The Theology of Work

RHCCC | April 23rd, 2023

April 23, 2023 • Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui • Genesis 1:26–28

Sermon notes

Church at Work: The Theology of Work

Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28

What is the story you’re living out?

• Purpose: What is the universe all about? What am I doing on this planet?

• Problem: Why are things not the way they should be? What obstacles should I overcome to accomplish this good and meaningful goal?

• Solution: What is the main way to resolve what is wrong? How do I overcome the problem so I can fulfill my purpose?

What is Work in the Christian Story?

1. Purpose: Work is a means by which God extends His love to the world.

a. We were created to resemble God

b. We were created to represent God

2. Problem: Work has been corrupted by sin

3. Solution: Work can be redeemed.

There are 3 purposes God calls us to fulfill (“Exiles on Mission” by Paul Williams)

1. The Creation Mandate (to fill, cultivate, and rule the earth), ie. "First Commission"

2. The Great Commandments (to love God and neighbour)

3. The Great Commission (to scatter, be witnesses, make disciples)

a. See our work as redemption• displaying

b. Treat our work as mission• advancing

Worship/Work

May 28, 2023 • Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui • Romans 12:1–8

Sermon Notes Church at Work: Worship/Work Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui Scripture: Romans 12:1-8 ——— How can we close the gap between Sunday morning and Monday morning? • Battle: Worship OR Work • Balance: Worship AND Work • Harmony: Work AS worship ——— When does work become an opportunity to worship? When we: 1. Recognize the mercy of God (v. 1a) 2. Trust in the purpose of God (v. 1b-8) ——— Conclusion: As a church… We want you to bring your work INTO our worship We want our worship to propel you back TO your work

Why rest from work?

May 21, 2023 • Pastor Stephen Hsu • Genesis 2:1–3

Sermon Notes Why rest from work? Pastor Stephen Hsu Gen 2:1-3 2 Questions: Why and How do we rest? ——— BIG IDEA: We rest from work because God made rest holy, so that we can love Him more. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. —Genesis 2:1-3 ——— WHY REST FROM WORK? 1. Because God stopped work on the 7th day. (v. 2-3) 2. Because God made the 7th day holy. (v. 3) 3. Because rest comes before work. (1-3) Busyness is the enemy of spirituality. It is essentially laziness. It is doing the easy thing instead of the hard thing. It is filling our time with own actions instead of paying attention to God’s actions. It is taking charge. —Subversive Spirituality, Eugene Peterson ——— HOW SHOULD WE REST? 1. Crawl: Be With Him (Mark 3:14) 2. Walk: Be Yoked to Him (Matthew 11:28-30) 3. Run: Delight In Him (Isaiah 58:13-14) If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day,If you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord…—Isaiah 58:13-14 ——— Conclusion: I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. —Song of Solomon 6:3

Work in the New Heavens and New Earth

May 14, 2023 • Rev. Shu-Ling Lee • Revelation 22:1–5

Church at Work: Work in the New Heavens and New Earth Rev. Shu-Ling Lee Scripture: Revelation 22:1-5 NIV Introduction: 1. We will still be SERVING THE LORD (aka “working”) in the New Heavens and New Earth. (Rev 22:1-3, Col 3:23-24) The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it…What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts it…). They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.—N.T. Wright - Surprised by Hope 2. There will be no longer any CURSE OF WORK in the New Heavens and the New Earth. (Rev 22:3, Gen 3:8-21) 3. JESUS CHRIST is the Center of the New Heavens and New Earth. (Rev 21:22-26, Rev 22:5) Conclusion Question: What is your ONE THING?