The Gospel Project at Home: Daniel Obeyed God

Read Scripture

Read all or parts of Daniel 1 from your Bible or watch the Bible story video.

Preschool Bible Story Video

Elementary Bible Story Video

Talk About Scripture

The basic ingredients for chocolate chip cookies include flour, sugar, eggs, baking soda, butter, vanilla, salt, and chocolate chips. Do you know what would happen if you gathered each of these items and threw them into a bowl? You’d have a big mess and no cookies to enjoy! That’s because the recipe requires you to follow specific instructions and steps to make the perfect cookie. 

Daniel loved God and wanted to obey Him. Even though Daniel was living in a foreign land with a pagan king, Daniel wanted to remain faithful to God’s laws. Like a recipe with specific instructions, God’s laws told Daniel exactly what he could and could not eat. Daniel chose to honor God by refusing the king’s food and asking permission to eat only vegetables and drink only water. God blessed Daniel’s faithfulness by giving him wisdom and strength! 

The Bible tells us that God is perfect and holy and that God calls His people to likewise be holy and different from the world. The problem is that none of us can perfectly obey.   

As we learn about Daniel’s obedience in this story, it’s a reminder of the perfect obedience we see in Jesus. Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s plan—even when it meant dying on the cross. If we trust in Him, Jesus credits us with His perfect righteousness!  

Daniel was faithful to obey God, even in the small matters like eating the correct foods. Jesus was faithful to obey God in every way. When we trust in Jesus as Savior, God credits us with the perfect life Jesus lived.                        

Pray: God, we praise You because You are holy and perfect. You have given us Your Word to show us how to follow You. You sent Jesus to die on the cross in our place and provide the righteousness we could never earn. Thank You for Jesus and His perfect obedience. Amen.

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Learn Scripture

Preschool Scripture Music Video

Elementary Scripture Music Video

Family Prayer

Mornings: Ask God to show you ways to honor Him today. Think about the choices you will make, the interactions you will have with others, and the opportunities you’ll have to trust Him. Ask God to help you honor Him in each of those areas. 

Evenings: Thank God for the Bible and how it instructs our lives. Ask God to give you strength and wisdom to follow His commands. Remember that God’s forgiveness and blessing is based on Jesus’ perfect obedience and not our own! 

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Family Activities

For Fun: Plan a vegetable dinner for your family. Serve different kinds of veggies and dips for kids to try. Talk about how Daniel obeyed God and honored Him by not eating the king’s food. Remind kids that it was God, not the food, that made Daniel wise and strong! We can ask God for the same wisdom and strength to follow Him.   

To Serve: Find a recipe for banana nut bread or a similar treat. Work with your kids to follow the recipe as it is written. Share the baked treat with a neighbor or friend. Remind kids that God wants us to follow Him and obey Him. While we can’t do that perfectly, Jesus did! We can have His righteousness by trusting in Him.    

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