Glory of God
Get to Work, 31 August 2025
02 09 25 Filed in: Sermons
Get to Work!
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
August 31, 2025
Colossians 3:23-24
Big Idea: Work was created by God to be an act of worship.
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:23-24
Happy Labor Day Weekend…to all of you who don’t have a cabin in Michigan!
I know we’re not supposed to use four-letter words—especially in church—but today we’re talking about a word that causes many to shudder…work! Get to work!
On this Labor Day weekend, I want to share a few passages of scripture concerning labor.
1. Work was God’s idea from the beginning.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
Work was a part of our world before Adam and Eve sinned and brought suffering to our world. The Hebrew word in the original language, avad, means “to work!” In this and other contexts, it referred to the ground, tending to the garden.
The thought of working a garden sounds miserable to me, honestly. As a boy, we had a fairly large garden in the back of our suburban house. I generally enjoyed harvesting the vegetables and didn’t even mind tip-and-tailing the green beans and shucking the corn, but there was one thing I despised…weeds!
My parents did their best to incentivize the task. I remember they bought Tarzan rings for our play structure and if I filled a certain number of 5 gallon buckets full of weeds, they would be mine (and my sister’s). I don’t have the greatest memory in the world, but I’m pretty sure I worked 32 hours every day during the summer in 130 degree heat in order to get those rings! What made it worse was watching the neighbors swim in the pool while I agonized in the back-breaking work. I thought I devised a shortcut and fluffed up the weeds in the bucket to make it appear full, but mom caught on and changed the expectation to push-down full!
As I think about it, if I could garden without weeds, I think I’d like gardening! It’s fun to plant seeds and even water the crops. Of course, the best part is biting into a freshly-picked, home-grown vegetable.
We often think of work as toil because…it often is as a result of what we call The Fall, Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating of the one forbidden tree in the Garden. One tree, Adam! When God announced punishments,
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. (Genesis 3:17)
Work is good. Toil is hard. Needless to say, the Hebrew for toil here is not the same as work in chapter two. In fact, one definition for the word itstsabon is “a pain.” Pulling weeds is a pain, indeed! This is why I’m grateful for grocery stores!
There was work before The Fall and I believe there will be work in the next life, too, but not toil.
2. How we work matters.
Paul wrote to the church in Colossi,
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)
We all work. Your labor may be studying for exams, working in an office, caring for your yard, changing diapers, teaching a class, or preparing a meal in your home. Retirees may not work for a pay check, but there is labor in all of our lives, and as I said, that’s by design by God. You may enjoy your labor or despise it, but how we do it matters.
You were made by God, for God, and for God’s glory. That means you need to work for the glory of God. This includes our attitude, our effort, and the quality of what we do. I know we are often motivated by paychecks or report cards, but this text shows us more is at stake…a reward from the Lord. Think about that on Tuesday!
3. Life is more than work.
This is obvious to most of us, especially after the pandemic. Nevertheless, a writer in The Atlantic several years ago devised the term “workism” which is “the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose, calling it a “king of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community.” We’ve all heard about workaholics. I used to tell friends I would’ve been a workaholic except my wife would let me become one! Although it created conflict, I’m grateful she lovingly reminded me life is more than work…especially when there were three little people in our home that needed love and attention…to say nothing of their mom!
Work/life balance is a myth! It’s a tension to manage rather than a problem to solve.
Jesus famously said,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30)
He didn’t say love your work with your whole self but love Him. We can love God by doing good work and we can love our family by providing for them, but work must never become an idol.
4. Work matters…for eternity
If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a minister. You are called to
…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
This is not a text for pastors, but for all of us. One Barna study in 2018 showed 72% of Christians in the workforce view their work as having little or no connection to their faith or sense of calling.
Family, wherever you go, you represent Jesus. Some have said you are the only Bible many will ever read. How you love, serve, encourage, care, listen, show patience, kindness, hope, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and self-control as you are filled with the Holy Spirit matters. How you proclaim good news in word and deed to others in the classroom, marketplace, senior center, or field is not only a calling, it’s a privilege.
Growing up in a small church in Brighton, Michigan I used to think we paid the pastor to do the ministry. I now realize his role was to be the ad-minister and equip the congregation to be the ministers. This is often known as the priesthood of all believers.
Peter wrote,
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
This was not written to professional clergy. This is all of our callings. Each day you interact with people I don’t know. You have access to men, women, and children I may never meet. You can invite them to join us on Sundays, of course, which would be great, but even if they’re here an hour a week, you may spend as many as 40 hours a week with them, showing them what it means to follow Jesus.
The late Tim Keller concluded 80% or more of evangelism in the early church was done not by ministers or evangelists” but by Christians working as mothers, tentmakers, and farmers. Many of those you know will never “go to church,” but we are all called to be missionaries wherever we are.
Today I commission you as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ at…fill in the blank of wherever you will find yourself this week…the office, hospital, neighborhood, park, school, wherever. Good news needs to be shared. People need to be loved. Offer a smile, a kind word, ask someone out for a cup of coffee and ask where they are on their spiritual journey. Don’t’ worry about having all the answers. Just engage people in conversations and listen. People today are so lonely and anxious. It doesn’t take much to show love.
5. Rest matters. Just do it!
Like the video said, we need to rest from our work…or more accurately work from our rest. At creation, humans were created on day six. What happened on day seven? Rest. That’s what they did on their first full day of life, meaning they began with rest and then worked rather than the other way around. God designed us to rest…and commanded it. Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments and the penalty for breaking it was…death by stoning! We were not made to work seven days a week. Our minds, bodies, and souls need rhythms of rest, weekly days of joy and delight in addition to daily, monthly, and annual breaks for recovery, recalibration, and focused time with God.
So What?
As we prepare to celebrate labor tomorrow, remember these ancient words:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Eat and drink for God’s glory.
Work for God’s glory. It is to be an act of worship.
Rest for God’s glory. He commanded it. He created it for our benefit.
Work was created by God to be an act of worship. Enjoy your holiday and remember on Tuesday…you get to work!
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
August 31, 2025
Colossians 3:23-24
Big Idea: Work was created by God to be an act of worship.
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:23-24
Happy Labor Day Weekend…to all of you who don’t have a cabin in Michigan!
I know we’re not supposed to use four-letter words—especially in church—but today we’re talking about a word that causes many to shudder…work! Get to work!
On this Labor Day weekend, I want to share a few passages of scripture concerning labor.
1. Work was God’s idea from the beginning.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
Work was a part of our world before Adam and Eve sinned and brought suffering to our world. The Hebrew word in the original language, avad, means “to work!” In this and other contexts, it referred to the ground, tending to the garden.
The thought of working a garden sounds miserable to me, honestly. As a boy, we had a fairly large garden in the back of our suburban house. I generally enjoyed harvesting the vegetables and didn’t even mind tip-and-tailing the green beans and shucking the corn, but there was one thing I despised…weeds!
My parents did their best to incentivize the task. I remember they bought Tarzan rings for our play structure and if I filled a certain number of 5 gallon buckets full of weeds, they would be mine (and my sister’s). I don’t have the greatest memory in the world, but I’m pretty sure I worked 32 hours every day during the summer in 130 degree heat in order to get those rings! What made it worse was watching the neighbors swim in the pool while I agonized in the back-breaking work. I thought I devised a shortcut and fluffed up the weeds in the bucket to make it appear full, but mom caught on and changed the expectation to push-down full!
As I think about it, if I could garden without weeds, I think I’d like gardening! It’s fun to plant seeds and even water the crops. Of course, the best part is biting into a freshly-picked, home-grown vegetable.
We often think of work as toil because…it often is as a result of what we call The Fall, Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating of the one forbidden tree in the Garden. One tree, Adam! When God announced punishments,
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. (Genesis 3:17)
Work is good. Toil is hard. Needless to say, the Hebrew for toil here is not the same as work in chapter two. In fact, one definition for the word itstsabon is “a pain.” Pulling weeds is a pain, indeed! This is why I’m grateful for grocery stores!
There was work before The Fall and I believe there will be work in the next life, too, but not toil.
2. How we work matters.
Paul wrote to the church in Colossi,
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)
We all work. Your labor may be studying for exams, working in an office, caring for your yard, changing diapers, teaching a class, or preparing a meal in your home. Retirees may not work for a pay check, but there is labor in all of our lives, and as I said, that’s by design by God. You may enjoy your labor or despise it, but how we do it matters.
You were made by God, for God, and for God’s glory. That means you need to work for the glory of God. This includes our attitude, our effort, and the quality of what we do. I know we are often motivated by paychecks or report cards, but this text shows us more is at stake…a reward from the Lord. Think about that on Tuesday!
3. Life is more than work.
This is obvious to most of us, especially after the pandemic. Nevertheless, a writer in The Atlantic several years ago devised the term “workism” which is “the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose, calling it a “king of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community.” We’ve all heard about workaholics. I used to tell friends I would’ve been a workaholic except my wife would let me become one! Although it created conflict, I’m grateful she lovingly reminded me life is more than work…especially when there were three little people in our home that needed love and attention…to say nothing of their mom!
Work/life balance is a myth! It’s a tension to manage rather than a problem to solve.
Jesus famously said,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30)
He didn’t say love your work with your whole self but love Him. We can love God by doing good work and we can love our family by providing for them, but work must never become an idol.
4. Work matters…for eternity
If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a minister. You are called to
…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
This is not a text for pastors, but for all of us. One Barna study in 2018 showed 72% of Christians in the workforce view their work as having little or no connection to their faith or sense of calling.
Family, wherever you go, you represent Jesus. Some have said you are the only Bible many will ever read. How you love, serve, encourage, care, listen, show patience, kindness, hope, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and self-control as you are filled with the Holy Spirit matters. How you proclaim good news in word and deed to others in the classroom, marketplace, senior center, or field is not only a calling, it’s a privilege.
Growing up in a small church in Brighton, Michigan I used to think we paid the pastor to do the ministry. I now realize his role was to be the ad-minister and equip the congregation to be the ministers. This is often known as the priesthood of all believers.
Peter wrote,
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
This was not written to professional clergy. This is all of our callings. Each day you interact with people I don’t know. You have access to men, women, and children I may never meet. You can invite them to join us on Sundays, of course, which would be great, but even if they’re here an hour a week, you may spend as many as 40 hours a week with them, showing them what it means to follow Jesus.
The late Tim Keller concluded 80% or more of evangelism in the early church was done not by ministers or evangelists” but by Christians working as mothers, tentmakers, and farmers. Many of those you know will never “go to church,” but we are all called to be missionaries wherever we are.
Today I commission you as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ at…fill in the blank of wherever you will find yourself this week…the office, hospital, neighborhood, park, school, wherever. Good news needs to be shared. People need to be loved. Offer a smile, a kind word, ask someone out for a cup of coffee and ask where they are on their spiritual journey. Don’t’ worry about having all the answers. Just engage people in conversations and listen. People today are so lonely and anxious. It doesn’t take much to show love.
5. Rest matters. Just do it!
Like the video said, we need to rest from our work…or more accurately work from our rest. At creation, humans were created on day six. What happened on day seven? Rest. That’s what they did on their first full day of life, meaning they began with rest and then worked rather than the other way around. God designed us to rest…and commanded it. Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments and the penalty for breaking it was…death by stoning! We were not made to work seven days a week. Our minds, bodies, and souls need rhythms of rest, weekly days of joy and delight in addition to daily, monthly, and annual breaks for recovery, recalibration, and focused time with God.
So What?
As we prepare to celebrate labor tomorrow, remember these ancient words:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Eat and drink for God’s glory.
Work for God’s glory. It is to be an act of worship.
Rest for God’s glory. He commanded it. He created it for our benefit.
Work was created by God to be an act of worship. Enjoy your holiday and remember on Tuesday…you get to work!