Grow! Pray! Study! The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection's Guide ~ Wednesday, 19 February 2014 "Rebuild the temple"

Grow! Pray! Study! The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection's Guide ~ Wednesday, 19 February 2014 "Rebuild the temple"
Daily Scripture: Ezra 1:5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred to go up rose up to build Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem. 6 All those who were around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with animals, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. 7 Also Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of Yahweh’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods;
Haggai 1:1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, Yahweh’s[a] word came by Haggai, the prophet, to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “This is what Yahweh of Armies says: These people say, ‘The time hasn’t yet come, the time for Yahweh’s house to be built.’”
3 Then Yahweh’s word came by Haggai, the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies waste? 5 Now therefore this is what Yahweh of Armies says: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.”
7 This is what Yahweh of Armies says: “Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says Yahweh.
Footnotes:
a. Haggai 1:1 “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.
Ezra 6:13 Then Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, Shetharbozenai, and their companions, because Darius the king had sent a decree, did accordingly with all diligence. 14 The elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 This house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16 The children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 They set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.
Reflection Questions:
After almost 70 years of exile, the Persian king Cyrus allowed Israel to return to Jerusalem. With a firm "nudge" from God through the prophet Haggai, the once-complacent Israelites set out to rebuild God's house in Jerusalem. It took nearly 20 years, through many challenges and opposition. But rebuilding God's temple mattered to the Israelites, who persevered through the hardships to complete the work God called them to.
Rebuilding the temple took far more than any one person, or even one community, could provide. Have you or someone you know ever felt God nudging you into something—a project, initiative, or mission—that seemed too big to accomplish on your own? What was that experience like? In what ways did God's power and provision show itself through that experience?
God called the Israelites to build a temple as a special place to worship, as we believe God is calling Resurrection's Leawood congregation to do. Special places for worship matter in your personal walk with God, too. Do you have a "temple" where you meet God regularly? In the daily and weekly rhythms of your life, where can you build or rebuild a "temple" in which you spend time with God?
Today's Prayer:
Lord God, open my eyes to see the beauty that can be created when we all pitch in. Open my hands to give freely, and open my heart to feel the joy that comes as we grow together. Amen.
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Insights from Pastor Wendy Lyons Chrostek
Wendy Chrostek is a Congregational Care Pastor at Resurrection.
Read and Reflect:
(Head)
Louisiana is no stranger to flooding, and last year was no exception. My hometown of Lake Arthur faced such a threat. The levee was just about three inches from flooding over, and there was no way they could hold off the water without everyone’s help. So the efforts began—in this small town, person after person stepped up to help fill and lay sandbags. It’s easy to invest time and energy when it’s your home about to get flooded, but when your home isn’t in danger, it’s a whole lot easier to stay inside. But that didn’t stop them. It wasn’t about helping themselves as much as it was about helping their neighbors, about helping those they saw at the grocery store, and who they saw in line picking their kids up from school, and those that they sat next to at the high school football game. It wasn’t their home, but that didn’t matter.
During the reign of King Darius, the prophet Haggai had brought a word from the Lord that it was time to rebuild the temple. The people were reluctant—in fact, they were more worried about taking care of their own homes, which led the prophet to say, “ Is it a time for you yourselves to live in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? ” (Haggai 1:4) It took someone from the outside to make them realize that something needed to be done. And so the efforts began. “ Everyone whose spirit God had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. All their neighbours aided them with silver vessels, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with valuable gifts, besides all that was freely offered .” (Ezra 1:5-7) Did you catch that? It wasn’t just those whose hearts had been stirred by God, but also neighbors. They weren’t Jewish, they wouldn’t be worshipping in the temple, they didn’t have any stake in this, and yet they freely offered their gifts.
The waters held off, and Lake Arthur repelled this threat of a flood. Like those
seeking to rebuild the temple, they were compelled by the vision of something
greater than themselves. When the entire community stands behind a vision,
something profound happens. And you get to be a part of that.
Prayer and Meditation
(Heart)
Gracious God, we know that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and so we pray that you might show us places where we can give, places where we can offer our gifts and service to impact our community. Help us to see the opportunities to bring change and hope all around us.
It is true that every little bit helps, but there are times when we feel that our little bit can’t quite possibly make a difference. Instill within us the assurance that indeed our gifts are worth sharing.
Finally, open our eyes to see the beauty that can be attained when we all pitch in,
open our hands that we might give freely, and open our hearts to feel the joy that
comes from growing together.
Amen.
Be, Do & Go
(Hands)
Sometime today offer to help a neighbor, whether by shoveling their snow-covered
sidewalk, by helping to carry their groceries from their car, or even sending them an
encouraging card in the mail. By doing something selflessly for someone in the community,
you’ll be contributing to their joy and in turn, you will feel joy as well.
For Discussion:
Use this section to help prompt discussion with your spouse, children, small group, etc.
1. Have you ever started a project with great enthusiasm, only to find yourself “bogged
down” when things got tough? Haggai the prophet challenged the Israelites when
they began to say, of rebuilding the Temple, “maybe later.” How can his sense of
urgency speak to us at Resurrection as we confront the challenges of the 10,000
Reasons campaign?
2. Resurrection’s Leawood, West and Downtown campuses have all seen attendance
jump when they completed past building projects. Ezra wrote that Israel “joyfully
celebrated the dedication of this house of God” when the Temple was rebuilt. What
do you most anticipate celebrating when our new sanctuary is completed?
3. In what ways will our new sanctuary honor God, as the Temple did?
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