Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us, 
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
     — Psalm 117:1–2

Song 1 – All Creatures of our God and King

Song 2 – Great is Thy Faithfulness

Song 3 – Amazing Love (And Can it Be)

Song 4 – Christ Be Magnified

Our welcome team members will pass an offering basket during this song. For information about giving online, please visit ucclife.fi/give or follow the QR code on the screen. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen. 

It is good and right to make and take time to acknowledge our weakness and to confess our sin, both to God and to one another as his people. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; all have failed, time and time again, to live up to the standards of holiness that our Father God has set before us. To more fully appreciate the depth of his forgiveness, we humble our hearts in confessing our sin, as we join our voices by reading together the following prayer:

Almighty God and heavenly Father, we confess that from our childhood until this very hour we have sinned against your commandments by evil thoughts, words, will, and works, which we cannot count, and first of all by vast unbelief.

Therefore, we are not worthy to be called your children, nor lift our eyes up to heaven. O God and Father, we wish that we had never provoked you to anger.

In your mercy and for the sake of your glory, we ask you to receive us into your grace by the forgiveness of our sins.
 Amen. 
          – (John Oecolampadius)

Having confessed our sin, we take comfort in the words of Romans 5:1-2, and we receive once again full assurance of God’s gracious forgiveness to us. Let us joyfully and with one voice proclaim the truth of forgiveness:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
          – Romans 5:1–2

A special welcome to any visitors joining us today – if you’d like to get connected or find out more about UCC, please visit our digital visitors card. 

Daniel chapter four (ESV)

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! ² It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

⁴  I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. ⁵ I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. ⁶ So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷ Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. ⁸ At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods^[c]—and I told him the dream, saying, ⁹ “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. ¹⁰ The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. ¹¹ The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. ¹² Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

¹³ “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. ¹⁴ He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. ¹⁵ But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. ¹⁷ The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ ¹⁸ This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

¹⁹ Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! ²⁰ The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, ²¹ whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— ²² it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. ²³ And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, ²⁵ that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. ²⁶ And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” ³¹ While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, ³² and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”³³ Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

³⁴ At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,

³⁶ At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

God Rules in Salvation

1. God and Nebuchadnezzar vv 1-3

2. Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion vv 4-37
i) His pride 
ii) His humbling
iii) His repentance and conversion 
iv) His restoration

3. God Rules in Salvation

Please hold the elements until all have received.

Song 5 – At Your Feet (I Surrender)

We will sing this song until all have received the elements. Please hold the elements until all have received, so that we can partake together.

We will take the elements together.

This is Christ’s body, broken for you, and Christ’s blood shed for you.

Song 6 – Beautiful One

Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.

For all announcements, click here.

Life Study Questions: Daniel 4

Read Daniel 4:1-37

I. Introduction

1. From a first reading of the chapter, what do you think is the key message for believers? For unbelievers?

 II. Into the Text

1. Trace God’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar up to this point in the narrative. 
2. Given his previous experience, why does Nebuchadnezzar summon first the wise men of Babylon (magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners)? (vv. 4-8) 
3. What is the meaning of the dream? (vv. 9-27)
4. Why does Nebuchadnezzar do nothing for a year? (vv. 28-30) 
5. What happens to Nebuchadnezzar? (vv. 31-33) 
6. How does the passage describe his repentance and faith and what does he testify about God? (vv. 34-37) (3) 

III. Application

1. What do we learn from this chapter (and God’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar throughout the book) about God’s sovereignty in salvation? 
2. How does this encourage us in evangelism? 
3. What do we learn about human power and pride? 
4. What do we learn about the true nature of conversion? 

Close in prayer.