Today we’ll see some examples of building our work on God’s foundation.

We’ll look at four main categories of work: offered to God, or redeemed, subverted, or challenged for God.

Offered:
I knew an animator who I asked to design the opening credits for Redeem the Commute, and some other projects. She excitedly said yes, and lamented that no one ever asked here to do the work she loved as a ministry for God – other churches had always asked her to stack chairs!

Redeemed:
I knew a teacher who was moved to a new school in a rough part of town, where a depressing number of students come from families with addicitons and little support. She was not happy with the forced move, but then I asked her – what if God is putting you into these kids’ lives for a reason? There is a difference between teaching children for a paycheque, and teaching children because God loves children as his own, so that the teacher can see that God-given dignity in even the most difficult among them.

Subverted:
Imagine the same thing happening with the debt collector I mentioned on Monday. He could try to treat people with dignity, be gracious in encouraging them to get help, yet firm in that people should repay what they’ve borrowed. As he advanced in his job, he may be able to influence more humane practices across the board. But at some point, he may come up against a huge challenge…asked to extort, blackmail, extract crippling interest from helpless people, etc. Which brings us to:

Challenge:
That debt collector may find he just has to quit. The company may be conducting business in a way God can only challenge. But imagine if my friend took that expeirence and decided to start his own micro-lending firm!

How do you know which approach fits your work? It starts with knowing God’s story, and having a willingness to let it shape our lives. This is what our challenges are all about – learning and applying God’s big story, for the long term and in community.

Challenge: Consider your own work. Should it be offered, redeemed, subverted, or challenged? Discuss.

Then watch the attached video of Lyndsey, a teacher who sees her work through God’s story.

Ryan Sim - July 16, 2013

Tuesday - Study It - Originality

We're looking at the final section of the Sermon on the Mount this week: "When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes." (Matthew 7:28-29 ESV) Jesus' teaching is widely thought of as being the greatest and most original human teaching to have ever existed. No one is quoted more than Jesus. Many people, even those who are not Christians, have the greatest respect for Jesus and try to live by his teachings. A friend of mine once proudly quoted to me: “Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘a house divided against itself cannot stand’” I had the joy of telling him that Lincoln was actually quoting Jesus! When I began a Masters degree – I read through the grading structure – what constitutes an A, B, C, etc. Description of an A+ was "Profound and Creative - Strong evidence of original thought." This is a rare thing indeed – someone who can come up with completely original ideas, rather that simply quoting, or worse, stealing the work of others. Jesus dared to do this - in the Sermon on the Mount, he regularly started with, "I say to you." or "I tell you." Whenever he says “they say” and quotes another religious teacher, he is about to say they’re wrong! He was acting as if he could just say these things under his own authority, as if he was the source of all wisdom, knowledge and morality. Because he was! But they didn't know that yet. Question: Reflect on all that Jesus has been teaching and what we have studied in the Sermon on the Mount through the last several months. What has amazed you about his teaching? What has confused you?

Related Topics: Authority, Jesus, Originality, Teaching | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"

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