Text Box: 2009 has been a hard year for many looking for employment. The recession has made jobs hard to find and good jobs even harder. On September 7th, our nation celebrates Labor Day, a day to honor those who work hard to make our nation great. America was built on what many call the Protestant Work Ethic. This is the idea that God created work and manual labor is a good thing. Genesis 2:15 tells us, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” This verse is before sin came into the world, leading us to understand that work itself is God ordained. The Bible also teaches that how we work is tied to our reputation. I Thess 4:11,12 says, Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. I have seen this principle lived out in both positive and negative ways. Some believers are honest, hard workers and lend credibility to the gospel message through their work habits. Other Christians have poor work habits which leads skeptics to conclude that faith in Jesus has no value in everyday life. The Bible also lends credibility to work in that Jesus and his disciples came from a place where hard work was common. Jesus was a carpenter until he began his three year Text Box: ministry. Peter and John were fishermen. Paul was a tentmaker. These men were all acquainted with manual labor. Paul also taught against laziness. II Thess 3:6,10 says In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." It seems that laziness was an issue in the first century as it is for some in our time. I suggest that the worst form of laziness is taking advantage of the kindness of Christians and living off money given to the work of the Lord. Recently I went with our youth group to do ministry at a Salvation Army Corps. One conversation I had with the minister there was how frustrating it was for him to deal with people who had no ambition to get off public assistance. He was thinking biblically in that frustration. In this Labor Day season, be encouraged to do your work with excellence. If you are looking for employment we will support your search with our prayers. If your job is frustrating, persevere in doing your best for the glory of God. May our lives reflect the values of God’s Word as we make a living in our various jobs. -Pastor Rick Text Box: Labor Day—Dignity in Work Text Box: Gospel News Text Box: Fort Lee Gospel Church Text Box: September 2009

Men’s Retreat

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Youth Events

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Faith & Reason

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Sept Events

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Guest Preacher

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Sermon Series

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Remember 9/11

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Text Box: Fort Lee Gospel Church 1625 Palisade Ave. Fort Lee, NJ 07024 (201)947-1465 Pastor: Rev. Rick Spenst Web site: www.fortleegospel.org E-mail: fortleegospel@juno.com