Rev. David Holwick ZC Labor Day Sunday
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
September 4, 2016
Exodus 31:2-6
PRODUCE SOMETHING
I. Labor Day.
A. Nice weekend to get away.
1) The deacons have taken this to heart - two are taking a
vacation, which makes communion complicated.
2) Shouldn't Labor Day be celebrated while working?
B. Americans work a lot.
1) German workers put in 1,371 hours a year.
2) Americans - 1,789 hours, which is 30% more.
a) We work a little more than Canadians.
3) Guess who puts in the most hours - Mexicans, at 2,228 hours.
a) That is a quarter more than us.
b) They even work more than South Koreans. [1]
C. What we work at has changed.
1) America used to be known for its extensive factories.
a) Wharton NJ had a decent-sized steel foundry.
b) Roxbury NJ was known for the Hercules gunpowder plant,
which employed hundreds of workers.
c) Now they are no more.
2) Part of the problem is our efficiency.
a) In 1940 there were 530,000 coal miners, but there are
only 80,000 today - yet they produce twice as much
coal. [2]
b) Steel production is about the same as in 1940, but
we only need a fifth as many workers.
3) What will the future bring?
a) One of the biggest employers in America is trucking.
1> Self-driving trucks will put many out of work.
b) Modern factories have more robots than people.
c) The upside is that we can spend more time doing creative
things instead of mindless drudgery.
d) What will you create?
II. Work is a good thing.
A. God is the biggest worker of them all.
1) He is the ultimate creator, having put together the entire
universe.
2) One American has a special appreciation for this.
Astronaut Jeff Williams has been in space more than any
other American.
He passed the record set by Scott Kelly in late August.
His current mission on the Space Station is 172 days and
it will give him a total of 534 in space.
Jeff Williams is a committed Christian.
He loves to take high-resolution photos of the earth and
he says the view deepens his faith.
"When I look out the window and I see ... all of the
elements are what you would imagine you would see with
a creative work by an infinite God," Williams said.
"You see the design, you see the beauty, you see the
purpose, you see all of those elements, you see order
in all the details."
His spacewalks are especially inspiring.
He says, "It's quite another thing to go outside, ... inside
this suit that is sustaining your life and you can see
through that full-faced visor not only the vastness
and the majesty of the globe itself but deep out
into space.
It just deepens a comprehension, the observation of what we
know through Scripture about the amazing creative work
of God.
It's an incredibly humbling experience."
#65307
B. When we create things, we reflect the image of God in us.
1) Humans have created cars and boats and spacecraft, and
works of art and literature, and cities that gleam.
2) Birds can make nests and beavers make dams, but only
humans have molded the world we live in.
3) As a matter of fact, scientists have decided to add a
new geologic age called the Anthrocene, named after us.
The “marker” will be radioactive fallout from nuclear tests.
C. Work is a blessing, not a curse.
1) It is true that after Adam and Eve's disobedience, work
became a toil and a burden.
2) But work itself is not a curse.
a) God had Adam working before he ever disobeyed.
b) Genesis 2:15 says,
"The LORD God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
3) Every human should produce something that adds value to
the world.
III. Every one of us can work to create something good.
A. The Bible emphasizes the importance of skill.
1) Objects of worship were things of quality and beauty and
were created by men with special talents using the
finest materials.
2) God has given each of us special abilities.
a) You may not have a lot of talent but there is something
you can do really well, if you apply yourself.
b) What do you think your ability is? Are you using it?
B. Whatever your ability is, develop it.
1) All of us should be expanding our ability through education.
a) For some it could be college, or specialized training.
b) Keep reading a range of material.
c) The internet is filled with information and creative
ideas.
2) Dig deeper to do things right.
a) Bill Trengove built a model of Wharton blast furnaces.
1> He had a passion for recreating his hometown in
miniature scale, with railroad.
2> Someone on the internet notes his tenacity to do
it right. [3]
b) Nadine Montgomery and beautiful quilts, Doris Schrum
and needlework.
c) Others here have created beautiful gardens or built
their own homes.
IV. What are you making that is worthwhile?
A. Our creative ability is not limited to concrete objects.
1) Much of what the modern world creates is ideas.
a) Google and Microsoft are prime examples.
b) The Bible itself is more idea than object.
2) We can also invest ourselves in people.
a) Think of the impact teachers will have on their students
as school begins on Tuesday.
b) What any of us becomes, owes a great deal to those
around us.
B. Areas where you need to apply yourself.
1) At work.
a) Do a good job, even if you are treated poorly.
b) Bible's advice to slaves - don't just work hard when
they are watching you. God is always watching you!
c) Come up with new ideas.
A Christian industrialist I know:
They make cooling towers out of plastic.
Legionnaire's Disease is a problem with cooling
towers, so they have developed a new solution.
It adds anti-microbial chemicals into the plastic,
just like those special kitchen cutting boards.
(That was one of the inspirations.)
d) See it as more than a paycheck.
2) At home.
a) Creating memories for your kids and grandkids.
b) Do projects that bind the generations together.
1> The Holwick vacation blanket, with 30 years of
cloth patches, though not one has been sewed yet.
2> Apple picking and pumpkin picking are right around
the corner.
A> They are great opportunities to teach kids about
making good food from natural sources.
c) You only have a limited time to build their lives.
1> My brother called me last night and said his youngest
son was at army boot camp in Oklahoma.
2> Their nest is empty, as most of ours will be someday.
3> While you have the opportunity to mold them, do your best.
3) At church.
a) We are blessed to have a beautiful church with quality
construction, just like the tabernacle and temple
of the Old Testament.
1> Most new churches are very bare.
2> It is just too expensive to build like this.
b) Does our worship measure up to it?
1> The construction we do today is not with rocks but
with living stones - you.
2> We need to do our best to build strong Christians.
A> Are we seeing new people saved?
1: (getting attenders is only a first step)
B> Are children and new believers learning the
basics of the faith?
C> Do we see continuous growth in older Christians?
c) Our challenge is to present an old message in fresh ways.
1> It is very challenging for churches because we love
traditions and doing things the old way.
2> Perhaps we need to shake things up.
V. What are you doing now that will last forever?
A. I have been scanning old photos for a local history buff.
1) Her family were among the founders of this church before
this building even existed - 1874.
2) She herself is an agnostic Jew, but she feels a bond with
her ancestors.
3) I have been taking the old photos out and scanning them
at high resolution.
a) Some are on cardboard, others are tintypes, some are
ambrotypes (image on glass) and a precious few are
daguerreotypes that date before 1850.
B. One thing struck me about these old photos.
1) All of them are dead, and have been a long time.
2) All that is left of them is a name and an image, unless
they believed in Jesus.
a) If they did believe, then everything they worked for
still stands.
b) What are you working for?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
1. "Working Time," Wikipedia, <link>.
2. Data comes from various articles in Wikipedia.
3. See “The Replogle Steel Company of Wharton New Jersey,”
#65307 “Seeing God From Space,” by Rev. David Holwick, adapted from
“Astronaut sees 'an infinite God' from space,” by
Andrew J.W. Smith, 31 August 2016, Baptist Press; <link>.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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