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Bold in Babylon Sermon

Pat Hood [Lead Pastor]

Scripture References & Sermon Points

• Sermon Takeaway = Bold in Babylon

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 1

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 1:1–20

• Sermon Point: Two Kingdoms

• Sermon Point: One Choice

Sermon Discussion Questions

Get to know me: The purpose of these questions is to generate responses that are self-revealing and informative. Feel free to ask all of these questions to your group or simply choose the one that best fits your group.

1. Think back to a time when there was a season in your life or someone you know where one bad thing after another kept happening. What was going on? How long did that season last? What did it look like when good things began to happen? How do you think the Lord was working in it?

Into the Bible: The purpose of these questions is to draw group members into the Bible to discover the truth from passages that were not the primary text for the weekend message.

1. Read Matthew 10:26-33. Verse 28 is the center of this passage and should be something believers should reflect on. Did you notice the word fear appears three times in this passage? What are things in your life you would say you fear or worry about?

2. Read 1 Peter 3:13-17. Suffering and strength go hand in hand for the believer. We hear about suffering well but what does that look like? What does this passage make you think about, whether situations in your life or situations you hear about? How will you prepare to face what is talked about by Peter here?

Application: The purpose of these questions is to apply the main points from the weekend message.

1. Read Daniel 1:1-2; 2 Kings 23:36-37. In the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign over the southern kingdom of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked and brought utter destruction upon it. This wasn't a random attack but the first of three attacks (605 B.C., 597 B.C., 586 B.C.). The southern kingdom of Judah had been in moral and spiritual freefall under the leadership of Jehoiakim before the attacks. It's easy to look out the window at sin but what is something in your life you need to focus on that needs attention? Who can help you with it?

2. Read Daniel 1:3-7. After ransacking the house of the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar then deported the best of the best from the people of Israel. Most scholars agree that Daniel and his friends were probably high school students, just 15 years old, and would have been isolated from their home and place of worship, castrated against their will, and then indoctrinated with the culture of a pagan land. How well do you do watching/listening to things you oppose? What would it take for you to understand views you do not agree with to speak to them with gentleness and respect?

3. Read Daniel 1:8,17-20. Daniel was more concerned with his holiness than his happiness – so he resolved to be bold. Boldness chooses faithfulness in the small details of life. You see it’s built, not bought. When all of the culture and the crowd around them folded, they stayed faithful and the Lord honored their faithfulness. What in your life do you think you have been the most faithful with, for the Lord? Where do you want to be more faithful?