Fearless Faith: Daniel and the Three Holy Youths' Bravery in Babylon - Lesson 1 PDF

FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON Lesson 1: Courage to Stand Alone Note to the servants: In order to best deliver this lesson, it is important that you pray, read, and prepare by creating your own outline that hi...

FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON Lesson 1: Courage to Stand Alone Note to the servants: In order to best deliver this lesson, it is important that you pray, read, and prepare by creating your own outline that highlights the most important ideas. This lesson is not meant to be read directly to children. It is only meant to provide you with the themes and language in order to help communicate the lesson. The recommended age for this lesson is 9-11 years old. Objective Children will learn to demonstrate courage Key Idea and faithfulness in their beliefs when faced God rewards those who remain faithful and with societal pressures. obedient. Recommended Preparation Throughout the lesson ❖ Print out signs that say: King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, Azariah became Abednego. ❖ Print out signs that say: I have hidden / your word/ in my heart, / that I might not sin / against you. Object Lesson/Intro ❖ Vinegar ❖ Larger container or box to catch the ❖ Baking soda mess. Watch to prepare Choosing ❖ Empty container/Tupperware God | Daniel's Object Lesson | WOT True Kids Memory Verse Activity Memory Verse Activity ❖ Tape ❖ Bean bag ❖ Regular pieces of paper with a word Banquet Activity from the memory verse written on ❖ Word salad cutouts each piece Set the Scene Today, we will have a banquet. Set up a table, chairs, tablecloths, and plates to make a “fancy” place setting for the children. Bible Reference Daniel 1 1  FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON Memory Verse Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. (Psalm 119:11) Lesson Opening (Hook/Object Lesson): Today, we’re going to talk about choosing faith over fear. This little container right here is going to represent you (hold up clear container)—your heart, your mind, your emotions, everything about you. In life, these struggles add fear to our lives (pour baking soda as you list the following). Maybe it's sicknesses, things happening with our mom and dad, or things that happen at school with our friends. Suddenly, we start to get filled up with all this yucky fear. Does anybody want fear inside of them? Oh, not me. So what happens is that when we turn to God's Word and read His Word, learn, and memorize it, it's like putting faith inside of us. Even though there's fear inside, adding faith helps pull all that fear out and remove it. (Pour a little vinegar; it will spill over). Sometimes it takes a little bit to work, and you might still see some fear at the bottom. When the fear is still there, we just have to add a little bit more faith because God's Word is always faithful (add more vinegar). God never fails. He'll never leave you; He'll never walk away from you. He is always faithful all the time, and because He is faithful, we don't have to fear. This summer, we’re going to be talking about Daniel and his friends who have complete faith in God because they know God never fails! This is a helpful resource to summarize Daniel 1: Introduction to Daniel 1 The Captivity Bible Video for Kids | HD | Sharefaithkids.com Lesson (Body) Use the following Google Slides presentation to review the events of the Old Testament leading up to Daniel. The presentation ends with this video which introduces what living in Babylon during Daniel’s time was like. OPTIONAL: Overview of the Book of Daniel (Bible Project) OPTIONAL: Daniel Chapter 1: The Captivity Bible Story for Kids (Sharefaithkids.com) Over 500 years before Jesus was born, God’s people lived in a land called Judah. But because of their continual disobedience against God, God judged them for their sins. A King named Nebuchadnezzar (give one volunteer the Nebuchadnezzar sign) came from the land of Babylon and took control of Judah. God gave Jerusalem and Judah into his hands, and this King took items from the temple back to Babylon. But he also took something else... What else do you think King Nebuchadnezzar took back to Babylon? (Take a few answers.) He also took some young men. Let’s listen to what the Bible says about it... 2  FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON Read Daniel 1:3-5 from your Bible: Then the King instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the King’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the King’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the King appointed for them a daily provision of the King’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the King. The King’s goal was to take these young men and to educate them to be Babylonian leaders to serve in his court—to train them to forget about Jerusalem, their families, their heritage and even their beliefs about God and to adopt new ways of living and to serve him. Ask your Nebuchadnezzar volunteer to go to one side of the room. Put the other four volunteers against the opposite wall. King Nebuchadnezzar moved these young men from Judah 800 miles away to Babylon. (Move your volunteers to be with Nebuchadnezzar.) They left behind everything they knew— their parents, their homes, everything—and they were taken to a city that was very different from anything they would have known in Judah. Babylon was a city that worshiped other gods and had a different way of living. Most of these young men were probably between the ages of 13 and 17. How do you think these young men felt? How would you feel? (Take a few answers) Do you think these young men were mad at God because something terrible had happened to them? Among these young men that were taken were four young men about whom we will be learning about. Their Hebrew names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. (Give these signs to your volunteers.) But they were given Babylonian names to help them become Babylonian. Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego. (Give each student a sign with his new identity.) The Bible tells us clearly what Daniel decided to do...Daniel “determined not to defile himself” (Dan. 1:8). What does “defile” mean? (To be made dirty or unclean. Daniel was determined to keep his life pure—to live for God without compromise.) Read Daniel 1:8-10 from your Bible: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the King’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the King, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see 3  FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the King.” What was Daniel’s request? If he could have the best food in the kingdom, why do you think Daniel wanted to eat SERVANT’S CORNER What do the Church Fathers say? vegetables and drink water? For those who love God do not seek In the Old Testament, God had given His people, living after the God of all in just one place, but under the Law, certain food laws about what they could even in the midst of this misfortune they and couldn’t eat and about how certain foods were to be worship as if in the house of the Creator. prepared. The foods that Daniel and his friend received In that place there are many wondrous were not prepared according to these laws. It was also a moments to be found. For having been common custom of a Babylonian king to first offer his reared on the teachings of the Jews and food and drink to their gods. If Daniel and the others took having learned the customary service to part in these foods, it would indicate that they also God, they now were dwelling in a foreign believed and participated in the worship of these false land and were being forced into slavery gods. exactly at the prime of their life. They What was the chief official’s response? (He was afraid that were forced to abide under the foreign the men would look less appealing, which could endanger customs. But having seen the his life with the King.) If this had happened to you, what Babylonians offer defiled meat to the would you have done? Daniel gave a great solution. Listen idols and the polluted libations at the to what he suggested... temple, they took heed and, neglecting their own safety,rejected the king‘s Read Daniel 1:11-16 from your Bible: So Daniel said to the banquet, beseeching the chief eunuch to steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, allow them to be excused from partaking Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants of the king‘s food. for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 1.8 by water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before THEODORET OF CYRUS you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the King’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the King’s delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. Do you think God blessed Daniel and his friends for their obedience? Yes, God blesses obedience. Listen to the rest of the story. Read Daniel 1:17-20 from your Bible: As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days, when the King had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the King interviewed them, and among 4  FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the King. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the King examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.” SERVANT’S CORNER These four young men continued to obey What do the Church Fathers say? God—They could have compromised, but Daniel was St. Jerome said: {Notice that it was written determined to live pure and right. You can do the that God gave the young men knowledge in all same. literature and in all branches of wisdom.} God had selected Daniel, not only from the rest of Life Application the people but also from his peers, because He was preparing him for an important What does it mean to live in exile? What does that prophetic task. St. Jerome mentioned that word mean? (take few answers) God had given the four young men knowledge Until the promised triumph of Jesus' Kingdom, and skill, but He added another gift to Daniel, Christians experience a kind of exile, similar to Daniel which was the understanding in all visions and his friends. As the apostle Peter explains, we are and dreams. Daniel was distinguished with seen as foreigners and exiles. Peter encourages us the spirit of prophecy, for God revealed to Him His plan. God had forbade the use of magic to show respect to the authorities in the places to know the future (Deut. 18:10), but He where we live, loving and honoring everyone. Yet, he reveals some aspects of the future to His emphasizes that our true home is not in this world; prophets for the edification of the His people it's like we're still living in a symbolic Babylon. and the glory of His holy name. In what ways is our world today like Babylon? (Take a COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 1.17 by FR. few answers) TADROS MALATY Suggested points to touch on: We live in a society where laws sometimes dictate what is “right,” even though it goes against our beliefs We are pressured to fit in with the way people dress, act, and live their lives We have begun to idolize many things/people besides God (money, celebrities, power, ourselves! We might not be in Babylon today. But, Babylon represents today’s society or powers that demand loyalty to its wrong ideas of good and evil. Recognizing that we all live in this symbolic Babylon, the challenge is to aim for the well-being of our community and country while staying loyal to God alone. It's much simpler said than done! Orthodox Connection: The Church is our Anchor Our Church acts like an anchor, keeping us grounded and connected to God. One important way we stay anchored is through fasting. Fasting isn’t just about giving up certain foods; it helps us love God more deeply, practice self-control, and develop self-denial and discipline. We fast during special times like Lent and before big celebrations to focus more on God and less on our own wants, growing stronger in our faith and remembering what’s truly important. 5  FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON Another way we stay anchored is by reading the Bible. God's word guides our lives, helping us learn about Jesus so we can show His love to others. Daniel knew God well and trusted Him, giving him the courage to stand alone even when others were doing wrong. It can be scary to speak up when we see something wrong because we fear becoming outcasts, but what matters most is what God thinks of us. Our church community supports us, helps us stay strong in our faith, and reminds Christ Connection us that we are never alone. In the time of the Roman Empire, led by Caesar, some people from Israel SCENARIO: Have you ever felt pressured to accept disagreed with its rule, while others something (behavior, object, etc.) that you knew was accepted and embraced Roman culture wrong, but everyone else around you seemed okay with it? and gods. What did you do in that situation? How can we be like Daniel and his friends and find the courage to stand alone? Jesus, living under Roman occupation, Suggested points to touch on: followed the defiant loyalty of Daniel, Key idea: Our Church is our anchor: Fasting helps suggesting it was okay to pay taxes to the anchor us to the Church. It teaches us the love of emperor, Caesar, but emphasizing that God, self-control, self-denial, discipline, etc. Caesar shouldn't be mistaken for God. When do we fast? Why so long? Why so strict? God, Jesus preached, deserves complete Reading our Bible keeps us anchored: God’s word loyalty and dedication. Jesus encouraged is our guide. If we don’t learn about who Jesus is, His followers to love and bless their how would we show Him to others through our enemies, but He also faced arrest for actions and words? We must get to know God speaking out against corrupt leaders in through scripture. Daniel KNEW God and what He Jerusalem and Rome. He criticized their wanted for them and trusted in Him fully, and THAT love for power, and it ultimately led to His is why he could have the courage to stand alone death. However, Christ rose from the dead, even when everyone else was doing things that declaring Him the true King of all nations, seemed “normal” fulfilling the hope that Daniel had. Speaking up when we know something is wrong: Sometimes it can be scary to speak up because of Jesus promised that one day, his Kingdom fear of becoming an outcast and not being liked by would triumph. The story reflects a mix of others. Remember, what others think of us matters loyalty and defiance in the face of power little in the eyes of God as long as our focus is on and a belief in a better, promised future. Him! This is a good place to mention the importance of the Church community. Memory verse activity: Hide the pieces of paper with the verse on it around the room before this part begins... What is something you own that is very important to you? (Take several answers.) How do you protect or take care of these important things? How would you feel if someone took them from you? We guard and protect those things that are important to us. 6  FEARLESS FAITH: DANIEL AND THE THREE HOLY YOUTHS’ BRAVERY IN BABYLON Choose one volunteer and give him a bean bag. Let’s pretend that this bean bag is a very important treasure. How would you guard it? Now let’s pretend that in a moment everyone in this room was going to try to take your treasure away. What would you do? How would you protect it? But what if suddenly the door opened and the biggest, strongest man in our church came into our classroom to be your bodyguard and to keep your treasure safe. Would that help? God has given us a “guard”—something very powerful that can protect us from doing bad things. What do you think this “guard” is? Let’s find out...Choose six volunteers. In this room, there are five bright yellow pieces of paper. Each piece has part of today’s key verse on it. They are lying all around the room. Your job is to find these and to bring them to me. But you only have one minute...ready, set, go! If a student has trouble finding one, give a hint. If the time runs out and one or two of them haven’t been found, go ahead and bring everyone back and let your group try to figure out the missing parts of the verse. Then retrieve the missing pages. Once all the parts of the verse are in order, have the kids line up in the correct order and read the verse to your students. Have them repeat the verse after you. Does anyone know where this verse is found in the Bible? (Psalm 119:11) God gave us the Bible as a guide to help keep us away from sin. It is powerful and is a guard for our hearts. But notice that the verse doesn’t say, “I have carried Your Word in my hand...” Or, “I have carried Your Word to my church...” It says, I have HIDDEN Your Word in my HEART.” When you put God’s Word in your heart, it becomes a guard for you to protect you. Word Salad: ❖ The children are ready for their meal! Print the printable attached to the lesson for each child and cut out the vegetables. ❖ Give each child a plate full of the papers. Each paper will contain one word from the verse. Children must unscramble the words to correctly form the verse, and see who can finish fastest. 7