Daniel: Dealing with Peer Pressure
For 7th grade cell groups
Main point: Not Conforming, but Still Connecting
Overview
· Daniel is a young Jewish man in the darkest time in Israel’s history. God had finally said enough was enough and he let them get taken over by Babylon. Daniel is one of the captives taken into the palace to be trained as a royal official, which means he will have the most powerful people in the world telling him to conform to their ways of idol worship. However, he trusts that God’s opinion is the one that really matters, which means he sees God come through in some amazing ways.
· See this teaching, http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=1036, for more introductory material on the life of Daniel.
· Daniel is known both for the heroism of his faith and for the awe-inspiring prophecies that God communicated through him. This series will only focus on the former, leaving the latter to a series on apologetics.
· The three stories are similar, but be sure to hit the main points hard each time!
Rough outlines
1. God’s Way or the World’s Way? (Daniel 1)
· Main point: Do what God is calling you to do, no matter how unpopular (1:8)
· Read the story and then draw connections between Daniel’s situation and theirs:
o 1:1-3 Wondering where God is during hard times
o 1:4-7 Pressured to conform
§ “Literature” in v. 4 is about idol worship
§ Discussion Question: How are students today pressured to conform?
§ World System- Satan’s mold for squeezing you: 1 John 2:15-16
· Lust of Flesh- seeking pleasure (DQ- Examples?)
· Lust of Eyes- seeking possessions (DQ- Examples?)
· Pride of Life- seeking praise (DQ- Examples?)
o 1:8 Daniel was determined. This was important because of Jewish dietary laws that don’t apply today.
§ [Antithesis] What would happen if Daniel hadn’t really made up his mind about sticking with God’s instruction? What happens to us when we enter our school week thinking, “Maybe I’ll follow God this week I guess...”?
o 1:9-14 Daniel rebels, but with a Godly rebellion—respectful rebellion.
§ DQ- How do we avoid the two extremes of being conformed to the world on the one hand and being a weirdo on the other?
o 1:15-21 God came through! He always comes through when we take risks for him.
§ Especially true with opening ourselves up to God to receive Christ [GOSPEL]
· Application IDEAS
· Think of particular areas of temptation to conformity with the world for your cell group and talk through the specifics of how to be a Godly rebel (e.g. pressured to live for money, gossiping, etc.).
2. The Fiery Furnace: Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-nego Refuse to Bow (Daniel 3)
· Main point: Refuse to bow to a false god
· Intro Question: What does it mean to worship something? What things do teenagers today worship?
· Narrate the story colorfully as you go! Build up the intensity of the story!
o Read 3:1-6, explain and discuss: what are the penalties today for not worshipping the things of the world?
o Read 3:7-15 (multiple readers) highlighting 1) what it would be like to remain standing when everyone around you bows, and 2) what it would be like to stand before the most powerful man in the world and have him threaten to burn you alive
o Read 3:16-18. They were both respectful to the king AND they took a stand at the same time! How can we do the same? What if we mess up in one or the other? (These two extremes are the antitheses.)
§ GOSPEL- he is able to save us- this is why we can take a stand in this life, b/c through Jesus we can be confident about the next
o Read 3:19-27 (multiple readers). God comes through when we trust him. We’re not sure if this is Jesus or an angel in the furnace, but God is with us when we trust him, especially when we take heat for trusting him.
o Read 3:28-30
· Application IDEAS
o DON’T judge or condemn your worldly friends when they are inappropriate, but DO take a stand when they are being cruel to someone.
o Students worship social status. Bowing down to it means avoiding being associated with losers at all costs. Be like Jesus! Rebel and love the people others reject.
o People worship money/career. Bowing down to it means planning your life around how to get the most money (like most people do).
3. The Lion’s Den: Daniel Refuses to Give Up Praying (Daniel 6)
· Main point: Keep following God when you are pressured to stop
· Intro: Say, “Raise your hand if you are a conformist.” Probably none will; point out that they were all looking around to see how the others would answer! The point is that we all struggle with a desire to conform, but there are times when we have to decide between God or the crowd.
· Narrate the story colorfully as you go! Build up the intensity of the story!
o Read 6:1-5. Re-explain Daniel’s situation as a captive political leader and discuss: what kind of person is Daniel? If he has to take a stand for God, how will his past behavior help him?
o Read 6:6-9. What do you think these guys are up to?
o Read 6:10-16. How is the king acting? Why do you think he’s acting that way? How would you be feeling if you were Daniel?
o Read 6:17-23. God comes through when we trust him! Just like with the diet of vegetables in ch. 1 and the furnace in ch. 3, God comes through.
o Read 6:24-28. (Comment on vs. 24: God is not okay with what Darius did here. The Bible often describes what people do but doesn’t always say if it was good or evil.) Look at vs. 26-27: how does knowing what God is like help us to trust him?
§ Give GOSPEL from 26-27: Kingdom set up by Christ (the king) through the cross; he rescues and saves people when we receive Christ.
· Antithesis: Giving into pressure; being so wild/gossipy/lazy/whatever that when you try to take a stand for God, people think that’s just an excuse for you to do what you want.
· Application IDEAS
o Take a stand and be a man/woman of PRAYER! Need to prioritize it and make room in our schedule, because our world, like Daniel’s, tells us not to. (Discuss how.)
o Tell someone about Jesus even if you think they will reject you. They’ll thank you later!