Welcome to the first week of our new series, Work: It Matters. This week, Jeff Manion’s conversation centers around three ways that we need to consider rethinking what work is and should be.
SHARE LIFE
Building healthy and life-giving relationships.
Updates
What has been new or challenging in your life since last time the group met? Spend 20–30 minutes checking in with each other.
Share Part of Your Story
What was your first job and what was one thing you loved about it?
Prayer
What is an area of the work that you do that you would like the group to pray about for you?
PURSUE GOD
Taking next steps toward Christ together.
Take turns reading Genesis 1-2:15. Do any words or phrases jump out at you? What is repeated?
God’s Work
God begins both life and scripture with work. Before you heard this week’s sermon, did you see work as part of Adam’s “fall” or part of how we were created? What do you think helped form this idea for you?
Part of what we see in this story is that God creates order out of chaos. Think of a few typical jobs and describe how all work creates order from chaos.
What is your chaos and where do you create order in your own life? How does it make you feel to think that you reflect God by these actions?
Look again at the first chapter of Genesis and find God’s repeated refrain. It isn’t simply work being done by God, but God enjoys the work! When have you completed something recently, stepped back and found it satisfying? Why do you think we often forget to give ourselves permission to find satisfaction in the things that we do?
Our Work
Often our perception of our work determines how we do or do not value others’ work as well. How have you seen this play out in the people around you? What type of value do we put on various job titles or categories? How do we learn to treat people as valuable despite their work positions?
It can be easy to find our identity in our job title or the work we do. Why do you think it is easy to find meaning in our work? How can we find meaning in our work without it controlling who we are? What are some ways we can tell when we’ve let work become too big of a thing in our lives?
Slave Labor
Have someone read Colossians 3:23-24. How can this passage impact the way we view the daily work that we do? Do you believe that the work you do matters to God? How does that belief change how we behave?
It is easy for us to divide our spiritual life from our everyday life, but all of our behavior reflects our beliefs. Why do you think it can be easy to separate normal life from spiritual life? Where have you fallen into the trap of separating your faith from your daily life? What would it look like for you to understand that everything you do can be spiritual?
Throughout this topic of how our work matters, it is important to see that what we do can be in service to those around us as well. How can “doing a good job” be a service to others? When have you experienced the work of someone who seems to live to serve others? How did that impact you?
This week our conversations circled around three areas where we may need to rethink our work. Where did you connect to this conversation the most? Which of these challenged your faith and thinking this week? What is one step you can take to focus on that area this week?
INVEST IN OTHERS
Valuing people outside the group and outside the faith.
Discuss how you and your group can better engage the people in your life outside your small group.
Invite
This April, the Invest in Others section looks at inviting others. Is there someone you want to invite to join you in the next week or two? Who might be interested in hearing what God has to say about work?
Download a printable PDF here.