Work Smarter, Not Harder

In one paragraph

Brian opened in 1 Kings 5, where Solomon asks King Hiram of the Sidonians to supply cedar and cypress timber for the temple. A single phrase in verse six caught his attention: "there is no one among us who can cut timber like the Sidonians." That reputation, he said, is the thread the whole message follows. The backstory matters. David received the vision for the temple but was told he could not...

Read together

1. 1 Kings 5:1-9 read aloud by a congregation member as the main text for the sermon
2. Ephesians 4:18 used as an example of the tool of understanding operated in the flesh, resulting in darkened minds
3. Romans 1:21-22 used as a second example of understanding used in the flesh, resulting in foolish ideas about God
4. Ephesians 1:18-19 used as an example of understanding operated in the spirit, hearts flooded with light
5. Romans 12:1-2 referenced briefly to support the point that the mind must be continually renewed after salvation
6. Ecclesiastes 10:10 closing verse about a dull axe requiring more strength, used to challenge listeners about areas of exhaustion and lack of progress

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the idea that pioneers take the arrows and settlers take the land, using it to describe what David went through so Solomon could build in peace. Where have you seen that pattern play out in your own life, either as the one taking the arrows or the one benefiting from someone else who did?
2. Brian drew a distinction between a gift or talent used in the flesh versus the same gift used in the spirit, and used Moses as an example of both. Can you think of a gift or calling in your own life where you have seen the difference between those two ways of operating it?
3. Bethany raised the idea that a dull axe can feel safer because a sharp one requires you to step out and take more risks. Have you ever held back from using a gift or ability because it felt safer not to? What was going on there?
4. Brian pointed to Ecclesiastes ten ten, where it says a dull axe requires more strength but skill will bring success, and asked whether there is an area of life where you have been swinging and swinging without seeing progress. If you are honest, is there an area like that for you right now, and what might it say about how you are operating?
5. Lissa closed by saying that sharpening your axe looks like obedience in the small and big choices, things like time in the word, worship, and giving. What does that kind of sharpening actually look like in a practical week for you, and where does it tend to slip?