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Daniel 6:3

“Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, ‘We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.’ Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to  the  king  and  spoke  to  him  as  follows:  ‘King  Darius,  live  forever!  All  the  commissioners  of  the  kingdom,  the  prefects  and  the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  which  may  not  be  revoked.’  Therefore  King  Darius  signed  the  document,  that  is,  the  injunction.  Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, ‘Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?’ The king replied, ‘the statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.’ Then they answered and spoke before the king, ‘Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.’ Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, ‘Recognize, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.’ Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, ‘Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.’”

Proverbs 1:33

“But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

How do you relate to Daniel in 21st Century teenage life?

(Personal Answer)

What false idols are you tempted to bow down to, and how do you honor God by not yielding to the temptation?

(Personal Answer)

Daniel 6:19-23

“Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?’ Then Daniel spoke to the king, ‘O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch I was found innocent before Him and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.’ Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”

Proverbs 2:1-6

“My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; They you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

How does Daniel inspire you to live before God?

(Personal Answer)

What is Proverbs saying about achieving such a goal?

“It brought glory to God, because it allowed God to come through for Daniel.  Daniel could have easily submitted to the King’s wishes to eat his food and drink his wine, but he didn’t and God blessed Daniel in appearance.  Daniel could have easily submitted to the king’s decree and not prayed to God for 30 days, but he didn’t and God delivered Daniel from the mouth of lions’.  It was because of Daniel’s unwavering faith and dedication to the Lord that God used to display His glory in mighty ways.”

Daniel 6:25-27

“Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: “May your peace abound! I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;” Proverbs 2:7-22“He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; Discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things; from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; Who delight in doing evil and rejoice in the perversity of evil; whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways; to deliver you from the strange woman, from the adulteress who flatters with her words; That leaves the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for the house sinks down to death and her tracks lead to the dead; None who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of righteous. For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous will be uprooted from it. “

How did Daniel’s quest for purity, dedication and unwavering loyalty bring glory to God?

“It brought glory to God, because it allowed God to come through for Daniel.  Daniel could have easily submitted to the King’s wishes to eat his food and drink his wine, but he didn’t and God blessed Daniel in appearance.  Daniel could have easily submitted to the king’s decree and not prayed to God for 30 days, but he didn’t and God delivered Daniel from the mouth of lions’.  It was because of Daniel’s unwavering faith and dedication to the Lord that God used to display His glory in mighty ways.“

How is God using you today to do the same?

(Personal Answer)

How do you want him to use you tomorrow?

(Personal Answer)

APPLICATION:

How do these passages relate to me today? What changes does it bring to my life? 

LOCKER ROOM: 

What is the most difficult thing you have ever faced? How did you deal with it?

MEMORY VERSE:

Daniel 1:8  

“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permis-sion from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.”

MY PRAYER

Adoration: Father, today I praise You for…

Confession: Father, please forgive me for…

Thanksgiving: Father, today I’m thankful for…

Supplication: Father, the people and things that I wish to pray for today are…

Mark these Key Words: Sin, God, Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:19

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” 

What does the “temple of the Holy Spirit” mean?

It means the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.  In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit was within the temple, and had a specific room called the holy of holies in which he dwelled.  After Jesus came and gave His life for us on the cross, He took our sin and we became the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).  It was because of this act that we became the new “temple” and dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:20

“For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

With what price did God purchase your body?

God purchased us through the death of His son on the Cross.

1 Corinthians 6:18

“Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body?”  

What is God saying when He says, “the immoral man sins against his own body?”

God is saying that immorality is against your own body, and ultimately sinning against the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. 

Why is sexual immorality worse than other sins?

Sexual sin is worse because it is against the human body; Christians are committing the sin against the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

John 8:34

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin…’”   

How does sin enslave you?

Everyone is a slave in the spiritual sense. We are either slaves to sin, which is our natural state, or we are slaves to Christ.  When Christ died on the Cross for our sins He paid the penalty, and allowed us to become slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18) instead of sin.

1 Corinthians 6:12

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”  

What is God saying in this passage?

God is saying that we have been set free from the law!  Therefore, we have the freedom to take part in “all things”, but due to our sin nature and love for Christ, we abstain from certain things to show our reverence and love for Jesus and to not be mastered by anything. 

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”

If sanctification means to be “set apart” for God’s honor and glory, what is this passage urging you to do with your “vessel” (your body)?

This passage is urging us to be set apart, and abstain from sexual immorality.  We must do whatever it takes to set our vessels apart for holiness (Hebrews 12:1).

APPLICATION:

How do these passages relate to me today? What changes does it bring to my life? 

LOCKER ROOM: 

What does God’s Word say is the reason for purity?

MEMORY VERSE:

1 Corinthians 6:12

 “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”

MY PRAYER

Adoration: Father, today I praise You for…

Confession: Father, please forgive me for…

Thanksgiving: Father, today I’m thankful for…

Supplication: Father, the people and things that I wish to pray for today are…

Mark these Key Words: Servant, Savior, Divine

2 Peter 1:1-11

“Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted unto us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who call us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

(Verse 3) What is the “true knowledge of him?”

The answer is in vs. 1-2 = Christ gives us everything pertaining to life and godliness.

(Verse 4) What does it mean to be a “partaker of His divine nature?”

To partake means to live in the design of God.  Fleeing sin, pursuing righteousness, and loving others.

Mark these Key Words: Death, Reborn, Renewed, Transform

Just as a caterpillar weaves itself into a cocoon and dies inside his self-made coffin, a truly converted follower dies to his “old self.” Likewise, as the DNA of the caterpillar deteriorates and reconstructs itself into the DNA of a majestic butterfly, so the new believer becomes a brand new creation in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

What is a “new creation”?

New = Christ’s work on your behalf

Old = your sin and life outside of Christ

Compare your personal experience as a “new creation in Christ.”

We should see growth in the life of a new creation in Christ.  We should see growth not just in action, but in belief and knowledge of God.

Mark these Key Words: Discipleship, Faithful, Multiplication

Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

“Famous last words”…history’s most famous last words! Why do you believe Jesus “saved His best for last?”

We learn that the heart of God is directly connected with discipling people not in our name, but in the name of Jesus.

Like an explanation mark at the end of a sentence to provide an enthusiastic conclusion; what does this verse say to you today? 

First = Go! Second = Make!  Third = Doing it in Jesus’ name, not in your name.

2 Timothy 2:20-22

“Now in a large hours there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

What is a “vessel for honor” when talking about your body according to this passage?

A vessel of honor is a vessel that “cleanses himself from these things.”

What activities need to be avoided to maintain your body as a “vessel of honor?” What activities need to be encouraged?

Avoid youthful lust and encourage a pursuit of righteous, faith, love and peace.

Proverbs 23:31-35

“Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things and your mind will utter perverse things. And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, or like one who lies down on the top of a mast. They struck me, but I did not become ill; they beat me, but I did not know it. When shall I awake? I will seek another drink.” 

What is the warning here?

It is a warning against drunkenness.

Name three reasons drinking alcohol is a bad decision.

• Can lead to fornication
• Causes others to stumble
• Impairs judgment

Ephesians 5:18

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…” ”

How does the Holy Spirit fill you?

The Spirit fills us through faith, and dwells within us.

How does the Holy Spirit empower you to say no?

As the Holy Spirit dwells within us He acts as our helper and guide to assist us in our battle against sin.

John 16:8, 13

“And He (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come…”

How does the Holy Spirit guide you?

 He convicts us and guides us into all truth.

APPLICATION:

How do these passages relate to me today? What changes does it bring to my life? 

LOCKER ROOM: 

What is your greatest temptation and how are you overcoming it?

MEMORY VERSE:

1 Corinthians 6:9 

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own.”

MY PRAYER

Adoration: Father, today I praise You for…

Confession: Father, please forgive me for…

Thanksgiving: Father, today I’m thankful for…

Supplication: Father, the people and things that I wish to pray for today are…

Mark these Key Words: New, Renewed, Transformed

The absolutely unexplainable scientific miracle that atheists and evolutionists cannot begin to understand or fit into theory of godless evolutionary biology is the marvelous wonder of metamorphosis through which a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly or moth. Careful study of this mysterious process reveals that the caterpillar weaves for itself a tiny coffin (cocoon or chrysalis) in which it dies. In a matter of hours, the caterpillar’s very DNA develops into the basic molecules from which its DNA was formed. Yet, somehow in this process of complete decomposition there is a “dream” on a destiny inside that tiny casket of a sense of a “new creation”; a moth or butterfly in no way similar to the furry little crawling creature from which that moth or butterfly originated. The original creation dies and deteriorates at the molecular level and somehow “knows” how to reestablish itself into a majestic winged creature that from the first minutes of regeneration knows how to soar in the wind never to return to its lowly journey in the dirt of its pre-existing life.

The New Testament uses the same words to describe the transformation of a non-believer in Jesus to a converted believer in Jesus.  Let’s study how the bible describes this magnificent  process in which the “old “ has passed away and behold the new has come.

Ephesians 4:22-24

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

What does it mean to be “renewed in the spirit of your mind?”

Renew means to “begin something again.”  In other words, God is giving us a new beginning; He outlines a new way to think and act in scripture and in order to live that out we must fill our minds and hearts with the words of the Bible.

Describe how you have “laid aside the “old self” in the past 12-24 months.

Personal Answer

Describe the “new self” that you have seen emerging in yourself over the past year or two.

Personal Answer

TRANSFORMATION (Metamorphosis – true grace transforms)

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

No matter what, you and I mess up. What is one area of your life that you want God to make new?

Remind them that in Christ they are already new!  So they can stop choosing the old self now.  They are free to run away from sin.

Mark these Key words: Future, Providing, Sovereign

Psalm 103:19

“The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.”

Daniel 7:27 (b)

“His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.”

Daniel 4:17

“This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers and the decision is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men.” 

Daniel 4:35

“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?”

Why is this core characteristic of God monumental in your personal faith experience?

These verses point to the sovereignty of God.  When we see He is in control of all, we can rest that surely He is in control of our lives as well.

Mark these Key Words: Ambassador, Disciples, Imitate

2 Corinthians 5:20

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled for Christ.” 

What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ?

Ambassador: greek: prosbeuo = aged.

Elder, representative, ambassador.  Sounds like being an image bearer (Genesis 1:26-27). 

Being an ambassador is appealing to the world for God.

How does an “ambassador” represent the one he portrays?

According to this verse it starts with being “reconciled to God.”  But an ambassador should accurately portray the full and true picture of who they portray.  Do you do that?