People of the Bible: Daniel

Bible Story: Book of Daniel

Who was Daniel?

Background:

• Daniel and his friends; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, along with thousands of other Israelites had been exiled to Babylon.

• King Nebuchadnezzar oppressed God’s people and attempted to conform them to Babylonian culture.

We pick up early in Daniel’s story. He and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been selected to undergo a three-year training period in Babylonian culture. This included everything from learning a new language to eating new foods. Unfortunately, the new foods they were offered we considered “unclean”. Eating these “unclean” foods would have defiled them and separated them from God.

So, instead of eating these foods, the men decided to only eat vegetables and drink water. At first, the guards were worried that Daniel and his friends would become weak. But before long, Daniel and his friends proved to be stronger than everyone else. Because of this, they were promoted and held high positions in the nation. God blessed them because they stayed faithful.

Daniel’s position and rank continued to increase the longer he lived. He had God’s favor in his life. He interpreted dreams and visions for the king which led to even greater prosperity. But eventually, people grew jealous of Daniel and the amount of favor in his life.

When a new king took the throne, the people convinced him to make a law where people could only pray to him. Anyone who prayed to anyone or anything besides the king would be thrown into a lion's den. The people did this because they knew Daniel was faithful and prayed to God every day. When Daniel heard the news of the new law the first thing he did was pray like he always had.

The people that were jealous of Daniel caught him praying and brought him to the king. The king liked Daniel but was required to throw him into the lions’ den because his law was irreversible.

Daniel was thrown in the lions’ den and everyone thought the lions would kill him. But the next morning the rock that was covering the den was removed and Daniel walked out unharmed. God had shut the mouths of the lions and saved Daniel because he was faithful. Then the people who were jealous of Daniel were thrown into the den and the lions ate them before they even reached the bottom.

In the account of Daniel, we see that God rewards faithfulness. Daniel got into trouble for obeying and following God. But because Daniel was faithful, God got him out of trouble.

We see a similar thing happen with Jesus. Jesus was faithful to God but people didn’t understand him. They had him killed and put in a tomb. But just like in Daniel’s story, the rock that sealed Jesus’s tomb was rolled away and Jesus walked out. And now we get to live resurrected lives with Jesus when we accept what he did for us.

Key Takeaways:

• Stay Faithful to the Lord

• Pray First in every situation

• Pray God’s Favor on your life & your children's lives

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Daniel this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Jeremiah

Books: Jeremiah & Lamentations

Who was Jeremiah?

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He’s given this name because he mourned for the nation of Israel and it’s upcoming destruction. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet right before the Babylonians would come destroy the city and exile its inhabitants. Jeremiah questioned his call initially due to his young age but God affirmed the call in Jeremiah 1:5 by stating that God had set Jeremiah apart and had always planned to use him.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

-Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)

God told Jeremiah to warn the people that their rebellion would lead to their demise. He offered to relent from this punishment if they repented but the people failed to turn back to God. Part of the reason Jeremiah mourned was because he could see the upcoming destruction, and he pleaded with the people to change, but they refused.

Jeremiah prophesied gloom and doom. But there were many false prophets who said they were speaking for the Lord when God had not sent them. These false prophets were prophesying prosperity for Israel and the people chose to listen to them rather than Jeremiah. Later we learn that because of Israel’s rebellion and unwillingness to repent, destruction did come. What Jeremiah prophesied about came true.

Destruction came upon Israel like never before, but Jeremiah’s prophecy about punishment was paired with prophecy about hope in the future. Part of God’s punishment was to get the Israelites' attention and bring them back to himself. In the midst of chaos, God gives them a promise for a good future. God will eventually give them their land back and reestablish them as a nation, but first, God’s punishment on the nation must be released.

Here we see God’s judgement for sin, but also his mercy in giving His people new hope.

This hope was fulfilled partially when Israel was reestablished, but we saw it further fulfilled through Jesus. Jesus is who gives us all hope today. Because of His death for our sins and His resurrection, we can escape the judgment for our sins and live in heaven with Him for eternity. The world will one day experience God’s final wrath, but those who profess faith in Jesus will not experience this wrath. Instead, those people will live in His new mercy forever and ever.

Key Takeaways:

• We see the importance of LISTENING when God SPEAKS in Jeremiah's life

• Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. His prophecy was about punishment paired with prophecy about hope in the future for the children of Israel.

• There is HOPE because God sent JESUS & His word is TRUE

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Jeremiah this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Isaiah

Who was Isaiah?

• He was a prophet around the year 700 BC

• His name means “God is salvation”

• He spoke some concerning Israel but mostly Judah (The Southern Kingdom)

• He was known for his prophecies about Jesus

Isaiah was in the position of prophet for about 50-60 years. He served in this role while Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah served as kings of Judah. During this time, Israel and Judah were in great distress. The nation of Israel had already been divided into a northern and southern kingdom, and they were facing threats from outside enemies constantly. God used Isaiah to spread the word on why these things were happening, what they could do to stop it, and what the world would be like in the future.

Isaiah’s message was for Judah to repent of their sins and turn to God. Judah followed Israel into sin instead of setting themselves apart and living for God. They made idols for themselves and turned their backs on God. Because of this, God sent judgement and told Isaiah to share this news to give them a chance to return before further punishment ensued.

Isaiah also prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. Jesus would not be born for about 700 more years, but his predictions are incredibly accurate. So much so, that Jesus often quoted from the book of Isaiah when it came to telling people why it is that he was sent to the earth.

Isaiah was concerned about the salvation of Judah, but in a wider sense, he was concerned about the salvation of all of God’s people. Today we know that salvation comes through Jesus because he died as an eternal sacrifice for our sins. Through his death and resurrection we are given the chance to return to God and accept his salvation.

Isaiah also makes prophecies about the second coming of Jesus and we know that these are going to be accurate because all the rest of the predictions in his book are strikingly accurate. We can trust in his words because it is the Word of God and has been proven to be correct over and over again. Know this, God always keeps his promises. We see this over and over in His Word, the Bible, and it still remains true today.

Key Takeaways:

• Turn to God

• Jesus gives salvation

• God keeps his promises

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Isaiah this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.