Teaching Notes are Bible studies we taught before GraceLife Ministries began publishing articles online in 1995. Some were presented as sermons, others as group studies.

Our hope is that these older studies will be a blessing to you in your life and ministry. Please use them in any way God leads you.

These teaching notes are from a series about the opportunities to care for people as a Christian manager.

[These notes are from more than 35 years ago.]

  • “My life is falling apart. Maybe suicide is the best way to. Do you think God will understand?
  • “I’m pregnant. I’m thinking about getting an abortion. Will I go to hell if I do?”
  • “How can a loving God let people starve?”
  • “Is there really a hell?”
  • “What does the Bible say about homosexuality?”
  • “What if we’re really just an experiment of beings from another planet?”
  • “Will you pray for me? Things are really going bad at home.”

Pastors and Christian counselors deal with these kinds of questions and problems in churches and clinics every day; but that’s not where I heard them. Each one came from someone with whom I worked.

The work place is a phenomenal place of ministry for a Christian – especially a Christian manager. Think about it! We spend 40 or more hours with the same people every week of the year – year after year. We see people from all walks of life at their best and their worst. What we do with our influence as Christians in the workplace can make a great difference in the future of everyone we touch on the job.

I’ve managed on both sides of Christianity. I spent the first four years as an atheist, then I became a Christian enjoying the glorious grace of a loving God. I’ve seen lives go down in flames while all I cared about was getting ahead. For that, God forgave me. He gave me everlasting life and a new outlook on what’s important. He placed His Holy Spirit in my heart and taught me to care about people.

That’s what this is all about – caring for people. Let me tell you a few stories about how I’ve sen God work in people’s lives. I want you to have some real-life examples of what God can do in the workplace. Because of the confidentiality I’ve had with these people through the years, I’ll change names and some descriptions to protect their identity and privacy.

Many years ago a young woman approached me about a personal problem. I’ll call her ‘Sally.’ I was a manager in the company and had shared biblical insights with her on a number of occasions. It was nothing formal – just some honest talk about how God was kind and loving and really cared about her.

Sally had just learned she was pregnant. The news had devastated her. She was seriously considering an abortion, but was afraid of what God would do to her if she allowed a doctor to abort her child. The first thing I did was to put her mind at ease about my personal feelings. I did not condone her becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but I also didn’t judge her. I remember the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote to the Ephesians – “you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…all of us also lived among them at one time gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

When a co-worker brings us the problems, we need to remember God’s patience and longsuffering toward us. I also remember the words of Paul in his letter to the Galatians –

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Galatians 6:1-5

I reminded Sally that God is the Author of life. I told her how precious each life is to Him. I helped her think of her little unborn baby as a living being with a special future – not just a problem she needed to solve. I told her that God thought so much of her life and the life of her unborn child that He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to make peace with God for them by dying on the cross for sin.

Sally listened carefully to what I said. She understood that we were discussing both a ‘life-and-death’ and ‘eternal’ matter. I was only able to talk with her for a short time because we were at work, so I told her I would pray for her that night and ask God to help her make the right decision. The next day Sally greeted me with a look that said she had found peace with God and would have the baby. She would raise the child to love God. Months later I looked into the eyes of a beautiful little child. I thanked God that He had placed me in a position to share His love with a co-worker in serious need. All glory to God!

Next Time

We’ll meet ‘Tony’ in the next part of our special Teaching Notes series, The Christian Manager – A Caring Career.

“Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.”

[Thank you for reading these teaching notes from more than 35 years ago. My prayer is they will be a blessing to you and your life and ministry.]

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