Sermon Text: Genesis 2:1-3; Genesis 2:15; Mark 6:1-6

Sermon summary

Not only has God designed man to work (see previous sermon), He has designed man to worship. And, work and worship are inextricably linked. In fact, work is a means through which we worship. Honest work is pleasing to God. Eric Liddell makes this point when he says, “God made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure.” When we work in the callings that God has for us, we too can feel his pleasure.

This truth is highlighted by the very fact that when God came to Earth he worked as a carpenter. He spent the majority of his life in gainful, honest employment so much so that when he returned to his hometown to teach, the townspeople knew him as the carpenter. His hometown identity was that of the carpenter. He could have been the butcher, the baker or the blacksmith. If he were to have come today, he could have worked your job. (Mark 6:1-6)

There are several truths which can be deduced from this: (1) We can grow in the favor of God while being employed in honest work. (Luke 2:40) God is pleased when we work unto him. God is pleased when we engage in work heartily and unto him. (2) We must remember that when God decreed Jesus to be his pleasing son, Jesus had not yet done anything but carpentry. (Matt 3:17) (3) There is no divide of value between sacred and secular employment. We are all in full time Christian ministry. (4) The Christian is to work for an audience of one.

Finally, we must ask why Jesus spent so much time in the carpenter’s shop? Why not just be killed as an infant? Would that not have paid for sins? Was their any further salvific purpose for his life-time of labors. The answer is yes. Jesus worked as unto God and in his work he served his neighbor as himself. In doing this he fulfilled God’s holy mandate to work earlier given to Adam in Genesis 2 and repeated in Exodus 20:9.

Reflection Questions

1. As you reflect on last weekend’s sermon,what one principle or insight stands out as being particularly helpful, insightful, or difficult to grasp?
2. What’s one thing from the sermon that you want to talk more about?
3. Was there any one thing that you most agreed with or disagreed with from the sermon? What was it and why?

4. What is your view on work? Do you see work as a necessary evil? Was there anything in the sermon that challenged your previous assumption?

5. What is some work you do that goes unnoticed by others? Does knowing that it is pleasing to God help you to do it with excellence?
6. Have you ever felt guilty for not going into “full time Christian service”? In light of Jesus' carpentry, should you?
7. One writer said that "Jesus was more than a carpenter but certainly not less." What does this mean? What does this mean? What does this say about the significance of Jesus' work?

8. If all honest work has dignity and can be a proper channel of pleasing God, does this free us regarding what types of work we should choose to do? How so?

9. Why was it important that Jesus spend all those years in honest employment serving his community? What is the connection to Adam’s command to work the garden? What is the connection to Exodus 20:9?
10. Are you a workaholic? Why? How does Jesus' coming to earth to fulfill the mandate to work change your view point?

Topics and Verses for Further Study or Discussion