Sermon Notes

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;  from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”

Daniel’s vision ends with…GOD IS COMING TO MAKE THIS RIGHT!

A law is constructed to entrap and ensnare a person or persons personal beliefs and practices.  In this case, it is Daniel’s worship practices towards God against the popular Persian gods and accepted cultural practices.  This has happened before…

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by a Power greater than Himself.  Nebuchadnezzar had an ego that needed to be put in check

Now there are some Jews, ones you appointed to administer the province of Babylon—specifically, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored your command. They don’t serve your gods, and they don’t worship the gold statue you’ve set up.”

The Book of Daniel is more about the nightmare of tomorrow that haunted the Jewish people day in and day out.  This book counsels about living one day at a time and trusting God but exercising our faith about the future.

ossessions here on earth are temporary and too many times we make them seem important when Jesus says that they don’t.  He bases his perspective on a very infamous Old Testament character.  Who is that character?