Surrender: Slaving Away Text: 1 Peter 2:18-25 Senior Pastor Ken Werlein 1. Describe your current work situation for the group. Before jumping to the conclusion, I don t have a boss, so I guess this week s sermon isn t for me, whether you are a student, in the workforce, or a stay-at-home mom, we all have a vocational calling. Do you know what your job is? Take some time to identify the primary purpose of your work and share with the group. 2. When was a time that you felt that you were treated unjustly or had a difficult interaction with your boss or authority figure? a. How did you respond and what was the effect? b. How did your response to the situation compare/contrast to the response of the others involved in the situation? c. If you could go back, is there anything that you would like to have done differently and what would that have looked like? 3. Read 1 Peter 2:9-12. It is important to remember how the sermon text fits into 1 Peter as a whole and into this section of the letter specifically. a. What do these verses teach us about a believer s true identity? b. How would that affect the way Peter s audience, especially any slaves receiving this letter, viewed themselves? c. How should this influence the way we view ourselves in the workplace? 4. Read Philemon. (It s just one chapter) Just like Jesus never called his followers to rebel and attempt to overthrow the Roman government, we do not find anywhere in the New Testament a charge to slaves to rise up and rebel against their masters. However, this does not mean that the New Testament condones slavery. Instead, God had a different plan for transforming the culture. The book of Philemon is a short letter written by the apostle Paul
to a fellow believer, a slave owner, named Philemon concerning one of Philemon's slaves who had run away and had since become a believer. (See Postscript for more information) a. How does the gospel transform the culture? Is it through riots and rebellion, or is it something else? b. What principles can we draw from this and bring to the work place? 5. We see in 1 Peter 2: 18-25, the gospel is all about us as believers receiving what we did not earn, nor what we deserve, based on the work of Christ. How should the gospel influence the way a Christian shows his/her employer respect, even when we feel our boss hasn t earned or deserved our respect? Challenge: How might your workday look differently if you really put this into practice? What is one specific thing you might do or no do? See Study Deeper for ideas on serving your boss. Prayer: A Prayer for Your Boss, Supervisor or for Those in Authority at Work by Sondra Green Father God, I pray today for my supervisor [name] and for all those who you have been given authority over me at [Company Name]. I pray that you would bless each of them and that you would meet the needs that they have according to your riches and glory in Christ Jesus. I pray specifically also for my supervisor [name] today that you would be in the midst of all [his, her] interactions today. I pray that you would grant [supervisor name] success in the work that you have called them to do as a supervisor and that you would help [him, her] make good decisions that will help our department grow in the right direction and build good and healthy relationships among all employees. I pray that you will help me to be an encourager of [him/her] and that there will be a mutual respect that we have for one another whether we agree to disagree with everything or not. I pray that you will help me to submit to [his, her] authority and to be open to constructive criticism from [him/her]. Lord if there is anything going on in [his/her] life that may be causing any stress or tension that would affect [his, her] ability to be fair today or to communicate in a way that would please you, I pray that you would move in whatever the situation may be.
I pray for [his, her] health and relationships with all employees and with [his/her] boss as well as husbands, wives, children and all family members. I pray for finances, and most importantly, that [he, she] know you and fulfill the purpose and calling that you have ordained for [his, her] life. Let my light shine today so that [he/she] will see Christ in me and if [he/she] does not know you may my character and conduct draw them to know you because you said in your word that if you be lifted up that you would draw all men unto you so if my life lifts you up then you will draw [him/her] unto to you by your spirit. I pray with great expectation. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen
STUDY DEEPER How to Serve a Bad Boss by John Piper http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-to-serve-a-bad-boss Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Ephesians 6:7 8) Consider these five things from Ephesians 6:7 8 in connection to your job. 1) A call to radically Lord-centered living. It is astonishing compared to the way we usually live. Paul says that all our work should be done as work for Christ, not for any human supervisor. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men. This means that we will think of the Lord in what we are doing at work. We will ask, Why would the Lord like this done? How would the Lord like this done? When would the Lord like this done? Will the Lord help me do this? What affect will this have for the Lord s honor? In other words, being a Christian means radically Lord-centered living. 2) A call to be a good person. Lord-centered living means being a good person and doing good things. Paul says, With good will render service... whatever good thing each one does... Jesus said that when we let our light shine, men will see our good deeds and give glory to our Father in heaven. 3) Power to do a good job for inconsiderate earthly employers. Paul s aim is to empower Christians with Lord-centered motives to go on doing good for supervisors who are not considerate. How do you keep on doing good in a job when your boss ignores you or even criticizes you? Paul s answer is: stop thinking about your boss as your main supervisor, and start working for the Lord. Do this in the very duties given to you by your earthly supervisor. 4) Encouragement that nothing good is done in vain. Perhaps the most amazing sentence of all is this: Whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord. This is amazing. Everything. Every little thing you do that is good is seen and valued by the Lord.
And he will pay you back for it. Not in the sense that you have earned anything by putting him in your debt. He owns you and everything in the universe. He owes us nothing. But he freely, graciously chooses to reward good things done in faith. 5) Encouragement that insignificant status on earth is no hindrance to great reward in heaven. The Lord will reward every good thing you do whether slave or free. Your supervisor may think you are a nobody. Or he may not even know you exist. That doesn t matter. The Lord knows you exist. Right Now Studies on Work Work as Worship by J.D. Greear https://www.rightnow.org/content/series/674 Additional Resources Read What s Best Next by Matt Perman - John Piper writes, This book is simply extraordinary. This is largely because of the way God has wired Matt Perman. His mind is saturated with biblical truth, and he is passionate, sometimes to a fault (as you will see in his personal stories), about being effective for the glory of Christ. Those two traits have combined to produce a Godcentered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated book that, without blinking, gets into stuff like Al Mohler s midnight productivity and Seth Godin s method of carving out time for work that matters. I doubt there is a person on the planet who knows both theological issues and timemanagement literature to the depth and extent Matt Perman does. This combination is at times mindboggling