Tessera Materials

Opening Prayer

God of faithful surprises,
throughout the ages
you have made known your love and power
in unexpected ways and places.
May we daily perceive
the joy and wonder of your abiding presence
and offer our lives in gratitude
for our redemption. Amen.

Scripture

Haggai 2:1-9 NIV
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: [2] “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, [3] ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? [4] But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. [5] ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ [6] “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. [7] I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. [8] ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. [9] ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”

Reflection & Discussion

Shattered expectations. Loss. Disappointment.
Seventy years before the prophet Haggai, God’s people and the city of Jerusalem had been overrun by Babylon. Through His prophets, God had long warned of this coming day of destruction—a consequence of Israel’s idolatry and injustice.

Now, with Persia’s conquest of Babylon, the exiles were finally allowed to return home under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua. They began to rebuild the temple, but it could not compare to the splendor of Solomon’s original. The place once filled with awe and glory—the meeting place where God’s people worshiped and communed in His presence—now stood as a symbol of their shattered expectations.

“And my Spirit remains among you.”

This is what God spoke through Haggai in the midst of their loss, disappointment, and despair.

The same Spirit of God remains with us today—guiding us through our own seasons of loss, disappointment, and broken dreams. The Spirit lifts our gaze toward a coming Kingdom of flourishing and justice for all people and nations just as it lifted the gaze of this remnant of God's people. Perhaps it is only those who have nothing left to lose who can truly dare to believe how good the future can be when their eyes remain fixed on the beautiful promises of God’s Kingdom.

• Share together how this part of God's Story from 500 B.C. speaks to us about current events of today for God's people?
• How can bringing our shattered expectations, loss, and disappointments of today into the light of God's promise of a coming Kingdom of peace, flourishing and justice for all people and nations shape our lives for living today?
• What should we be embodying in our life together as God's people because of this promise of God?

Closing Prayer

Almighty God,
you hold all the powers of the universe within your hands,
and we are your children.
Turn us to the splendor of life in you,
transforming us through Jesus Christ our King,
and strengthen us in every good deed and word as we tend the arrival of your coming Kingdom where peace will be granted to all. Amen.

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