DANIEL LIVES BY HIS CONVICTIONS Elementary Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Six SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Captivity AIM: to use the story of Daniel to teach my class that God blesses obedience. OBJECTS TO HAVE: Any game or trick that would be challenging to your age group The word conviction printed on a card An envelope with your address on it Your driver s license A school Food Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: How many of you can blow a bubble with bubble gum? How do I know that you can blow a bubble? Just because you raised your hand? Do you think that I am convinced that you can really do it, just because you raised your hand and said that you could? What would be a better way of convincing me that you can really blow a bubble? By showing me that you can, that s right. Suppose we were outside in the park. Suppose I said to you, I can beat you in a race! So you said to me, Alright, let s race! And then I said, No, I don t want to race. But I know I could beat you. Would you be convinced that I really could beat you? Of course not! The way to convince you is to show you by racing you and winning. Today we are going to learn about a boy who had very strong convictions. Do you know what that means? It means that he knew what he believed, and he was willing to stand for what he believed. Every one of us ought to have strong convictions. We ought to know what we believe, and we ought to be willing to stand for what we believe. This boy with strong convictions believed that if he lived like God commanded him to live, that God would bless him for it. But this boy didn t just talk about his convictions. He proved his convictions by the way that he lived. Let s find out what happened to him. STORY: The Bible tells us about a boy named Daniel. Daniel grew up in the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the capitol of Daniel s country, Israel. The people of Israel had sinned against God, and God had warned them that they must be punished. Still, they continued in their wicked ways. Finally, God allowed the wicked king Nebuchadnezzar to come down to Jerusalem and fight against it. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of a country called Babylon, the country that ruled the world at that time. Because Nebuchadnezzar was so strong, and the people of Jerusalem were so weak, Nebuchadnezzar defeated them easily. But before he left Jerusalem, he ordered his men to capture all of the smartest young men in Jerusalem and take them back to Babylon with him. Soon Nebuchadnezzar and his armies were returning to Babylon with the smartest, strongest, and most talented men of Israel as his prisoners. One of the young men that Nebuchadnezzar captured was this boy named Daniel. Daniel was a very smart young man who loved God and had strong convictions. Daniel did not understand why he had to be taken away from his home, but he decided that no matter what happened to him, he was going to do right. That would be a good decision for you to make. It would be good for you to decide that no matter what happens, you are going to obey God, that no matter what happens you are going to do right. King Nebuchadnezzar s plan was to train these young men to become his servants. In order to do this, he thought, he would have to make them forget who they were, and make them into new people. To do this, Nebuchadnezzar was going to change five things. First, he changed their location. He was not going to change them by allowing them to keep on living at home. So he changed their address. No longer were they going to live at 215 Temple Avenue in Jerusalem, Judah, 77777. Now they would be living at 806 Heathen Lane in Shinar, Babylon 66666. He changed their location.
He also changed their names. Daniel s name had been Daniel all his life. His name meant God is my Judge. But King Nebuchadnezzar changed his name to Belteshazzar. Now his name would mean he who lays up treasure in secret. Nebuchadnezzar was trying to change Daniel from a man who lived for God to a man who lived for money. Then, Nebuchadnezzar changed their schooling. Daniel had gone to school all of his life, and learned how God had told him to live. But Nebuchadnezzar decided that Daniel needed to learn all over again, so he sent him back to school, a different school than he had been used to. He also changed their language. Daniel was no longer allowed to speak Hebrew, the language that he had grown up speaking. He would now speak Babylonian, the language of Nebuchadnezzar s people. All of these things that Nebuchadnezzar tried to change, Daniel could live with. But the fifth thing that Nebuchadnezzar required went clearly against Daniel s convictions. Nebuchadnezzar tried to change what Daniel ate. Daniel had grown up learning the diet that was commanded by God in the Bible. The Bible was very clear about what the people of Israel were supposed to eat and what they were not supposed to eat. The things that Nebuchadnezzar was ordering Daniel to eat, he was not supposed to eat, according to God s Word. So Daniel had to take his stand. He decided that, whatever the cost, he was going to obey God. Daniel went politely to the king s servant and said, Sir, I cannot eat the food that you have ordered me to eat. I would like to request another diet. I believe that if I will eat the food that my God commands me to eat, then when it is time for us to appear before the king, I will be healthier than the other young men. My three friends and I would like to request permission to be allowed to eat the diet of our God. The king s servant said, But what if you are wrong? If you appear before the king and you are weak and sickly, I will be the one to get in trouble, not you! So Daniel had an idea. Let us try it for ten days. After ten days, those of us who eat the food that God commanded will be healthier and stronger than those who eat the king s food. The king s servant said, Alright, I will give you ten days to prove that your God will bless you for eating the food that He commanded. After ten days, the king s servant came to look at Daniel and his friends. Sure enough, they were healthier than the young men who had eaten the king s food. So the king s servant agreed, I will allow you to keep on eating like your God commanded you to eat. You see, kids, God always blesses those who obey Him. God always takes care of the people who do right. But it is not enough to talk about what s right, or talk about what you believe. You ve got to be willing to live by your convictions. It doesn t please God just to say, I m going to obey my parents. You ve got to do it. It doesn t please God just to say, I m never going to do drugs. No, you ve got to stay away from drugs. It doesn t please God just to say, I m going to be in church every Sunday. No, you ve got to do it. It s not good enough to talk about doing right. You ve got to prove that you really do believe it, and the way that you prove it is to live it, like Daniel did. The day finally came for Daniel and his friends to appear before the king. He was going to look them over to see how well they were being trained to work for him. What was the king going to say? Was he going to be pleased with the way Daniel looked, even though Daniel had eaten different food than the rest had eaten? The king watched as one after another hundreds of young men passed by. Then Daniel and his three friends walked by the king. Wait just a minute! shouted the king. The king s servant froze in fear. Oh no, he thought, the king noticed that something is different, and I m going to be in trouble! The king said, Something is different about these boys. They look ten times better, ten times stronger, ten times healthier than all of the other boys! Let them stay here, I am going to give them very special jobs in my kingdom. The king s servant let out a sigh of relief. God had blessed Daniel and his friends for their obedience. Kids, God always blesses those who obey Him! Have convictions, know what you believe, and be willing to stand for what you believe. Let s learn our memory verse - Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
DANIEL LIVES BY HIS CONVICTIONS Teen and Adult Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Six SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Captivity Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. I MUST DECIDE TO CONTROL WHAT I CAN CONTROL. 1:8. Daniel s world had fallen apart. He had lost so many of the things that were dear to him, things that were a part of his identity. But he made up his mind that, no matter what he might have lost, he was not going to surrender his innocence by eating and drinking that which he had never eaten or drank. He could not control his circumstances, but he could control his conduct. II. I DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE AN UNKIND SPIRIT TO STAND FIRM IN MY BELIEFS. 1:9-10. Daniel made his intentions clear to his immediate superior, but he didn t do it in a way that caused contention. Certainly he was prepared to stand his ground as tenaciously as necessary, for he had purposed, that is, he had made up his mind. But that did not require him to be an obnoxious jerk. You can be a person of your convictions without having a contentious spirit. III. I MUST BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL BLESS MY OBEDIENCE. 1:11-14. Daniel came up with a brilliant idea, based upon his faith in God s blessing. Daniel had faith that God would bless him for obeying His Word; thus, he knew what the outcome of this ten day trial would be. It takes great faith to stand firm in your beliefs, faith in the knowledge that God will honor His Word. IV. WHEN WE TAKE OUR STAND FOR GOD, GOD STANDS WITH US. 1:15-17. God s blessing was evident in the lives of Daniel and his friends, in more ways that in just their physical strength and appearance. Because they passed the test in one area of their lives, God blessed them in every area of their lives. V. WHEN WE STAND WITH GOD, GOD CAN USE US TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSES. 1:18-21. God was going to get the attention of the very proud and arrogant Nebuchadnezzar. Because of Daniel s convictions, God could begin to use Daniel to get Nebuchadnezzar s attention. He first gets his attention here, as Daniel and his friends are ten times better than their peers. Notice, Daniel didn t set out to look ten times better; he set out to please God. But God exalted Daniel in the eyes of the king, in order to use Daniel to accomplish His purposes.
I. DANIEL 1:1- God Blesses Daniel s Courage 1-2 Nebuchadnezzar plunders Jerusalem 3- Daniel Lives By His Convictions 6-7 Daniel and his friends are among the captives II. DANIEL 1:8-8a Daniel makes a decision in his heart 8b-10 Daniel makes a request 11-13 Daniel has an idea 14-16 III. DANIEL 1:17-17 God blesses Daniel and his friends with understanding 18-19 Daniel and his friends appear before Nebuchadnezzar 20-21 Nebuchadnezzar finds Daniel and his friends to be ten times better Adult Bible Class
DANIEL LIVES BY HIS CONVICTIONS Daniel determined that he would not eat the food that violated God s law, and by doing right he brought glory to God. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Proverbs 1:10
Daniel Lives By His Convictions Unscramble the key words and phrases from today s Bible story. ZACHANDEZRABEN RUSELMAJE IPITVACTY LONABBY LANDIE HANGEC TIDE NICCIVTOONS YOBE ENT EMITS TERBET My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Proverbs 1:10
Daniel Lives By His Convictions These are the answers to this weeks puzzle ZACHANDEZRABEN NEBUCHADNEZZAR RUSELMAJE IPITVACTY LONABBY LANDIE HANGEC TIDE JERUSALEM CAPTIVITY BABYLON DANIEL CHANGE DIET NICCIVTOONS YOBE ENT EMITS TERBET CONVICTIONS OBEY TEN TIMES BETTER