We begin a new mini-series in the book of Daniel: "Living Missionally." Last week we finished our previous series on God's attributes by highlighting the missional heart of God. So, for the next three weeks, we'll be looking at a few key passages in Daniel which demonstrate how to live out God's missional heart in a culture often at odds with our faith. The book of Daniel is set in Babylon, as the people of God are in exile. They are pressured to give up their identity and be assimilated into the culture. The temptation would be to withdraw fully. Yet that is not the path God calls them to live. Instead, as Jeremiah writes (in a passage during the same time frame; Jer.29:4-7), they are called to move into the city and seek its thriving. Yet that command poses immediate problems. How does a follower of God do that in a city often at odds with biblical values? On one hand, how do we avoid offending neighbors unnecessarily? On the other hand, how do we avoid simply being assimilated into other cultural norms? These questions are as germane for Christians today as they are for our non-Christian friends. So let's ask the book of Daniel about "Everyday Missions" (Daniel 1:1-21).
