Resisting And Renewing

In A Creative Minority — Resisting and Renewing, we look at one of the most vivid stories of faithful resistance in Scripture. Daniel 3 places us on the plain of Dura where a golden statue towers 90 feet high and the empire demands worship. The music plays, the crowds bow, but three men remain standing. Their quiet defiance reveals the courage of non-participation: allegiance to God even when the cost is fire.

But exile faithfulness is not only about what we refuse. Jeremiah 29 reminds us that exile is also about what we pursue: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens… seek the peace and prosperity of the city.” Faithfulness in Babylon means redemptive participation — engaging our city with integrity, seeking its flourishing while staying rooted in loyalty to Christ.

These two postures — resisting and renewing — form the heartbeat of a creative minority. Non-participation is not about angry protest or fearful retreat but about quiet holiness: saying “no” to idols in order to say “yes” to God. As the three friends declare in Daniel 3: “The God we serve is able to deliver us… but even if He does not, we will not bow.” That is the precision of true faith: trust that obeys even without guarantees.

From there, redemptive participation flows. Daniel models this as he interprets dreams, administers justice, and prays for his people. Preston Sprinkle describes holiness as “rebellion against the idols of empire, not through violence but through fidelity to God’s Kingdom.” Mark Sayers calls exile the fertile ground where cultural Christianity falls away and authentic discipleship is reborn.

Ultimately, this story points us to Jesus — the faithful exile who faced the furnace of the cross. He entered the fire alone so that when we face trials, He is with us. This sermon calls us to resist the idols of our age, renew our cities with integrity, and live as a fearless Church in a fearful world.