour on this Labour Day weekend. As a result, I want you to think with me in the broadest of terms about the work you do or did.
What is the most satisfying thing about the work you do or did?
Transition from Sharing Question
Before we turn our attention to the role of work and its rewards, the Book of Proverbs has very sharp words to say about laziness. In fact, of all the people in the Bible, the most ridiculous person described is the lazy person. The term Biblical term for such a person is the sluggard.
This morning I am using The Message translation because of it contemporary and oftentimes dramatic language that draws a graphic picture.
In Proverbs 6, verses 6-11, the writer gives us a poignant lesson from the ant to describe the lazy fool:
Proverbs 6:6-11 - The Message
A Lesson from the Ant
You lazy fool, look at an ant.
Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
Nobody has to tell it what to do.
All summer it stores up food;
at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?
How long before you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy — do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
poverty your permanent houseguest!
Imagine having such a houseguest?
Clearly the writer of Proverbs enjoyed poking fun and pouring ridicule on such a person. He saved some of his best humour and liveliest imagery for this person. As we read this lesson from the ant, we are meant to smile. But we are also to understand that we are to get out of our beds in the morning and spend our time productively today.
- What are the characteristics of a lazy person?
I’m not going to focus on these characteristics except to note them and observe what the writer of the Proverbs warns us about laziness.
- Love of sleep
Just as a door turns on its hinges, so a lazy bones turns back over in bed. (Proverbs 26:14)
One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a slob; they were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down. I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened: “A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy — do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”
Don’t be too fond of sleep; you’ll end up in the poorhouse. Wake up and get up; then there’ll be food on the table. (Proverbs 24:33-34)
Note how similar this story is to the lesson of the ant. Sleep becomes an escape from responsibility. Rest benefits the hard worker, but it hinders the lazybones.
- Inability to stick with a task
Some people dig a fork into the pie but are too lazy to raise it to their mouth. (Proverbs 19:24)
A lazy life is an empty life, but “early to rise” gets the job done. (Proverbs 12:27)
“Moab has always taken it easy— lazy as a dog in the sun, Never had to work for a living, never faced any trouble, Never had to grow up, never once worked up a sweat. But those days are a thing of the past. I’ll put him to work at hard labor. That will wake him up to the world of hard knocks. That will smash his illusions. (Jeremiah 48:11-17)
The pie illustration is hilarious if it wasn’t so sad. The lazy person may make a promising start but he or she doesn’t have the endurance and energy necessary to complete the task.
- Excuses, excuses
When the clouds are full of water, it rains. When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls. Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work. Don’t stare at the clouds. Get on with your life. (Ecclesiastes 11:4)
The loafer says, “There’s a lion on the loose! If I go out, I’ll be eaten alive!” (Proverbs 22:13)
The lazy person will find 101 reasons NOT to do something. He or she is a master of excuses, no matter how wild or ridiculous.
- Dreams of success, but it’s all just talk
Laziness wants it all and gets nothing; the energetic have something to show for their lives. (Proverbs 13:4)
Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table. (Proverbs 14:23)
The craving of the lazy person is fatal, for lazy hands refuse to labor. All day long the wicked yearn to have but the righteous give and do not hold back. (Proverbs 21:25-26 NRSV)
The lazy person wants everything as anyone else, but idle talk leads to frustration and failure.
We can learn some important lessons about fruitful labour from the negative descriptions of laziness, but the practical lessons about labour and leisure are found in the wisdom of God.
Today’s Message
On Labour And Leisure
The pictures we are given on labour and leisure in the Bible – in the Book of Proverbs and elsewhere – run the gambit of human experience. We learn from these pictures what life is really like: its difficulties and struggles; its delights and promises. The role of work and rest varies widely at different times in human history.
- In the beginning – as God intended in creation
I’m going to begin at the beginning – as God intended the role of work and rest in His creation.
It begins with God’s own work:
Heaven and Earth
1 1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth — all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3-5 God spoke: “Light!” and light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. God named the light Day, he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning — Day One.
6-8 God spoke: “Sky! . . . .
(you know how the story goes)
. . . It was evening, it was morning — Day Two.
9-10 God spoke: “Separate! . . . God saw that it was good. . . .
11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, every sort of fruit-bearing tree.” . . . God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning — Day Three.
14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven’s sky! Separate Day from Night. . . . God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning — Day Four.
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life! Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!” . . . It was evening, it was morning — Day Five.
24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! . . . 26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, . . . and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” . . . 31 God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning — Day Six.
You will note that the role that the man and woman had to play in God’s creation was to be responsible for all that God created. They were to take care of God’s good creation.
2 Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.
2-4 By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done. This is the story of how it all started, of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
It’s important to note that God created heaven and earth down to its last detail in six days and then, on the seventh day, He rested. Please don’t analyze this picture too precisely with each step taking one day. The principle to focus on is that God worked on His creation until it was finished, and then he rested. This was to be the pattern for all of life.
When you and I look at the world we live in, it is obvious that our world is not like this garden where everything is good, very good. What happened?
- Everything changes – man and woman disobey
Adam and Eve
5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground — . . . God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive — a living soul!
This isn’t an alternate view of creation to what we find in Genesis 1 and 2. It is a more detailed or specific description on the creation of man and woman.
15 God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
16-17 God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”
18-20 God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” . . .
21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23-25 The Man said, “Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man.”
Therefore, a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
This partnership would be the source of great delight and celebration for both male and female – helpers and companions suitable tor each other. And notice that they were naked but felt no shame.
But something sinister and deadly was about to invade this good creation and beautiful relationship.
Genesis 3
1 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it — she’d know everything! — she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on” — saw themselves naked!
They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
8 When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9 God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
God knew precisely where the man and woman were. God asked this question in order to force the man and woman to recognize and admit that something very wrong had invaded God’s good creation and the relationship between them and their relationship with their creator.
10 He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?”
12 The Man said, “The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it.”
God said to the Woman, “What is this that you’ve done?”
13 “The serpent seduced me,” she said, “and I ate.”
14-15 God told the serpent: “Because you’ve done this, you’re cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I’m declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel.”
God’s judgement on the serpent is an indictment of the forces of evil – the principalities and power that will tempt and lead people astray in this troubled and troublesome world.
Alongside this judgement is a promise. This enmity will not prevail forever. There will come a day when the woman’s offspring – a second Adam – will crush the power of evil.
But, in the meantime, this will have a profound effect on the man and the woman and the generations that will follow them.
16 He told the Woman: “I’ll multiply your pains in childbirth; you’ll give birth to your babies in pain. You’ll want to please your husband, but he’ll lord it over you.”
The very things God intended to bring her pleasure and delight will bring pain and sadness.
17-19 He told the Man: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from, the very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you’ll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you’ll get your food the hard way, planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you’ll end up dirt.”
20 The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
Many people don’t recognize how profoundly things were changed. Life appears to be so difficult, so painful, so meaningless. Where is the promise that we all sense should be ours?
The fact that life is characterized by this tension between good and evil; between promise and reality rest upon what God did in light of the failure or the man and woman.
The immediate consequence of their failure was their fear and shame. Fear of God who would kill them; and shame in the presence of each other because they now saw their nakedness.
21 God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.
God covered their nakedness to enable them to at least live with one another without the constant reminder of the loss of innocence. God did not kill them but set up parameters within which they could continue to live and experience God’s blessing.
22 God said, “The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!”
23-24 So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.
Why am I telling you this story that you know so well?
Among so many things that have resulted from the failure of the first man and the first woman is the profound change in the role of labour and leisure – roles filled with struggle, tension, and conflict that we witness and experience every day.
- A Sabbath rest on the seventh day
Before I press on to explore the role of work in our lives, I need to focus briefly on another principle of life enshrined in this account of creation.
2-4 By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done.
I guess the obvious question to be posed by this: “If God rested on the seventh day after all the creating was done, should this also be the pattern and principle for the man and woman made in the image of God?”
Later in the history of God’s people, this principle was issued as one of the Commandments given to Moses:
Exodus 20:8-11
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work — not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.
We will explore this aspect of Labour and Leisure after we look at the role of work and labour.
- The role of labour / work in life
As in previous sermons on WISDOM FOR THE AGES & TODAY, I am going to make only brief comments on a variety of verses from the Book of Proverbs and other passages in the Bible. For the most part, the verses speak for themselves and give us an accurate picture of LABOUR AND LEISURE.
Let’s get at it!
- Work as a sacred calling
Having just read and reviewed the Genesis account of creation and seen the original intent of God’s creation, I want to look at labour / work as a sacred calling or spiritual role in relation to our creator God:
Place Your Life Before God
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2)
The simple fact of the matter is that we are easily influenced by the culture around as and this is just as true in our understanding of the role of work in our lives. If we offer our everyday, ordinary life as an offering to God, everything changes about the significance of our work.
And incidentally, that includes everything we do: in our employment; in our volunteer service; even in our enjoyment of life’s blessings. Our everyday, ordinary life becomes extraordinary as God develops a well-formed maturity that brings the best out of us.
Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place. (Proverbs 16:3)
There will be purpose and direction in what we do.
If God is in charge of our work, then he will keep his promise:
This is God’s Word on the subject: as I promised . . . I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out — plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (Jeremiah 29:11)
The logical outcome of putting God in charge of our work should be reflected in how we do that work:
Do what your work demands. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work. (Colossians 3:22-25)
The final line is vitally important for a follower of Jesus. Our work demands our best, regardless of the task at hand. Not only will the sullen worker be held responsible, his or her performance will reflect poorly, not only on themselves, but on the Jesus they propose to serve.
- Work as a commendable task
To do good work is a commendable task and is admired and sought after.
Observe people who are good at their work— skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don’t take a backseat to anyone. (Proverbs 22:29)
A wise worker will look at people who are good at their work; learn from them; and emulate them.
This is particularly important when taking on a new task or working with a new group of people. Follow the lead of those who are good at their work.
Don’t work yourself into the spotlight; don’t push your way into the place of prominence. It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted. (Proverbs 25:6-7)
It stands to reason that, if good work is admired and valued, then recognition and promotion should be based on performance and not on seeking the spotlight.
It is often very true that recognition and promotion is not based on good work or good service.
Jesus told the story of people coming to a great banquet. Some people sought to be seated close to the host to be recognized as importance only to be asked to move to other places to make room for those more highly honoured.
Diligent work gets a warm commendation; shiftless work earns an angry rebuke. (Proverbs 14:35)
The contrast is painfully obvious.
- Work as a sacred calling
- Work as a commendable task
- source of blessing and delight
Having looked at what we are to do in the good work we are given, it is important to see work as a source of blessing and delight.
All you who fear God, how blessed you are! how happily you walk on his smooth straight road! You worked hard and deserve all you’ve got coming. Enjoy the blessing! Soak in the goodness! (Psalm 128:2)
If you have worked hard and done a good job, you should expect to be blessed in many ways: recognized for the job you did; valued for the contribution you made; honoured and respected for the character you exhibited. The Psalmist tells us that we should enjoy these blessings; savouring the pleasure; feeling good.
The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work. (Proverbs 12:24)
Our satisfaction in the work we do depends largely on what we bring to the task.
No amount of praise or money can make a unsatisfying job a blessing and delight. So many people move from job to job; task to task; company to company; organization to organization; even relationship to relationship; hoping that the next opportunity will be really rewarding.
The wisdom of this proverbs is found in what we bring to the task.
I asked in our sharing question this morning:
What is the most satisfying thing about the work you do or did?
Some of the jobs and tasks you did over the course of your life were not particularly enjoyable – something you enjoyed doing. But if the final analysis, some of those tiresome or boring or downright dirty jobs you had to do brought you great satisfaction.
The satisfaction came from the diligence and energy and accomplishment. That satisfaction rarely, if ever, comes from a half-hearted engagement in the task at hand. The one who is diligent in doing good work will find freedom and blessing, while the one who is lazy or preoccupied will always find work and life oppressive – burdensome.
So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)
From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward. (Proverbs 12:14)
Having looked at the role of labour / work as:
- a sacred calling
- a commendable task, and
- a blessing and delight
We have one final aspect to look at:
- Work as a blessing to be generously shared
One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:24-25)
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10)
We have come full circle in exploring the role of labour / work, have we not?
We began with an understanding that labour is a spiritual endeavour when we take our everyday, ordinary life — our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life— and place it before God as an offering.
We saw that good work is a commendable task and is admired and sought after.
It is important to see that the good work we are given work to do is a source of blessing and delight.
And finally, the blessing we receive from diligent, good work, is to be generously shared in honouring God for His provision
Today’s Message
On Labour And Leisure
You will notice that my message today was to also include the corollary to Labour in looking at Leisure.
I must tell you that I worked on this message every day this week and it kept getting bigger and bigger. This series on WISDOM FOR THE AGES & TODAY has stretched my knowledge, if not my wisdom.
I have now come to the conclusion that the issue of rest from the work of our hands deserves a full treatment as well. So I will take up this topic next Sunday as we explore:
Leisure and a Sabbath Rest
Our starting point in the Genesis account of creation will be:
2-4 By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done.
In our 24/7 culture, we will look at God’s commandment:
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. (Exodus 20:8)
In an attempt to recover the role of Leisure as a Sabbath Rest.
Prayer of Response
Let’s pray:
Closing Hymn – “Take My Life, and Let It be Consecrated” - #637
Ruth and I are going to lead us in our closing hymn. Please sign along.
Benediction – 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
In light of the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.
Choral Blessing
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith and in love.