Daniel: Eternal Truth in Times of Turmoil (Week 3)
Preacher: Daniel Erasmus
Worship:
As you spend time in worship this week, listen to the song This Is The Kingdom by Elevation Worship. Reflect on the lyrics of the song, which remind us that God will give us all that we need when we seek His Kingdom first and that we will be filled by the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live out what we are called to do.
Check-in:
Share with the group how you’ve responded to the shifting culture we see around us in the past week.
Synopsis of message: Eternal Truth in Times of Turmoil
On Sunday, Pastor Daniel took us through chapter 2 of the book of Daniel. This chapter depicted how king Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. The king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he dreamt and to also interpret the dream. When they couldn’t do this, the king ordered that all of the wise men of Babylon be executed (Daniel 2:1-12).
Before the wise men could be executed, Daniel was able to tell the king what the dream was and what it meant, as God revealed it to him. Because Daniel was able to reveal the mystery, the king recognised God as “the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries” (Daniel 2:47).
From this story, Pastor Daniel shared three eternal truths with us:
- God wants us to know that He is at work and in control: God sees the bigger picture and He is intentional. We will endure culture better when we have the confidence of knowing that He is in control.
- God wants to speak life into the confusion of the world: We can speak life into the troubling situations of those in our world through the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do this. We will impact culture better when we are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
- God wants us to embrace the times and seasons: We need to see the opportunity in each season. We will embrace our role in culture better when we realise that we were made for this.
Lastly, Pastor Daniel ended his sermon by listing three seasons that we are living in right now: The seasons of hostility, harvest and holiness. He pinpointed that in the midst of these seasons, we are called to be set apart by standing firm and loving well.
Discussion questions:
- Reflect on your perspective of the culture we are currently living in. How is that perspective influenced by the truth that God is at work and in control?
- Share with the group a difficult season that you have endured. How could you have embraced that season as being something you were made for?
- Consider the situations and people in your world that you can speak life into. In the upcoming week, what can you do to speak life into those situations or to those people?
Additional resources:
- Made of Mettle: Living Courageously in Turbulent Times (bible.com)
- The Life of Daniel (bible.com)
- Daniel: Far From Home (bible.com)
- Jesus in All of Daniel (RightNow Media)
