Welcome to the third week of our new series, Work: It Matters. This week, Pastor Jeff Manion talks about three radical ideas about work that can transform the way we view our work and the work of others.
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 favorite job? What did you love about it?
Prayer
Who is someone you come in contact with through your work (paid or unpaid) you want to pray for right now?
PURSUE GOD
Taking next steps toward Christ together.
Work is An Expression of God’s Care
Have someone read Matthew 6:9–11 aloud. How have you understood or what have you heard about these verses? What was new about what Pastor Jeff Manion said?
Sometimes we fail to see God in the common everyday work of others. What are some ways God uses other people’s work to care for you?
Pick one common product that we all use. Take a moment to think about and discuss how many people it takes to create that product. What would it look like to find gratitude in this process and for those individuals?
Work is an Expression of Your Love
Have a someone read Mark 12:28-31 aloud. In light of this sermon series, is there anything new that you see or hear in the passage?
Discuss this idea: To work well is to love well, and to work badly is to love badly. Why do you think this can be such a counter-cultural idea?
People tend to be familiar with the “Golden Rule” of how to treat others. How often do you think they internalize how that should influence their work? How have you seen others live this out?
We can personally apply the Golden Rule to our work. How might this change how and why you work? How can we be the masks of God by doing our work well?
Work is on Overflow of Grace
Have a couple of people read Ephesians 2:8-10 in different translations. This is a familiar passage, but do you feel like you understand these words differently or the same after this week’s message?
Our work and our tasks are more than just a list of things to accomplish. How we understand God’s grace should affect how we understand our work. What is a basic definition of grace?
Have you ever interacted with someone who reflected grace in their work behavior? How does the grace you have received from God, through the work of Jesus on the cross, show itself in how you work?
We typically find our identity or meaning in various aspects of our life. How does our work—whether unemployed, for-now employed, or if we love our job—impact how we feel about ourselves? What are some ways that we can keep a healthy perspective of our identity no matter what our job situation may be?
Imagine a circle diagram illustrating God’s care and grace leading us to show love which leads back to us understanding God’s grace as caring for us. Why do you think it can be hard to jump into this cycle of understanding God’s care and grace? What tends to keep us from seeing our daily provisions through others’ work as gifts from God? How can we help each other keep this perspective as our primary focus?
This week our conversation focused on three different parts of Scripture that illuminate work. Where did you connect to this conversation the most? Which of these challenged you? 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.
Relational Investment
Continue to think about a service project for your group. Decide who will own making it happen. Discuss some options for what your group could do together. After you’ve completed your project, we would love to hear about it and see some pictures. Please email the story and pictures to us at smallgroups@adabible.org. Or share on social media and tag @adabible in your picture or post!
Download a printable PDF here.