LWC SERMON GUIDE
Do Everything in the Name of Jesus
Scriptures to read and ponder
Main teaching text: Colossians 3:15–17
Other scriptures shared in the sermon:
2 Corinthians 5:20 — “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors…”
Romans 12:2 — “Do not be conformed to this world…”
Mark 4:38 — Jesus asleep in the storm
Sermon Recap
1. We are Christ’s ambassadors
The sermon opened with the picture of an ambassador: someone who does not carry his own authority, but the authority of the one who sent him.
Paul applies that picture to every believer in 2 Corinthians 5:20. This means that Christians are not merely private individuals trying to survive life. We are sent people, representing Jesus in the world.
A powerful pastoral image was given through the story of visiting people in hospital. Even when tired, ordinary, or worn down, the believer does not enter a room alone or in his own strength. He enters in the name of Jesus.
This truth was widened beyond pastors to all believers: the nurse, the teacher, the mother, the grandfather, the worker. Wherever a Christian goes, heaven has sent an ambassador.
2. There is a quiet war for the human soul
The sermon highlighted that every day the world is trying to shape and disciple us.
Culture, social media, news, and algorithms all compete to form our thinking, values, reactions, and desires.
Romans 12:2 was used to show that believers must refuse to be squeezed into the world’s mould and instead be transformed by the renewing of the mind.
One of the sharpest warnings in the sermon was this: it is possible to have the language of faith on our lips while still carrying the values of the world in our hearts.
Colossae was described as a city full of competing voices, philosophies, traditions, powers, mysticism, and confusion. In that sense, it looked remarkably like our own moment.
3. The Christian life is shaped by three simple realities
Paul’s vision in Colossians 3:15–17 was presented as three movements of the Christian life:
Peace in the heart
Word in the soul
Jesus over everything
This is not merely religious behaviour. It is a Spirit-formed life, a counter-cultural life, a life marked by the rule of Christ from the inside out.
4. Let the peace of Christ rule your heart
The Greek word behind “rule” was explained as the language of an umpire or referee. Christ’s peace is meant to act like the deciding authority in the believer’s heart.
This means fear, panic, insecurity, conflict, and emotional turbulence are not meant to have the final say. Christ’s peace is to decide what stays and what goes.
The sermon made clear that this is not vague peace or worldly calm. It is the peace of Christ himself, the peace seen in Jesus sleeping in the storm.
An ambassador carries the atmosphere of the kingdom he represents. Therefore, believers carry peace into conflict, crisis, work pressure, hospitals, and family life.
Gratitude was presented as the soil in which peace grows. Thankfulness shifts the heart from fear to trust.
5. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
Paul moves from the heart to the soul, from peace to truth.
The word “dwell” was explained as making a home, taking up residence, living there permanently. The word of Christ is not meant to be an occasional visitor but a permanent resident.
A striking image used in the sermon was that a visitor is entertained, but a resident rearranges the furniture. When the word of Christ truly dwells in us, it rearranges priorities, values, thinking, and identity.
The sermon challenged modern Christianity by noting that access to Scripture is not the same as being formed by Scripture. We may have apps, podcasts, and sermons, yet still not let the word shape us deeply.
This was also shown to be a corporate reality, not only a private one. When the word dwells richly in a church family, believers teach, encourage, worship, and speak truth to one another naturally.
6. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus
The sermon reached its climax in Colossians 3:17: whatever we do, in word or deed, must be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. 2
“In the name of Jesus” was carefully unpacked. It is not a slogan, magical phrase, or religious formula. In Scripture, a name represents authority, representation, and acting on behalf of another.
To live in the name of Jesus means that all of life comes under his lordship: work, speech, relationships, decisions, responses, habits, and private conduct.
The Christian life is therefore not compartmentalised. It is not switched on for church and switched off afterward. It is a whole-life identity.
The New Testament witness to the authority of Jesus’ name was also highlighted: healing, deliverance, and salvation all unfold in his name.
7. Final pastoral challenge
The sermon closed by returning to the central vision:
Peace of Christ ruling the heart
Word of Christ dwelling in the soul
Name of Christ governing everything
Believers were reminded that they do not need to be perfect or perform as “super spiritual” people. They are ordinary people carrying the extraordinary presence, authority, and commission of an extraordinary King.
Memorable quotes
“An ambassador does not walk into a room carrying his own authority. He carries the authority of the nation that sent him.”
“When a Christian walks into a room… heaven just sent an ambassador.”
“I am not walking into that room representing myself. I am walking into that room in the name of Jesus.”
“You may feel ordinary. But heaven has sent an ambassador.”
“Every day something is trying to disciple you.”
“You can end up with the language of faith on your lips, but the values of the world in your heart.”
“The great tragedy of modern Christianity is that many believe in Jesus, but not so many are being formed by Jesus.”
“It is time to stop visiting the Bible. It is time to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.”
“You do not just believe in Jesus; you live in His name.”
“We are just ordinary people carrying the extraordinary presence and authority of an extraordinary King.”
Questions for discussion
What stood out most strongly to you from today’s sermon, and why?
What does it mean in practical terms to live as Christ’s ambassador in everyday life?
Where do you most often feel “ordinary,” weak, tired, or inadequate? How does the ambassador picture speak into that area?
In what ways is the world trying to disciple and shape you at present?
Which voices are loudest in your life right now: Christ, culture, social media, fear, opinion, pressure, or something else?
What does it look like for the peace of Christ to act as the referee in your heart?
Are there areas where fear, anger, pressure, or anxiety are making decisions for you instead of the peace of Christ?
Why is gratitude so closely connected to peace?
Has the word of Christ been a visitor in your life, or a resident? Explain your answer honestly.
What “furniture” might the word of Christ need to rearrange in your thinking, habits, priorities, or identity?
How can our church family become more shaped by Scripture in conversation, encouragement, and worship?
What are the dangers of using “in the name of Jesus” as religious language without living under his authority?
What area of your life do you find hardest to bring under the name and lordship of Jesus?
What would change this week if you consciously went to work, home, and public spaces as an ambassador of Jesus?
Further reading
Additional Scriptures:
Philippians 4:6–9 — peace guarding heart and mind
Isaiah 26:3 — perfect peace for the steadfast mind
John 14:27 — “My peace I give you”
Psalm 119:9–16 — storing the word in the heart
Joshua 1:8 — meditating on the word day and night
2 Timothy 3:16–17 — Scripture equipping the believer
Acts 3:6, 16 — power in the name of Jesus
Acts 4:12 — salvation in the name of Jesus
Ephesians 6:10–18 — standing in spiritual warfare
Matthew 5:13–16 — living publicly as salt and light
Romans 8:5–6 — the mind set on the Spirit
Colossians 1:9–14 — walking worthy of the Lord
Reading resources:
Re-read Colossians 3 slowly in full context, especially verses 1–17
Read 2 Corinthians 5:11–21 to explore the ministry of reconciliation and ambassadorial identity
Read Romans 12 for a fuller picture of Christian formation and counter-cultural living
Spend time in the Gospels observing the peace, authority, and words of Jesus, especially in Mark 4 and John 14
Prayer points
Lord Jesus, teach us to live as your ambassadors in Gibraltar, carrying your presence faithfully into every room and every relationship.
Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and overrule fear, panic, insecurity, and confusion.
Give us settled hearts and steady minds in a noisy and anxious age.
Forgive us for the ways we have allowed culture more influence over us than Christ.
Renew our minds and free us from being squeezed into the mould of this world.
Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, not as an occasional visitor but as a permanent resident.
Rearrange the furniture of our inner lives: our priorities, loves, habits, imagination, and identity.
Make LWC a community where Scripture shapes conversation, worship, encouragement, and discipleship.
Bring every area of our lives under the name of Jesus: our words, work, family life, private lives, decisions, and responses.
Fill us with gratitude, because thankful hearts become peaceful hearts.
Help us carry the atmosphere of your kingdom into homes, hospitals, workplaces, schools, and streets.
Let our church family be ordinary people carrying the extraordinary presence and authority of King Jesus.