April 19, 2026

Learning the Hard Way: Repentance – Daniel 4:19-27

Ice Breaker

1. Pray for our short-term missions team:
   2026. a) The house build in our church parking lot May 9, 2026.
   2027. b) Pray for those going to Mexico May 22-24,2026.
2. Read Daniel 4:19-27 as a group.

Loving God Unreservedly

3. What does this passage reveal about God’s sovereignty over the affairs of the world?
4. How can we invite God into our decision-making process to ensure we honor Him in our choices?

Loving People Sacrificially

5. What details are given about the tree in verses 20–22?
6. Who benefits from the tree according to verse 21?
7. What does the “decree of the Most High,” reveal about the source and certainty of what is about to happen? (vs. 24)
8. What can we learn from Daniel’s example when it comes to speaking hard truths to others? (vv. 19, 27)
9. In what ways does this passage challenge how we view justice and mercy in our own lives? (vs. 27)

Making Disciples Purposefully

10. When you share Christ with others, are you driven by results or by faithfulness? How might focusing on faithfulness encourage you to persist in sharing Christ, regardless of the outcome?

Dig Deeper (optional/personal study)

11. Reflect: Spend some time this week and read the following verses that deal with pride and repentance.

• Pride brings disgrace (Prov. 11:2), while arrogance generates conflict rather than wisdom (Prov. 13:10).
• God actively opposes the proud while extending grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6).
• Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, while those who humble themselves will be exalted (Lk. 18:9–14).
• Pride precedes destruction and a haughty spirit precedes a fall (Prov. 16:18).
• Pride brings people low, while the lowly in spirit gain honor (Prov. 29:23).
• The Old Testament repeatedly calls people to return to the LORD with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning (Joel 2:12–13).
• The New Testament emphasizes that godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death (2 Cor. 7:10).
• Repentance demands concrete action. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 18:30–32).
• The Lord is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Pt. 3:9).