TODAY:

Unlikely Heroes | Part 11 – Daniel: I’m Too Old For This

BIG IDEA:

God’s love empowers us to stay strong & faithful

SCRIPTURES:

Daniel 1, 6:10,26-27, Galatians 1:10, 2:20, 1 Corinthians 10:31,33, 1 Peter 2:11-12, Proverbs 29:25, Philippians 3:20

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Q: Has there ever been a time where practicing your faith cost you? If so, how? If not, why not?

Q: How do the Scriptures/concepts from this week help you grow as a disciple who loves God, loves people & serves the world (lives on incarnational mission) in everyday life?

Q: Based on these Scriptures, how can you move from unbelief to belief, from just knowing to actually doing in your life?

Be With Jesus / Love God (UP)...

Q: King Nebuchadnezzar tried to strip Daniel & friends of their identity, faith & everything, then to retrain them in the Babylonian religion. How do you see this same principle at work in the world?

Q: How does a deep longing for God & His love provide strength & help produce faithfulness?

Q: Daniel 6:10 says that Daniel continued to kneel in prayer & worship “as he always had”. How did Daniel’s everyday life rhythms help him remain faithful to God?

Become Like Jesus / Love People (IN)...

Q: Daniel did & didn’t do specific things based on his relationship with God. Even though he was in exile under foreign control, he was still “formed” by God instead of the world. How can you put this into practice in your life?

Do What Jesus Did / Serve the World (OUT)...

Q: Daniel & his friends eventually excelled in exile & were entrusted into positions of influence. How can you leverage your gifts/abilities to help the community & world around you?

NOTES & QUOTES

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “The Wisdom of the Sands”)

“Human beings become beasts when they don’t acknowledge God’s Kingdom, (PATTERN) but God will one day confront the beast and rescue the world (PROMISE).” (The Bible Project)

ACTION STEPS

1) Ask ourselves: what are we longing for? What calls & drives us?

2) Ask ourselves: have we allowed longing for anyone or anything to compete with our longing for God?

3) Choose to surrender everything to God & to trust Him!