May 24, 2020 Post



Galatians 5:13-14


I hope that you have been enjoying this Memorial weekend; traditionally  recognized as the weekend that ushers in summer.  While our celebrations may have been void of parades, large gatherings and camping trips; our freedom in Christ and the freedoms we know as Americans, are no-less worthy of remembering and celebrating.

I hope this beautiful Sunday finds you and your family healthy and well, enjoying the weekend.  We truly do have lots to be thankful for.  Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all the veterans who have served our country.  We appreciate and Love you!

Peace, Blessings and Love,

Pastor Schalm





By: Gladys Nellist

It was an exciting day for the hungry lions as they lay in their den by the king’s palace. They had not eaten for days and boy, were they hungry.  But today they would get to eat Daniel – the man who was going to be thrown into their den because he would not stop praying to his God.  The hungry lions could hardly wait.  Their big tummies rumbled as they heard the guards marching with Daniel towards their den.  Suddenly, Daniel was falling, falling, falling; down, down, down, into the den.  Bump! Daniel landed right in front of the hungry lions.  Their long whiskers twitched and quivered in delight as they looked at their lunch.  Oh my, how good he smelled!

Just then, Daniel rolled over, got to his knees, put his hands together, and closed his eyes.  What on earth was he doing? Daniel was talking ever so quietly.  Who could he be talking to?

“Dear God,” Daniel whispered, “I know you watch over me wherever I go.  I know you are watching over me right now.  Save me, I pray, from these hungry lions.”

The lions almost laughed out loud.  So that was it!  Daniel was praying to his God!  Well, that would do him no good at all. But just as they were about to pounce on Daniel, something strange happened.  Suddenly, their big tummies did not feel hungry any more.  In fact, they felt quite sleepy.  Those big lions closed their big mouths, closed their big eyes, and fell into a deep, deep, sleep. And when they woke up the next morning, their lovely lunch was gone.  God had saved Daniel after all!

Although the hungry lions lost their lunch that day, they learned an important lesson.  They knew, without a doubt, that the God who Daniel loved was watching over all his children- through scary times or happy times, while they were asleep or awake.  God was watching over every single one of them every single minute of every single day.  And those lions knew that he must be a very wonderful God indeed.

             God’s Wonderful Words to You
“I will watch over you everywhere you go.” ~Genesis 28:15





  • Ask child/ren, What is character? Allow them time to respond. (A person’s behavior or personality)
  • What are some character traits that people can have? (Honest, liar, lazy, hard worker, encourager, discourager, loyal, disloyal, etc.) Character traits can be positive and they can be negative. Character also has consequences. If you are honest, people will trust you. If you are lazy, you won’t get good grades that come from studying. Godly character requires discipline. We must follow God every day and obey His commands to have Godly character.

Today’s story tells us how important it is as followers of Christ to live lives with godly character. Those who don’t believe in God and don’t follow Christ are always looking for a reason not to believe and they look at His followers to find some character flaw to be an excuse not to believe. We are commanded to be lights in this world so that we can point others to God. If we are known by our bad character others have a difficult time seeing how great God is.

Darius was the king who ordered Daniel to be thrown into the Lions Den.  But did you know that Darius liked Daniel!  He respected Him because of His dedication to His God.  However, Darius did not know Daniel’s God, our God, so he listened to those he put in charge of keeping the people under control.  Because Daniel had a very good reputation before King Darius, many of Darius’s governors (those he put in charge) were jealous of Daniel. The only way they could keep Daniel from looking good in the eyes of the king was to look for something that Daniel was doing wrong in his work. Surely they could find a time when he was dishonest in his job or took money that didn’t belong to him. Maybe they could catch him taking a nap at his desk when he was supposed to be working. They searched and searched for something bad to say about Daniel but couldn’t find anything wrong. In everything Daniel was found trustworthy and faithful.

  • Can others say that about us? Are you trustworthy? Can people believe what you say and when you do something do you do it to the best of your ability? If you are a Christian you can be trustworthy and faithful with God’s help by the power of His Holy Spirit that lives in your heart.

Well, because they could find no wrong in Daniel, those two governors came up with a deceitful plan.  Imagine being King Darius on the day his appointed leaders show up before him. They stood before him and spoke flattering words, they said, “O King Darius, live forever! We have gotten together and have agreed that we think that you should make a law that for the next thirty days no one should pray to any other god except to you. If anyone breaks your law the punishment will be thrown into the lions’ den.”

The king was flattered. Here was a group of his leaders suggesting that all the people only pray to him for the next thirty days. He was being influenced to think he was god and was worthy of others’ praise and worship. It sounded like a good idea to him because he got lost in his own pride and thinking how wonderful it would be to be praised by the people of his kingdom. He wrote out the law and signed and sealed the law making the law unchangeable. What was written must take place and no one could change the king’s law.

When Daniel heard that the law was written and signed by the king he went home and did what he always did. He opened his window that was facing in the direction of Jerusalem a place he lived with God’s people many years before. He got on his knees and began to pray and asked God for help.

What character trait do you see in Daniel when after hearing that he could be in danger for praying, still prays before God? (Faithful, courage) Daniel was faithful to God and did not let anything keep him from praying and talking to God.

As Daniel is praying with his window open, his enemies came to his house and found him praying to his God. They must have been so excited that they finally caught Daniel doing something wrong. They found so much satisfaction that they had tricked the king so they could catch Daniel breaking a law. They rushed back to King Darius and said, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles (someone who was taken from their own land) from Judah pays no attention to you, O King or to the law you put into writing. He still prays three times a day to his God.

Daniel’s enemies were happy but Darius was very troubled.  He knew Daniel was a faithful man with an excellent spirit. He must have wanted to kick himself for falling for the trick of making this crazy law that people could only pray to him. He tried very hard to keep Daniel from being punished because he broke this law. He worked hard until the day was over trying to rescue Daniel from his punishment. Finally, knowing that he had no other choice, Darius ordered Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den. As Daniel was being taken to the den the king said, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

The LORD saved Daniel and protected him from harm all night long. The next day everyone was amazed by the power of God. Just like Daniel, we can trust that Jesus will save those who follow him. No matter how bad the trouble, God has the power to save.


  1. Who is Darius?
    2. Why were the 2 governors jealous of Daniel?
    3. Why were they looking for something that Daniel had done wrong in his life?
    4. How did they plan to get Daniel in trouble before the king?
    5. Why was Darius upset when they told him about Daniel praying?
    6. Why was Daniel safe in the lions’ den?
    7. What can you do this week that will be a positive influence in another person’s life?





Dear ___________________,

Do you know who made the lions go to sleep that day?  It was me!  And do you know what is so funny about that?  I never, ever go to sleep.  In fact, I never, ever close my eyes.  That is why I am able to watch over you- wherever you go, whatever you do.  I will be watching over you every single minute of every single day, watching over you forever, just like I watched over Daniel.

With So Much Love,picture of little hearts








1.)  Have your child/ren  take a paper plate and using whatever craft items you might have, make a lion.
Have them write on it, “God watches over me.”

2.)  Print the following coloring sheet below and have your children color it.

Coloring Page


 1.)  LETTERS TO OUR VETS  Have your child/ren make a card or write a letter to a veteran thanking them for their service.  As they are quarantined and unable to play with all their friends and family members, remind them that those serving our country are often away from their families and friends for months and years.  Below is a link to secure a vet’s name and address.


2.)  ADOPT A GRANDPARENT  Write a letter, or color a picture to one of our elderly church members twice a month.  That’s all you have to do to brighten someone’s day.  Have mom or dad email, call or text me for a name and address.

We can all do something to lighten the load of others during this time.  Be creative and share your ideas!

Pastor Schalm (734) 255-0935  /




Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your promise to be with me everywhere and forever.  Please help me to develop good character that will please you.  And even though it is really hard to do the right thing sometimes, thank you for promising to help me make the right choices when I pray and ask You. ~ Amen.