Sunday we move into Daniel chapter four. Here Daniel relates God’s direct engagement with Nebuchadnezzar. The king has a dream about a magnificent tree that reaches to the sky, supplying for the creation. This tree is cut down but not removed. Daniel interprets the dream for the king, “You are the tree.” In short, God is going to humble Nebuchadnezzar for his pride and oppression, but he gives him an opportunity to repent, and even the hope of restoration after his humiliation.

The message is directed at Nebuchadnezzar, but the lesson is for God’s people. The first major lesson of the text is that God calls his people to turn from their sins and live humbly before their God. Their failure to walk humbly before God is why they are in Babylonian exile to begin with. This exposes the challenge that believers encounter with “grace.” God is good and generous to his people, blessing them even when they don’t merit his goodness. As he blesses his people, their hearts begin to turn from loving the Giver to loving the gifts that he gives. This turn in affection is all too common and easy. The problem is not with God’s goodness, but with the darkness of the human heart.

In his mercy, God has humbled his people by removing his gifts and sending them into exile. This is mercy, because full life is found in the presence of God not the gifts of God that we enjoy. God is calling his prodigal children home. Join us Sunday as we consider God’s message to his people.

This Sunday we consider the fiery furnace incident in Daniel 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego challenge the gods of the King, refusing to bow down and worship, knowing it will cost them their lives. Nebuchadnezzar rages, heating the furnace to its max. He doesn’t care that his own men die, his bloodlust consumes him. He throws these servants of God in the furnace fully clothed and bound. Suddenly, he appears, God! In Nebuchadnezzar’s own words, “I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:25)

 Nebuchadnezzar had asked the right question, “And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” (3:15) Well, now he knows, the God of the Jews! Notice the testimony these men garner from Nebuchadnezzar, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.” (3:28) What a testimony to the watching world!

But what’s the message to the people of God living in Babylonian exile? Join us Sunday as we consider this moment in history.

As we continue in Daniel, we come to a familiar story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to worship the statue Nebuchadnezzar erects. As readers, we ask, “Why is Daniel sharing this story with the people of God who are in Babylonian exile?” These three servants of the Lord represent humble servants who remain committed to God as the world mandates they worship the gods of their invention. It’s a call to faithfulness for God’s people; it’s a presentation of courage; it’s a statement of what’s important and true; and it’s a testimony of God’s power and presence.

As God’s people, exiled in a world that is not our final home, we need this message. Every day the gods of this world are being presented to us and increasingly we are being threatened if we don’t assimilate. The primary god being promoted today is the modern view of the self. The real you is the inner you, how you think and feel inside. Reality is not the construct God reveals in his word, for that would make God our authority. Reality is inside you and the construct is changing to allow for its expression. If you resist, you’re part of the problem and will be resisted.

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah present us with the challenge of living in God’s reality. Join us Sunday as we explore this text together and worship the Lord.

For Christians, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is no small event, it is the critical event in God’s gracious rescue plan. Of all that God has committed himself to do for his people, all of it is meaningless apart from his promise of new and eternal life. God has offered to atone for our sins through His one and only Son, but what benefit is this payment if we don’t get to live? God has promised forgiveness through that atonement, but how does that help us if we don’t enjoy a life reconciled to God? God sends his Spirit to enable us to walk in righteousness, however imperfectly in this life, but to what end if only for a few short years? God has provided a future for us in a world without suffering, but how empty a promise if he cannot generate life beyond the grave? God can promise the world, but if he can’t give us life, his promises are cruel illusions and our hope, fanciful dreams in our life of death.

The resurrection of Christ gives us hope that all God has promised through Christ will be realized in Him. Our hope is a “living hope.” Our hope is alive because he is alive. Peter, like Daniel, writes to people who are facing intense suffering, persecution, and hardship. They face the threat of depravation and death every day, but they face it with confidence in the eternal life God has promised. Join us Sunday as we worship the living Christ with living hope.

Sunday, we began to consider the interpretation Daniel gives of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel shares this interpretation not only to Nebuchadnezzar, but he records it for the people of God exiled in Babylon. As readers, we must answer the question, “Why is Daniel recording this for God’s people?”

The people of God will endure four kingdoms that will compete with the Kingdom of God. These kingdoms will call into question God’s faithfulness to his promise to create a nation with the descendant of Abraham, Jesus Christ. They will also compete for the affections of God’s people. God’s people will have to cling in hope to His promises and remain loyal citizens even though they are in exile.

These kingdoms lure the people of God with wealth, power, and peace. All that is required is assimilation. The temptation is especially strong for the second and third generations of the exiles. Daniel records the glory of these kingdoms, acknowledging their allure while exposing their fundamental brutality and weakness. It is only the Kingdom of God, ruled by the Son of Man, that will provide for God’s people what they long for.

Sunday is Palm Sunday where we remember Jesus’ entrance into the city of Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna.” What the fickle people of Jerusalem shout, we celebrate! The Son of God descended, becoming man so that he could atone for our sin, rise from the dead and ascend into heaven to rule over creation. Long live the King!

This Sunday we return to the book of Daniel, examining the dream of Nebuchadnezzar interpreted by Daniel. The dream is of a statue representing four successive kingdoms. They are successive because they are connected in one statue. They are also comprehensive to the known world of the author and people. This vision does not account for the various tribes of men around the globe. God is not unaware of the Incan people or others, but he is focused on the nations that currently compete with and intersect his kingdom established with his people through Abraham. 

These four kingdoms represent man’s competition with God, but notice, God assumes responsibility for establishing and overseeing these pagan kingdoms. He says to Nebuchadnezzar, “The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory” (Daniel 2:37). The King cannot assume that his station as king is something he accomplished apart from the sovereignty of God. The kingdoms of men are managed by God, as Paul says, “he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,” Acts 17:26.

These four kingdoms are subdued, visually destroyed, by a stone cut from an unnamed place by unnamed hands, indicating God’s authority and action. This stone strikes at the vulnerability of the last kingdom, destroying the entire statue and establishing a permanent kingdom, saying, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another,” Daniel 2:44. The kingdom God established will permeate the kingdoms of men and ultimately claim victory over them.

Join us Sunday as we consider the message to the exiles and as we learn to live in what God has established through Jesus Christ.

Where are you? Come out of your hiding. What are you ashamed of? Do you believe you are not enough?

The experience of shame may be the first hope of healing. The heaviness of shame comes from the belief that we are not as we were created to be. Shame, the burden of unworthiness, can only be covered by the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

He has covered our shame and given us honor and value. We don't have to live a life of disgrace for the God of all grace has poured out his love, his acceptance, his glory on us in Christ. Grace is a gift for the undeserving that enables us to be the person we were created to become. And when we fail to measure up, we don't become self-haters, we are still worthy. Lewis Smedes, in his book Shame and Grace, in a postscript states: "I believe that the grace of God heals the shame I do not deserve and heals the shame I do. I believe that grace is the best thing in the world." page 16.

We will look at God's word to discover where shame comes from and how God covers our shame in order to restore us to what He designed us to be - in relationship with Him.

Sunday we’ll consider Daniel’s presentation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. We will hold off on the meaning of the dream and focus on Daniel’s presentation. This text affirms and presents the wisdom of humility exhibited by Daniel. In Daniel’s song of praise, he says of the Lord, “he removes kings and sets up kings,” Daniel 2:21. This recognition of God’s sovereignty over mankind is the heart of the vision. It’s also the heart of this faithful servant of God.

As Daniel, a teenager, stands before this powerful king, he says, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show the king the mystery that the king has asked,” Daniel 2:27. Each of the professions mentioned are mankind’s attempt to know the future and control his fate. If we can predict the future, maybe we can control it. Daniel gently tells the king that mankind can’t track the providence of God. What he says next is a considerable statement, “But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king,” Daniel 2:30. Of all the moments when Daniel should take credit and promote himself, this is the one. Instead, Daniel deflects credit, humbling himself before the king, exalting the Lordship of God.  

Daniel has already assimilated the meaning of the dream: God exalts and demotes at his will. Mankind is subject to the sovereign management of God. Daniel surrendered to that truth. Nebuchadnezzar was not responsible for his success and Daniel was not responsible for his insight into the dream. This is goes against the world’s fundamental belief that we are the master of our fate. No, brothers and sisters, we advance at the pleasure of the Lord. Join us Sunday as we consider the wisdom of humility.

Sunday we’ll move into chapter two of Daniel. This portion begins the Aramaic portion of Daniel, highlighting the life of the Hebrews in the pagan empire. The narrative Daniel presents is the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. The king refuses to tell the wisemen the dream, while demanding that they give him the meaning. The stage is set for God to show his power and presence. Several statements stand out and guide us in our interpretation. First, those who worship the gods of Babylon say, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand.” They are right, no man has this kind of ability. Secondly, they say, "no one can show it to the king except the gods." Note their theology, they believe that the gods they worship can reveal the king's dreams. But they have one problem: their gods do not "dwell with flesh."

God is setting the stage to show two things: his ability and his presence. With the executioners bearing down on Daniel and his companions, they go to prayer. They know that God is able, but they also know that he is present. This scene is like the story of Elijah’s standoff with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). The prophets plead with Baal to bring down fire, but the gods are silent. Then Elijah prays and God responds. Join us Sunday as we consider this great narrative.

Sunday, we take another step into the life of Daniel and his three companions. The text presents the king’s effort to reprogram these men into qualified courtiers. The first change is alluded to in the commissioning of the chief eunuch to choose and prepare these men. Daniel, and the others, appear to have joined the company of the eunuchs. While a sensitive issue, we’ll seek to understand the impact on Daniel. The prophet had warned Hezekiah that this would happen. (2 Kings 20:18) This would potentially fit with the specifics of their selection. Next, we see them learning the literature and language which points to a full immersion into their cultural values and reasoning. Then he supplies a lavish lifestyle of the king’s food and wine, which seems to be about dependence and the development of materialism, an “eat, drink, and be merry” philosophy. Finally, we see them renamed after the deities of the Babylonian religion, separating them from the Abrahamic Covenant with Jehovah.

All these tactics are subtle efforts that the evil one uses to assimilate us into the paganism of our culture, negating our influence and the message of the gospel. What’s inspiring in the text are the words, “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself.” It’s important to note the one tactic that Daniel resisted: consumerism (a facet of materialism). This is more than an inspiring story of resistance, it’s a message of covenant loyalty between Daniel and God. Daniel, “God is my Judge” retains his identity as a child of God’s covenant with Abraham. Join us Sunday as we consider this text.