TEACHING DANIEL:
From Text to Message
By Bob Fyall and Robin Sydserff
PT Resources / Christian Focus. 368 pages.
£8.99
ISBN 978 1 845 504 571
Teaching the Bible faithfully and winsomely, week in, week out, is a challenging task as we work to understand the claims of Scripture on our lives.
How thankful we are for faithful guides, partners in the gospel, who help switch the lights on to the wonders of God’s Word. Teaching Daniel is such a guide. In this volume Fyall and Sydserff are reliable friends in unpacking such a relevant book as Daniel is for our times.
Overall message
The opening chapter of introductory material seeks to get a handle on how the whole book fits together, the context in which it was written, its overall message for the people back then and for the church today. I loved its reminder that the focus of the book is not Daniel and his friends, but the living God who is on the throne building his everlasting kingdom. This first chapter not only helps me to get my bearings but also excites me to teach this book.
The rest of the book guides us through Daniel chapter by chapter. The structure of each section is the same: orientating us in terms of the context; assisting us in the hard work of grasping the claim of the passage; then helping us think through how to teach this passage of Scripture, not only in terms of preaching, but also in an interactive setting.
If I have one reservation, I wonder if it almost provides too much help, particularly in giving outlines for sermons or talks. Of course this is not the authors’ intention, but one could be so ‘spoon-fed’ by this book that the pastor, teacher or Bible-study leader may be tempted to neglect prayerful meditation upon God’s Word and simply ‘reheat’ what is here. Do use this book, it’s good, but also commit to studying the Scriptures, praying for God to give illumination to his Word and to breathe life into our own studies. so that men and women will hear the message of Daniel, not as the words of men but, as it is, the Word of God.
