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Work and calling

Connect work with integrity, cooperation, justice and care for creation.

1. 1. Read and discover - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Colossians 3:23-24

   ²³ And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

   ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

   Read the full chapter

   Understanding the passage

   Paul addresses ancient unequal labor relationships; serving the Lord does not make exploitation just.

   Reflect

   • How can you work with integrity while respecting your own limits and those of others?

   Put it into practice

   Complete a task responsibly while respecting boundaries and labor rights.

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2. 2. A community that builds up - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Ephesians 4:25-32

   ²⁵ Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

   ²⁶ “Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,

   ²⁷ and don’t give place to the devil.

   ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.

   ²⁹ Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.

   ³⁰ Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

   ³¹ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice.

   ³² And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.

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   Understanding the passage

   Paul connects truth, work, speech and treatment of others; leaving harm behind includes practices benefiting others.

   Reflect

   • Which ways of speaking and acting help care for others according to Paul?

   Put it into practice

   Replace destructive speech with truth expressed carefully.

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3. 3. Work and community in Corinth - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Acts 18:1-17

   ¹ After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth.

   ² He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them,

   ³ and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers.

   ⁴ He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.

   ⁵ When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

   ⁶ When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”

   ⁷ He departed there and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

   ⁸ Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.

   ⁹ The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent;

   ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

   ¹¹ He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

   ¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,

   ¹³ saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”

   ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you;

   ¹⁵ but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.”

   ¹⁶ So he drove them from the judgment seat.

   ¹⁷ Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.

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   Understanding the passage

   Paul works with Aquila and Priscilla and teaches in Corinth; mission develops through relationships and persistence.

   Reflect

   • How do Aquila and Priscilla help Paul during his stay in Corinth?

   Put it into practice

   Recognize those who make everyday service possible.

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4. 4. Honesty in exchange - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Proverbs 11:1

   ¹ A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but accurate weights are his delight.

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   Understanding the passage

   The scales represent fair transactions; spiritual integrity reaches measurements, prices and information offered.

   Reflect

   • How might the teaching about honest scales apply today?

   Put it into practice

   Review one transaction for transparency and fairness.

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5. 5. Cultivating and keeping - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Genesis 2:15

   ¹⁵ The LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

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   Understanding the passage

   Humanity receives a place to cultivate and care for; working the ground is an entrusted task, not a right to exhaust it.

   Reflect

   • What does it mean both to cultivate the land and to care for it?

   Put it into practice

   Reduce waste and care for a resource used daily.