Everyday Faith: Making Work a Platform for Jesus

Aug 02, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Work as God’s First Revelation in Genesis

The opening pages of Scripture show God rolling up sleeves, creating galaxies and gardens. Before sin entered the world, work existed as holy collaboration—Adam naming animals, God planting Eden. Every spreadsheet filled, classroom managed, or Cheerio vacuumed mirrors this primal act of co-creation. Work isn’t a curse but a canvas to reflect the divine Artist. [35:53]

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. [...] On the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
(Genesis 1:1; 2:2, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you most feel the tension between seeing work as “cursed drudgery” versus “holy collaboration”? How might today’s tasks image God’s creative heart?

Day 2: Cheerios, Spreadsheets, and the Applause of Heaven

A minivan littered with crumbs becomes sacred space when cleaned with excellence. A cubicle transforms into a sanctuary when spreadsheets honor their Maker. God doesn’t reserve cheers for concert stages—He claps for unseen faithfulness. Your work, however ordinary, echoes Eden’s original job description: cultivate, steward, create. [38:37]

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
(Colossians 3:23-24, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane task have you dismissed as insignificant? How might doing it “heartily” today shift your perspective?

Day 3: When the Spinning Wheel Sanctifies Mondays

The cursed ground groans—TPS reports stall, contractors ghost, printers jam. Yet these frustrations aren’t final. Every spinning cursor becomes a sermon: creation still yearns for redemption. Your sweat-drenched labor joins Christ’s restoration project, turning cubicles into crucibles where grace refines grit. [46:13]

Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. [...] By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.
(Genesis 3:17-19, ESV)

Reflection: Where does work feel most “cursed” to you this week? How might that very struggle point you toward Christ’s redemption?

Day 4: Drywall Contractors and the Kingdom’s Blueprint

David hung Sheetrock, John sold vacuums, Lydia traded purple cloth. Scripture elevates ordinary vocations as kingdom vehicles. Your W-2 isn’t incidental—it’s infrastructure for eternity. When paychecks fund churches and client calls become gospel conversations, drywall dust becomes holy incense. [54:37]

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
(Ephesians 4:28, ESV)

Reflection: What resource, skill, or relationship in your job could be “tied off” for kingdom purposes this month?

Day 5: Your Cubicle, Classroom, Cold Plunge as Mission Outposts

Adeline managed a wellness studio until Tim and Pam’s post-work cold plunge became a divine appointment. Your workplace isn’t a holding cell—it’s a harvest field. The same God who sent fishermen to flip the world sends you to flip burgers, budgets, or blueprints for His glory. [56:30]

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
(Colossians 1:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your work orbit needs reconciliation—with God, others, or their purpose? What small step could you take this week to demonstrate Christ’s peace?

Sermon Summary

Work sits in a strange place in the culture. The Office Space version says work is a drag, a meaningless grind where a printer deserves to get destroyed in a field. The Michael Scott version makes work the whole identity, the place where a person tries to become somebody. The contrast between hating work and worshiping work exposes the need for a bigger vision, because God has more to say about Monday than most people expect.

Genesis begins with God at work. The first thing God reveals about himself is not a long philosophy or a religious system, but creation: “In the beginning, God created.” God is holy, patient, just, loving, all powerful, and all knowing, but the first revealed characteristic is creator. Work is good because God is good and God works.

Genesis also places mankind in the garden before sin enters the world. Work did not come from the fall. Sin did not create work, it cursed it. God put Adam in the garden “to work it and take care of it,” and the first commission called humanity to subdue the earth, rule over it, and cultivate it. A spreadsheet, a classroom, a hospital shift, a laundry room, a construction site, and Cheerios in the minivan can all become places where a working God is imaged with excellence and faithfulness.

Genesis 3 explains why work is still hard. The ground produces thorns and thistles. The spinning icon on the computer, the corrupt boss, the gossipy coworker, the angry customer, and the broken system all tell the truth that work does not work like it is supposed to. The Tower of Babel shows that even grand work can be twisted by selfish ambition, because the problem is not only the workplace. The problem is also the worker.

Colossians 1 opens the bigger hope. Jesus reconciles “all things” to himself by the blood of his cross. Christ does not only redeem souls for Sunday worship. Christ redeems creation, and one day the new heavens and new earth will include work without sin, exhaustion, frustration, or thorns.

Scripture keeps showing God using ordinary jobs for kingdom purposes. Noah builds, Joseph administers, David shepherds and rules, Daniel serves in government, Lydia does business, Paul makes tents, and Jesus spends thirty years as a carpenter before three years of public ministry. The profession is not just a career. The profession can become a platform for Jesus Christ, a mission field where the church scatters into the city, the campus, the home, and the marketplace.

Key Takeaways

1. Work reveals the working God Genesis begins with God creating, not resting from meaningless activity but doing good, purposeful work. A believer’s labor matters because it images the God who made stars, planets, dust, men, and women. Hidden faithfulness is not wasted when the God of the universe sees it and “cheers it on.” [126:37]
2. Sin cursed, not created, work The fall explains why work feels like painful toil, thorns, thistles, and sweat. Broken workplaces are real, but broken workers also bring ambition, selfishness, gossip, and pride into the job. The gospel becomes good news for Monday because Christ deals with the heart that enters the workplace. [136:41]
3. Jesus redeems all things Colossians does not shrink redemption down to a private spiritual experience. Christ reconciles all things through the blood of his cross, and that includes the material world where people labor, create, manage, serve, and build. The resurrection changes more than Sunday worship because a God who beat death changes everything. [140:37]
4. Every profession can platform Jesus A vacuum store, drywall work, a wellness studio, a classroom, and a courtroom can become mission fields. God often advances the kingdom through people with regular jobs, not only through prophets, priests, missionaries, or church staff. The marketplace matters because that is where so many lost people actually are. [148:38]
5. Work becomes worship under Christ Colossians calls whatever is done to be done heartily for the Lord. Worship is not only the song sung on Sunday, but the life lived on Monday. When Jesus becomes the true boss, ordinary work is lifted into sacred ground without pretending the work is easy.

## [151:11]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:41] - Prayer for Meaningful Work
[32:06] - A Love Hate Relationship With Work
[33:18] - Hating Work or Worshiping Work
[34:34] - Profession as a Platform for Jesus
[35:37] - Work Reveals God
[37:50] - Sin Did Not Create Work
[39:30] - The First Commission
[42:26] - God Sees Hidden Faithfulness
[45:41] - Thorns, Thistles, and Hard Work
[49:33] - Broken Work and Broken Workers
[50:09] - Jesus Redeems All Things
[52:04] - God Uses Regular Workers
[53:18] - The Marketplace as Mission Field
[60:29] - Work as Worship and Commissioning

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” [36:01]

Genesis 2:15
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” [39:58]

Genesis 3:17-19
“And to Adam he said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, "You shall not eat of it," cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'” [45:50]

Colossians 1:19-20
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” [50:20]

Colossians 3:23-24
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” [02:31:10]

Observation questions

In Genesis 1:1, what is the very first thing God is shown doing, and why does that matter for how work is viewed? [02:06:37]
According to Genesis 2:15, what was Adam called to do in the garden before sin entered the world?
In Genesis 3:17-19, what words and images describe why work now feels painful, frustrating, and exhausting? [02:16:41]
What were some everyday examples of work that can still reflect God’s character—both inside and outside the home? [02:08:18]

Interpretation questions

If work existed before the fall, what does that suggest about the difference between work itself and the misery often attached to it? [02:11:32]
Genesis 3 shows that the ground is cursed, but the human heart also brings selfishness and pride into work. How does that change the way a person should think about problems at work? [49:33]
Colossians 1 says Jesus reconciles “all things” through the cross. What does that seem to mean for ordinary jobs, workplaces, and daily responsibilities? [02:20:37]
Colossians 3:23-24 says believers are really serving the Lord Christ. How might that reshape the meaning of work that feels unnoticed, repetitive, or unimportant? [02:32:29]

Application questions

Is there a stronger temptation right now to hate work or to worship work? What has been revealing that in this season of life? [33:18]
Where does work feel most full of thorns and thistles right now—a difficult boss, a broken system, exhausting demands, conflict at home, school pressure, or something else? How could Jesus be met honestly in that exact place this week? [46:13]
Hidden faithfulness is seen by God. What part of daily work feels unseen right now, and what would it look like to do that part with renewed excellence and peace? [42:47]
The workplace is not only filled with brokenness; the worker brings brokenness too. What attitudes are most likely to be carried into work right now—pride, resentment, gossip, laziness, fear, selfish ambition, or something else? [49:44]
Every profession can become a platform for Jesus. In this specific season, who are the actual people in that mission field—coworkers, customers, classmates, neighbors, clients, patients, or children at home? What might loving one of them look like this week? [02:28:38]
“I work for you” is a simple way to begin the day before God. Would it be helpful to pray that each morning this week? What might change if Jesus were consciously treated as the true boss in one difficult area of work? [59:37]
Worship is not only a song on Sunday but a life lived on Monday. What is one ordinary task this week that could be intentionally offered to God as worship? [02:31:23]

Sermon Clips

36s

#WorkRevealsAndRedeems

“``Here's where we're going. If you take notes, I'm gonna give it to you right off the top. Why work? Why do you work? Some of you, you wake up on Monday asking that question. Why am I doing this? Why are you doing this? Here's why you're doing it. It's to reveal and to redeem. Work reveals and work redeems. Now as we grab Bibles, if you don't have a Bible, grab one right in front of you, pull it up on your phone. This is gonna be a little bit sword drill today. I'm gonna go cross scripture and show us the theology of work, but we're gonna start in the opening pages of scripture with work reveals.”

34s

#WorkForGod

“But here's just one simple change. I want you to start this tomorrow when you wake up before you go to work. I want you to declare this in a prayer. I want you to just say simply, I work for you. Jesus, you are my boss. I know you got another boss, but ultimately, you don't work for them. You work for God. Let me just if you work like that, the other things will shake out. The other things will shake out.”

59s

#WorkMadeByGod

“And there's something innate within us, whether you're a believer in Jesus or not, that admires work and excellence. Because you were created by a creative working god who hung stars in the sky that you could still see today, that set planets in motion, that that created a man and a woman from the dust of the earth. And so there's something in you whether believe in Jesus or not that says, Hey, God created work for something bigger. Even on those days where you hate your job and that little icon is spinning and it's testing your sanctification. There's something in you that knows, hey, work is bigger. Work is is good. See, sin did not create work. It cursed it, but sin did not create work. God did. God did.”

55s

#GodSeesYourWork

“And as a person created in his image, that's how we can see it no matter what we do. And I know some of you are thinking, Tim, that must be nice for your brother-in-law. Like, he plays in a band. That's his job. And people cheer on his work. And what I would say, hey, you got it better than that. If you're working at home and you're in the laundry room or you're cleaning Cheerios out of the minivan in Jesus' name, the God of the universe is cheering you on. Amen? The God of the universe sees your faithfulness, he sees your excellence in that cube, working on that spreadsheet, being an attorney, working in the hospital, the late night shifts, being a teacher, being a student, God sees that. And he sees someone in his image reflecting him, and he applauds. You need to see your work, how God sees it. It reveals his very character and nature.”

25s

#WorkIsWorship

“And if we're gonna reach the fifth largest city in the country, and I hope we do, and millions of people, it's not gonna be through 17 people who work in a church staff. It's gonna be through workers doing the work of God for his glory, for the good of our community and our city. Amen? That's what God has in store for you. That work serves other people, that work is worship. And here's where we'll close.”

33s

#BringTheChurchToWork

“But God has placed you there by appointment to be a missionary in your cube at your campus, at your house, with your kids. And listen, I want you to invite people to church. Today, you're gonna get an invite card. We're gonna start doing this every Sunday. An invite culture, a lot of you guys invite people. We just wanna make it easier for you. We're I want you to bring people to church, but guess what? Every single day when you're at work or school, you get to bring the church of Jesus Christ to people.”

47s

#GodUsesEveryVocation

“Again, it's not just prophets and priests, it's builders like Noah, it's administrators like Joseph, it's kings and shepherds like David, it's Daniel who was a government leader. Again, we're gonna go through that book in the fall. God uses all these normal jobs with people like Lydia who was a businesswoman. Paul who was a missionary but was also a tent maker. Jesus, again, thirty years worked as a carpenter. Three years preached sermons. The disciples who started the church of Jesus Christ, and you read about the book of Acts. God doesn't choose, like, for his varsity team, prophets and priests. He chooses fishermen and tax collectors to grow the church of Jesus Christ, flips the world upside down. Can God use and redeem your work? He can.”

29s

#ChurchScattersIntoLife

“And so the church is gonna close in just a moment. Like, we're gonna have a benediction, we're gonna give you those invite cards, but the church is not closing. The church is scattering into our jobs, into our mission fields that are called our neighborhoods and our homes and our and our hobbies. The church is really just commissioning us out into our week. And so let's sing, let's pray to prepare our hearts to go be the church. Amen?”

45s

#HeavenIncludesWork

“I don't believe we'll just sit around and sing, Lord, I lift your name on high forever. And some of you that's what you think heaven is like, and you're like, is it okay to say I'm not excited about heaven and church? We gonna sit in pews like this and just sing songs all day and do nothing? I believe we'll work. We'll worship God with our work. Listen. Without sin, without exhaustion, without the spinning icon. I think that's one of the things in the new heavens and new earth that will immediately be eradicated. No more tears, pain, or death, or the spinning icon on your computer.”

49s

#EveryVocationRedeemed

“So work reveals, but also work redeems. Work redeems. And listen. I I'm not just talking about pastors and missionaries and Chick fil A even though that's the nuggets of heaven. Amen. Praise God. I'm not just talking about, like, those things, like, are redemptive. I'm talking about God uses every vocation. Again, as you look at the scriptures, we're gonna talk about specific examples. What you don't see is 66 books made up of a prophet, a priest, and a pastor doing all the work for God. Many times, it's the opposite of that. You see like a a builder. You see fishermen. You see tax collectors. They built the first church of Jesus Christ that we're now experiencing today. And they weren't prophets, they never went to seminary.”

41s

#WorshipBeyondSunday

“And you guys, I know I you got me. You're gonna tear the roof off this place. You got Braden. You got the whole thing. You're gonna you're gonna sing, you're gonna lift your hands, you're gonna worship God through music. But can I tell you, worship is not just a song you sing, it's a life you live? Worship is not just something you do on Sunday, it's what you do on Monday. That God wants to use not just a song sung, He wants to use a life lived for his glory, and that's why he has you here. Some of you this is overwhelming because right now you're thinking about these complications at work. You're thinking about some of you don't have a job.”

30s

#WorkAsPlatform

“So my question is, do you see your work that way? Do you see your work as a student? Some of you are getting ready to go back to school. I talked to some teachers this morning who, by the way, should get paid more also. I can't do that for you, so just to set expectations. But and they're like, oh, man. Like school's starting and get my classroom ready. And do you see it as an opportunity, your profession as an opportunity to platform Jesus, the kingdom of God, his goodness on the earth?”

36s

#EverydayFaith

“And God has something to say about all of it. So we're doing this series called everyday faith, closing the Sunday to Monday gap. We're gonna talk about what God has to say about our work. And here's the question I want you to wrestle with today and throughout this series. How can your profession become a platform for Jesus Christ? Whatever you spend your your waking hours working, doing, how can that thing that you think is amazing or insignificant, how can that become a platform for the kingdom here on the earth.”

28s

#KingdomThroughWork

“As you work, God's bringing the kingdom bear to bear on this earth as you work with faithfulness and excellence even though nobody is watching. You're doing that first commission, which often leads to the great commission. You're you're ruling and having dominion over the earth as God has called us to, and you're imaging that good God as well. And it's what we see in scripture, that our work serves others. Did you know this?”

68s

#WorkIsBroken

“And you see how work is broken. I I don't think I need to go further, but I will. Like think about that that boss. Again, you're thinking about in your mind, like, Tim, you don't know my boss. Your your boss is corrupt. He doesn't use his skills and gifts and his power to serve people. He uses it to lord over you, and work is broken. Think about that coworker that you do not get along with, that you do not give the benefit of the doubt, that you do think cuts corners when nobody else is looking. Think about that that icon. We had it on Thursday. We were trying to show stuff on this projector back here, and it was just spinning. And you're like, work is broken. Even in the church, the holy spirit didn't fix it. It's broken. And some of us feel that. Some of us feel that at home. Some of us feel that at school. And yet this is why the gospel of Jesus Christ, hear me, is good news.”

29s

#BabelRevealsBrokenWork

“Right? And there is an element to this thing where it's just like things work against us in work. Work doesn't work how it's supposed to work. Right? And scripture is being honest about that. We see a vivid picture of that. Genesis chapter 11, the tower of Babel. Even when people are doing grand things on the outside, things are jacked up and broken on the inside. Right? They're building this grand great tower, but they're doing it for a name for themselves, scripture says.”

27s

#BibleUnderstandsWork

“I get it. Like, work is hard. Like, people are hard. I get that your job is hard and it often goes unnoticed. In scripture, again, if you're not a Christian, scripture explains this. If you wanna find a religion, a belief system that talks about the realities of life, search no further than the word of God, the bible that's right in front of you. Genesis three talks about this in verses 17 through 19. Look at those verses.”

46s

#WorkReflectsWorship

“So again, some of us are overwhelmed. That's why we have a prayer team on my right, on on my left. They can come down now. As we respond, as we sing, as we worship, some of you don't see your work as worship. Some of you, if you're honest, and this is some of us today, listen, your work is your worship. It's not working as it's worship unto God. Your work itself is worship, and the way you spent seventy hours trying to make a name for yourselves and and and just about your image and your status. And we need to come down and confess that and ask God to to change our view of work. Some of us, our work is significant. God wants to give you a bigger vision for your work. We're gonna respond in prayer. We're gonna respond in song. I'm gonna ask you to stand with me right now. Would you rise to your feet?”

50s

#EveryJobCanGive

“There's a guy named David, who's a friend of mine who has been a friend since we started PBC twelve years ago, and he's a drywall contractor in Texas. And yet through his drywall, he's made some money and he gives generously. He ties off that income, and part of that went to Phoenix Bible Church in the early days. We didn't have much money, and I can honestly tell you this. Without David Nance, Phoenix Bible Church would not be here. If he had chosen to be a pastor, we'd been out of luck. But he's a drywall contractor, and he gave generously. And I always loved David. He still tells me to this to this day. He said, Tim, if you don't ask, if you don't ask me to give towards things, you're robbing me, listen to this, of my joy. Don't rob me of my joy. That's what he'll tell me all the time. And that's why I say, David, I will not.”

45s

#MentorshipAtWork

“who is here at First Service as well who as well who's an acting federal judge at the age of 84. God give me that energy. Right? And today after the message he said, hey, was a good sermon, I think I might not quit. But what I love about Jim is we have all these attorneys in our church. So guys we're safe, we're well protected, you need a defense? We're good to go here at Phoenix Bible Church. We have all these attorneys, not just love, I get to introduce them to 84 year old Jim Tilborg. And every single one of them he takes out to lunch and he mentors them. And in a profession that can be super sketchy and cutthroat like being an attorney, Jim teaches these guys how to honor God with your work.”

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