Taught the weekend of Nov 22nd -23rd

Nov 22^nd – 23^rd Through Prophets’ Eyes / Our world or His word?

Habakkuk 3:16-20

• Transition statement: In this improv exercise, only the last word rules the day. Habakkuk learned that God has the last word in the story of our lives and our world. This leaves us with this choice: our world or His word?

• Background summary: Habakkuk is the only minor prophet who didn’t address the people directly. Instead, this book is much like a journal of the prophet struggling with God.

• Transition statement: Have you ever yelled at God? If you haven’t, then maybe you haven’t looked at life in a while without sanitized gloves on, and you need to look through Habakkuk’s eyes.

• Teaching point: Why? is the question that summarizes Habakkuk’s attitude. The good news is that God was not caught off guard by Habakkuk’s questions. He offered Himself and asked Habakkuk to trust Him. So the question of why was replaced with a Who.

• Teaching point: Habakkuk chose to see God’s word instead of his world. This is the question that this prophet invites us into as well: our world or His word?

• Transition statement: We can take a lesson from the Survivor Tree and find hope in the midst of the rubble. We can choose to trust God’s word over our world.

• Teaching point: We can ask God the hard questions. But our hope is that, as we grieve and ask and ponder, we will move from why to Who and move from just seeing the world around us to trusting God’s word.

• Teaching point: This is the hinge on which true discipleship swings: The moment we realize that God really is good and that He really can be trusted. In this moment, God builds in us faith that can face the fire and come out on the other side.

• Teaching point: No matter what is going on in our lives now, as followers of God we can trust the truth that God has the last word in our lives. So today, we make this choice between our world and His word.

Core Scripture: Habakkuk 3:16-20

Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJ) "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Discussion Questions:

1. Look up the memory verse. Explain what this verse means to you.
2. Do you think God gets "mad" when we question Him? Why or why not?
3. What does God feel like when we choose "our world" over "His Word"? What things make us want to choose the world over Him and His Word?
4. How can we choose God's word over our world?
5. Does "walking by faith, or trusting God" mean you have every question answered in your life?
6. How do you walk by faith when you don't completely understand the negative things happening in your life or in the world around you?

Bottom Line:

• Habakkuk chose to see God's word instead of His world. This is the question that this prophet invites us into as well: our world or His word?
• We can ask God the hard questions. But our hope is that, as we grieve and ask and ponder, we will move from why to Who and move from just seeing the world around us to trusting God's word.
• This is the hinge on which true discipleship swings: The moment we realize that God really is good and that He really can be trusted. In this moment, God builds is us faith that can face the fire and come out on the other side.
• No matter what is going on in our lives now, as followers of God, we can trust the truth that God has the last word in our lives. So today, we make this choice between our world and His Word.