EXHORTATION
One of the most spiritual things a Christian can do in life is work a job. The first command God gave Adam included the divine commission to work. This means that getting up early on Monday to put in an honest day’s work is itself an act of worship.
Christians are called to consider their work holy. To do their work as unto the Lord. To see their work as a way to bring blessing, joy, and justice to their fellow man. And they are, to some degree, called to derive joy from their work as well.
But too often, we think of our work, if we are not working for the church, as being secular, or second class, or having no spiritual significance.
Too often the church has given the impression that the only way to honor God though our work is to become mini-missionaries sharing our faith with our co-workers. And, while we should ask God for those opportunities, our work has value and significance simply because God has told us to do it.
So, don’t your flesh convince you that work is secular when God has called it holy. Reclaim your work for the glory of the Father.
A Christian salesman does his duty to God, not by printing a cross on his business card, but by selling his product at an honest price, because God loves honesty.
A Mom glorifies God in her work, not just by singing a hymn to her child, but by changing diapers because Jesus loves it when little children are cared for.
As Christian workers, we understand that everything we do, is done in the sight of God, and therefore, everything we do is spiritual.
So, whether your work takes you out of the country, or your work is in the home with little kids, God has declared your work sacred. He has established work. And when you work, you are obeying him. And he’s pleased. So, let’s confess our sins to him now.
CONFESSION
Lord God,
You are the great worker, and everywhere we look we see you working. You laid the foundations of the earth, and you set the boundaries of the oceans. You send springs down mountain cliffs to water herds, and you direct rain clouds to newly planted fields.
You cause grass to grow for cattle, and you cause fruit to blossom for men. You give wine that makes glad the heart of man, and bread which strengthens his heart. You schedule the phases of the moon, and you keep the Sun on a time clock.
And into this rhythm of Spring Time and Harvest, Day and Night, Morning and Evening, you call us to come along side of you and to work. Truly, O Lord, you have made us, in your image.
So, Lord, when we see how great you are in all of your work, we look at our own working lives and realize that something is amiss. We do not work as we ought. We haven’t put work in its proper place.
• We confess that when it comes to our work, we are sinners.
• We sometimes put in only what is required and nothing more.
• We haven’t passionately and lovingly served our clients.
• We confess the sin of thinking that the purpose of our work is to pay for our leisure.
• Lord God, some of us have seen our work as a way to elevate ourselves above others.
• We work our heads off for all the wrong reasons—for our own glory and reward.
• We ignore your command to rest for fear that someone might get ahead of us.
• We think that more money will compensate for having an imbalanced life.
• We haven’t given our spouse or our children the attention they need because our mind is always on work.
Lord, our sins are many. We love you, and therefore we are ashamed of anything that siphons off your glory and beauty. We long to be both Christians of the heart, and Christians in deed.
So, Father, we ask that you forgive us for the sake of Jesus. Let his precious blood cover our sin and make us new. Let his obedient and perfect life be our life. And we are bold to ask for all of this and we believe you will do it simply because you have promised to do it. Father we also know that if we in the church regard sin in our lives lightly this prayer will have no effect, and we confess our sins to you now individually. Receive our prayers…
We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, who lived and died and who ever lives now to mediate for his people, Amen.
Please rise for the assurance of pardon.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:25-26
Church, it is your Father’s good pleasure to hear your honest confession and to declare you completely clean. Therefore, if you are connected to Jesus Christ by faith alone—then in Christ, your sins are forgiven, and you are made clean.
