Preparing for Sunday – Daniel 1-12

Preparing for Sunday – Daniel 1-12

How do you prepare yourself during the week to engage with God and participate in corporate worship on Sunday? Every week our church gives a number of ways to interact with the passage to be preached, and lists the songs that will be sung, in order to help our congregation be better prepared. These posts will also begin to populate THE CAPRANICA each Thursday. Carefully Think Read Daniel 1:1; 2:1; 5:1, 30, 31; 6:1; and 10:1. Where is Daniel? How many kings does he interact with? Read Daniel 1:1-20; 2:26-28; 6:1-10. Why is Daniel where he is and how would you characterize his character? Glance through the headings in your Bible of Daniel 1-6. Make a list of the sort of events recorded about his life. Glance through the headings in your bible for Daniel 7-12. What are these chapters primarily about? Read 12:5-13. What era of human history is being described in these events and when will they be completed? Read Daniel 2:20-23; 4:2-3, 34-35; 6:25-27; 7:9-10, 13-14. What is emphasized about God in these chapters? Prayerfully Meditate What do you learn about Daniel, his friends and what commitment to God looks like in the midst of opposition? Have you every experienced opposition from those outside of Christianity to your faith? When? How? How would Daniel be a helpful example to you? How could Daniel’s overt, God-centered life-style instruct you and how you conduct yourself at work, in your neighborhood, or in our culture generally? Read Daniel 9:1-19. How could this be a helpful prayer to model your own (or congregational) confession of sin? What is the primary...
Preparing for Sunday – Matthew 5:4

Preparing for Sunday – Matthew 5:4

Carefully Think Read Matthew 5:4 Recall from last week what it does and does not mean to be “blessed.” How is this beatitude related to the first? How would it relate to the next one? Over what would a person mourn if they are to find this kind of blessing? Why? What is the result of mourning? When should you expect that result? To what degree? Can you think of any illustrations from the Bible of people who mourned in the way this beatitude commends? How so? Can you think of any illustrations from the Bible of people who mourned in a way contrary to what this beatitude commends? How so? Prayerfully Meditate How does this beatitude differ from general grief? What would produce this kind of mourning in a person? What is it that you find regularly moves you to this sort of mourning? If we are to be people who mourn, how can we be people who are comforted at the same time? When was the last time you found yourself mourning over your own sin, the sin around you and sin’s effects in our world? What have you found to bring the most satisfying comfort when you do mourn as this beatitude commends? How does the gospel create this beatitude in us? Intentionally Act What steps could you take to elevate your comprehension and meditation on the character of God so that you have a vision of Him that creates a greater sensitivity to sin? What sins have you become accustomed to rather than mourn over? Spend time confessing these sins with godly sorrow. Pray specifically...