CATALYST YOUTH- "The Case of the Treacherous Sleepover", Sept. 30, 2016

This week at CATALYST, we wrapped up our series on Daniel with the story of how he survived a night in a lion's den. Daniel was now an older man who had risen to be the third most powerful person in the country. Considering how he first arrived there as a slave, God had really taken care of him! Daniel 6 tells us that some of the other officials of the country were jealous of Daniel, so they set up their hidden cameras and watched his life closely, hoping they could catch him breaking a law or doing something that would have him fired (or worse). What's amazing is that, even when they tried to dig up dirt on him, they discovered that Daniel was a hard worker, that he was honest, faithful, and a person of integrity- which means that he did the right thing even when nobody else was around. Desperately, Daniel's enemies decided to use his faith against him. They knew that he loved and followed God and prayed every day, so they decided to trick the king into repeating something from the past. Remember the story of Daniel's three friends and the fiery furnace? Well, this time, they convinced the king to pass a law that nobody could pray or worship anyone but the king for 30 days, and that the punishment would be getting fed to the lions. The king agreed without knowing that they were plotting against Daniel, one of the people he liked the most. Of course, Daniel never stopped praying, and when he was watched, the jealous officials had him arrested and sentenced to death. When Daniel was thrown into the lions den, the king was so distraught that he stayed up all night praying that God would rescue Daniel. In the morning, he ran to the lions den to discover that Daniel had survived! An angel had shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel was unharmed! This amazed the king, who decreed that the entire kingdom worship God.

DANIEL HAD AN AMAZING REPUTATION ON THE JOB

One of the ways that Daniel showed that he loved and followed God was that he was a worker known for his integrity. Even when his enemies watched for an opportunity to accuse him of wrongdoing, they discovered that Daniel wasn't the kind of guy to fall asleep on the job or steal money from the register-- this guy was faithful, honest, dependable, and committed to doing the right thing. Some of the teens at CATALYST are working for the very first time, others haven't started yet, but Daniel's story tells us that when we work with integrity it makes God proud. When people watch you working, would they find you to be faithful, dependable and honest? When you do chores around the house, do you grumble and complain, or do you do your very best? Even when doing the worst jobs, if you do them as if you are doing them for God (as worship), you'll find that your attitude toward that job will change- and you'll be inspired to do your best.


FOLLOWING GOD DOESN’T GUARANTEE A TROUBLE-FREE LIFE.

Have you ever had a really bad day? A day where nothing seemed to go right? Just because you love and follow Jesus, it doesn’t mean those bad days will just disappear. As we’ve seen through all of the stories of Daniel and his friends—these guys followed God and did the right thing…but life wasn’t perfect for them. They experienced some scary stuff. They experienced some tough challenges. But through it all, God was with them-- he even kept them safe and provided for them when they were in impossible situations. When times are tough , while we should pray and ask God to help us, sometimes his help doesn't mean erasing those problems from our lives (although that IS a possible option), but he will carry us through those difficult times and can even bring amazingly good things out of the worst bad days.

QUESTIONS FOR HOME:

1. Parents, can you share with your teens about how your faith influences the way that you work and the decisions that you make while you're on the job? How has your faith impacted the reputation you have? Encourage your teens to do their work as if they are doing it for God-- as worship-- and that a good reputation at work not only leads people to think more highly of you (and maybe even earn you a promotion!), but also makes God proud.

2. Is your teen experiencing a bad day or a bad week? Have they experienced a recent disappointment in life? Talk about it. Remind them that God can make good things come from those bad situations. Remind them that for Daniel and his friends, while they were people of integrity who loved and followed God in the things they said and did, they still experienced some pretty scary or challenging situations. Remind your teen that God is with them and pray that God would help them through their bad day. Pray expecting God is working behind the scenes and that something good will come of it!