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The Boast of the Bold Sermon

Matt Stout [College Grove Campus Pastor]

Sermon Points & Scripture References: 

• Sermon Takeaway = The Boast of the Bold

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 4

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 4:1-3

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 4:4-6

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 4:10-17

• Sermon Point: Pride Lives Before the Fall

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 4:27, 29–30

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 4:33

• Sermon Point: Pride Dies Before the Cross

• Scripture Reference: Daniel 4:34-35

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 of a time when you had to learn a lesson the hard way. What was it? Why were you in that situation? What did you learn from it? Has this situation been repeated since then?

2. Think of a time when you had a hard decision to make and you made the correct one. What was the situation and what was your decision? What happened afterward?

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 Romans 1:18-23, 28-32. Paul starts out his letter to the church in Rome with some heavy punches. Romans 1 is the Mike Tyson of Scripture, coming out swinging and hitting pretty hard. How do these passages make you think of prideful attitudes or actions? Where do you see the sins called out in the latter part of this passage around you and what do they look like? How do these sins serve as a caution for us as believers so that we look at ourselves in the mirror?

2. Read Romans 8:31-39. If Romans 1 is a boxing match, Romans 8 is a celebration! He starts the chapter with reassurance and ends it with these glorious passages. How do these final passages in chapter 8 contrast to those from above in chapter 1? 

Application

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

1. Read Daniel 4:27. If we want to be bold in Babylon we’ve got to be bold enough to call people perishing in pride to turn to Christ for salvation. Boldness isn’t being nice so that no one is offended — it’s being committed to truth even if they are. What are some ways we can be bold with the truth to non-believers? What are some examples where we need to be bold with fellow believers? How should we approach others, believers or not, when we confront them with God’s truth?

2. Read Daniel 4:29-33. God’s patience isn’t paused. There’s a moment of reckoning coming for all who continue in sin. That time came for Nebuchadnezzar. While the words were still in his mouth — a voice cut him off and said “Your kingdom is gone and you will driven like a beast to the fields….”, and immediately the Word of God was fulfilled. What are some examples of pride we see in our world today? How have you seen pride be a limiting or destructive force in your own life or someone close to you? 

3. Read Daniel 34:37. After spending his life looking down at the kingdom from his royal palace, Nebuchadnezzar finally looked up. He looked up from his kingdom to a better one. He looked up from the field to the Father. Pride dies when we stop looking at ourselves and start looking to heaven; When we take our eyes off our kingdom and put them on our King. Have you ever been given a second chance? What do Nebuchadnezzar’s words here at the end say about his belief in the true God of heaven?