THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE Daniel 1:3-17
BACKGROUND PREPARATION
Read Daniel 1:3-17 and collect and watch the clip from Freedom Writers. You will also need some post-it notes, magazines, paper, glue and pens.
Post-it challenge
5 mins
Have some post-it notes and pens available for the young people. Give them the challenge to write down situations they face where they feel they should stand out as a Christian. Get them to stick them up on a wall or a larger sheet of paper which has the title ‘I should stand out when it comes to….’ on it. You could have some examples such as ‘bullying at school’. If you want, you could make this competitive and offer a prize for the person who comes up with the most situations. After this get them to sit down and ask them how they found the challenge, seeing if there are some similar themes which come through.
Introducing the theme
10 mins
Introduce the topic of the session, explaining that they will be looking at Daniel as a leader who stood out. Ask them what they already know about the story of Daniel (many will mention the lion’s den) and give some background on Daniel. Daniel, whose name means ‘God is my judge’, was a young man of noble blood. He was exiled from Judah during the time of King Jehoiakim and lived thereafter at the Babylonian court. At a young age, approximately 13, he stood out from others. King Nebuchadnezzar was trying to bring about restoration following the destruction of Judah. The people were following other gods but Daniel was always, despite everything, loyal to the one true God.
• Why do you think Daniel decided to stand out in this way?
• What was important about it for him?
• How was he able to make this stand?
• What message do you think the steward received from the stand Daniel made?
Small group work
15 mins
Focusing on the third question asked above, go back to the post-it wall and take some of the themes and suggestions which the young people gave. Spilt the young people into smaller groups and give each of the small groups a few of the post-it notes.
Get them to discuss the following questions and display their answers using magazines, paper, glue and pens to put a collage together, by ripping out or drawing words or images that explain their answers.
• Why should Christians stand out in this situation?
• What practical things could we do or what help could we get so we can stand out and stick to these boundaries?
• What impact will our actions have on those around us?
• Sometimes we get things wrong and we mess up - what does God remind us of when this happens?
When each group has finished ask them to present their collages and explain why they chose certain words and images. This section should be done with sensitivity. There may be people in the group who have not stood out recently and instead have gone with the crowd. It is important that they do not feel condemned but instead know God forgives them.
Going deeper
15 mins
Introduce the clip from Freedom Writers setting the scene beforehand. Many of the young people may have heard or read the story of Anne Frank at school so explain who Mieps Gies was (the woman who helped hide and feed Anne Frank and her family, and collected her diaries) and why the students in this clip had wanted to meet her. The clip runs from 1:19:09 - 1:25:22 and is chapter 12 on the DVD. (If time is short, begin the clip at 1:21:41.)
In this clip Mieps Gies shares her story but also explains to the students that the reason she did what she did was because it was the ‘right thing to do’. She goes on to share that it is the students who are the heroes every day as they have to make a stand for what is right even when the consequences of this can be hugely negative.
Ask the young people what they thought of the clip and what situations they face where they have to make a stand; give some suggestions to facilitate discussion - ensuring they are age appropriate.
Response
5 mins
Say: today we have seen that Daniel stood out as a leader. As well as God helping him to do this, his friends helped him too. Challenge everyone in the group to respond by thinking of one area of their life or situation they currently find hard to stand out in. Get them to privately write it down on a piece of paper and encourage them to put it in their Bibles, wallets or phones as a reminder that if they ask, God will help them in this so they can take a stand like Daniel.
KEY POINT #1
Sometimes when faced with a challenging situation we know what we should do yet the pressure to go along with the crowd can feel stronger. We need to remember that God is a God of love and forgiveness, and if we say we are sorry he promises to forgive us and forget what we have done. This is when we need to find practical ways to start again and try to stick to boundaries so we stand out as Christians like Daniel did.
KEY POINT #2
Sometimes it may be difficult to stand up for what is right and stand out from the crowd. Sometimes we may have to do this when we are not sure of what the consequences may be. For Daniel, as the story progresses he continues to stand out and not back down on what he believes to be right, even though he may face death. As a leader he continues to trust God and follow him. We need to put our faith in God when faced with these difficult situations and remember the promise in Hebrews 13:5, God is with us always!
