OCTOBER 9
AMAN QUADRI
Our lives aren’t meant to be segmented. We don’t have to leave our faith at the door when we walk into work. Aman Quadri, one of the members of our board of directors and longtime Gatewayer shows us how to allow our relationship with God to guide us in our daily decision-making at work and in our relationships with our coworkers.
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you view work as a necessary evil or as Do you operate from a “live to work” or “work to live” outlook (or somewhere in-between)?
2. Read Genesis 2:1-3. Here we see the completion of God’s creation of the world. What do we learn here about God and His perspective on work?
3. Read Genesis 2:15-18.
- What role does God give Adam in the garden?
- How is this role a vital part of being God’s image in the world? See Genesis 1:26.
- Why is it significant that this role was established before Adam and Eve’s rebellion (Genesis 3)?
4. Read Psalm 8.
◦ Make some observations about this passage (What does the text say):
▪ Who is talking?
▪ What is the circumstance?
▪ Any repeated phrases?
▪ What surprised you?
▪ What stood out to you?
◦ Make some interpretations (What does the passage mean)
▪ What questions do you have?
▪ Summarize the passage in 1-3 sentences – what are the main points?
▪ What do you learn about the nature and character of God as you read this?
▪ What do you learn about yourself and your choices?
◦ Now make some applications (what’s my response)
▪ How do you respond to what you are reading?
▪ How does this apply to your life?
▪ What is the central truth that you could put into practice from this?
▪ Who could you share this with for the sake of encouragement?
5. Colossians 3:17, 26. Do you view your work (whether vocational or in the home) as something you do with God or is it unrelated? If work is something you do with God, what good have you been able to see come from that? If you view it as unrelated, what keeps you from inviting God into it?
6. How might God be calling you to greater partnership with Him in the world through your work? What is compelling or scary about that thought? What needs to change in order for you to take that step?
KEY SCRIPTURE
Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Genesis 2:15-18 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Psalm 8 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.When I consider your heavens the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
TAKE A NEXT STEP
1. For further study on how to integrate your faith and work, consider getting a group together to walk through this great new resource: Missional Disciple: Pursuing Mercy and Justice at Work.
FOR THE PARENTS
Hey, families! Here’s a look at what we’re covering with your kids so you can help them continue to grow at home during the week.
THIS WEEK
This week, kids learn about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s devotion to God and how they ended up in the fiery furnace.
ASK THIS
Because sometimes you and your kid need a conversation-starter that isn’t, “So . . . how was church?”
- When was a time you felt alone?
- When was a time you felt God was with you?
REMEMBER THIS
This month, your kids are memorizing the Bible verse
Nahum 1:7 (NIV), in case you want to work on them together.
EC: “The Lord is good..” Nahum 1:7a
Elem: “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he know those who trust in him.” Nahum 1:7
NEXT WEEK
Next week, kids will learn about Daniel’s interpretation of the writing on the wall.