Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Summary and Function

Summary: As followers of Christ, we are to surrender every aspect of our lives to God. We are to do everything in a manner that reflects the character of Jesus Christ. In all our ordinary, daily activities we are to demonstrate love for God and neighbor. This is what Colossians 3:17 is all about. Doing everything in the name of Jesus means doing everything in a manner that reflects the character of Jesus. What would this look like in everyday life? What would it look like for you to eat breakfast, drive or work in a manner that reflects the character of Jesus? How would this change our lives?

Purpose: To encourage the congregation to perform all their daily, ordinary activities in a manner that reflects the character of Jesus. In this way, our daily activities are transformed into evangelistic events where people come to know Jesus.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: In American society, we tend to separate our lives and put on different

personas for each aspect of our lives.

1. On Sunday mornings, we act pious and holy but at work we participate in gossip

or treat people unfairly just to get ahead

2. At  Wednesday night Bible study we might demonstrate extensive knowledge of Scripture and present ourselves as righteous but then go out with our buddies to drink and womanize

3. I’ve been known to do this. I had my church, family, work and social lives and they all remained separate. I had a different persona for each aspect of my life.

• In college, church life was separated from my partying life: I would get drunk on Saturday night and them attend church with a hangover on Sunday morning. I didn’t occur to me that God would not want me to get drunk and stupid on Saturday nights. As long as I went to church on Sunday I was ok.
• At work, I rarely discussed religion or shared my faith. When ethical issues came up at work, I never thought, “Hmm, I wonder what Jesus would do?”
• During family gatherings, I didn’t bother with praying before eating or offering to pray for family members.

4. This is not how it should be!!!! As Christians, we should be the same Jesus following person in every aspect of our lives.

II. Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Let’s break this

verse down….

1. “whatever you do, in word or deed”: In every aspect of your life.

• This pertains to every single word you say and every single action you take throughout your life.
• It’s how we do the daily, ordinary things in life.

2. “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus”: Do everything in a manner that

reflects the character of Jesus.

• The primary characteristic of Jesus is love.
• We should do everything in a manner that reflects love for God, others and self.

3. “giving thanks to God the Father through him”: As we do everything in a manner that reflects the character of Jesus, we should recognize God as the one who saves, sustains and empowers us to be His children.

III. What would this look like in an ordinary day?

1. Waking up

• Immediately, before getting out of bed, pray and give the day back to God.
• Ask God for his help to live out the day in a manner that reflects love for God and neighbor

2. Showering

• Continue to pray or sing praise to the Lord.
• The Holy Spirit will use this time to give you the right mind set to face the day.

3. Breakfast

• Don’t be grumpy and non-talkative during breakfast
• Make it a point to say something nice and encouraging to your spouse and/or children (Even if you don’t feel like it.)

4. Reading the paper or listening to the news

• Instead of getting angry or depressed at the news stories, pray about them. Turn the news stories into a prayer list.
• Let the news be a reminder to pray for our political leaders and even our enemies.

5. Driving to work

• Instead of getting angry at inconsiderate drivers, pray for them.
• Use the drive time to pray, listen to the Bible on CD or listen to praise music
• If you listen to radio news, refer to item 4 above

6. During the work day

• Treat all people with dignity and respect
• Work hard and aspire for excellence
• Be a team player

7. By now, you should be getting the idea

IV. Doing everything ‘..in the name of the Lord Jesus’ is not easy.

1. There will be times when we mess up.

• We might experience ‘road rage’ while driving and yell at someone
• We might mistreat someone at work due to stress
• We might yell at our kids or let them down in some way

2. When we do mess up, we must repent and remember two things

• God allows ‘U’ turns
• The Holy Spirit will empower us to do better. As we seek to do everything ‘…in the name of the Lord Jesus’ the Holy Spirit will empower us to do better and better. In this way we become more and more like Christ.

V. Conclusion

1. You can’t do everything ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus’ on your own. We must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. This begins with repentance and trust in Jesus.

2. If you have not yet repented and trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you can do so right now.

3. If you are a Christians but have not been doing everything ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus’ you can go to God and take care of it right now. Ask God for forgiveness and empowerment to do everything in His name.