In this episode of Help Me Teach the Bible, I talk with David Helm, pastor of the Hyde Park Congregation of Holy Trinity Church and chairman of The Charles Simeon Trust. The book of Daniel is often mined for the stories in its first half while the apocalyptic visions of the second half are avoided. David is the author of a new book Daniel for You (The Good Book Company, 2015) and is also author of the acclaimed Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Word Today, One to One Bible Reading, as well as The Big Picture Story Bible. Promising that we can teach the book of Daniel without charts, David provides great wisdom to teachers in this episode, including:
- Why teach the book of Daniel
- Understanding Babylon throughout the Bible and in this book
- The thematic poetic line in Daniel
- Getting to Christ in the fiery furnace scene
- Making the genre shift in the second part of Daniel
- The primary fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies in the death and resurrection of Christ
Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful in preparing to teach Daniel:
- At Home in Babylon (Daniel 1–6) and Getting Home from Babylon (Daniel 7–12), sermon series from Holy Trinity Church
- TGC sermon resources on the book of Daniel
- The Proclamation Trust has numerous resources on Daniel by Sinclair Ferguson, Simon Manchester, and others.
- Jesus in the Lions’ Den?: Preaching Christ from Daniel (Matt Smethurst interviews Sidney Greidanus)
For further study, here are some books you may find helpful, including titles from Crossway, the sponsor of Help Me Teach the Bible:
- Daniel for You by David Helm
- Preaching Christ from Daniel by Sidney Greidanus
- The Gospel According to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach by Bryan Chapell
- Daniel: Reformed Expositional Commentary by Iain M. Duguid
Subscribe to TGC’s podcast in iTunes or for other devices to get this and subsequent interviews in Help Me Teach the Bible with Nancy Guthrie. You can also download the interview here or stream it above.