Taught the weekend of Nov 1st - 2nd

November 1 & 2, 2008

• Background summary: The book of Haggai was written after the Exile, which was the lowest point in Israel’s history. Years later, the people of God returned home.

• Teaching point: Haggai called the people to a different way of life. He implored them to stop and “give careful thought to their ways.” He wanted them to see if the way they were living was really beneficial.

• Teaching point: Haggai said the people should stop working on their own houses and start working on God’s house. While they worked on God’s house, perhaps God would work on their houses.

• Teaching point: Our house or God’s house? This question gets to the heart of how we see life and the world. Are our lives all about us? Is the world all about us? Or should our lives be about something bigger?

• Teaching point: We don’t have to spend our lives concerned about our own houses. Instead, we can look to put Others First and the most important Other, God, first by working on His mission while we trust Him to work on our houses.

• Teaching point: Our lives can be about something bigger, something better, something that really matters – others and the Other, God. It’s time for us to spend our lives looking through prophets’ eyes by choosing to work on God’s house and trusting God to work on our houses.

Core Scriptures: Haggai 1:1-11

Memory Verse: Matthew 6:33 (NIV) “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Discussion Questions:

1. What kind of situation were the Israelites in at the time of this passage? What did they see when they looked around? How did this affect them personally? How did this affect them spiritually?
2. What choice did the Israelites make: our house or God’s house? Why did they make this choice?
3. How do we also tend to choose our houses over God’s house? What does this choice look like in our lives? What forms does this choice take?
4. What did Haggai see that the Israelites needed to do? How did he speak into this choice?
5. What would Haggai say about what we need to do? How can we stop? How can we give careful thought to our ways? How can we choose God’s house instead of our houses?

Bottom Line:

• Our house or God’s house? This question gets to the heart of how we see life and the world. Are our lives all about us? Is the world all about us? Or should our lives be about something bigger?
• We don’t have to spend our lives concerned about our own houses. Instead, we can look to put Others First and the most important Other, God, first by working on His mission while we trust Him to work on our houses.
• Our lives can be about something bigger, something better, something that really matters – others and the Other, God. It’s time for us to spend our lives looking through prophets’ eyes by choosing to work on God’s house and trusting God to work on our houses.