Work

J. Michael Shannon

There is an old
fable from Aesop about a man who called his sons to his sick bed. “I am
about to die,” he said. “In my vineyard lies a treasure. Dig and you
will find it.” Not long after that, the man dies. The sons busily went
to work digging in the vineyard. After they finished their repeated digging,
they concluded there was no treasure. The next season, due to the digging, the
good ground allowed the vineyard to produce more than it ever had before. There
truly is a treasure for those who are willing to work.

____________________________________

Michael Shannon,
Preaching July/August 2002

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Work

J. Michael Shannon

News
reports recently carried the story concerning Lester Lange of
Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Lange just celebrated his 108th birthday. He
does not take medication. He has most of his original teeth and lives
a happy life. When he was asked how to live a long and happy life,
Lange said, “Keep busy.”

_______________

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.

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Work

J. Michael Shannon

In his book, A Better Way to Live,
Og Mandino reported that Andrew Carnegie once said that there are two
types of people who fail to achieve much in life. The first is the
person who won’t do what he or she is told to do, and the second is the
person who does no more that what he or she is told to do.

_______________
J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.

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Work

God works wonderfully
through the faithfulness of people in many different vocations. It isn’t just
through the clergyman that our Father providentially cares for and speaks to
us. It isn’t just in a church building or at a church event that we can expect
to see God at Work.

In his book Gene Edward Veith observes God’s mighty hand at work through every
day living and working: “God healed me. I wasn’t feeling well, so I went
to the doctor. The nurse ran some tests, and the lab technicians identified
the problem; so the doctor wrote me a prescription, I got it filled at the pharmacist,
and in no time I was a lot better. But it was still God who healed me . . .
.

“God fed me, not with manna but with what the teenager working at the fast-food
joint gave me. God clothed and sheltered me, with the help of my employer. God
protected me, though I wish the highway patrolman hadn’t pulled me over. God
gave me pleasure, thanks to the talents he gave that musician playing on my
new CD” (God At Work, p. 25).

___________________________

Preaching
September/October 2002

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Work

A man was hired
to paint the lines on the highway that divide the lanes. Now the company didn’t have a lot of resources so he had to do his painting on foot. After the first day at work his supervisor was very impressed when he learned that this new employee had painted three miles’ worth of lines.

Unfortunately,
the next day his results were not quite as impressive. He was only able to extend the lines for two miles. The third day he only painted less than one mile of lines.

The supervisor
went from being impressed to being concerned. The new employee’s performance was now not acceptable. He called him into him into his office and said, “I’m going to have to let you go.” The employee
dropped his head and got up to leave. As he was going out the door he turned and said, “It’s not my fault. I’ve never worked so hard in all my life. Its
just that the paint bucket keeps getting further and further away.”

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Work

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a young fellow who rushed into a service station
and asked the manager if he had a pay phone. The manager nodded, “Sure, over
there.” The boy pushed in some change, dialed, and waited for an answer.
Finally, someone came on the line. “Uh, sir,” he said in a deep voice,
“could you use an honest, hardworking young man to work for you?” The
station manager couldn’t help overhearing the question. After a moment or two
the boy said, “Oh, you already have an honest, hardworking young man? Well,
okay. Thanks just the same.” With a broad smile stretched across his face,
he hung up the phone and started back to his car, humming and obviously elated.
“Hey, just a minute!” the station manager called after him. “I
couldn’t help but hear your conversation. Why are you so happy? I thought the
guy said he already had somebody and didn’t need you?” The young man smiled.
“Well, you see, I am the honest, hardworking young man. I was just checking
up on my job!”

Swindoll says, “Honest, hardworking employees are tough to find, and when
you toss in competence, a positive attitude, teachability, punctuality, proper
attire, a team spirit, loyalty, confidentiality, honesty, and an ability to get
along well with others, wow! No wonder every boss I talk to answers my question
“What is the key ingredient of your organization?” the same way: PERSONNEL.
“What kind of employee are you? Do a little one-to-ten appraisal (ten being
the best) on the following characteristics from the Book of Proverbs: diligent,
thoughtful, skillful, loyal, teachable, humble, thorough, fair, cooperative, honest,
positive.”

– from Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional, 10/21/03

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Work

God works wonderfully through the faithfulness of people in many different
vocations. It isn’t just through the clergyman that our Father providentially
cares for and speaks to us. It isn’t just in a church building or at a church
event that we can expect to see God at Work.

In his book, Gene Edward Veith observes God’s mighty hand at work through every
day living and working: “God healed me. I wasn’t feeling well, so I went
to the doctor. The nurse ran some tests, and the lab technicians identified the
problem; so the doctor wrote me a prescription, I got it filled at the
pharmacist, and in no time I was a lot better. But it was still God who healed
me ….
“God fed me, not with manna but with what the teenager working at the
fast-food joint gave me. God clothed and sheltered me, with the help of my
employer. God protected me, though I wish the highway patrolman hadn’t pulled
me over. God gave me pleasure, thanks to the talents he gave that musician
playing on my new CD”

___________________________
(God At Work, p. 25).

View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.

Work

J. Michael Shannon

There is an old fable from Aesop about a man who called his sons to his sick
bed. “I am about to die,” he said. “In my vineyard lies a
treasure. Dig and you will find it.” Not long after that, the man dies.
The sons busily went to work digging in the vineyard. After they finished their
repeated digging, they concluded there was no treasure. The next season, due to
the digging, the good ground allowed the vineyard to produce more than it ever
had before. There truly is a treasure for those who are willing to work.

___________________________

Illustration by J. Michael Shannon, Professor of Preaching, Cincinnati Bible
College & Seminary, Cincinnati, OH.

View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.