Sunday 1 March
Haggai: Build My House: How to order your life?
Tom Gilpin
Tom walks us through Haggai chapter 1 focussing on what God communicates with Israel: He challenges their priorities, He calls for them to examine themselves, and He give assurance that He is with them. Tom encourages us with the insight that if we want to achieve something in this life, to put God first.
Life Group questions
Haggai: Build My House: How to order your life?
The Book of Haggai: Build My House. Part 1.
Watch the Bible Project: Haggai video Book of Haggai Summary
Read Haggai 1:1 – 1:15
- What do you notice?
- What stands out to you?
- What observations or questions does this passage raise?
Discuss:
Looking at Haggai, and the timeline in the introduction, it seems that God speaks to his people most when they are struggling most (the cluster of prophetic books leading up to the exile of Israel and Judah, and the return.)
- Why do you think this is?
- What does it show us about God?
Haggai ‘joins the dots’ for the people between the neglect of the temple and the disappointment and lack they are experiencing in their harvests and stores. This reflects back on Deuteronomy, and the promises of blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience (ch 28-30)
- Is this a factor we would normally consider when our financial situation is not great? Why or why not?
- Do you think that God only blesses people when they honour Him, or perhaps blesses them more when they are honouring Him? Why or why not?
- If there is a relationship between honouring God and experiencing His blessing, how do we keep our motives pure? (so that we are not “giving to get” or trying to manipulate God?)
- If there is no connection between honour and blessing, what motivates us to honour God?
The passage ends with the people responding to the challenge of Haggai, but also to the promise of God to be with them.
- Why is it important to keep in mind both the challenge from God and the presence and closeness of God in our journey of faith?
- What problems might we slide into if we just have one or the other?
- How would you explain this to a non-Christian friend who just sees Christianity as a list of rules and expectations, or who thinks that God is an imaginary friend who just reinforces what we are comfortable with?
Pray: in smaller groups, ask how people are going with the balance of challenge (responding to calls to grow and change) and invitation (to intimacy with God who loves us just as we are). Pray that we might all hold that tension well and continue to grow in character and closeness.
Past talks