Labor That Lasts: Finding Meaning in Work Through the Gospel

Drawing from the book of Ecclesiastes and the broader biblical narrative, this sermon challenges the notion that life and work are ultimately meaningless. The pastor argues that without understanding both bookends of the biblical story — creation and new creation — we are left with a one-dimensional, hopeless view of labor and toil. Beginning with the concept of shalom in Genesis and ending with its restoration in Revelation, the sermon traces how sin fractured the four-part harmony of relationship between God, self, others, and the world, and how that fracture is the root cause of the frustration we experience in work. The resurrection of Jesus is presented as the pivotal turning point and prototype of the renewal of all things, grounding the argument that labor done in the Lord carries eternal significance. The sermon concludes with a call to become shalom makers — people who, having been reconciled to God through Christ, co-partner with him in restoring right relationships across every dimension of life.