Sermon Manuscript: Narrative Assignment
HOMI670: Preaching from the Old Testament (B01)
June 08, 2023
MILLER’S EXEGETICAL OUTLINE
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Text: Daniel 1:1-21
Sermon Title: Staying True to God
Sermon Theme: Discipline
Sermon Motif: When you follow God, you can not lose
Focal Text: What is the part of the sermon text on which the sermon’s argument is based?
My argument is based on Daniel 1:8-15. These verse best coincide with the theme of the sermon.
What are the strongest word/words in the text that relate to the sermon’s motif?
In verse 9, which is favor and compassion
Correlating Texts:
v.9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,
v.12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
v.17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and
Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
What are the two best insights on the text gotten from study resources?
God will give you the confidence to test and overcome the challenges.
Write a brief paragraph recounting your life experience with the text.
As I recollect my life, I remember several times when I was tempted to stray away from what I
knew was right. More specifically, my teenagers were full of unknown answers. As we all know,
between the age of 14-17, you are very impressionable about the new wonders of life.
Everything you lack knowledge of can grab your attention. Unlike many of my peers, I had my
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grandmother, who was faithful to Christ. Although I did not attend church regularly in my
teenage years, she always ensured that I received the week's message. God used her to keep me
focused on God and remove unnecessary temptation from my life.
What is the strongest precept in the text (is this the strongest point of my sermon)?
When you stay true to God, you will always have favor over your enemy.
How can I gild the precepts in the text with a memorable form of narrative or metaphor?
I can compare the passage with my personal life.
How can I “narrativize” this sermon?
By preaching the sermon as a story which includes my personal history.
What genre is this?
Narrative
What can I do in this presentation to ensure people understand, feel, and appreciate this genre?
I will use relatable stories that most people can relate to. For example, the struggles many people
face during their teenage years.
What is the image-changing information they need to arrive at a better self-understanding?
Imagine where they would be if it was not for God.
MILLER’S NARRATIVE OUTLINE
Sermon Design for Narrative Exposition
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Textual Idea: Faithfulness to God
Sermon Idea: Staying true to self
1. Introduction of the topic (use of a variety of elements: story; example; question; statistics;
etc.)
In the text, Daniel is tempted to indulge in a pagan culture. Daniel knew that this was
wrong but was aware that he must be smart about how he should approach the Chief to prevent
himself from further defilement. Daniel trusted that God would show his favor if he trusted him,
so Daniel challenged the Chief to show the great works of God by not eating the king’s food and
wine. After ten days, those who did not partake in the king’s food and wine looked better than
those who indulged in the food and wine. My question everyone is, are you willing to go against
the culture’s norm to receive favor from God?
2. Overview of the story (retelling vs. reading the entire text, highlighting key passage,
problem, issue; etc.)
Daniel showed faithfulness to God in the following verses:
Daniel 1:8-9 states, “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or
with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the Chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to
defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the Chief of the
eunuchs.”
Daniel 1: 17-19 states, “As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all
literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of
the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the Chief of the eunuchs
brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and none was found
like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
3. Statement of the key biblical principle/truth (complete statement of universal truth; this
section includes a brief synopsis of the Bible’s teaching on this area—one or two key
verses; examples; argument; etc.)
In v.9 which states, “And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief
of the eunuchs.” God favors those who have the discipline to trust and follow him.
4. Identification of the common human problem (why do we all struggle to believe this truth
about God or obey this truth from God?)
As society becomes more digitally and scientifically sound, we have lost our ability to
trust in things we can not prove or see. Science has allowed us to answer many unknown
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questions in life, but thinking that we can become smarter than God by not believing in his
existence is ridiculous. Many people struggle to believe in the truth about God due to our lack of
applying the laws humans use to prove earthly things which also proves God’s existence. For
example, the law of polarity states that everything has an opposite. Up and down, left and right,
good and bad. Many of us know that the devil exists, so why wouldn’t God exist ifthe law of
polarity was true?
5. Solution (what does God want us to understand, how does this truth build our faith in God,
and how does God want us to change?)
God was us to believe and follow him, although you may not see he is there because God
is always present.
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Title
Introduction
Sermon Title: Staying True to God Daniel 1:1-21
Good Morning Everyone! I would like to start by saying that seeing all
of your wonderful faces is a blessing. At this time, please look to your
neighbor to your left and right and say it is a pleasure worshiping God
with you!
For those new to this church, I love to read scripture as a collective and
then connect the scripture to our current world. Today’s lesson is about
staying true to God. More specifically, having the discipline to remain
righteous in a world full of wickedness. Discipline a the primary reason
that I am who I am today. Without discipline, I could have ended up
dead or in jail. Many people do not realize that discipline is the secret
weapon for our salvation. Too often, we hear words like repentance and
forgiveness. God loves when his children recognize their wrongdoings
and seek forgiveness from him, but God prefers a change of heart after
you repent. Amen.
When you follow God, you can not lose in life. Sure, the devil can tempt
you like he did Job, but as long as you remain disciplined to the power
of God, you will always come out on top.
This sermon is about Daniel, from which we learned a few weeks ago in
Bible study. Within the book of Daniel, we will read aloud Chapter 1,
verses 1-21. This passage reveals Daniel being taken to Babylon and his
faithfulness toward God.
At this time, may everyone please open your Bibles and find Daniel 1:
1-21. Any version of the Bible will work, but if you want to know which
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Scripture Reading
version I am reading from, it is the English Standard Version.
Now that everyone has found the passage, please look at the screen. For
those who are new to this church, I like to do collaborative scripture
reading. On the screen, you will see the entire passage. You will also see
different colors which represent different meanings.
The color green signifies the verses I will read
The color turquoise signifies the verse you all will read
The color yellow signifies the verses we all will read together
So without further adieu, let’s begin the scripture reading.
1 In the third year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some
of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of
Shinar, to the house of his God, and placed the vessels in the treasury of
his God.
3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some
of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,
4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all
wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and
competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature
and language of the Chaldeans.
5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate,
and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years,
and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.
6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the
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tribe of Judah.
7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called
Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach,
and Azariah he called Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's
food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the
eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of
the eunuchs,
10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king,
who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you
were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So
you would endanger my head with the king.”
11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had
assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and
water to drink.
13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the
king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according
to what you see.”
14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance
and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food.
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Personal Story
16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink,
and gave them vegetables.
17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all
literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and
dreams.
18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they
should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before
Nebuchadnezzar.
19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was
found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they
stood before the king.
20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the
king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the
magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
As I recollect my life, I remember several times when I was tempted to
stray away from what I knew was right. More specifically, my teenagers
were full of unknown answers. As we all know, between the age of 14-
17, you are very impressionable about the new wonders of life.
Everything you lack knowledge of can grab your attention. Unlike many
of my peers, I had my grandmother, who was faithful to Christ.
Although I did not attend church regularly in my teenage years, she
always ensured that I received the week's message. God used her to keep
me focused on God and remove unnecessary temptation from my life.
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Passage Summary
Now that the visitors know a little about me, I want to tell everyone here
today what today’s passage is all about.
For those who attended this past Bible study, I am sure you remember
what was going on in that particular period. Isreal was going through a
lot mainly due to their inability to remain faithful to God. Their
disobedience angered God, which resulted in the Babylonians defeating
Israel.
So you may ask, how did they disobey God?
Well I am going to tell you how. The Israelites violated the 1st
Commandment stated in Exodus 20:3, which states, “ 3 “You shall have
no other gods before me.” False idol worshipping was a huge problem
for them during that time for many reasons that were easily prevented.
Like many people today, the Israelites tend to stray away from God after
receiving a massive blessing. In the Israelite's case, they became more
conceited after they won a battle. Their ego made them forget who put
them in the victory seat in the first place. They began amassing
themselves in pride and power, leading to their interest in selecting
foreign spouses. The problem that comes from foreign spouses is their
foreign Gods.
I am sure some of you came to relate to this passage yourselves. God
has given you the ability to receive blessings unimaginable in your life,
and the first thing you do is forget about God and indulge in worldly
life.
The Israelites began to believe that they could worship God the way
they wanted to instead of how God commanded them.
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Setting
Daniel 1:8
Daniel 1:9-10
In Daniel 1, Rehoiakim is in his third year as king of Judah.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, went to Jerusalem and besieged
it. In Babylon, Israel encountered the temptation of accepting the
lifestyle of the Babylonians. The material success of Babylon made it
difficult for anyone to deny the luxury they possessed.
Now that everyone is warm and fuzzy about the chapter, let's discuss
how Daniel’s faithfulness helped him see the Glory of God.
We have already read the entire passage together, so let's move to verse
8, which states, “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself
with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked
the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.” As I
mentioned before, Babylon was wealthy, and I mean a wealthy nation. I
do not think you all understand how wealthy this nation was during their
time. At this time, everyone dig into their purses, bags, or wallets and
grab whatever currency you have available. Well guess what… the
Babylonians created the concept of money that we are accustomed to in
society. So many of the innovations that we use today, stem from
Babylon. So imagine being drugged to Babylon and chosen to indulge
into their culture. For some, you may see this as a blessing; for others,
this could be a form of punishment. The punishment is that you have to
denounce your culture for theirs. This means reading their literature and
arts, eating food, and worshiping their Gods. Yeah, you all heard it, I
said “And worship their Gods.” Pagan worshipping is what put them in
this position in the first place.
Verse 9 and 10 states, “And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in
the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said
to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your
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drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the
youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with
the king.”
Daniel had the opportunity to indulge in the material wonders that
Babylon had to offer. Daniel was tempted like all of the Israelites in
Babylon, but Daniel was focused on the mission God had assigned him.
Daniel stayed true to God and chosen not to eat the king’s food and
wine. Daniel understood that it was wrong to become gluttonous and a
drunkard. Knowing it was wrong, he decided to speak to the chief of the
eunuch regarding the food and wine situation. Daniel requested that he
not eat the king’s food and wine because it was wrong.
Yes, eating the king’s food and drinking the king’s wine, is wrong, but
more importantly, it is unhealthy. Imagine having the ability to indulge
in an abundance of food and wine daily. Well, some of you in here, that
is called really. Although you know it is unhealthy, you still do it
anyway because you can. This statement is not to make you feel
ashamed, it is meant to show you that many of us can experience what
the Babylonians experience since we are from the United States of
America. We have fast-food restaurants, bars, and liquor stores on every
corner. So before judging the Israelites on accepting the Babylonian
lifestyle, look at yourselves to see if you have fallen victim to the
“king’s food and wine.”
Daniel was so confident that God would show the chief that he would be
better off just eating vegetables and water.
How many of you in here would be better off eating more water and
vegetables in your diet.?
While you are all thinking about that, let's continue with the next few
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Daniel 1: 11-13
verses, which states, “11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the
chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables
to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance
of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with
your servants according to what you see.”
Daniel was a God-fearing genius. The courage you must have to request
not to eat the food and wine of the king. Daniel’s faith in God gave him
the confidence to not only request freedom from the king’s diet, but to
choose an alternative diet for ten days, then come back to review the
results.
Do you all think Daniel knew he would be better off consuming
vegetables and water for ten days?
Do you all think that people thought he was crazy in that period?
Would you all stand with God because you know that’s the right
answer?
Well, the first two answer is yes! Daniel was looked at as odd because
he chose to follow the one true God.
Lets think about it in today’s period. We all know God wants us to
worship him and no one else. We also know the devil is always lurking
to take you off the righteous path.
It is good that you all are here in church today to worship in the name of
the Lord together. Unfortunately for many of you, attending church is a
challenge. Worshipping Christ should not be a challenge, the real
challenge is the obstacles you will encounter outside of this building.
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Ephesians 6:13-18
Outside this building, there’s murder, disease, lying, cheating, robbing,
and many other detestable things. So how do you spiritually combat a
world filled with negative forces?
We must put on the Whole Armor of God.
At this time, everyone turns to Ephesians 6:13-18. Once that is done,
please look at the screen, and we will read this passage together so that
we all will better understand how to win the war with God on our side,
just like Daniel. The color code remains the same, so let us begin.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put
on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the
gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God,
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To
that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the
saints.
There are Daniel-like qualities in all of us. One of the most useful
weapons Daniel had in his arsenal was the power of God on his side. As
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Conclusion
Benediction Prayer:
Numbers 6:24-26
extraordinary as this may seem, we all can have the power of God on
our side. This takes constant belief and discipline to stay on God’s path.
With God's help, Daniel proved that he would be better off not partaking
in the king’s diet.
How many of you could prove someone you know wrong with help
from God.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, stress, depression, and anxiety have
increased, resulting in many people learning of drugs, alcohol, and
pornography to cope with their issues. Although this avenue may seem
like the best way to relieve stress, depression, and anxiety in the short
term, they have long-term detrimental effects.
To overcome the troubles we experience as Daniel did in Babylon, we
must seek God and use the whole Armor of God.
To conclude this sermon, I will need everyone to rise to their feet and
repeat after me:
The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make His face to shine upon
you, and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up His countenance upon
you, and give you peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!!!!
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