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| This week (January 17) we began a new study titled Daniel: Living with Integrity in an Enticing World by Beth Moore. From the introduction to this study we discovered that “Our primary goal is to join Daniel as individuals who can live in an extravagant, excessive culture without being poisoned by it.” (pg 96) We began by reading Daniel 1:1-2 and identified that the story took place in the 3rd year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah (605 B.C.) in Babylon. To discover what Babylon prized, we completed the 1st activity of Day 1 (pg 98). From this we learned that physical beauty, youth, intelligence, and prestige were prized in Babylon. From the 2nd activity we learned that the Babylon motto was “I am, and there is none besides me” (Isa. 47:10). This led to a discussion on how we have seen this mentality in today’s society. Where we have seen this is in the way people drive, the constant pursuit of what we want, in the corporate world where people step on other people to get to the top, how kids rush to get in the front of the line, and the general disregard for others. As the story goes, Babylon besieged Jerusalem and took what? Articles from the house of God, young men to serve in his palace, and the king. We discussed why God would allow such tragedy to occur to His people. The reason was that they were acting just like the Babylonians. In Jeremiah (1st activity day 2) we learned that Jeremiah described the sins of Israel’s own priests and prophets as an abomination (6:15). In Isaiah 39:1-8 (3rd activity day 2) we see these events (the Babylonian over throw of Jerusalem) prophesied. We talked about how God is faithful to keep His word even when it’s a warning. We also discussed how this can be comforting (He is always faithful, and He keeps His promises as well as His warnings). Next we looked at the training the boys would be getting. We started by discussing the kind of teenager Daniel was. Ideas included tall, dark, and handsome, teachable, and smart (remember what the Babylonians prized). From the 1st activity in day 3 we learned that they were trained for 3 years before entering the king’s service. We also discussed the type of training they were to receive. Participants talked about how it would be indoctrination into the Babylonian way of life, that they would be trained in witchcraft, language, and literature. This led to a discussion on whether most 15-18 yr old boys would give easily into peer pressure. Most agreed that it would depend on the boy and how he was raised. We then considered reasons Daniel was not easily swayed by this intense indoctrination. Reasons included that he feared the Lord, and that he had good parents and upbringing. We then discussed that we need to counter balance cultural training with spiritual training. We discussed how physical/mental training lasts only as long as the body and mind (temporary) but spiritual training lasts an eternity. We then shared ways to train spiritually. • Coming to Sunday School and study God’s word. • Prayer. • Witnessing. • Reading God’s word. • Building relationships with other believers. • Practicing personal worship. We then looked at the name changes that king Nebuchadnezzar gave to the boys. We learned that the Hebrew names all had God (Yahweh) associated with them and that the Babylonian names were associated with false gods. We discussed what the intent of the name changes might be, which included contradicting who they were in God; they didn’t want them to focus on the true God, and to replace the truth of God with false gods. After reading Daniel 1:8-16 we shared ways we saw Daniel demonstrate his resolve. Ways included refusing the bribe of good food and wine, he considered it defiling to eat and drink, recognized the slippery slope it represented, he had a plan, God had given him favor, and he was respectful and thoughtful of the chief of the eunuchs. We also discussed why food might be a difficult area to stay resolved. Reason’s included that we are surrounded by it, we need it every day, and the food being prepared was the best there was to offer. We then came up with areas in which believers need to be resolved in everyday. • Church attendance. • Language at work. • Honesty. • Food (gluttony) Next we discussed how the world might respect our resolve more if we were polite and had a plan. Responses included that we wouldn’t look hypocritical and that they would actually see us as different from the world (often times we look just like them). This led into a discussion on integrity and consistency and what it looks like. People shared that it is being the same person (Godly) all the time, inside and outside. We ended this week by looking at the last activity of day 5 (pg 105) about perfection and consistency. All agreed that we can’t be perfect, but also we can’t act one way in church and another in a different situation. |
| Adult Median Class |