Sermon Recap: Emmanuel Labor Pt. 2
Speaker: Pastor Pierre duPlessis
Read: Genesis 1:1-2, 26-28, 2:15; Psalm 8:6; Ecclesiastes 1:1-3; Romans 5:17; 1 Corinthians 3:9
The cultural narrative for work for many is to make as much money as possible, in the shortest time, with the least effort even if it means exploiting people and resources. But God’s original creative intention for work was quite different. In creation He started with a barren and uninhabited slate then made man in His image to be a visible representation of Him on earth. After being placed in the Garden of Eden, man was commanded to work it and care for God’s creation. His work was to be a form of worship and a service to God. The garden was never supposed to stay a garden but was to become a garden city as referenced in the last two chapters of Revelation. In subduing the earth, man was to bring order out of chaos and harmony out of discord. Instead in some cases today we see that the act of subduing is manifested as exploitation, enslavement and abuse.
God’s purposes have not changed. We too are to partner with God and use our gifts, talents, and abilities to cultivate or draw out the potential of His raw materials in such a way that it helps the world in general and people in particular. Adam, in his quest for independence failed, but Jesus, the second Adam has come to save and transform us to become the visible representation of God on earth and to use our work to replace and replenish the earth wherever we are.
GROUP QUESTIONS:
1. What resonated with you as you listened to this sermon and reviewed it?
2. In what ways can we be a visible representation of God in the earth?
3. Cultivation was defined as the act of drawing potential out of something. Examples included a farmer who takes soil and seed and rearranges it into a crop; and a builder who takes a tree and rock and rearranges it into a home. In your work, what raw materials do you cultivate or arrange to become something of service to others?
4. How are you to work in partnership with God when it comes to your work, job or career?
5. It was said that creation was a project and not a product. What does this mean to you?
6. What are ways man has misrepresented the command to subdue the earth and has instead exploited, enslaved and abused God’s creation?
7. Read Genesis 1:1-2:25 and Revelation 21:1-22:21. How do these two books compare with the mention of the tree of life and the river?
