Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:10

“Those who do not work shall not eat.” This is a worldly principle, very logical and law-based. But what of the spiritual? Jesus also declares, “Man does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God.” God’s word gives us eternal life in Christ Jesus by speaking Christ’s life into us, but we also need God’s word for day to day life in this world. When the world gives us tribulation, God’s word gives us the assurance that our Lord will never lead us nor forsake us, that He will lead us as our Shepherd, and there is a place prepared in heaven for us. Feasting on this word of God gives us the strength to work in the world. Anyone in the Church who does not work is malnourished in the word, deprived of it. We should be working for the kingdom of God, even if the only thing we have to contribute is prayer.