Toward Integrating Your Life and Your Work

Valuable perspective on how to connect your work and your life with your Christian beliefs. A compelling article from Dr. Edward Harris. click to read.Click to Read.

The Shoemaker and the Brat

An uplifting story about choosing your battles wisely and approaching others with respect and patience. Our responses in difficult circumstances reveals our character.Click to read the "The Shoemaker and the Brat"

Helpful Resources from Larry Burkett's Crown Financial Ministries

This is an excellent resource of helpful articles related to business and God's principles of Financial Freedom. Click to learn more.

Your Work Matters to God - A Blueprint for Honoring Christ Through Work

Doug Sherman's "Your Work Matters To God" is perhaps the most influential book written on the topic of work and the Christian. Not only has this book served as the foundation for our class, but it has also provided a cornerstone tool in shaping a Biblical viewpoint for thousands of believers perspective on work and the workplace.Click here to view Doug Sherman's book from Amazon.com.

The Two World View

While this article is four years old it effectively addresses the two-world concept. One particular insightful comment of the article is the following "A.W. Tozer, in his classic, The Pursuit of God, describes it this way, "One of the greatest hinderances to the Christian's internal peace is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas - the sacred and the secular. But this state of affairs is wholly unnecessary. ... The sacred-secular antithesis has no foundation in the New Testament."Click to read more

The Secular versus Sacred Struggle in the Workplace

In April of 2003, the Barna Group published a study that researched views on the factors that influence the quality of life. The implications of this research are significant because they highlight the struggle many Christian workers face between sacred beliefs and secular workplaces. According to George Barna, "The majority of people who say they are Christian believe that hard work, competitive workplace tactics and aggressive financial strategies are fully compatible with their Christian faith." To read the study click here.

God's Creation Mandate

God's Creation Mandate - Interesting insights into the Christian's role in the marketplace from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). This article contains an interesting counter view to the concept of sacred and secular divisions of life.

Christianity.com - Understanding Vocation - A Perspective

An article from Christianity.com - Understanding Vocation This article sheds light on the meaning of work from an historical perspective. For example, how did the Greeks view work versus the early Church. The article provides some valuable insights that will be discussed during our first class.

Christian View of Work from Chuck Colson

A Christian View of Work from Chuck Colson This thought provoking article discusses the history of the "Christian work ethic" as well as what has happened to that vital Christian distinctive and how to reclaim a Biblical view of work.

Class Preparation for Your Work Matters

Below is the Sunday School class schedule for Your Work Matters to God. The goal of this Sunday School class is to develop a Biblical perspective of work and also strategies that we can implement that can glorify God.


Typical Views of Work

Session 1 – The Need for a Biblical View of Work

Session 2 – The Secular View of Work – Living for the weekend!

Session 3 – The Two-World View of Work

God Perspectives on Work

Session 4 – Your Work Matters to God – God’s view of your job

Session 5 – God’s Work and Your Work

Session 6 – The Effects of Sin on Work

• Ethics at work
• Evil in the workplace
• When the unthinkable happens
  
  

Session 7 – How Being a Christian Affects Work and the Workplace

Work that Makes a Difference

Session 8 – What does God want me to do?

• Diagnostic tools that can help

Session 9 – Finding the job you will love

Session 10 – Managing Time More Effectively / Part 1

• Christian view of time management

Session 11 – Managing Time More Effectively / Part 2

Session 12 – The Christian leader

• Principles of leadership

Session 13 – Managing Workplace Stress

I believe that no study on the Christian and work would be complete without acknowledgement of the definitive work on the topic by Doug Sherman and William Hendrick titled, "Your Work Matters to God" (published by NavPress in 1987). This resource not only was a critical part in the preparation of this material, but is still the most comprehensive source on the topic of the Christian in the marketplace.