Saddleback Church Weekend Messages

God’s original design for work was never meant to feel like a burden or simply a way to survive. From the very beginning, before sin entered the world, God created work as something good and meaningful, inviting his people to join him in shaping, cultivating, and caring for his creation. Yet for many of us today, work can feel complicated, misaligned, or even painful. In this message, Pastor Andy returns to Genesis to rediscover God’s original, divine design for work and to remind us that the struggle we feel does not mean we missed our calling. Instead, we are invited to receive work as a gift, not an identity. This message challenges us to stop working for pleasure, profit, or pride, and to see our work as an act of worship, offering our best to God and learning how to experience peace, purpose, and freedom in whatever work is in our hands.

Money carries so much weight in our lives, but this weekend’s message reminded us where our trust belongs. This past weekend, Pastor Andy shared a simple, freeing truth: everything we have already belongs to God. He is the owner, and we are trusted stewards. Money is not the goal or the problem. It is a resource God created and a way we worship him through how we use it. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story of servants entrusted with their master’s money. The servant who used what he was given faithfully was rewarded, not because the money was his, but because he honored his master. God invites us into that same trust today. He places resources in our hands and calls us to use them with his purposes in mind. As we work hard, plan wisely, and hold everything with open hands, we learn the heart of this message. Trust God over money, and use what he gives for what matters most.

When we follow God’s divine design for our lives, He leads us toward a healthy life mentally, physically, and emotionally. This past weekend, Pastor Andy reminded us that our health matters to God because our whole lives matter to Him. Our bodies are not just something to manage or enjoy. They are a gift. God did not give us a body to worship. He gave us a body for worship. The way we care for ourselves can become a daily response to His love. We often separate our spiritual life from our physical and emotional health, but God sees them as deeply connected. He created our minds and bodies to work together so we can live out His purposes. We cannot fully step into a heavenly calling without caring for the earthly bodies God has entrusted to us. The invitation was simple and personal. How can we dedicate our whole selves back to God and care for our health as an act of worship?

Getting back on track does not start with fixing everything else. It starts with returning to God. Every area of our lives, our faith, health, finances, relationships, and work, flows from our relationship with Him. We looked at the story of Cain and Abel and saw the difference between giving God leftovers versus giving Him our best. Abel offered his first and best as worship, while Cain held back. God is after our whole heart. What we give our time and energy to is what grows. The appetite we feed is the appetite that shapes our lives. God responds to humility and holy hunger. As a church, we are stepping into 21 Days of Prayer and a season of fasting as we seek God together, leading toward our Return Gathering. This year, we are invited to trust God with our whole lives and give Him our best, not our leftovers.