Week of August 6, 2026 (Haggai 1:1-15)
Haggai 1:1-15
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Haggai 1:1-15 〰️
Could someone read Haggai 1:1-15 for us?
1. Why does God care so deeply about the ordering of our loves, priorities, and desires—not just whether we avoid sinning?
Leader Notes: Help the group see that biblical faithfulness is about more than avoiding sinful behavior. God is concerned with what holds first place in our hearts, because even good things can become disordered when they compete with our devotion to Him.
Additional Verses to Consider: Matthew 6:21, 33; Matthew 22:37–38; Colossians 3:1–5; 1 John 2:15–17
2. If someone said, “A loving God should simply let people pursue whatever makes them happy,” how might Haggai 1 challenge that assumption?
Leader Notes: Help the group think carefully about the relationship between God’s love and His discipline. The goal is to see that love does not mean allowing people to pursue things that will ultimately harm or enslave them; in Haggai, God graciously disrupts His people in order to turn them back to Himself.
Additional Verses to Consider: Hebrews 12:5–11; Psalm 119:67, 71; Proverbs 3:11–12; Revelation 3:19
3. What does it mean to live for God’s glory in ordinary areas like work, money, family, recreation, and rest?
Leader Notes: Move the group away from thinking of devotion to God as something limited to explicitly “spiritual” activities. The aim is to help people consider how every area of life can be rightly ordered around God’s glory rather than personal comfort, achievement, or self-interest.
Additional Verses to Consider: 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17, 23–24; Romans 12:1–2; 1 Peter 4:10–11
4. How do we enjoy God’s good gifts without allowing them to become idols?
Leader Aim: Help the group see that the problem is not enjoying God’s gifts, but asking them to give us what only God can provide. The aim is to consider how gratitude, proper priorities, and a willingness to hold good things loosely can help us receive God’s gifts without making them ultimate.
Additional Verses to Consider: James 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:17; Matthew 6:21; Psalm 73:25–26
5. How should we understand God’s decision to frustrate Israel’s efforts in verses 9–11? How is God’s discipline different from punishment for sin?
Leader Notes: Help the group distinguish between God’s fatherly discipline and His judicial punishment. For those who are in Christ, the punishment our sin deserves has been fully borne by Jesus. God may discipline His children because of sin, but His purpose is not condemnation or repayment—it is loving correction, restoration, and growth in Christlikeness.
Additional Verses to Consider: Romans 8:1; Hebrews 12:5–11; Isaiah 53:4–6; 1 Corinthians 11:31–32
6. What do verses 12–15 teach us about the role community plays in helping us faithfully obey God?
Leader Notes: Help the group see that while obedience is personal, it was never meant to be private. In Haggai, the leaders and the entire community respond to God’s Word together. The aim is to consider how Christian community helps us recognize spiritual drift, encourages repentance, and strengthens us to faithfully follow God alongside one another.
Additional Verses to Consider: Hebrews 3:12–13; Hebrews 10:24–25; Galatians 6:1–2; James 5:16