Series Title: Knowing God in Troubled Times

Series Theme: Since God's sovereign will for the nations is unfolding and his kingdom is rising, we ought to seek to know Him, to stand firm, and take action.

Theme verse of this series: Daniel 11:32 "He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action."

Sermon Title: Knowing God's Sovereignty

Text: Daniel 1:1-7

Introduction

Knowing God vs. Knowing about God

Fallen Condition Focus: Making our own idols; making God in our own image; pride

Sermon Proposition: Since God is sovereign over the nations and all of his creation, we ought to honor him, humbly seek to know him as he is, receive his discipline with hope, and rest in his redemptive plan for his people.

What does God say in his Word?

 The Story of King Jehoiakim and Daniel and his friends (Daniel 1:1-7; Cf. 2 Kings 23:34-24:7)

Some helpful definitions:

"Sovereignty of God. The biblical teaching that God is king, supreme ruler, and lawgiver of the entire universe." Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 1131

"God's dominion is total: he wills as he chooses and carries out all that he wills, and none can stay his hand or thwart his plans." J. I. Packer, Concise Theology, 33

What does this doctrine teach us?

Conclusion and Call to Respond