INTRODUCTION
The book of Daniel has fascinated Christians for centuries. Who wouldn’t love the stories of a young Daniel and his friends, under intense pressure in the courts of the most powerful nation on earth, exhibiting tremendous courage and resolute faithfulness, and witnessing God’s miraculous interventions in their lives?
Incredibly, in Daniel’s account, these daring tales are eclipsed by the dreams and visions that with stunning accuracy predict the movement of world superpowers, not only in Daniel’s time but into the future, and yes, even into our time!
The historical narrative mixed with predictive prophecy make Daniel a unique book in our Bibles, but also an incredibly relevant one for us.
As Christians we too are in ‘exile’, away from our true Home and struggling ourselves under the intense pressure of the world around us. We too are called to exhibit courage and faithfulness, and we too long to see God’s miraculous interventions in our lives!
Not only that, we too are concerned about the movement of world superpowers, anxious to know that God is in fact still sovereign over the ‘kingdoms’ of this world, our own nation, and our very own lives!
The fact that Daniel stretches into our own futures, with its resounding theme of God’s sovereignty and faithfulness to His people, inspires both hope & faithfulness.
Ultimately the book of Daniel draws our attention to Jesus, and His future kingdom, which makes it foundational reading for Christians anytime, anywhere:
SERIES OUTLINE
Part 1 (12 Jun – 7 Aug)
1. Introduction
2. Daniel 1 – Daniel Resolved
3. Daniel 2 Part 1 – Sorcery & Supplication
4. Daniel 2 Part 2 – The Kingdom of Man & the Kingdom of God
5. Daniel 3 Part 1 – The Courage of Conviction
6. Daniel 3 Part 2 – Idolatry
7. Daniel 4 – Cosmic Plagiarism
8. Daniel 5 – The Writing On The Wall
9. Daniel 6 – People, Politics & Principalities
2. Daniel 1 – Daniel Resolved
3. Daniel 2 Part 1 – Sorcery & Supplication
4. Daniel 2 Part 2 – The Kingdom of Man & the Kingdom of God
5. Daniel 3 Part 1 – The Courage of Conviction
6. Daniel 3 Part 2 – Idolatry
7. Daniel 4 – Cosmic Plagiarism
8. Daniel 5 – The Writing On The Wall
9. Daniel 6 – People, Politics & Principalities
Part 2 (4 Sept – 6 Nov)
10. Daniel 7 Part 1 – The rule of the ‘Son of Man’
11. Daniel 7 Part 2 – The Call and the cost
12. Daniel 8 Part 1 – The Great and the little horn
13. Daniel 8 Part 2 – The shadow of the antichrist
14. Daniel 9 Part 1 – God is Awesome, we are not.
15. Daniel 9 Part 2 – Prophetic details on the coming of Jesus
16. Daniel 10 – Daniel, A Man of Prayer
17. Daniel 11 Part 1 – The Perfect Plan of God
18. Daniel 11 Part 2 – Mark 14:62
19. Daniel 12
11. Daniel 7 Part 2 – The Call and the cost
12. Daniel 8 Part 1 – The Great and the little horn
13. Daniel 8 Part 2 – The shadow of the antichrist
14. Daniel 9 Part 1 – God is Awesome, we are not.
15. Daniel 9 Part 2 – Prophetic details on the coming of Jesus
16. Daniel 10 – Daniel, A Man of Prayer
17. Daniel 11 Part 1 – The Perfect Plan of God
18. Daniel 11 Part 2 – Mark 14:62
19. Daniel 12
SERIES TEACHINGS
Part 1
INTRODUCTION
Pastor Richard opens up our new series in the book of Daniel, taking a look at the historical timeline leading up to the book, and a look at the overall structure of the book and how it in-fact points forward to Jesus.
CHAPTER 1 – Daniel Resolved
Pastor Richard takes a look at how Nebuchadnezzar tries to win over Daniel in order to influence God’s people through him. We also discover how, like Daniel, we can avoid the current of culture that seeks to de-form us away from the likeness of Christ.
CHAPTER 2A – Sorcery & Supplication
Nebuchadnezzar has a dream… He calls in his magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans and insists they tell him both the dream and its interpretation. Pastor Richard helps us to understand what exactly magicians and sorcerers etc are, and then we see how God uses Daniel to ‘reveal mysteries’ to the king.
CHAPTER 2B – The Kingdom of Man & the Kingdom of God
Daniel begins to reveal God’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream… Pastor Richard helps us to understand the interpretation, the kingdoms that it speaks of and how it applies to our lives today.
CHAPTER 3 – The Courage of Conviction
Pastor Justin takes us through Daniel Chapter 3, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thrown into the fire. We look at the Coercion of Conformity (3:1-7), the Courage of Conviction (3:8-23) and the Closeness of Christ (3:24-30)
CHAPTER 3 – Idolatry
Richard takes us back into Chapter 3 in Daniel to spend some time talking about the issue of Idolatry. This is one not to be missed!
Special Info Session on Idolatry:
CHAPTER 4 – Cosmic Plagiarism
It seems like deja vu, but Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that Daniel has to interpret. This time Richard takes us through the change that takes place in Nebuchadnezzar and we discover who is actually responsible for all the good in his… and our lives.
CHAPTER 5 – The Writing On The Wall
Pastor Zwai takes us through the story of the writing on the wall, the day that Babylon falls! We learn all about how God Sees Sin (5:1-4), God Confronts Sin (5:5-9), God Exposes Sin (5:10-28) and God Judges Sin (5:29-31)
CHAPTER 6 – People, Politics & Principalities
This week we are getting to the half way point in the book of Daniel and Pastor Richard takes us through the story of the 80yr old Daniel, we look a little closer at Daniel himself as we read about when he was thrown in to the den of lions!
SERIES TEACHINGS
Part 2
CHAPTER 7 Part 1- The rule of the ‘Son of Man’
This week we are back in the book of Daniel and Pastor Richard takes us through the dream that Daniel has about the four beasts! The second half of Daniel gets wild, so buckle up!
Special CG Session 1:
CHAPTER 7 Part 2 – The Call and the cost
After looking at Daniel’s first dream last week, we start to unpack the intepretaion of the dream and spend some time looking at Daniel’s near future (our past) and the distant future (also our future) as Pastor Richard gives us some encouragement on how to deal with the times we find our-self in…
Special CG Session 2:
CHAPTER 8 Part 1 – The great and the little horn
This week we look at Daniel’s second dream, from Chapter 8, we get an epic history lesson about Alexander the Great as well as Antiochus Epiphanes. We see the Bible recording, with great detail and accuracy, events that were yet to pass! Pastor Richard reminds us again that we can be confident in the future despite knowing that things will get worse before they get (infinitely) better!
Special CG Session 3:
CHAPTER 8 Part 2 – The shadow of the antichrist
We continue in Ch8 of the book of Daniel, looking at a future person that Daniel talks about in Antiochus but the shadow of which is also described in the new testament. Someone that is Destructive, Deceitful and Arrogant. We tackle the complicated question of tribulation and hardship in the ‘last hour’ and look at the real clash of kingdoms happening right now.
CHAPTER 9 Part 1 – God is Awesome, we are not.
This week we are in Chapter 9 and look at a prayer that Daniel prays that shows clearly how he viewed God, vs how he viewed himself/the people of God. Fortunately, Daniel also predicts the coming of Jesus that would bridge the gap between the great and awesome God and us!
CHAPTER 9 Part 2 – Prophetic Details On The Coming Of Jesus.
Welcome to one of the most challenging and most disputed passages in the book of Daniel. Buckle up and grab your calculator as we take a look at the remarkably detailed picture of the first coming of Jesus that is described in this text.
CHAPTER 10 – Daniel, a man of prayer.
Pastor Dave takes a look at how Daniel responds to hard times. We see that Daniel chose not to try and take control, but to pray!
CHAPTER 11 Part 1 – The perfect plan of God.
We take a look at the third vision that Daniel recieves which again predicts in details many events that were yet to come at that moment in history. From this history lesson in the book of Daniel, we can take heart that God is sovereign over all and even though it may differ from our plan, God has a perfect plan for us and our future.
CHAPTER 11 Part 2 – The Time of The End.
In another whiplash episode, Richard takes us through the second part of Daniel chapter 11, looking at end times that we shouldn’t be surprised by. In response we see encouragement to embrace the spiritual reality, to not harden our hearts and to rest in the protection of Christ!
CHAPTER 12 – Vindication, Celebration & Reward
In the final episode of the Daniel series, Richard takes a look at chapter 12 where again we are looking into future events. We see that although there are times of trouble coming, that Daniel, God’s people and we will be delivered. We also look forward to the promise of reward!
Small Group Resources
If you are studying Daniel in a group, we have prepared these guides for group discussion.
Firstly, there is a 2-part guide/overview of the book, and then individual guides to go with each episode of the series.