07 | Kingdom Come

07 | Kingdom Come

We’ve seen so much goodness in Daniel and the Boys, watching and learning from them how to navigate life in a world that is not our home. They’ve modeled a kind of faithful presence — in the city, for the city, but not of the city — that might be one of the most helpful biblical pictures for disciples in our current cultural context. This week we look back over the lessons we’ve learned, taking notes on how to live with a winsome faithfulness in our own corrupt and corrupting Babylon. We’ll end our study in Daniel by looking at the vision Daniel receives in chapter 7. And it is apocalyptic, in the best sense of the word: The curtain is pulled back and Daniel gets let in on the behind-the-scenes realities of the cosmos, complete with terrifying beasts and heavenly judgments. And while the details of the vision are hotly debated, the main point is so very clear: Jesus wins, and his people will be vindicated forever! 

1. Read Daniel 7. What seems clear? What seems fuzzy? What’s the main point?

2. How does Daniel respond to the vision in this chapter? How does this vision shape the rest of the book?

3. What difference does this vision make for us as we endeavor to be faithful to Jesus in our day?

4. Reflecting on our series in Daniel, what have you heard the Spirit saying? What is the Spirit leading you to do?
   

April 10, 2022 - Steve Hart

06 | Abide Hard

06 | Abide Hard

Another chapter brings another new king for Daniel to get to know, with another new set of rules to follow. While the satraps and officials play dirty, Daniel does the same thing he has always done: he gets down on his knees to pray. Conflict with the empire seems to be the norm for Daniel, as it is for every person living a life of “faithful presence”, but he has learned how to abide in the midst of the storm. He’s been getting his Daily Bread from the Father’s Table for decades, and that vibrant inner life with the Spirit is what empowers him to walk into the lion's den without a word of complaint. And while Daniel is praying, the world is watching... and God is working. As Exiles in our modern Babylon, we find ourselves in a similar situation with the insanity of our ever-changing social norms. Fortunately, we have access to the same power by the same Spirit.

1.  Read the narrative of Daniel 6. What stands out to you?

2. Can you remember a time when you’ve seen a clear line drawn between faithfulness to God or obedience to the world? 

3. What are the habits or practices we need in our context to keep our allegiance to Jesus and resist Babylon’s deforming influences?

4. What habits or practices might you commit to together as a community of exiles for those same purposes?
   

April 3, 2022 - Jon Schuler

05 | Humility and Sovereignty

05 | Humility and Sovereignty

One of the main themes of our Exiles series has been the sovereign working of God behind the scenes even when godless Babylon seems to be prospering unhindered, and in Daniel 5 Babylon’s self-glorying comes to a crescendo. Belshazzar throws himself a great drunken feast in mockery of God and his people. But it is the last straw, and God brings the king trembling to his knees. Daniel has been off-stage for about 30 years, working in obscurity, no longer at the center of the drama. But he’s remained faithful and ready, and when God opens a door of opportunity he’s able to step through it with boldness. Once again, humble faithfulness outlasts and overpowers the pomp and pride of godless Babylon.

1. Read the rapidly unfolding drama of Daniel 5. What stands out?

2. What similarities do you see between Babylon and our own western culture?

3. What does humble faithfulness look like as faith is increasingly pushed to the margins?

4. What about our culture makes faithfulness to Jesus and his way most challenging for you?
   

March 27, 2022 - Steve Hart

04 | Compassion and Proclamation

04 | Compassion and Proclamation

Daniel’s ongoing service and reputation grants him another opportunity to serve on the world stage. He is called on to interpret another troubling dream for the king of Babylon. Daniel is genuinely grieved when he hears the dream because he knows its interpretation: the king will be humbled, unless he repents. Daniel’s relationship & years of faithful presence allow him to speak boldly to the king. He actually wants good for the king. In love for Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel calls the king to repentance before God. With genuine hope and care, Daniel’s message is delivered with hopes that God might spare the king. Judgment and suffering do come, yet in the end through God’s mercy, it seems as if the king does indeed repent, is converted, and his kingdom and flourishing are restored. The pagan king turns into an evangelist, boldly proclaiming the wonders of the sovereign God of Daniel. As Exiles in our modern Babylon, we find ourselves in the shadows of powers that desire flourishing but are mixed up in troubling situations. We, like Daniel, are faced with certain opportunities to serve, care, and proclaim the wonders of a sovereign God. We do this in the margins with everyday locals, and on the main stage with powers and principalities. 

1. Read the full narrative of Daniel 4. 

2. What is King Nebuchadnezzar’s main message in his testimony? What does he want the reader to know about God?

3. While in exile, Daniel had obviously found favor with the King. Who do you currently have favor with?

4. Daniel served his city and the people in it (both exiles and pagans), bringing his gifts and risking his life for their flourishing. What ways can you serve Spokane?

5. Daniel develops deep care for the maniac king, to the point that his proclamation of judgment is wrapped in empathy.  This is a great example of love for our enemies. In what ways does this compel you to love those that are difficult to love?
   

March 20, 2022 - Gabe Shippam

03 | Know Your Lines

03 | Know Your Lines

Daniel and his friends are faithful Israelites, born and raised. But they are no longer in the Promised Land where daily life is governed by biblical morality and the broader culture is shaped by and encourages their faith. Instead, they’re surrounded by a cultural reality with which they feel deeply at odds, under a great deal of pressure to conform to the ways of Babylon while the consequences for holding faith and conviction are steadily increasing. And while we’re 2 millennia away from them, the parallels are remarkable: The West is increasingly post-Christian, resulting in a rapid rise in both a liberal secularism and conservative religionism. Disciples of Jesus are waking up to the reality that America is not our true home. We are Exiles here, sojourners in a land that we’ve been sent to and called to serve, but we do not belong to the American empire any more than Daniel belonged to Babylon. This posture—in the city, for the city, but not of the city—is what makes the church both faithful and winsome, even though the position is often costly. This week we look at Daniel 3, and talk about how and when to draw hard lines of conviction, particularly as the pressure to conform increases.

1. Read the full narrative of Daniel 3, focusing on v.16-18. What stands out?

2. What is the King demanding? What do the Chaldeans do in v.8-12?

3. What might be parallels for us today? Where do we feel pressure to bow to cultural idols?

4. How do the 3 faithful exiles respond? What is their stance? 

5. What does it look like to draw hard lines in our culture? Read 1 Peter 2.13-17.
   

March 13, 2022 - Steve Hart

02 | The Opportunity

02 | The Opportunity

Daniel 2 opens with King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the world, afraid, agitated, and paranoid from a series of bad dreams — and he’s ready for heads to roll, including those of the Jewish exiles. But Daniel doesn’t panic or picket; rather, he goes to his community of faithful exiles to seek mercy from God. This little band of faithful see themselves as sent to Babylon to seek the welfare of Babylon, and they do so in prayer, trusting the sovereignty of God and the plans he has for them. God reveals the dream to Daniel, who is then given the opportunity to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom to the King. As Exiles, we’re challenged to believe that God is sovereign over kings and kingdoms, that he’s bringing a final Kingdom in his Son, and that we are called to be a unique kind of counter-formation community within the Babylon in which we live. In order to resist the de-forming pressures of the empire, we need to form communities of prayer, revelation, rest and worship who see ourselves as sent to this city in this time for God’s kingdom purposes.

1. Read the full narrative of Daniel 2, and try to pay attention to the emotions involved for the King, wise men, and the exiles. What do you notice?

2. How does Daniel respond to the King’s decree of death for all the wise men? What can we learn in that?

3. Re-read v.17-24, and then read 1 Peter 2.9-10. What kind of community is described here?

4. To what degree do you have (and are we creating) the kind of community needed for life in Exile?

5. How might we strengthen our resolve to life-shaping community and everyday mission together?

6. The situation with King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2 is eerily Putin-like. Consider taking some time this week to pray for Ukraine. Check Slack #general for a letter from local Slavic pastors with ideas on how to pray.
   

March 6, 2022 - Steve Hart

01 | Exilic Imagination

01 | Exilic Imagination

Our Spring series will be rooted in the Old Testament book of Daniel. Daniel and his 3 friends are ripped out of the land of Israel and dragged into Babylon, the land of Israel’s greatest enemy. They’re re-homed, re-named, re-educated, and re-purposed as Babylon attempts to stamp out their Jewish identity and their allegiance to Yahweh. But God speaks a surprising word to his people: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf” (Jeremiah 29.7). So here’s the tension: These exiles must love and bless Babylon, but they must not be conformed to it; They must serve their enemies, but they cannot serve their gods; They must be among the Babylonians for the good of the Babylonians, all while maintaining their allegiance to God and their identity as his people. Our series will explore these tensions, looking at how the New Testament writers pick up this biblical theme of exile as a way to describe the Christian experience. This week we explore the de-forming influences of our own Babylon, discuss what faithfulness looks like, and celebrate the good news that Jesus is on his throne sovereignly orchestrating all of history for his glory and our joy!

1. Read Daniel 1 and 1 Peter 2.9-12. What parallels do you notice?

2. What are the de-forming influences - think narratives and perspectives - of our Babylon?

3. Where do you most feel the tension between allegiance to Jesus and the pressures of our culture?

4. Have you “resolved” like Daniel? If so, what does that look like? If not, what might it look like to do so?
   

February 27, 2022 - Steve Hart