SF Family Summer Bible Study: The Book of Daniel
Why Daniel? What does ancient Babylon and a handful of Hebrews have to do with us in a modern, high-tech world?
This Sunday, July 16, begins our Summer Bible Study. I am very excited to spend the rest of the summer in a close study of the book of Daniel.
The book of Daniel meets us where we are in history, living in a culture rapidly drifting away from our biblical God and forcing many of us to wonder what our response needs to be. John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, and an internationally renowned speaker on the interface of science, philosophy and religion, agrees that Daniel is increasingly becoming recognized as the handbook for living in a culture that does not share our understanding of God, the values, and customs that have governed our nations in the West—something that has already happened. It is no exaggeration to say we will be affected by this worldwide radical shift.
This Sunday, we’ll look more at his insightful book, Against the Flow: The Inspiration of Daniel in an Age of Relativism. Come and discover what it means for us to live as Christians in a post-Christian world.
Our study will be primarily based on Daniel: A 12-Week Study (Knowing the Bible). Daniel has all the makings of a great story: memorable characters, cliff-hanging moments, and incredible visions. Yet we miss the point if we pay more attention to Daniel’s story than Daniel’s God. In this helpful study, readers will see how this fascinating biblical book ultimately points to the sovereign Lord of history, who rules over all earthly kingdoms and whose plans cannot be thwarted. The author is Cambridge professor Dr. Todd Wilson. Todd received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University and is the president and co-founder of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
Bring your Bibles, and look forward to a lively conversation about how this affects every aspect of our lives and why we cannot continue to do what we’ve always done.
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About Against the Flow: The inspiration of Daniel in an age of relativism – Daniel’s story is one of extraordinary faith in God lived out at the pinnacle of executive power. It tells of four teenage friends, born in the tiny state of Judah about twenty-six centuries ago, but captured by Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of Babylon. Daniel describes how they eventually rose to the top echelons of administration. Daniel and his friends did not simply maintain their private devotion to God; they maintained a high-profile witness in a pluralistic society antagonistic to their faith. That is why their story has such a powerful message for us. Society tolerates the practice of Christianity in private and in church services, but it increasingly deprecates public witness. If Daniel and his compatriots were with us today they would be in the vanguard of the public debate. What was it that gave that ancient foursome, Daniel and his three friends, the strength and conviction to be prepared, often at great risk, to swim against the flow?
-Photo by Ben Burkhardt on Unsplash
