Taught by Grace Noah Hooper

About a month in rebuilding the temple, the people began comparing this new temple to Solomon’s temple. This new temple was not full of the beauty and splendor of Solomon’s temple. Their materials were less expensive. Their work was less glorious. They looked at the work of their hands and thought “What is the point? We cannot capture the glory of the past so why should we continue building this decrepit new temple?”

      They could have easily stopped building. 

      They could have suspended the work again.

      They could have given up for another 18 years. 

     Maybe they would have, but God would not let the work remain unfinished. He speaks through Haggai in 2:1-9 to implore them to keep working because He would display an even greater glory in this less glorious temple. He reminds His people that He is their glory, not the great or insignificant works of their hands. He implores them to press on in the work, not for the glory of the temple, but because of the glory and greatness of their God. He is a God who glorifies His name through the weak, small, and insignificant.

There are two ways we can live - in disobedience or in obedience. Haggai 1 shows how Israel was living in disobedience by not rebuilding the temple. By living this way, they discovered that life wasn't really satisfying. We will see in chapter one that to live in disobedience to God's Word is the most unsatisfying way to live and that to live in obedience to God's Word is most satisfying.

Haggai is a little book tucked away toward the end of the Old Testament. If the pages are stuck together in your Bible, you may unknowingly skip right on by this book. Yet, this book has much to teach us about the glory of God and how His saints glorify Him.



Over the next five weeks, we are going to walk through this book and see how God used Haggai to call Israel to consider their ways, rebuild the temple, and experience God's blessing again.



This week, I introduce the book by looking at:


The Setting - When the book was written 


The Author - Who was the main figure of the book


The Structure - What is the outline of the book


The Point - Why God sent Haggai preaching to his people.

Titus is like a three chapter IV pumping what it means to live by the grace of God for the glory of God into our spiritual veins. 



And now we come to these concluding verses and think, “Okay, everything else makes sense why I should care, but what impact can these four salutary verses teach me?” On the surface, these verses are very much Paul’s concluding remarks to Titus. He’s finishing this letter out and has some final instructions for him. That is basically what these verses are about, but without straining at gnats and trying to swallow camels, I do believe these verses have more to offer than simply being Paul’s final concerns for Titus. 



In these final words, these verses remind us that God's work is bigger than individuals, is about far more than us, and that we are not alone in this.

We are marching toward the end of Paul’s letter to Titus and in the second to last section, Paul presses deeper into Titus' role as pastor. These four verses have a twofold purpose: 



Titus was to challenge God’s people to maintain good works and do everything necessary to guard against those things that would prevent them from doing good works.

thisministry:

1. Emphasize maintaining good works

2. Avoid foolish talk

3. Reject willing heretics

Titus 3:1-7 describes how believers at to glorify God in an ungodly world. We are to be submissive to the government and kind to all men (1-2). Verses 3-7 answer the question of why?



Titus 3:3-7 answers this question - Why should I treat unbelievers in the way verses 1-2 describe? Paul gives us two Gospel realities to remember: 

Remember that you were just like them (3) - They are sinners 


Remember that you are saved by grace (4-7) - They need the Gospel