The Book of Daniel 9: 1-19

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. So I [a]gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. “Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice. “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Sermon Summary
On Sunday, Student Pastor Eric Wischmann explored Daniel 9:1-19 by examining one of the most powerful prayers of confession in all of Scripture. Pastor Eric opened with vulnerable reflections from his own marriage, sharing how "nothing has shined a brighter spotlight on how selfish I could be than marriage" and how he struggled to apologize without filling his words with "ifs" and "buts." He taught three essential elements of honest confession: we must take responsibility for our sin, we must take responsibility for the damage our sin has caused, and we must give the responsibility of forgiveness to God. Pastor Eric explained the crucial distinction between our position and our condition with God: "Our POSITION is our unchanging standing before God—fully forgiven, fully loved, sealed as His children through faith in Jesus. Our CONDITION is the closeness of our fellowship with God." He concluded with the encouraging truth that "confession is not about convincing God to forgive us—it is about removing what is blocking closeness with Him."

1. Pastor Eric shared that marriage revealed things about himself he never knew—like how loud he chews! What's something a close relationship (marriage, roommate, family) revealed about you that you had never noticed before?
2. Read Daniel 9:1-3 together. Pastor Eric explained that Daniel was meditating on Jeremiah's prophecy about the 70-year exile and recognized "the time is coming where Israel needs to repent as a nation." When you sense distance in your relationship with God, what typically prompts you to finally address it—is it Scripture, circumstances, the Holy Spirit's conviction, or something else?
3. Read Daniel 9:4-10. Pastor Eric pointed out that Daniel—who had been faithful throughout the exile—still prayed "we have sinned" rather than distancing himself from Israel's failures, and he noted that "the devil wants us to believe the lie that if we confess and take responsibility, we will lose the relationship." Why do we so often fill our confessions with "ifs" and "buts," and how does understanding God's faithful character help us own our sin without excuse?
4. Read Daniel 9:11-14 and Genesis 3:11-13. Pastor Eric contrasted Daniel's confession with Adam's response in the garden, where Adam blamed "that woman you gave me"—shifting responsibility to both Eve and God. In what areas of our lives are we most tempted to blame circumstances, other people, or even God for the damage our own choices have caused?
5. Read Daniel 9:15-19. Pastor Eric taught that Daniel "does not demand forgiveness, he does not try to prove why he should have it. Instead he recognizes that it has not been earned, but he asks for it, because of who God is." How does appealing to God's character rather than our own merit change the way we approach confession and asking for forgiveness?
6. Read James 4:8-10 and 1 John 1:9. Pastor Eric distinguished between our position and condition with God: "Sin doesn't remove us from God's family, but it does interrupt our intimacy. Confession doesn't restore salvation—it restores closeness." Share about a season when you felt distant from God and what it looked like when that closeness was restored through honest confession.
7. Read Psalm 32:3-5. Pastor Eric challenged us that "confession must be a regular part of our life" and that "bringing it to our community gives us a chance to have accountability so that we don't do it anymore." What is one specific area where you need to practice honest confession this week—either with God, with a trusted believer for accountability, or to repair damage your sin has caused in a relationship?
   
   

Extra Credit
Look up and read these passages about confession, forgiveness, and restored fellowship with God:
Psalm 51:16-17 - "For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."
Proverbs 28:13 - "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."
Isaiah 59:1-2 - "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear."
1 John 1:8-10 - "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us."

What common threads do you see in these passages about the relationship between honest confession, God's character, and restored closeness with Him? How do these verses reinforce Pastor Eric's teaching that confession is about removing what blocks intimacy with God rather than convincing Him to forgive us?