Daring To Be A Lion's Breakfast!
Preaching
Shaking Wolves Out Of Cherry Trees
And 149 Other Sermon Ideas
Purpose Statement: Do we always have the necessary courage to take a moral stand or face ridicule, suffering, or sacrifice to be true to the Christian mandate?
Use an appropriate scripture from Daniel to show how Daniel was willing to risk his life in order to be faithful to his God (perhaps Daniel 6:6-16). Begin with some background to Daniel's purported historical situation. One set of progressive thoughts might be:
a. Speak out. There are times when a word needs to be said, a letter written, or a protest demonstration conducted to call attention to some injustice or wrong. If anything, we are too reluctant to take the necessary stands to make a significant witness in our communities.
b. Speak out and be eaten. To raise a cry of injustice or make a moral statement means offending the parties benefiting from the injustice or wrong. It can bring retribution that in some cases can be quite devastating. "Blowing the whistle" and finding yourself unable to keep silent when you see a wrong may cost you your job, for instance.
c. Getting eaten becomes yet another witness. Share some historic examples from periods of Christian history where the risks were great and the sacrifices inspiring.
(You could use as an opening the humorous story of the person who, when fleeing from a lion, finally gave up and realized it was impossible to outrun the lion. The person knelt down to pray as the only recourse. When after a while the lion did not pounce, the person looked up and saw the lion also kneeling and praying. The person asked the lion, "What are you doing?" The lion replied, "Be quiet, please, I'm saying grace.")
Use an appropriate scripture from Daniel to show how Daniel was willing to risk his life in order to be faithful to his God (perhaps Daniel 6:6-16). Begin with some background to Daniel's purported historical situation. One set of progressive thoughts might be:
a. Speak out. There are times when a word needs to be said, a letter written, or a protest demonstration conducted to call attention to some injustice or wrong. If anything, we are too reluctant to take the necessary stands to make a significant witness in our communities.
b. Speak out and be eaten. To raise a cry of injustice or make a moral statement means offending the parties benefiting from the injustice or wrong. It can bring retribution that in some cases can be quite devastating. "Blowing the whistle" and finding yourself unable to keep silent when you see a wrong may cost you your job, for instance.
c. Getting eaten becomes yet another witness. Share some historic examples from periods of Christian history where the risks were great and the sacrifices inspiring.
(You could use as an opening the humorous story of the person who, when fleeing from a lion, finally gave up and realized it was impossible to outrun the lion. The person knelt down to pray as the only recourse. When after a while the lion did not pounce, the person looked up and saw the lion also kneeling and praying. The person asked the lion, "What are you doing?" The lion replied, "Be quiet, please, I'm saying grace.")
