7/5
This Sunday
This Week's Message
A Life Worth Asking About
Pastor Geoff Davis
Readings
Daniel 5:22–31; 6:1–5 | Colossians 3:23–24 | 1 Peter 3:15
There is a moment in the book of Daniel that is easy to miss. Before Daniel ever interprets the writing on the wall, before he speaks a word to Belshazzar, his reputation has already preceded him. The queen says, "There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods." Nobody had to convince her. Nobody had to argue. She had simply watched Daniel long enough to know that something about him was different.
But Daniel is not alone. Centuries earlier, a young man named Joseph — sold into slavery by his own brothers, working in a foreign household with no credentials and no advocate — so distinguished himself that his master noticed something that didn't fit any natural explanation. "The Lord was with Joseph," Genesis tells us, "and his master saw it." A pagan man saw the presence of God in the quality, integrity, and character of his servant's work.
The New Testament confirms what the Old Testament illustrates. Jesus said it plainly: "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Peter echoed it: "Live such good lives among the pagans that… they may see your good deeds and glorify God" (1 Peter 2:12). Paul captured it in a single sweeping command: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23). And he reminded the Thessalonians that a faithful daily life wins the respect of those watching from the outside (1 Thessalonians 4:11–12).
That is the sermon in a sentence: the most compelling witness begins before you speak.
"A Life Worth Asking About" explores the connection between how we work and how we witness — and what to say when someone finally asks why we live the way we do (1 Peter 3:15). Drawing on Joseph, Daniel, Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:1–4), and the full sweep of biblical teaching on work, we ask a single question: What kind of life makes the people around you curious?
But Daniel is not alone. Centuries earlier, a young man named Joseph — sold into slavery by his own brothers, working in a foreign household with no credentials and no advocate — so distinguished himself that his master noticed something that didn't fit any natural explanation. "The Lord was with Joseph," Genesis tells us, "and his master saw it." A pagan man saw the presence of God in the quality, integrity, and character of his servant's work.
The New Testament confirms what the Old Testament illustrates. Jesus said it plainly: "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Peter echoed it: "Live such good lives among the pagans that… they may see your good deeds and glorify God" (1 Peter 2:12). Paul captured it in a single sweeping command: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23). And he reminded the Thessalonians that a faithful daily life wins the respect of those watching from the outside (1 Thessalonians 4:11–12).
That is the sermon in a sentence: the most compelling witness begins before you speak.
"A Life Worth Asking About" explores the connection between how we work and how we witness — and what to say when someone finally asks why we live the way we do (1 Peter 3:15). Drawing on Joseph, Daniel, Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:1–4), and the full sweep of biblical teaching on work, we ask a single question: What kind of life makes the people around you curious?