Scared but safe
Do not fear, God is near.
In our story today we are looking at the very well known story of Daniel in the lions den.
Daniel faces an impossible situation but he trusts God and he steps in!
The service starts at 9:30am on stwderby.online.church
But this button will go live about 11am on Sunday 7th March for you to watch the service again if you missed it live! You won’t want to miss out!
Hope you enjoyed our Werb’s Kids Service this morning!!
If you want to be a part of it or involved in any way just email Amy (amy.farrar@stwderby.org) so that we can keep making it better and better and involving more and more people!
We are still in Daniel and this week we look at Chapter 6. But the big question as always is…
do you remember what happened in the story?
I would recommend watching our service this morning as some of our Werb’s Kids created an amazing video about the story! Do check it out!!
Most of us probably know this story well but we don’t always remember all the details like the reason Daniel was thrown in the lion’s den. So in case you’re still not sure here is a little mini recap of the story:
There was a new King called Darius
Darius liked Daniel but Darius’ other officials did not
Darius’ officials tricked the King into making a new law
Daniel broke the law because he loved God
Darius was forced to punish Daniel for breaking the law
Daniel was put in the lion’s den
God saved Daniel!
Darius told everyone that Daniel’s God was great!
One question I have for you is: Can you remember what the new law was that Daniel got in trouble for? Do you remember why he refused to obey it?
The new King called Darius did in fact like Daniel but as we have already mentioned he was tricked into making a new law. The King was obviously quite big-headed and full of himself to make the law for everyone just to pray to him otherwise they will get into trouble and be thrown into the Lion’s Den!
By now we know what Daniel is like don’t we. And he was a prayerful man who was never going to pray to Darius only to God. Over the past few weeks we’ve seen that Daniel was such a Hero because he spent a lot of time praying and asking God to help him. He put his relationship with God first and this took priority. And today we see once again that Daniel didn’t fear because he knew God was near.
It’s very similar to the fiery furnace story isn’t it!
I bet like how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were scared in the fire, Daniel was probably scared in the Lion’s Den. These cats weren’t tame, they were dangerous and wanted to eat him.
Have you ever watched lion’s at the zoo? They can be scary can’t they!
Chances are the lion’s knew whenever something was thrown into the den it was dinner time! Making Daniel a meal! He was food in their eyes but God protects him and Daniel says God closes their mouths. But I still be he didn’t pet them or get too close as these animals could easily hurt him. But he knew that God was with him.
He was scared but safe.
God was keeping him safe.
Sometimes we can be afraid of something around us but God is with us and so we are safe.
God is the same today as he was for Daniel. If God can save Daniel from danger and a scary time he can help us too. Daniel is a hero for us and if we want to be heroes for Him then we can ask Him to help us.
Let’s be like Daniel today. Spend time with God regularly by praying. Daniel prayed 3 times a day everyday because that’s how important God was to him. I bet Daniel also kept reciting and remembering God’s word. It’s SO good to learn bible verses so that we can remember them when things are hard or when we need courage from God’s word.
This morning Jack taught the verse to us. But can you remember it?
“He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.
Daniel 6v27”
GO DEEPER!
SPARKS (Preschool)
We have done this story before so did you remember it at all?
This story is all about Lions so why not get playing with some animals! Or you could even play sleeping lions!
Think again about the story, can you think about what it was like in the lion’s den? Can you draw a picture of Daniel in the Lion’s den?
Can you draw his face and what you think he was feeling? Was he happy or sad or scared or worried?
Can you think of a time when you were scared?
Next time you feel worried or scared talk to God about it.
God is always with us wherever we go and whatever we do so we don’t need to be frightened or worried.
If you do feel worried ask God to give you his courage and strength to help you through the moment to help you not feel scared anymore.
You can end by saying this prayer together:
“Dear God,
Thank you that Daniel shows us how much we should love you.
Help us to love you more and always trust you.
Please help us today to remember we don’t need to fear when you, God are near.
Amen.”
FLAMES (KS1)
You probably know this story or have heard it at least once before.
Why not find it now in your own bible or your favourite bible that you have just to refresh your memory once again!
We’ve learnt that Daniel is a pretty cool guy who loved God A LOT! He never let anything get in the way of his relationship with God.
So even though Daniel knew praying to God would get him into trouble, he decided that worrying about the law was less important and instead it was better to keep praying and talking to God.
Of course we know that this meant Daniel was put in the lions’ den!
All because he loved God more than the new law. He was put into a very scary situation.
How do you think Daniel felt when he was put in the lions’ den? Can you pull a face to show how he felt?
I bet Daniel was super scared because it’s right to be afraid of a lion as they could have badly hurt him and eaten him.
But I think Daniel faced his fear by talking to God.
I think he spoke to God knowing that he could trust Him and could ask Him to protect him. But I’m betting that Daniel didn’t get too close to the lions though and chose to be sensible in the situation!
Daniel would stay at a distance and not touch or try to pet the lions not because he didn’t trust God but because he knew it would keep him safe!
God kept Daniel safe from the lions! And what is amazing is that because of Daniel’s faith, the King then told the whole nation to trust in God! Daniel’s faith became infectious as people saw how good his God is.
Learn this verse: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” - Psalm 56:3
When we looked at this story before we said that God is always with us in scary situations but that we should still play our part. And we said that this was like the situation we face everyday with coronavirus. We know God promises to care for us and look after us but he also wants us to play our part by keeping our distance and regularly washing our hands.
So remember to play you part and think about what you can do at school to help others. Doing as the teacher asks if they tell you not to get too close to other students not in your bubble is for a reason.
Keep praying for an end to the virus but play your part in fighting it too!
BLAZE (KS2)
Did you know that almost a year ago we looked at this exact same passage. We were only a few weeks into the very first lockdown and I told you that faith was stronger than fear.
But now that we are a year on you’ve learnt a lot of things too. You now know more than you did a year ago.
So I wonder, if you could go back in time and talk to yourself a year ago - what would you tell yourself?
I think I would say: this next year is going to be very hard but trust God and you’ll still see him do amazing things. The rules may be tough and you might get frustrated but you’ll help the NHS and keep others safe.
In our story today we see how dedicated and committed Daniel was to following rules. God's rules!
Daniel wanted to keep God’s laws so bad he didn’t care if this put his life at risk!
Sometimes God may require us to make difficult decisions when we follow Him, but He promises to give us the strength, courage and faith we need to face whatever comes.
You’re unlikely to ever be in an actual lions’ den but in our world today, right now we have some rules we really need to follow.
We’ve had a tough year where we’ve missed being with our friends and family but as we’ve talked about before, staying inside to protect other was the best thing we could do.
Luckily on Monday you’ll be heading back to school and you’ll get to see most of your other friends again.
Think about how lucky you are that you can go to school.
It’s very easy to complain about school and get annoyed at the amount of work you have to do but actually you are very lucky to be able to see your friends again and continue your learning in the classroom.
There are others across the world right now who aren’t that lucky.
Spend some time talking to God now.
Think of one thing to say THANK YOU for, one thing to say SORRY for and one think to ASK for.
Just like Daniel, we need to keep talking to God.
Can you remember how many times each day Daniel spoke to God? How often do you talk to God?
Remember, when you pray it’s just talking to God! This doesn’t need to be anything fancy! It can be like a conversation you would have with your best friend.
Be honest and open.
Share the good, the bad and everything in between - God wants to know! You don’t need to use any fancy words but talk to God now about how you feel now and don’t forget to then listen to what God is saying back. He wants to talk to you.
FUN ACTIVITIES + CRAFTS!
For those who LOVE colouring and activity sheets check these out:
Colouring STORY BOARD or draw your own!
Play the game that the Manns did in our service this morning!
You will need a bucket or container full of water, a sponge and an empty bowl or container which you need to fill.
Using only the sponge see how quickly you can fill up your container! Maybe race against your siblings or race against yourself timing yourself to see how quickly you can complete this challenge! Have fun but be careful not to get water EVERWHERE!! Be kind and tidy up afterwards!!!!Last time we looked at this story back last year on of the activities was to make a den and I know you really enjoyed doing them so MAKE A DEN AGAIN!!
Make sure you ask your parent’s permission to use furniture and blankets to make a den for you to climb in.
If you have a garden, create a mini den outside using sticks and leaves for the bugs outside.
HERE is some help should you need it.Why not send us a picture of your amazing dens so we can use it in next weeks service!
Make a lion mask!
Get creative and think about how you could make your own OR if you need some help, you could make THIS easy one or try THIS more detailed one!Lion Cupcakes!
HERE is a great website of how to make some great lion cupcakes to enjoy.
You’ll need to decorate them with popcorn, cheerios and of course some chocolate buttons!Make a scroll!
Using verses 26+27 of Daniel 6 make a law scroll from the King.
You can make it whatever way you want! Maybe decorate it with paint, stickers, colouring pencils etc or you could use tea bags to make it look really old.
You could also make your own law scroll with whatever rule you would make if you were in charge!
WORSHIP + PRAYER
As we mentioned earlier Daniel loved to pray and spend time with God.
Try being like Daniel just for one day. Set a reminder on a phone or a timer to pray 3 times in the day. Maybe 12pm, 3pm and 6pm? Or you could think of other times.
Then pray! These can be short prayers where you just talk to God or you can get creative and do art or games whilst you pray.
If you are struggling to think of what to pray for think about what is important to you and pray for that. But also just tell God how you feel right now and how your day or week has been.
You can also use the Lord’s Prayer. In fact the song below is based on this! The Lord’s Prayer starts off by worshipping God (Hallowed be your name) and then asks God to provide for us and give us what we need (give us our daily bread). Think about each line and what you think it means. Have a conversation about this as a family.
You might want to make a list or keep a journal of what you pray for. Often God answers our prays and so when we look back over our prayers we see that God has been working and doing amazing things!
If you have any examples of answered prayers or God doing something cool in your life email me or sam.jackson@stwderby.org. We want to share these things to build faith across our church community and show that God has been working even during the pandemic!
Created using several sources including energize.uk.net
