Daniel 1:1-21 | Daniel and his friends faced a seemingly impossible situation. Removed from their homeland and taken away as captives to Babylon, they now find themselves facing a powerful combination of isolation, indoctrination, seduction, and oppression. Babylon was dedicated to eradicating any remembrance of their true homeland, their true identity, and the true God. And yet in the midst of the most hostile city in the world, Daniel and his friends thrived. Like Daniel, believers today can thrive in cultural exile when we remember that God is in control and that God is with us. When we remember that God is in control, we grow in humility. When we remember that God is with us, we grow in courage. If we are to bless our surrounding culture without bowing to it, God’s people need both.
Daniel #1 - Thriving in Babylon
Daniel 1:1-21
September 17, 2017
Daniel #8 - The Normal Life of Pinnacles and Pits
November 5, 2017
Daniel 6:1-28 | On both sides of biblical faith are the ditches of fatalism and presumption. Fatalism says, “What will be, will be.” Presumption says, “What I say, will be.” But true faith says, “I trust God, whatever may be.” Daniel, now an old man in his final years, shows us what it looks like to trust God publicly and prayerfully, even under the shadow of life’s most difficult trials.
Daniel #7 - Only God Can Judge Me
October 29, 2017
Daniel 5:1-31 | Just like Belshazzar, the story of humanity has been one of feasting on the edge of the grave. The writing is on the wall and the divine verdict is in: we have been numbered, weighed on God’s scale and found wanting, and are divided. It is here, at the point of despair, that the gospel breaks in with incredible news about what God has done to balance the scales.
Daniel #6 - Glory Hunger
October 22, 2017
Daniel 4:28-37 | The human appetite for glory is as destructive as it is seductive. Nebuchadnezzar discovered what so many others have throughout Scripture and history: that those who exalt themselves destroy themselves. Our hunger for glory will never be satisfied, until like Nebuchadnezzar, we learn to treasure the glory of God above all else.