Finding Purpose - Part 5 [Notes]

There is a purpose behind everything in life. For Christians, this realization can help sustain us, especially during difficult times. We can find meaning in our work, in our family, and from life itself... We can even find meaning behind the pain and suffering we endure. Join us as we begin a new series called "Finding Purpose," and invite a friend who may benefit from these messages.

Today's Takeaway // Work works when we connect our faith and our work.

“Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor, toil.”
- Dictionary.com

“The Sunday Scaries are the anxiety that sets in on Sunday nights with the impending return to the office, school or work. Whether you call them the Sunday Scaries, The Sunday Blues, The Fear, The Shakes, The Dread - they appear at Smonday (the moment when Sunday stops feeling like Sunday and the anxiety of Monday kicks in).”
- The Work Exchange

When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11 (HCSB)

God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every creature that crawls on the earth…The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.
- Genesis 1:28, 2:15 (HCSB)

And He said to Adam, "Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, do not eat from it: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life.”
- Genesis 3:17 (HCSB)

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 (HCSB)

Avodah (Hebrew: עֲבוֹדָה), literally means "work, worship, and service"
- TFWE

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
- Colossians 3:17 (HCSB)

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men. Knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.
- Colossians 3:23-24 (HCSB)

“Imagine that everyone quits working, right now! What happens? Civilized life quickly melts away. Food vanishes from the shelves, gas dries up at the pumps, streets are no longer patrolled, and fires burn themselves out. Communication and transportation services end and utilities go dead. Those who survive at all are soon huddled around campfires, sleep in caves, and are clothed in raw animal hides. The difference between a wilderness and a culture is simply work.”
- Tim Keller - Every Good Endeavor

“Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of Europe. Its abundant harvests feed people throughout Eastern Europe and beyond. Many of the workers have had to determine whether to leave their homes and businesses to move west. For greenhouse farmers, this would mean abandoning their already-planted crops. For those who farm in open fields, this is the time to plant. If farmers wait to see the war’s outcome, they will miss the window to yield a successful harvest. If they plant now, with the outcome of the war still unknown, occupying Russian forces might seize their harvests. Yet many are choosing to plant. They know that without their crops, Ukraine will likely face a food crisis, unleashing a ‘hurricane of hunger’ that will add to the war’s casualties. As they sow their fields, some farmers bear Ukrainian flags on their tractors. They’re sending a strong and clear message to Russian forces that they predict an end to this war, as they toil on their land for their people. Choosing to plant is a defiant sign of hope.”
- Peter Greer, HOPE International

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men. You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
- Matthew 5:13-16 (HCSB)

Get More From the Message | Each week, a new devotional will be available. This devotional is based on the previous Sunday's message, and it aims to take the message further and help you dive deeper into the topic. You can find the devotionals at the link, or sign up to receive weekly emails.

You can watch or listen to past messages online!