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Sunday School
Lesson on Pride/ Daniel 5
Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great tree What Did nebuchadnezzar learn about God? he has the power to humble the prideful. Why do you think God cares about whether we are humble or not?
• Summarize Daniel 4 by explaining that Daniel interpreted another of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. The dream was a prophecy of the king’s removal from the throne and his madness. A year later, while boasting of his accomplishments in his kingdom, the events in his dream began to be fulfilled. From the suffering Nebuchadnezzar experienced, he learned several lessons about the Lord.
The story of Daniel is about the power of truth changing us from being self-centered and prideful to being humble/ regenerated
Daniel 5
Daniel interprets writing on a wall, and Babylon is conquered by the Medes and the Persians Mention that the writing on the wall is those moments when you judge yourself and fear. We all have writing onto wall moments
Summarize Daniel 5:1–21 by explaining that more than 20 years after Nebuchadnezzar died, Belshazzar, the king/prince in Babylon at that time, hosted a feast for leaders in the kingdom. Belshazzar had the vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem brought to the feast. The king and the people mocked the Lord by drinking wine from these vessels while they praised their false gods.One cannot believe the Word is holy, and mock it at the same time. No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24) During the feast, a hand appeared and wrote on a wall in the king’s palace.
Mene,Mene-God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it (knows the quality of truth)
Tekel-Thou art weighed the balances and art found wanting ( know his quality of good)
Upharsin (Peres simple form)-Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
Belshazzar was greatly concerned, and when others were unable to interpret the writing, he summoned Daniel. Before interpreting the writing, Daniel spoke to Belshazzar about what his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had experienced when his mind was “hardened in pride” (Daniel 5:20).
Invite a student to read Daniel 5:22–23 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Daniel taught Belshazzar about his actions.
22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Ask What is the opposite of being humble? Being proud
Despite knowing what Nebuchadnezzar had experienced, what had Belshazzar failed to do?
Summarize the remainder of Daniel 5 by explaining that Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall, which was a declaration that God had judged Belshazzar and that Babylon would be given to the Medes and the Persians. Even though Daniel had declined payment for giving the interpretation (see Daniel 5:17), Belshazzar promoted Daniel to third in command in the kingdom. That night, Belshazzar was slain and the Babylonian empire was conquered.
Invite students to think about what they can learn from the prideful decisions of others to avoid making similar mistakes.
There is lots of stories in the bible of pride different kinds like Naman the Leper who didn’t want to wash his face 11 times and almost missed the opportunity to be healed.
First of all What is Pride:
go over different things that are prideful that we normally don’t think of and discuss as a group write on a piece of paper and hold up: Contention, Fault finding, Gossiping, Complaining, Living beyond our means, envying, coveting, arguments, fights, dominion/ wanting leadership and authority over others,generation gaps,withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, being unforgiving, any types of abuse, disturbances. Watch the little pride simulation funny clip. The goal is to get people to understand that pride is more than what we think it is and that we all have it on a daily basis.
Pride is a feeling of deep pleasure in your own achievements, and from qualities or possessions that are admired by others. Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.) : “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Pride is the universal sin that almost every sin is manifest in pride, the great vice and will inhibit your ability to grow.
The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, “If you succeed, I am a failure.”
Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family members away. Contention ranges from a hostile spoken word to worldwide conflicts. The scriptures tell us that “only by pride cometh contention.” (Prov. 13:10; see also Prov. 28:25.)
Swedenborg overcomes pride:
At the age of 55, Swedenborg began to change . Where previous he had always had an intellectual approach to life, he was having disturbing series of dreams which were forcing him to reconsider his intellectual pride. Swedenborg was a very accomplished man wrote new developments, designed tools for research and was an expert in almost every field. He was proud of his accomplishments and liked to talk about his work and found himself thinking at times that people should respect him more. He personally battles with this arrogant pride. This crises state in his life, marked a great charge in his entire outlook on his work, as Swedenborg laid aside his will and by his own unreserved consent; so that instead the Divine will itself might flow directly into his understanding This allowed Swedenborg to become a divine servant of the Lord. In his first vision of the Lord the Lord asks him if he has a clean bill of health. And he was ready for the work he was asked to do.
Pride from some of the writings:
The possessive feeling of our free will is our pride. Pride extinguishes and suffices the light of heaven. (4949)
Pride signifies the love of self (2220)
Pride is an endeavor and effort to domineer (8678)
Mans fall caused by his sensual attachment (Symbolically Pride) represents mankind spiritual disconnection that we hide and unknowingly hurt others because of our feeling special. Pride comes through the feeling of our own self ego hell the possessive proprium ego.
Divine love is a uniting medium (DV 326)
How do we get rid of pride?
The scriptures mention that we should read truth (scriptures) on a daily basis. That we need to have/ and be filled with this truth to be able to have this to reflect on our own lives. to have something to reflect our own selves against. If not we just reflect the illusion of our own lives.
To be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that our talents and abilities are gifts from God. It is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies. We can be both humble and fearless. We can be both humble and courageous.
Jesus Christ is our greatest example of humility. During His mortal ministry, He always acknowledged that His strength came because of His dependence the Father. He said: "I can of mine own self do nothing. … I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5:30).
The Lord will strengthen us as we humble ourselves before Him. James taught: "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. … Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (James 4:6, 10).
video clip on Off the left eye Spiritual detox 7:30