• Judges 2:7, 10-14 – Later generations of Israelites turned away from God because of lack of knowledge and teaching.

• Genesis 1:1-31 – Creation

  • Genesis 1:29-30 – It seems that all animals (and man) were herbivorous at first.

  • Genesis 1:26 – Man was to have dominion over the animals.

  • God created by speaking, showing His authority.

• Revelation 4:11 – God is worthy to receive glory and honor and power.

• Isaiah 45:5-7 – There is no one like God!

• Isaiah 45:9-13 – God has authority over what He has created. (This is prophecy of Cyrus allowing the people to return and rebuild.)

• Isaiah 42:5, 1-4, 6-9

• I Timothy 4:4-5 – We should receive God’s blessings with gratitude.

• Colossians 1:15-18 – The creation teaches us about Christ and the church.

• Things we can learn:

  • Acts 17:24-27, 30 – We should seek God!

  • Malachi 2:10 – We are all family. There is one race!

Passages concerning the Lord’s Supper:

• Matthew 26:26-29
• Mark 14:22-25
• Luke 22:19-20
• I Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-29
• Acts 20:7

The Lord’s Supper means to the Christian:

• That he is having fellowship with Jesus’ body and blood.

• It proclaims:

  • … that Jesus was alive.

  • … that Jesus died.

  • … His coming.

  • … that we are in the kingdom now.

    • Note: Pre-millenialists can’t take the Lord’s Supper and be consistent with their beliefs.

  • … that we are under the New Covenant.

  • … our faith and love for Him.

• It is a memorial of His death and promise to come again.

  • Jeremiah 2:32

  • We take the supper on the first day of the week to remember Him all week long.

• An anticipation

  • I Corinthians 11:26

How should we partake?

• Acts 20:7 – Regularly.

The prayer of thanks

• The prayer should include thanks for the bread and fruit of the vine.
• There is no need for the prayer to be long. It is best to keep the focus of the prayer on the supper itself.
• At a cemetery, a tombstone is a memorial, not really a representation of a person.
• The bread and fruit of the vine are more properly understood as memorials, not as representations of the body and blood of Jesus.

Contingencies

• What about going on a trip and missing the supper?
• Consider carefully because we will have to answer for the Lord for our decisions!

The Lord’s Supper looks:

• Upward
• Forward

• Haggai 1-2

Introduction

• The name Haggai means “festive.”
• We don’t know much about Haggai other than the additional mentions in Ezra 5:1-2; 6:14.
• The book was written during the second year of Darius, about 520 B.C.
• The message of the book is to rebuild the temple. Rebuilding was necessary if God was to bless the people.

Background history:

• Three waves carried into Babylonian captivity from Judah:

  • 606 B.C. – Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

  • 597 B.C. – Ezekiel

  • 586 B.C. – Temple was destroyed

• 70 years of captivity in Babylon: 606-536 B.C.

• In 549 B.C., Cyrus defeats the Medes, creating the Medo-Persian empire.

• In 539 B.C., Cyrus captured Babylon, becoming the reigning world power.

• Cyrus was a unique leader and was good to those in captivity. He not only allowed them to return to their home country but provided resources for them to rebuild.

• Isaiah prophesied about the coming of Cyrus, calling him by name over 100 years in advance (Isaiah 44:28; 45:4).

• Ezra 1:2-4 – Cyrus allowed people to return.

• Ezra 3:11 – Cyrus allows cedar trees for the people to use to rebuild.

• By the time of Haggai, the people had rebuilt their own houses, but not the house of God. Fourteen years the temple foundation had been in place, but nothing was built on it.

The messages of Haggai

Message 1: Your indifference is causing all the things you’re suffering (Haggai 1:1-15)

• Haggai 1:4 – Their indifference was the reason God had not blessed them. This is not the last time people have built their own houses to the exclusion of God’s house.
• Haggai 1:6-11 – God had refused to bless them.
• Haggai 1:12 – The remedy was repentance!
• Haggai 1:14-15 – The people heard the message and quickly got to work.

Message 2: The glory of the new temple (Haggai 2:1-9)

• This message came 3.5 weeks after the construction restarted.
• The feast of tabernacles was a time once a year where the people were to live in tents for seven days to commemorate the wilderness wanderings.
• Haggai 2:1-3 – The older people who remembered the first temple thought this one was nothing in comparison.
• Haggai 2:4 – God would bless them if they would be strong and obey Him.
• Haggai 2:7 – This was ultimately fulfilled in the kingdom of Christ (Hebrews 12:26-28). The treasures that cannot be shaken are those that God’s people store up by serving Him in this life, culminating in the treasure of heaven. See also Daniel 2:44.
• Haggai 2:9 – This is referring to the glory of the kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Message 3: Because of their lack of service, even what good they were doing was not acceptable to God (Haggai 2:10-19)

• Haggai 2:10-19 – God would now bless them since they were repairing the temple.

Message 4: While the earth and everything around was shaken, they would be blessed (Haggai 2:20-23)

• Haggai 2:23 – Zerubbabel would be the chosen leader, not so much because of him personally, but because of his lineage.

Lessons for us

• Don’t be negligent. Be busy in serving God.
• God will not bless those who are indifferent in building His house.
• Do not expect God’s blessings while not honoring Him.
• If you mix clean and unclean, you have a body of uncleanness.
• All preaching must have a “thus sayeth the Lord.”

• Matthew 6:19-21

• This is an issue of the heart.

  • Matthew 6:24 – You cannot serve two masters.

  • I Timothy 6:8-10 – It’s not about money – it’s about the love of money.

• We have to trust in God more than stuff.

  • Matthew 6:19-20 – Earthly treasures are by nature uncertain.

  • Psalms 62:10

  • Hebrews 10:32-34

  • Matthew 5:11-123

  • Hebrews 13:5-6

  • Ecclesiastes 5:10-14

  • If you have little, it’s much easier to trust in God.

  • Today, we may feel secure, but are we really secure?

• Let’s get specific: how do I build up treasures in heaven?

  • Spend time in God’s service.

    • I Timothy 6:11-14

  • Demonstrate love to everyone.

    • Luke 6:35-38

    • Luke 18:22

  • See to the needs of the brethren.

  • Persevere when the world hates you.

    • Revelation 2:8-11 – They were poor, but rich in heaven. God would not take their poverty away but would them through it.

  • Yearn for heaven!

    • Hebrews 11:16

• II Thessalonians 2:1-12 – The man of lawlessness.

  • About 25% of I Thessalonians refers to the second coming of Christ.

  • A good case can be made that the “man of lawlessness” is referring to the Roman Catholic church.

  • II Thessalonians 2:4 – Compare the title of the Pope as “vicar of Christ,” implying his “supreme and universal primacy.” See also Acts 10:25-26; Revelation 22:8-9

  • II Thessalonians 2:6-7 – Possibly refers to the Roman Empire. The Roman Catholic church increased greatly in power after the fall of the Empire in 476.

  • II Thessalonians 2:7 – “mystery of lawlessness”

    • People were already striving for preeminence (II John 1:9-10) and “advocating different ways” (II Peter 2:15). Compare also I Timothy 6:3.

  • II Thessalonians 2:9-10 – Miracles were part of the qualification of “saints” canonized by the Roman Catholic church.

  • II Thessalonians 2:8 – The Roman Catholic church is still here today.

  • Matthew 23:2

  • II Thessalonians 2:11 – Bible writers often used verbs figuratively to refer to something that you didn’t do directly, but that you allowed or to which you had some connection. See John 4:1-2; Acts 1:18 for examples.

  • The man of lawlessness may also refer to a general pulling away from God’s ways, of which the Roman Catholic church is one example in particular.