MENat home, at church, at work

Murray Capill

Dunedin, 7June 2014

Men

what does it mean to be a man?

what is God’s calling on men?

what is manhood and masculinity?

Men

1. God has given to men the calling of working in his world for his glory

2. God has wired men for this calling in a distinct way – physically, emotionally and mentally

3. God has given women as helpers in the fulfilment of this calling

4. God has given Jesus Christ as the ultimate model of the character men need to pursue their calling

Interaction

1. Would you be comfortable being a stay at home dad while your wife goes out to work?

2. If you are raising a son, which of the following careers would you recommend as best expressing masculinity: nurse, fire-fighter, child care worker, ballet dancer, secretary, soldier, lawyer, plumber, hairdresser, engineer. Would you have concerns if your son pursued any of the above?

3. Since we are all called to work for God in this world, are all jobs callings from God? And if so, are all callings equal, or are some more important than others?

Men at work

men are hard-wired to work

work pre-dates the fall

the first job was that of gardener

since the fall work has become harder but it has not lost its innate worth

Men at work

It is pure invention that Pope, bishops, priest, and monks are called the “spiritual estate” while princes, lords, artisans, and farmers are called the “temporal estate.” This is indeed a piece of deceit and hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and that for this reason: all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except of office.

Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation

Men at work

“God milks the cows through the vocation of the milk maids.” Luther

But how do we live our faith in the context of our work? disjunction between Sunday and Monday

Men at work

Matt 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Men at work

1. We connect our faith and work by working with kingdom character

upside-down, back-to-front, inside out reflecting Jesus he expects it to cost us

Men at work

2. We connect our faith and work by working with kingdom allegiance

 God is our real bossMatt 6:24“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Men at work

Colossians 3:22–24 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 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.

Men at work

God as our boss: stops us from being lazy stops us from over-working

Men at work

3. We connect our faith and work by working with a kingdom agenda

“The Kingdom come…”

Men at work

Creation

• Work has dignity

Fall

• Work is hard

Redemption

• Work is transformed

Consummation

• Work is perfect

Christ has an agenda to change people, families, communities, nations, this world

We are to work with his kingdom agenda

Men at work

“If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep the streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of Heaven and earth will have to pause and say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well.’ ”

Martin Luther King Jnr

Men at work

Tradie

Professional

Businessman

Performing arts

House husband

Interaction

1. How counter-cultural you are in your work setting? In what ways? What is the result?

2. What would be a proper kingdom agenda in your particular place of work?