Love.Care.Communicate. Daniel 1

As we beginning a new year, and a new decade, I think it will be good to remember our mission statement for Lakeside Christian Church and Loft youth ministry, which is to Love God, Care for People and Communicate His Word. This is why we exist, but often I forget to remind our group, because we all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and can forget to get back to the basics.

“Our mission to Love comes from Jesus’ words, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).  Our mission to Care comes from Jesus’ words “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).  And our mission to Communicate comes from Jesus’ words “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20a). 

Love describes our upward journey of personal relationship and corporate worship of God.  Care describes our inward journey of authentic community and loving accountability with one another.  And Communicate describes our outward journey of sharing the gospel to the whole person, body and soul, to the whole world.” – excerpt taken from Lakeside 101 notes that we give out to those interested in becoming new members.

Because we took Love, Care, and Communicate straight from the words of Christ, I believe we see this theme throughout Scripture. This series we will examine the life of Daniel in the first 6 chapters of the book of Daniel and see how Daniel and his friends exemplify how to love, care and communicate.

Daniel 1 – LOVE

“Love describes our upward journey of personal relationship and corporate worship of God.” – Lakeside 101 

Read Matthew 22:37-38

What does it mean to love the Lord with all your heart?

With all your soul?

With all your mind?

According to Deuteronomy 6:4-5, hearing and obeying God’s law is evidence of our love for Him. Consider James 1:22 as an act of Love.

Read Daniel 1

How did Daniel demonstrate His love for God in chapter 1?

From reading chapter 1:8, why did Daniel make this resolution?

Do you think God was pleased with Daniel decisions? Why or why not?

ACT - How can we Love?: In reading about and studying Daniel’s love for God, what is something simple you can do this week to grow in your love for God?

Daniel 1 – CARE

“Care describes our inward journey of authentic community and loving accountability with one another.” – Lakeside 101

Read Matthew 22:39

What does it mean when it says, “as you love yourself”?

How do you love your neighbor as yourself?

Read 1 John 4:19-21

What’s the source of our love for others?

How did God demonstrate His love for His enemies (Romans 5:8)?

Why is it important the we learn to love our “brother whom” we see?

Read Daniel 1

What indicators do we see that Daniel Cared/Loved his brothers?

What do you learn about Daniel’s community?

How did Daniel serve (support, encourage, provide an example for) His community?

ACT - How can we Care?: In reading about and studying Daniel’s Care for people, what is something simple you can do this week to grow in your love for your neighbor?

Daniel 1 – COMMUNICATE

“Communicate describes our outward journey of sharing the gospel to the whole person, body and soul, to the whole world.”  – Lakeside 101

Read Matthew 28:18-20

By whose authority do we communicate? And how much authority does He have?

To whom are we supposed to Communicate?

What does “Communicate” look like specifically from these verses?  

Read Matthew 5:16

What light does this shed on our mission to Communicate?

Read Daniel 1

How did Daniel Communicate his faith in this chapter?

To whom did he communicate with?

What was the result of his boldness?

ACT – How can we Communicate?: In reading and studying about Daniel’s Communication, what is one simple way we can communicate this week?

Remember the context of Daniel’s life. Babylonians came and destroyed his home and took him and his friends away from family, friends and the place of worship. Essentially he was kidnapped and taken to a foreign land.

Anyone would understand if he would have been mad at God, blamed God or even denied God. For so many people today, when life doesn’t go according to plan, they walk away from God. They deny God, or become so angry with Him that they miss the opportunity of seeing what God is doing.

Daniel’s love for God was bigger than the current circumstance. Not only did he not deny his faith, but he was embolden by his love to not defile himself with the dietary laws. Daniel did not resist being taken away, he did not resist being given a Babylonian name, he did not resist going to Babylonian schools, but he did resist breaking God’s dietary law. His love for God caused him to resolve to take a stand.

In the true spirit of 1 Peter 3:15, Daniel respectfully communicates with the Chief Eunuch, the steward of the captives, and asks permission to change his meal plan to one that follows God’s commandments. The steward was nervous, so Daniel met him in the middle and asked for a test, which he consented to.

This is what’s interesting, we see Daniel has three friends who jump on board this risky proposition. Daniel had a small group of friends and they cared for one another. This godly community encouraged each other to bravely stand up and stand out for their faith.

God rewarded Daniel and his three friends for their love for Him and love for each other. Their faith created an opportunity for the Chief of Eunuchs to see that their God honored them and laid the foundation for future conversations. Daniel and his three friend’s love for God and care for each other propelled them to positions of power that would further their opportunity to communicate God’s word to a new culture.

Never underestimate the power of a sincere love for God, a committed care group and being bold in communicating God’s love to this world. One stand today can lead to a life time of opportunities to share God with others.