CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL, ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH, NIGERIA.
LESSON 21
JANUARY – JUNE, 2023.
SUNDAY, 21ST MAY, 2023
TOPIC: DANIEL REFUSES TO SIN
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH 21ST MAY 2023BIBLE TEXT: Daniel Chapter 1
MEMORY VERSE:
Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 (NIV).
TARGET:
To help the child understand that God hates sin and will not want him or her to take part in it.
OBJECTIVES:
During and after the lesson, each child will show that he or she understands the lesson by:
1. Saying things he or she can do to avoid being involved in anything sinful.
2. ldentifying ways the body can be defiled, harmed, or mistreated.
3. Correctly answering the questions on the lesson.
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH 21ST MAY 2023
OUTLINE:
1. Daniel Is Taken Captive to Babylon – Daniel 1:1-7
2. Daniel Decides not to Defile Himself – Daniel 1:8-14
3. Daniel’s Resolution Is Rewarded – Daniel 1:15-21
INTRODUCTION:
Every day, temptations to sin come to Christians. It may be from friends and they may try to force you to do things that are wrong like fighting, stealing, etc. Do such temptations come your way? If yes, then how do you deal with such temptations? Do you refuse to sin or do you give in to sin because of pressure, ridicule and rejection?
In this week’s lesson, we shall meet a young man and his friends who refused to sin against God through what they were given to eat. They chose to be different.
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH 21ST MAY 2023
LESSON COMMENTARY
1. Daniel Is Taken Captive to Babylon – Daniel 1:1-7
At a time, the Babylonians were ruling the world. God gave them the power to conquer many nations. When Jehoiakim was king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon came and attacked Jerusalem and entered into it. He went into the temple and took some articles from the temple, which he carried to Babylon. In obedience to Nebuchadnezzar’s order, his commanders took with them to Babylon some strong, healthy and intelligent young men from royal families. (Because the Babylonian empire had grown so fast, they did not have enough of their own educated young men needed to run the government.) Daniel and his three friends – Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were among them. They were just teenagers at the time as Daniel was only about fourteen years.
The youths were assigned the best of the king’s food and wine. They were also to receive a special training. Later, the names of these four young men were t changed. Daniel became Belteshazzar while his three friends became Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego respectively.
2. Daniel Decides Not to Defile Himself – Daniel 1:8-14
When Daniel heard that they were to eat the king’s food and drink his wine, he decided he did not want food or the drink. He knew that eating the king’s food would defile him. This is because the meat and wine may have been sacrificed to false gods and eating it would defile him. What Daniel did was to seek the permission of the chief officials to eat other foods instead. He and his friends asked to be fed with vegetables and water instead of the king’s meat and wine.
Even though the chief official liked Daniel and his friends a lot, he did not agree to Daniel’s request. This is because he was afraid that the boys may grow lean and then the king might find out and kill him, But Daniel asked him to test them before ten days and then he would know what to do. The chief official reluctantly agreed. He served Daniel and his three friends only vegetable and water for ten days.
3. Daniel’s Resolution Is Rewarded – Daniel 1:15-21
At the end of ten days, a miracle happened. God made Daniel and his friends look so well that when the chief official compared them with the other young men he was amazed at what he saw. He found out that Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better nourished than any of the other young men who ate the royal food. Secondly, Daniel and his friends were ten times smarter, wiser, and more intelligent than all the wise men in Babylon at the end of the three years the training lasted.
God was pleased with these young men that He gave them knowledge and understanding of visions and dreams of all kinds. The king also was so impressed with Daniel and his friends that he included them among his political advisers and wise men of the empire of Babylon.
APPLICATION:
Every day our lives are filled with choices. We either choose to do right or wrong. We all need to choose to live a life of righteousness. We should choose to avoid lying, cheating, fighting, disobeying, etc. We should refuse bad friends and their bad influence. We should refuse eating anything that will defile us and harm our bodies. Such things include smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, taking hard drugs, and even eating junk foods. We should try to avoid reading ungodly books, listening to ungodly music, and watching ungodly films. These will pollute our minds and make us sin against God. Such ungodly materials include books, music, and films that are pornographic and obscene. We should strive towards being like Jesus. Our memory verse says that only the pure in heart will be able to see God. If we are faithful to God, He will be with us and give us the help and grace we need to do His will.
QUESTIONS:
1. What made Israel go into captivity?
(A) Lack of education
(B) Lack of money
(C) Disobedience to God’s Word
(D) They choose to be captives.
2. Is it possible to be different anywhere one finds himself? Yes/No
3. The following can help us to live for God except.
(A) Keeping good company
(B)Attending church and Bible study regularly
(C) Praying Always
(D) Disobedience to God and man’s instruction.
4. Every act of righteousness or ungodliness has reward? (True or False).
CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH 21ST MAY 2023
DAILY BIBLE DOSE:
Monday: A Light in Darkness – Isaiah 61:1; Matt 5:13-15
Tuesday: Godly Friendship – Daniel 2:17-19
Wednesday: Your Eternal Reward – Col 3:24
Thursday: Looking unto Jesus – Heb 12:1-3
Friday: Refusing Temptations – 1John 2:15-17
Saturday: Loving God – 1John 5:1-3