We are spending four weeks looking at the book of Daniel. It tells the story of 4 Hebrew friends who were exiled from hime and taken into the Babylonian empire. There, they face a variety of tests to their faith, and as they overcome their challenges, they are honoured and rewarded.
13 November 2025: Daniel Part 1
As we begin our study of Daniel, we discover that the middle is written in Aramaic, while the beginning and the end are in Hebrew. We’re going to use this division to let us focus on the Aramaic part: chapters 2-7. This part has a beautful structure that helps us understand its meaning, and the purpose for which the book was written.
We begin in chapter 2, as Daniel is called to make sense of King Nebuchnezzar’s dream.
20 November 2025: Daniel Part 2
We move on to chapter 3, in which the three friends hold fast to their commitment to worship God alone. Will they survive the King’s anger? And what is the Bible’s suggested response to such challenges? Should we fight back, or passively resist and trust God to vindicate us?
27 November 2025: Daniel Part 3
This week we see the worst of humanity. The kings, Nebuchdnezzar and Belshazzar, allow their pride to rule them, and sink to sub-human levels. Neuchadnezzar literally so – living wild for a while as God shows him what arrogance can turn a person into.The message of chapters 4 & 5 is that human pride doesn’t elevate us, it abases us, reducing us to the level of beasts.