PALACE OR DUNGEON?

 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Colossians 3:23-24

Do you work in a palace or a dungeon?

People in high status, high pay jobs feel insecure. People in low status, low pay jobs feel trapped. People in-between feel all those things, too. Chances are, there have been times you have felt your job was in a palace or a dungeon, or someone else was working the dream job that made you jealous, or the nightmare job you sought to avoid.

God’s people have been here before. Joseph was a slave, then a chief servant of the powerful Potiphar, then a prisoner and leader in Pharaoh’s dungeon for some years, before ending up back on top in a palace again, as the Egyptian ruler’s right-hand man. In both palace and dungeon, God was with Joseph (see Genesis 39-41).

Jesus worked as a builder, under his father, for many years. His disciples included fishermen and tax collectors. The early movement included soldiers, merchants, slaves, and masters. Labor and work took on a very different meaning, as people learned to view station and vocation in the context of faith, mission, and Kingdom.

Have you been set free from deceptions and anxieties of working in a palace? Have you been liberated from feelings of being stuck and forgotten in a dungeon? How does the good news of Jesus’ presence and power permeate our lives of labor?

NEXT FIVE SUNDAYS

  • September 1st – PALACE OR DUNGEON? Genesis 39-41; CONFESSION & SACRAMENT
  • September 8th – ALL AGES; BLESSING OF STUDENTS/TEACHERS
  • September 15th – FISHING & FARMING: Matt 4:18-22; Luke 10:1-3
  • September 22nd – PERSONALLY: Psalm 139
  • September 29th – SERVE TOGETHER SUNDAY; Rob Stewart of New Horizons visiting

YOUNG CHURCH this Sunday

  • Big Kids fall relaunch this Sunday: Genesis 39-41
  • Mentor Jade’s Tea Party, this Sunday after worship 
  • This week in Godly Play: Faithbox – Joshua
  • Bigger Kids still on summer break
  • Next Sunday, September 8th: ALL AGES