Aug. 06, 2023
Youth Sunday Sermon Notes
According to a study by the Barna Group, only 6% of adult Christians made their decision to follow God over the age of 18. Meaning that 94% of American Christians chose to accept Jesus under the age of 18, with the vast majority of those accepting Christ between the ages of 4-14.
Memory Verse:
1 Timothy, 4:12. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
Daniel 1:1-8. “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.[b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and winefrom the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”
Israel divided into two kingdoms:
The Kingdom of Israel in the North
The Kingdom of Judah in the South
Throughout the Book of Daniel, we see two themes:
1) God is sovereign - even during hard times.
2) How God’s people (even God’s young people) can remain faithful to Him- even during hard times.