Work and Reward

In one paragraph

This service was held outdoors at Miller Park in Jackson, with baptisms at Garmin Park following a shared lunch. Pastor Brian worked through 2 John 1:8, focusing on two words in the text: work and reward. The thread running through the message was that Christians often misunderstand both words, and getting them straight changes how a person lives. Brian opened with the text, "Watch out that you do...

Read together

1. 2 John 1:8 main text for the sermon, read aloud: watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve, be diligent so that you receive your full reward
2. Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus teaching on not storing up treasures on earth but storing treasure in heaven
3. Mark 12:41-44 read by Lissa during the offering, the poor widow giving two small coins and Jesus saying she gave more than all the others

What was said

• Read Matthew 6:19-21 and write down one area of your life where you are storing up treasure on earth instead of heaven.
• Ask God to show you one small act of obedience this week, even something as simple as sitting with someone at lunch, and then do it.
• If you have never been baptized as a public declaration of faith, reach out to Brian this week and have that conversation.
• The next time you catch yourself measuring your moral standing against someone else, stop and ask honestly whether you are living up to the one standard that actually matters.
• Sign up to serve a meal at the Good Samaritan mission on Wednesday August 20 by talking to Alyssa or Amanda.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about how we tend to measure our own moral goodness by comparing ourselves to someone worse than us. When have you caught yourself doing that, and what did it reveal about how you were thinking about your standing with God?
2. The sermon drew a line between working for salvation, which Brian said is a free gift, and working for reward. Had you thought about those two things as separate before? What was your reaction when you heard that distinction?
3. Brian read from Matthew 6 about storing up treasure in heaven rather than on earth, and said that every moment matters when forever is your measure. What is one area of your everyday life where that shift in perspective would actually change how you live?
4. Lissa said that Jesus just wants our heart, and that everything else, serving, giving, obedience, flows out of that. What does it look like practically in your week to give him your heart before you give him your effort?
5. Brian said that even small acts of obedience, like sitting with someone at lunch when God nudges you to, count toward a full reward. Is there something small that you have felt God prompting you to do that you have been putting off or talking yourself out of?