On the morning of October 2, 2006, a troubled milkman named Charles Carl Roberts barricaded himself inside the West Nickel Mine Amish School, ultimately murdering five young girls and wounding six others. Roberts committed suicide when police arrived on the scene. It was a dark day for the Amish community of West Nickel Mines, but it was also a dark day for Marie Roberts—the wife of the gunman—and her two young children.

But on the following Saturday, Marie experienced something truly countercultural while attending her husband's funeral. That day, she and her children watched as Amish families—about half of the 75 mourners present—came and stood alongside them in the midst of their own blinding grief. Despite the crime the man had perpetrated, the Amish came to mourn Charles Carl Roberts—a husband and daddy.

Bruce Porter, a fire department chaplain who attended the service, described what moved him most about the gesture: "It's the love, the forgiveness, the heartfelt forgiveness they have toward the family. I broke down and cried seeing it displayed." He added that Marie Roberts was also touched. "She was absolutely, deeply moved by the love shown."

What causes the Amish to live such radically countercultural lives? It's their deep conviction about who God is and how he wants them to live their lives. Now, while I am not suggesting we turn in our cars for horses and buggy's, I am suggesting that we need to allow our convictions about God to direct how we live our lives...even if it means we are different. In this sermon we are going to wrap up this series by examining the events of Daniel chapter six. In it we will discover how we should live when we find ourselves living in a culture that looks a lot like Babylon.