Big Idea

Let your commitment to follow Jesus give you the courage to stand up for what is right, knowing God will be with you in the challenge.

Scripture

Daniel 3

Opening Questions

1. How have you been able to B.L.E.S.S. someone else?
2. Who is someone you know to be especially courageous? What makes them courageous?

Bible Discussion

3. Read Daniel 3. What do you notice in the story? How would you summarize the story in your own words?
4. God’s rescue doesn’t come until they are in the furnace. What could be some possible reasons for that?

Life Application

5. We may not be asked to worship giant gold statues, but we have plenty of things that pressure us to bow down. What are the idols that we face today?
6. Sometimes we think God’s job is to keep us out of the fire, so our prayers are, “Help me avoid the pain. Remove the discomfort. Take away the suffering.” There’s nothing wrong with those prayers, but what was the impact as a result of going into the fire? What blessings have you experienced going through a difficult situation?
7. Read the following prayer. How would this prayer challenge you? “God, give me an opportunity to grow in my love for you. I no longer ask you mainly for comfort or success, or security. God, I ask you to lead me wherever you want so that I grow closer to you and so others’ lives are changed. Even if it means following you into the fire because I know you will meet me there.”

Quotes

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…” – Theodore Roosevelt

“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd

“My greatest fear is that I’ll die on a day when I didn’t have dessert.” – Anne Lamott