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Well, the Christmas season is here, and we will spend the next few weeks in a series called: The Clash of the Kings. This week, we will see God’s hand of providence moving across time and space, from Daniel’s time to the time of Jesus’ birth. Just who were these “wise men”? Where did they come from, and why does Matthew include them in his telling of the Gospel?

This week we look at a text of Scripture that brings to the forefront, God’s judgment. This king we learned about last week, Belshazzar, uses his brief moment on the stage of history to do everything wrong that he possibly can. Sadly, in the plans and purposes of God, he stands as a “king” who influenced those around him in a bad way. He pays the ultimate price for his choices as the kingdom is lost. What can we learn from him? 

This week we will be diving into Daniel chapter 5 in our Brave by Faith series.

Last week we looked at right belief and how it leads to right behavior. This week we will look at how we bring those together into the public sphere in such a way that makes Jesus attractive to those who do not believe.  Daniel, in interpreting the dream given to the king, tells him the truth of what it means and is still there on the other side of its fulfillment as Nebuchadnezzar finally confesses that God in Heaven sets up kings and kingdoms, and is able to humble those like himself who have walked prideful lives.

This week we are going to look at another dream that was given to King Nebuchadnezzar and the effect it had on his life. One of the things we will learn is that to believe rightly leads to living rightly and having great influence wherever God sets you down. It helps us also to keep everything in perspective, most especially in those tense moments of the in-between, where we know God has promised us things, but it doesn’t look like it’s working out in our world. 

As we take this week to reflect on what we have learned so far in Daniel, Psalm 137 comes to my mind. It helps us to remember that it wasn’t just Daniel and his friends who were taken into exile away from all they knew and loved. In fact, we get a glimpse here of the daily life and struggles God’s people had as they learned to adjust to their new reality.

This Sunday we are going to look at an incident that is all too relevant and painful. In an effort to be obedient to God and His commands, three young men find that their lives are in danger. Make the right decision, and you live. Make the wrong decision, well, you die. But what happens if the right decision is the one the world thinks is wrong? Can we stand at moments like that? This weekend we will find out how we can.

This week we get to look at the dream of the king and see just how Daniel interprets it. Along with this, we have that mysterious stone cut with human hands which destroys all other kingdoms. We will see who that is, how that worked and continues to work within God’s sovereign hand on history.

As we continue in Daniel this week, we see God’s favor is on those who do right and remain faithful to Him and His word -in every circumstance.

As we continue in Daniel this week, we find he is challenged right away to define what lines he will cross and what ones he will not. The instance of turning down the King’s food and drink reveals the character of these young men, and we discover that when we seek to honor God and His holiness, things tend to work out in the end.