Mindset is everything. Especially when it comes to work. If you’re a hired hand, simply getting the job done so you can get on with the rest of your life can easily occupy your thinking. We love Fridays more than Mondays, which is why this week’s message could give us some much needed help in the work we do.

What if work was a “Wow!” for you? And your work was a “Wow!” to your boss and others. Not likely? Perhaps. But then again, it’s possible… if you have the mindset Paul describes in Colossians for those who are working for someone else.

What comes out of the Silicon Valley is amazing. People throughout the world benefit by what’s invented and developed here. It’s downright amazing…and dangerous too.

Yes, dangerous. If we’re not careful, our culture to be more and do more so we can accomplish more and have more can wreak havoc on our homes and families. The outcome of our driven environment may be good for the world and yet be the undoing of our personal lives.

That possibility makes what we will be looking at in the book of Colossians this Sunday seriously relevant, as we examine a matter that has life-giving or life-threatening implications for the homes we long to build.

Some things in life are obvious. If you’re a Life Guard, you need to know how to swim. If you want to get an A in Chemistry, you need to know what the teacher wants you to know. If you’re an employee, you need to know what your boss expects of you. Obviously.

But what if you’re a kid? Or a parent raising kids? What do you need to know?

If you join us this coming Sunday for our continuing series in Colossians, you will learn what you need to know. And once you know, you’ll put yourself in the best place possible when it comes to your relationship with your family and with God.

This coming Sunday we as a church family will be celebrating God’s faithful work among us over the past 21 months. Yes, that’s the length of time we’ve been displaced from our worship center.

Displaced? That’s how we might describe it. But I think God sees it differently. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His plans are usually different than our plans.

This Sunday when we return to our newly remodeled worship center, we do so with anticipation, excitement, praise, and faith. New faith. Stronger faith. Celebrative faith. We will celebrate together the God who’s done more than we could have asked or dreamed.

If you want to know the best definition of love, you won’t find it in a dictionary, a magazine, or a song. You also won’t get it from Browning, Shakespeare, or Keats either. And you certainly won’t get it from Wikipedia.

No, the reality is that love – the kind of unconditional, self-sacrificing love that God commands husbands to demonstrate to wives – is best defined not by a set of abstract concepts, but by an event. And it’s this particular event that provides the path for you to discover God’s purpose for your marriage.

The great news is that most – if not all – couples want to have a great marriage, and many of us are willing to do what it takes to have it. The bad news is that we often don’t know where to start or are already overwhelmed with the complex demands of marriage.

Life is filled with roles and responsibilities. Take a moment and think of the ones you’re tasked with: Dad, mom, child, student, employer, employee, parent, friend, Christ-follower, developer, fixer... The list goes on and on.

So how are you doing with doing the things you are responsible to do? Are you accomplishing a lot? Moving forward? Enjoying the ride? On the verge of a breakthrough and not a breakdown? Are you getting things done?

Unfortunately, Nike's advice to “just do it" isn't really enough according to God. Even if you are getting a lot done, you still might be missing out on what matters the most in what we do. What that is will be our focus this Sunday in our continuing series in the book of Colossians.

Think for a moment about a favorite place. What makes it special? Is it the location? The weather? The feeling you get when you’re there? Does fun come to mind? Is it connected to food? People? Coffee?

Did the church come to mind? The Body of believers? The family of God? Would you say gathering with believers is on your list of favorite things to do? In or outside a church building?

This coming Sunday in our continuing series in Colossians we’re going to see what a healthy church looks like. The kind of fellowship that people return to over and over again. One they can’t get enough of because it's one of their favorite places to be.

It’s been said, “Human beings can live for forty days without food, four days without water, and four minutes without air. But we cannot live for four seconds without hope.”

Even though that isn’t literally true, the point is well taken. Hope keeps us alive. That’s why novelist Pearl S. Buck said, “To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death.” Man cannot live on bread alone.

If ever there was a reservoir that can provide the hope we need, it’s the Easter story. This Easter Sunday we will see how that is true, and the daily impact this hope can make on the ups and downs of life that come our way.

In 1975, John Molloy wrote a book called Dress For Success, which became the fashion guidebook for many people trying to climb the corporate ladder. Molloy's advice centered on a basic premise -- always dress like your boss.

Every day we dress for work, school, or recreation and we have to decide what to wear -- even in the Silicon Valley, people strive for the "right look".

Like John, God also provides us with a "dress code" for success. As His chosen people, we are to clothe ourselves with "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Above all things we should encompass these virtues in love.

Do you begin everyday by putting on and following this "dress code" for Christ? What does it look like to wear these traits everyday? Are these virtues visible to others? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, it’s time for a change!