Masterpieces of love
“Almighty God, how wondrous are Your works” goes the song. But what exactly are the works of God? The Sunday services in the month of October will explore this question. Here is a small spoiler: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the work.
God is the creator of all things, of heaven and earth, of the spiritual and the material world. And this applies not only to the original act of creation, that is, the past, but also to the present and the future.
“He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man,” the Bible text for the first Sunday service of the month says. It is taken from Psalm 104: 14–15. In other words, God does not leave His creation to its own devices, but holds it in the palm of His hand.
And then there is the new heaven and the new earth that God has promised to create. Whether yesterday, today, or tomorrow: God’s creation and His creatures always deserve respect.
Sent by the envoy
The incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is undoubtedly one of God’s greatest works. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved,” (John 3: 17). This is the Bible text the second Sunday sermon in October will be based on.
Those who believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him are sent into the world by Christ to bear witness to the gospel, to make God’s love tangible, and to help others find access to forgiveness and salvation.
An image that is being developed
On the third Sunday, the divine service will draw attention to the work that God carries out directly upon human beings through the Holy Spirit: human transformation and renewal. “We all … are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord,” is the Bible text for the third Sunday. It is taken from 2 Corinthians 3: 18.
The transformation begins with baptism, which makes human beings into the—as yet imperfect—image of Christ. They are offered the opportunity for a new life, a life from the Holy Spirit. And at the end of this development there will be perfect harmony with the triune God in the new creation.
Let your light shine everywhere
God’s works are by no means limited to this world. This is what the fourth Sunday service in October will show focusing on the Bible passage: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5: 16).
The works of Jesus Christ and His existence as a whole bear witness of the nature of God. Christ made His light shine among the living and the dead. Filled with the love of Christ, believers also desire the salvation of the souls in the beyond. This desire motivates us to intercede for the departed.
“For our intercession to be credible, our works must match our prayers,” the Chief Apostle emphasises. What good would it do to pray for the departed, if we were to deny forgiveness and love to the living?
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