Message Study Notes for February 6, 2022

Series:  Restore the Joy; Title: Restore the Joy of My Work

Work can just become routine without much purpose or joy.  Restoring the joy in work is allowing Jesus to redefine the reason for our work.

What makes your work frustrating?

What steals the joy from your work or workplace?

God designed us to work.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Genesis 2:15, Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 14:23, Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 12:11, Ephesians 4:28, Ephesians 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

What Restores Our Joy in Work?

• Finding God in our work.

Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 2:13

• Renewing the purpose of our work.

1 Corinthians 15:58, Colossians 3:23-24

• Thanking God for our work.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

• Experiencing God’s rhythm of rest in our work.

Genesis 2:1-2, John 15:4

Family/Group Study Notes for February 6, 2022

Series: Restore the Joy; Title: Restore the Joy of My Work

• What are the things that frustrate you most about your work or your workplace?
• Why is work important for human beings?  Read the following passages: Genesis 1:28,

Genesis 2:15, Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 14:23, Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 12:11, Ephesians 4:28, Ephesians 2:10.  What thoughts do these passages bring to mind? Why would God want us to be diligent in our work? Where have you seen these passages lived out in the workplace? Do the results listed here correspond with what you see in the world? Why? Why not?

• Read 1 Corinthians 15:58  What is the command in this passage and why? What is the promise in this passage and why? What does “work in the Lord” mean? How would you differentiate between the Lord’s work and work that is not of the Lord? What makes any work that a Christian does – the Lord’s work?
• Read Colossians 3:23-24. How does this passage help you understand the true reward of your work? How can this passage bring joy to your workplace even when the earthly rewards are not great?
• Reflect on John 15:4. Why is Jesus sharing this passage with the disciples? Why is this discipline important in order to live out the Lord’s work well within your work? What could you do differently to abide more deeply with the Lord?
• Gather in smaller groups and pray for each other, your work, your workplaces, and your influence within your workplace toward Jesus.