Key Takeaways
“Workism” is the belief that work is the centerpiece of identity and life's purpose. -- is the cultural water we all swim in, and we bring this same into our relationship with God.
The natural human impulse is to take on a performance mindset and ask "What must I do?" even when God is offering a gift.
Even when our actions are right, God cares deeply about our motives, and self-serving motives can corrupt even good deeds.
Grace moves in the opposite direction from performance. We are declared righteous not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus has done.
When God pours his love into us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), that love overflows back to him and to others, producing obedience born of gratitude rather than fear.
Study Questions
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John opens the sermon with two pieces of journalism, one about workism making Americans miserable, and one about a mathematician experiencing an existential crisis as AI began doing the work that gave him purpose. Where have you seen the impulse to find identity and meaning through work or achievement in your own life or in the lives of people around you?
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Grace and performance are two fundamentally different orientations toward God. In your own spiritual life, which orientation tends to dominate, and what circumstances tend to push you toward one or the other?
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John suggests that self-righteousness is not always disliked, but it can be something we admire in others when it is not arrogant. How does this observation complicate our ability to recognize performance-based religion in ourselves and in our communities?
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In the story of the golfer, the wife's reaction shows that the motives behind our actions, not just the actions themselves, are important. How does this challenge the way you evaluate your own spiritual practices and religious efforts?
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John distinguishes between doing good things to get God to love us versus doing good things because God has already loved us. How does that shift in motivation change the character of the action itself?
Seeking God’s Face Devotional
This year, we’ll be using the devotional “Seeking God’s Face” for our personal daily discipleship.
This Week’s Liturgy
Call to worship
Psalm 46:1-3
Leader: For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
All: He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Confession of FAITH
New City Catechism Q & A #45
Q: Is Baptism with water the washing away of sin itself?
A: No, only the blood of Christ and the renewal of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us from sin.
Confession of sin
Gracious Father, We confess that we have tried to earn what you freely give. We have trusted our performance and obeyed to get something from you. Oh that we would wonder at the goodness of your grace to us! By your Spirit, teach us to trust in the finished work of Jesus. Turn our striving into trust and our selfishness into love, so that we obey because you have first loved us. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This Week’s Playlist
Looking Ahead
Next Sunday, we continue in the Gospel of John. Join us at 8, 9:30 & 11:15 a.m.