Luke
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Luke’s Gospel is the story of how Christ the King established his Kingdom during his time on earth. But what does that mean for his followers in today’s workplace? This eight-week study explores a variety of work-related topics of God’s Kingdom from the Gospel of Luke, ranging from wealth, power, and conflict, to leadership, ethics, and provision. Each chapter includes three 30-minute practical lessons, complete with Scripture references and thought-provoking questions, for individuals or groups at work during their lunch hour. Whether following Christ on the dusty roads around Jerusalem, or hearing his sermons and challenges to local religious authorities, this is an opportunity to bring the reality of God’s Kingdom into the contemporary workplace.
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Luke - William Messenger
Theology of Work, The Bible and Your Work Study Series: Luke (eBook edition)
© 2014 by Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC
P.O. Box 3473
Peabody, Massachusetts 01961-3473
ebook ISBN 978-1-61970-650-7
Adapted from the Theology of Work Bible Commentary, copyright © 2014 by the Theology of Work Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
William Messenger, Executive Editor, Theology of Work Project
Sean McDonough, Biblical Editor, Theology of Work Project
Patricia Anders, Editorial Director, Hendrickson Publishers
Contributors:
Jo Kadlecek, Luke
Bible Study
Aaron Kuecker, Luke and Work
in the Theology of Work Bible Commentary
The Theology of Work Project is an independent, international organization dedicated to researching, writing, and distributing materials with a biblical perspective on work. The Project’s primary mission is to produce resources covering every book of the Bible plus major topics in today’s workplaces. Wherever possible, the Project collaborates with other faith-and-work organizations, churches, universities, and seminaries to help equip people for meaningful, productive work of every kind.
Due to technical issues, this eBook may not contain all of the images or diagrams in the original print edition of the work. In addition, adapting the print edition to the eBook format may require some other layout and feature changes to be made.
First eBook edition — October 2014
Contents
Copyright
The Theology of Work
Chapter 1: God’s Kingdom at Work
Lesson #1: A Loving King (1–4)
Lesson #2: Called to the Kingdom (5:1–11)
Lesson #3: Stories of Work in Jesus’ Kingdom (13:6–21; 15:11–32)
Chapter 2: God’s Kingdom and Workplace Ethics
Lesson #1: Why Ethics Matters at Work (3:8–14)
Lesson #2: Working Beside Temptation (4:1–13)
Lesson #3: Serving Others in the Midst of Conflict (6:27–42; 17:3–4)
Chapter 3: God’s Kingdom and Working Attitudes
Lesson #1: The Hope of Health (4:31–44)
Lesson #2: The Power of Persistence (18:1–8)
Lesson #3: The Responsibility of Risk (19:11–27)
Chapter 4: God’s Kingdom and Sabbath Rest
Lesson #1: The Rhythm of Work and Rest (6:1–11)
Lesson #2: The Problem of Sabbath (13:10–17)
Lesson #3: The Face of Sabbath (10:38–42)
Chapter 5: God’s Kingdom and the Promise of Provision
Lesson #1: A Lot of Fish (9:10–17)
Lesson #2: A Lot Less Worry (12:22–33)
Lesson #3: A Lot More Spending (16:1–13)
Chapter 6: God’s Kingdom and True Wealth
Lesson #1: The Myth of Wealth (12:13–21, 34)
Lesson #2: The Purpose of Wealth (18:18–30)
Lesson #3: The Real Legacy of Wealth (12:33; 16:19–31)
Chapter 7: God’s Kingdom and Countercultural Leadership
Lesson #1: Humble Positions (9:46–48; 22:24–30)
Lesson #2: Unexpected Moments (14:7–24)
Lesson #3: True Power (19:1–10; 20:20–26)
Chapter 8: God’s Kingdom and Life’s Passion
Lesson #1: Losing Passion (23:34, 44–49)
Lesson #2: Walking with Jesus (24:13–35)
Lesson #3: Jesus’ Kingdom Continues (10:27–28; 24:44–48)
Wisdom for Using This Study in the Workplace
Leader’s Guide
The Theology of Work
Work is not only a human calling but also a divine one. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
God worked to create us and created us to work. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it
(Gen. 2:15). God also created work to be good, even if it’s hard to see in a fallen world. To this day, God calls us to work to support ourselves and to serve others (Eph. 4:28).
Work can accomplish many of God’s purposes for our lives—the basic necessities of food and shelter, as well as a sense of fulfillment and joy. Our work can create ways to help people thrive. Our work can discover the depths of God’s creation. Our work can bring us into wonderful relationships with co-workers and those who benefit from our work (customers, clients, patients, and so forth).
Yet many people face drudgery, boredom, or exploitation at work. We have bad bosses, hostile relationships, and unfriendly work environments. Our work seems useless, unappreciated, faulty, frustrating. We don’t get paid enough. We get stuck in dead-end jobs or laid off or fired. We fail. Our skills become obsolete. It’s a struggle just to make ends meet. But how can this be if God created work to be good—and what can we do about it? God’s answers to these questions must be somewhere in the Bible, but where?
The Theology of Work Project’s mission has been to study what the Bible says about work and to develop resources to apply the Christian faith to our work. It turns out that every book of the Bible gives practical, relevant guidance that can help us do our jobs better, improve our relationships at work, support ourselves, serve others more effectively, and find meaning and value in our work. The Bible shows us how to live all of life—including work—in Christ. Only in Jesus can our work be transformed to become the blessing it was always meant to be.
To put it another way, if we are not following Christ during the 100,000 hours of our lives that we spend at work, are we really following Christ? Our lives are more than just one day a week at church. The fact is that God cares about our life every day of the week. But how do we become equipped to follow Jesus at work? In the same ways we become equipped for every aspect of life in Christ—listening to sermons, modeling our lives on others’ examples, praying for God’s guidance, and most of all by studying the Bible and putting it into practice.
This Theology of Work series contains a variety of books to help you apply the Scriptures and Christian faith to your work. This Bible study is one volume in the series The Bible and Your Work. It is intended for those who want to explore