Whatever you do…
Today (Thursday, August 22) is the first day of our school ministry’s 2024-2025 academic year. Each year, a Bible verse is chosen to be the theme for the year. This year, it’s Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”
“Whatever you do…” Not just attending worship services or Bible studies, not just praying before and after meals. Not just whatever is done in a “religious” setting. Whatever you do.
So how does one do that? First and foremost, it happens through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who connects us to Jesus and empowers us to reflect Jesus in our thoughts, words, and deeds. And where does the Holy Spirit work? As we spend regular time in God’s Word and through the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. And what is the result? Loving, caring people dedicated to inviting people to know Jesus and providing opportunities to grow in His love.
This weekend’s message, based on Ephesians 5:21-6:9, will focus on relationships – husbands and wives, parents and children, and employers and employees. Unfortunately, all of us can probably come up with plenty of examples of those relationships going awry because of living in a world broken by sin. But are we destined to live in that brokenness with no improvement? If we believe that to be the case, we’re doubting the power of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit works through means, and so it is important for us to avail ourselves of the opportunities available to us where the Holy Spirit has promised to work – which is why we support a school ministry where the Holy Bible is unashamedly taught as the very Word of God through which the Holy Spirit works and strengthens saving faith and leads God’s people to know how we truly can love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbor as ourself. This is why we can call our school ministry a workshop of the Holy Spirit – something that is also true concerning all of our worship services and Bible studies.
And as the Holy Spirit does His work, our relationships with others change as we more and more reflect the unselfish love and care of Jesus – something desperately needed in our broken world.