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Daniel 3

Key s to Liv i ng a S uc c es s ful Chris ti a n Li fe i n a P a ga n Worl d 3. BE

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Bi$le Passage: Daniel 2: 12-19, 48, 49 Bi$le "ruth: Daniel had close relationships of mutual support with other who shared his faith. Lesson O$%ective& hat students seek !hristian friendships, in which the" gi#e and recei#e support. What you need: copies of $autograph hunt$ handout, pencils, chalk%oard or large white paper to write on and something to write with O'ening: &and out the sheet $autograph hunt$ and pencils to the students, read the instructions out loud, and gi#e them a few minutes to do it. 'hen someone has gotten all of the signatures or when the designated time has finished, ha#e e#er"one return to their seats. !ongratulate the students who got the most signatures. hen ha#e each student share with the group one new thing the" learned a%out someone else in the group.
Even though we see each other on a regular basis, as we've just seen there is a lot we don't know about each other. Today we are going to be learning another key from the life of Daniel to help us live successful Christian lives in the non Christian world that surrounds us! the importance of being in community, of having relationships of mutual support and encouragement with other Christians. The first step to having these relationships is for us to get to know each other. The second step is to learn to trust each other.

Interactive Learning: rust !ircle. (reak the students into groups with a minimum of ) people per group. !hoose one person from each group to stand in the center and the others sit on the floor in a tight circle around him, placing their feet around the ankles of the person in the middle. he person standing in the middle of the circle crosses their arms across their chest, stiffens their %od" and falls %ackwards. *t is #er" important to emphasi+e that the pla"er in the middle must keep his feet together and must remain #er" stiff. *f he or she %ends at the waist the" will fall %ecause the group cannot support the person, he people in the circle work together to catch the person and pass him %ack and forth around the circle. -ncourage se#eral students to take a turn, then ha#e them go %ack to their seats and ask:

Those of you who were in the middle, what did it feel like to fall into your group members hands" #ow did those of you supporting the one in the center feel" $n this activity how necessary were the others in your group" %hen have you needed to rely on your friends or other believers"

&et's look together at a time when Daniel needed to rely on his friends and see what he did.

Bi$le (''lication:
%e're not e'actly sure how old Daniel was when he started his training in the palace of (ebuchadne))ar, king of *abylon, but he probably wasn't too much older than many of you. $'m sure he struggled with many of the same things you struggle with, like peer pressure from classmates whose beliefs are different than yours. %e've already seen that Daniel is a great role model for us in that he was willing to go against the pressure of society and keep himself pure and that he took initiative and put his faith in +od into action. Today we are going to see that Daniel did not live a successful Christian life all alone. #e had close relationships of mutual support with others who worshiped +od. ,ur third key to living a successful Christian life in a pagan world is -*e in Community.- ['rite this across the top of the chalk%oard]

%e have already meet Daniel's friends #ananiah, .ishael, and /)ariah or as they were called in *abylonian, 0hadrach, .eshach, and /bed (ego in chapter 1 when, like Daniel, they didn't eat the food from the king's table. %hat does that tell us about the kind of people they were" .get se#eral answers from
the students. /ummari+e them or write on the %oard the answer that is the closest to this: $people who lo#e and o%e" 0od$ 1

The first important thing about being in community is that this community must be made up of people who not only call themselves Christians but who really try to glorify +od with their lives.

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Daniel 3

2sk a student to read aloud Daniel 2: 12-19.

2erse 13 tells us the specific reason Daniel went and talked to his friends, what was that reason"

%e see here that these friends we not just people that Daniel hung out with, but they were people he knew he could depend on, people who not only cared about him but would turn that feeling into action, the action of praying. .'rite on the %oard $support and pra"er$1 %e don't have the time right now to do an in depth study about prayer but $ just want to make two comments here. 4irst, prayer is not trying to bribe or manipulate +od. $nstead, by means of prayer +od has given us a way to participate in his plan for the world. /s we talked about last week! +od's plan was not for Daniel to die, but for this crisis to be a great opportunity to glorify #imself and to bring blessing into Daniel's life. +od created the world in such a way that he gives us the joy of knowing that our prayers affect what happens in the world. 0econd, the *ible indicates that there is more power when two or more believers are united in prayer. 3ead

4t. 18:19, 25.

0o we've seen that Daniel was part of a community of believers who supported each other and prayed for each other and that +od blessed them. There is one last thing we want to learn from this passage. 2sk

someone to read Daniel 2:48, 49.

#ow did Daniel treat his friends after the king promoted him to a very important position" 6#. 497 .after a

few responses, point out that the relationship and support was mutual and write on the %oard $mutual$ in front of where "ou ha#e written $support and pra"er$1
$t may be that you are thinking, -$ would really like to be in the kind of community where people care about me and pray for me, but no one around me is like that.- %ell, there is a saying, -to have a friend, be a friend.- Take just a moment to think, -%ho in my life do $ pray for and support 8$.gi#e them a moment to think1 / supportive community of Christians does not develop automatically. $t takes commitment, energy and prayer.

#ow can we apply to our lives and to our group these lessons we've learned from Daniel and his friends"

Co))it)ent: *n order to %egin strengthening the sense of communit" in the group, ha#e the students %reak into groups of three and turn their chairs to form small circles. -9plain that each person in the group will share their name, one thing the" thank 0od for, and one thing that the" are worried a%out. -mphasi+e that the pra"er re:uest must %e something in their life, it cannot %e for someone else, for e9ample ;< $4" 2unt =irginia is sick.$ 2fter each person has shared, ha#e the students pra" for the specific praise and re:uest of the person seated on their left. 'hen the students ha#e finished and are %ack seated in one group challenge them to remem%er to pra" for that person at least once during the coming week. Closing: &and each person a %lank piece of paper and a pencil and ask them to write their name on the top. !ollect the papers, shuffle them, and hand them out, making sure that no one has their own sheet. he goal of this acti#it" is for each student to end up with a piece of paper on which their classmates ha#e written compliments or positi#e statements a%out him or her. *f "ou ha#e more than 1> to 25 students, for the sake of time "ou could ha#e ten to fifteen students write on each sheet instead of e#er"one in the whole group. ell the students to write a compliment or something positi#e a%out the person whose name is on the top of the paper. 'hen the" finish, ha#e them pass that sheet to the left and write a compliment on the sheet the" recei#e from the person ne9t to them until e#er"one has had a chance to write something positi#e a%out e#er"one else in the group. hen collect them and gi#e each person the sheet with their name on it. !lose with a pra"er in which e#er"one is standing in a circle with their arms on the shoulders of the person ne9t to them pra"ing that 0od would make the group more of a supporti#e communit".

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Daniel 3

Find someone who matches each of these statements and have them sign your sheet next to the statement.
You can sign your own sheet once. No one may sign more than twice.
*****

I have met someone famous. _____________________

(Who? _____________________________ )

I play an instrument. ______________________

3 I became a Christian after I was 10 years old. _____________________ !y parents were not Christians when I became a Christian. _______________ " #ou and I live near each other. _____________________ $ !y birthday is this month. ____________________ % #ou and I are the same hei&ht. ____________________ ' #ou and I li(e the same type of music. ____________________ ) I don*t li(e ve&etables. ____________________ 10 #ou and I have the same number of letters in our name. __________________ 11 I wear &lasses. ____________________ 1+ I was born in another state. (write where). ____________________ 13 I have more than " brothers and sisters. ____________________ 1 I wear shoe si,e 13 or bi&&er. ____________________