Still | Hope for Everyone | Menlo Church Live Stream

Oct 04, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Foundations Feel Smaller Than Memories

The returned exiles wept over their temple’s modest foundation while others cheered progress. God invites honest grief over unmet expectations without letting disappointment blind us to His presence in the unfinished work. Nostalgia distorts; faithfulness requires seeing today’s rubble as tomorrow’s starting point. What looks insignificant now may become the stage for divine glory. [36:05]

“Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?” (Haggai 2:3, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you compared current realities to “glory days,” missing God’s work in the now? What small step of faithfulness is He inviting you to take today?

Day 2: Strength Starts With “I Am With You”

Three times God commands Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the people to “be strong” not through self-reliance but because His Spirit remains present. Courage flows from covenant, not circumstances. The call to work comes with the promise of partnership—the same God who led Israel through wilderness walks with us through construction zones and career shifts. [41:22]

“Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst.” (Haggai 2:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: What intimidating task have you avoided because it felt too big? How might God’s promised presence change your approach?

Day 3: Shaking Nations, Unshaken Purpose

God promises to shake everything temporary so eternal treasures remain. Silver and gold belong to Him—not for hoarding but for harvesting souls. Our campuses aren’t monuments but mission hubs, sending Christ’s ambassadors into AI disruptions and identity crises. True security lies not in stormproof lives but storm-proof God. [50:25]

“For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: What “shaking” in your life has revealed what you’ve built on sand? How can you invest more in unshakable kingdom purposes?

Day 4: Greater Glory in Unlikely Places

The rebuilt temple seemed inferior until Christ walked its courts. What we dismiss as “small” God uses for cosmic redemption. Our forecasts fail to see how setbacks become setups for resurrection. The latter glory—Christ in us—outshines every earthly achievement. [49:33]

“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:9, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you labeled something “too small” for God’s use? How might He be preparing it for unexpected glory?

Day 5: Holding the Promise After Long Waiting

Simeon clung to God’s promise through decades of silence until he cradled Messiah. Faithfulness means trusting the timeline of the Timeless One. Our “Haggai years” of foundation-laying matter—someone’s future peace depends on today’s persistent hope. [55:12]

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel…he took [Jesus] up in his arms and blessed God.” (Luke 2:25-28, ESV)

Reflection: What long-unanswered prayer needs fresh perseverance? How can you actively wait like Simeon this week?

Sermon Summary

Haggai confronts the gap between what God’s people expected and what they could actually see. Israel stands at the Feast of Booths, remembering Solomon’s temple while looking at a smaller rebuilding project that feels like nothing by comparison. The older generation grieves what was lost, and the younger generation grieves a promise that still feels far away. Nostalgia becomes a forecast built on dated data, and sometimes distorted data too.

God does not deny the disappointment. Haggai lets the people say out loud what is real: this is not what they thought it would be. But God refuses to let their present view become the final verdict. The problem is not what they see. The problem is how they see it, and what they believe God can do with it. The call is simple and costly: stay faithful when the fruit does not fit the forecast.

God then tells Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people, “Be strong.” The command reaches leaders and everybody else because nobody gets to sit this one out. God calls them to work, but not to grind on their own strength. “Work, for I am with you.” God’s presence comes before godly performance. The covenant that began in the wilderness still holds, because God was with his people in tents long before there was ever a temple.

Haggai’s promise of greater glory finds its fullness in Jesus. The rebuilt temple would eventually receive the glory of God in person when Christ walked through its courts. The building would later fall, but the glory would not. Jesus becomes the final sacrifice, and the Spirit now lives in God’s people. A church campus is not the temple, but it can become a hub of hope: a place where God’s people gather, pray, worship, and then go back out carrying his presence into a hurting world.

God shakes the nations, but his purposes cannot be shaken. Professional disruption, cultural anxiety, and even AI may reshape industries, but they do not have to define identity. The Tower of Babel shows what happens when people build to make a name for themselves apart from God. Christ offers an identity that cannot be shaken and a kingdom that no disruption can touch.

Simeon finally holds the promised Christ in the same temple, five hundred years after Haggai’s people wondered whether God could do anything with their small beginning. God grows faith where the details cannot yet be seen. The foundation may be laid, the fruit may still look small, and the timeline may feel slow, but God remains faithful. His people are called to pray, serve, give, and keep going.

Key Takeaways

1. Stay faithful beyond the forecast
Faithfulness does not depend on visible results arriving on schedule. God takes responsibility for the fruit, while his people take responsibility for obedience in the next faithful step. A forecast may be wrong, incomplete, or too small for the kingdom God is building. [39:27]
2. God’s presence comes before performance
God does not send his people into impossible work and promise to meet them later. “Work, for I am with you” means that his presence is already the ground beneath every act of courage. Strength is not self-confidence dressed up in religious language; it is confidence in the God who stays. [42:07]
3. Small beginnings are not small purposes
The foundation of the second temple looked weak beside the memory of Solomon’s glory. Yet God was building toward the day when Jesus himself would enter that temple. What looks unfinished, delayed, or unimpressive may still be carrying a future that cannot yet be measured. [53:44]
4. Disruption cannot define Christian identity
Technology, careers, economies, and institutions can all shake, sometimes without warning. Christ offers an identity rooted in someone unshakable rather than in an industry, a role, or a personal forecast. The kingdom remains the wisest place to invest a life when everything else feels uncertain. [51:15]
5. Churches gather in order to go
Buildings do not contain God’s presence, because the Spirit lives in God’s people. Local campuses matter when they become open doors and hubs of hope for people asking the questions no system can finally answer. The gathered church becomes faithful when it is also a sent church. [47:46]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:26] - Celebrating Hope for Everyone
[30:20] - The Forecasts People Carry
[33:15] - Haggai and the Rebuilt Temple
[35:43] - Nostalgia and Former Glory
[39:27] - Stay Faithful When Fruit Is Slow
[40:38] - Be Strong, for God Is With You
[43:47] - Covenant Presence and the New Covenant
[45:13] - The Purpose of a Church Campus
[48:24] - God’s Timeline and Greater Glory
[50:51] - AI, Disruption, and Unshakable Identity
[53:44] - Do Not Despise Small Things
[55:12] - Simeon Holds the Promise Fulfilled

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Haggai 2:1-9
“In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 'Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.” [35:43]

Zechariah 4:10
“For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.” [53:44]

Luke 2:25-32
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” [54:54]

Observation questions

In Haggai 2:1–9, which people are specifically addressed by God, and what repeated command is given to each group? [40:37]
What contrast does Haggai draw between the former temple and the temple the people are rebuilding, and how does he make room for their disappointment? [35:43]
What reasons does God give the people to work rather than give up, according to Haggai 2? [42:07]
In Luke 2:25–32, what had Simeon been waiting for, and what does he recognize when he sees Jesus? [55:12]

Interpretation questions

Why does God ask the people to honestly compare the rebuilt temple with its former glory instead of pretending that their disappointment is not real? What does this reveal about bringing disappointment to God? [37:58]
What does “Work, for I am with you” show about the relationship between God’s presence and the work he calls his people to do? How does this differ from trying to prove oneself through religious effort? [41:55]
Haggai promises that the later glory of the temple will be greater than the former glory. How does Jesus entering that temple help explain how God fulfilled this promise in a way the builders could not yet see? [49:03]
Zechariah warns God’s people not to despise small beginnings. Why might small, slow, or unseen progress be especially difficult for believers to value? [53:44]

Application questions

Where has a personal forecast—not getting the outcome, timeline, or progress expected—made it hard to stay faithful? What would the next faithful step look like in that situation? [39:27]
Is there a “former glory” in life, family, work, church, or faith that is being compared to the present? How might that comparison be keeping someone from noticing what God is doing now? [38:21]
God’s presence comes before performance. In what area is self-reliance showing up as pressure, exhaustion, or fear? What might it look like to begin that work with confidence that God is already present? [42:10]
What part of identity feels most threatened by professional change, technology, economic uncertainty, or another disruption? How can identity in Christ become more central than a role, career path, or reputation? [51:15]
A church gathers in order to go out as a hub of hope. Who is one person, neighbor, coworker, or family member who may need hope right now, and what is one practical way to offer care or begin a meaningful conversation this week? [47:46]
What is one small beginning that is easy to dismiss—an ongoing prayer, a simple act of service, a generous gift, or a relationship that seems far from God? How can the group encourage faithfulness without demanding immediate results? [53:44]

Sermon Clips

30s

#StayFaithful

“And don't let the size of that dream or the way you are experiencing it right now keep you from seeing what God is already doing right in front of you. So whichever group you're in, the call is the same. Stay faithful when the fruit doesn't fit your forecast. Whether that's a couple years in or five years in, all throughout our life, God is responsible for the fruit. We are responsible for just staying faithful.”

46s

#GodIsWithYou

“This doesn't just stop with the leader. It goes to everyone. Nobody gets to sit this one out, a 100% in. Now look at what he calls them to do. He calls them to work, but he's not calling them to work on their own. He says work for as a result of because of I am with you. In other words, presence always accompanies godly performance. God is not simply telling you and me here's the path, go get to work, I'll show up sometime. He's not saying work hard and maybe I'll be there someday. He's saying I'm already there. I've been there. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.”

37s

#EternalInvestment

“See disruption, it may come for your industry, but it doesn't have to come for your identity. It may come for things that you've spent years building. But Jesus told us to us to store up treasure where moth and rust can't destroy, where thieves can't break in and steal. So put your life into the one thing that no disruption can touch, The kingdom of God and bringing hope to people who don't have any right when they're gonna realize how much they need it. That's always been the best investment and it still is.”

32s

#HubsOfHope

“It doesn't hold God's presence, it hosts God's people who carry it with them and help offer it to those who don't yet have it. And here's the biggest difference. The temple was built for the nations to come in. You can hear it right in Haggai, the treasures of the nations coming in. The church gathers so that it can go out. Our campuses are not the destination. They are hubs of hope where we gather so that we can be sent.”

42s

#UnshakableFaith

“He grows faith when we stay faithful even when the fruit doesn't fit our forecast. See if we knew it all, that's not faith anymore. And there is a kingdom vision that is bigger than your and my perception or expectation or individual forecast. God is shaking things. Some of you, you have felt him shake your own circumstances this year. All of us, we feel the ground moving underneath our feet every time we look at the news, every time we open social media and scroll. But no matter what is shaking in your life, God has his purposes and his purposes, his plan is unshakable.”

34s

#FaithfulLegacy

“Five hundred years earlier men would weep in front of that foundation unsure about how God could use it. Now an old man stood there in the same temple holding the promise fulfilled in his arms. Now two thousand years later, after time, after time, after opposition that no organization, no movement has ever faced in the history of the world, we stand here because of faithful people just like you and a God who is still alive and well, offering hope to you and through you to the entire world.”

37s

#UnshakableIdentity

“And as much as you might want to AI proof your portfolio or AI proof your career, the only way to AI proof your life is an identity that can't be shaken. An identity in something and in someone that is unshakable. One that shapes you and brings hope to other people. As a matter of fact, of the oldest stories that we have in the Old Testament is the Tower Of Babel. We have this group of people who are building something so big and so powerful that they would make a name for themselves. So big and so powerful that they wouldn't need God anymore. Sound familiar?”

34s

#GloryOfGod

“Then he says the latter glory of this house, the one they're building, the smaller one, will be greater than the former one. Now now Herod would eventually expand the second temple into something that was even grander than Solomon's, but that wasn't the fulfillment that Haggai was talking about. See, Jesus would walk into the temple that they're in the process of rebuilding. The glory of God himself in person. And about forty years after Jesus' earthly ministry, this building would fall again. But the glory didn't.”

27s

#FaithFilledPerspective

“Notice God isn't like gaslighting them. He's not like, it's exactly the same. No, no. He's saying, look, I want you to be honest about what you're seeing and feeling. I want you to confess what's real like we talked about last week. He invites them to say out loud what they are really thinking, what they're really feeling. The problem wasn't what they saw. The problem was how they saw it and what they believe God could do with it.”

40s

#PowerOfGodsPromise

“The second point in Haggai's message for God's people is the power of God's promise. See, God was reminding his people and he is still reminding you and me today that what he calls you and me too in our lives is not difficult. It is impossible. He is not calling us to live out a confidence based on our ability, our skill or our intellect. He is calling us to live out a confidence in a call that is impossible without him but inevitable with him. Whether it happens in our timeline or in our lifetime or not, God's kingdom will come. His will will be done.”

35s

#AnchoredInGod

“God, I don't know the immediate circumstances that everyone is carrying today, but I know how many distractions all of us have in our lives. How easy it is for this to become some sort of secondary or tertiary part of our life. But God, who we are in you, it is central. It is the most important thing about us. It is the only thing that will not be shaken in the months and years to come in our world. Would you help us to take such a deep rootedness in you that in a world that is shaking, we would be anchored to something greater.”

30s

#HopeForEveryone

“In a season of disruption part of being ready as a church is having hubs of hope in all of our communities throughout all of our region. So that when people start asking the question that no chatbot can answer, who am I? What am I here for? There's a community, there's a church that knows the answer, sits in the person and work of Jesus and is ready to offer it. That's what hope for everyone is all about.”

34s

#PrayServeGive

“There are people in your life right now that you can't imagine finding the hope of heaven. You're like, oh, they're way too far gone. There's no possibility that they would meet and know Jesus. But I'm telling you, God is working and he's working in their life and he's working in the world in a way that we could never orchestrate and he wants to use you. So look at those three words on that response card when you walked in. Pray, serve, give. We're two years in. If you haven't started doing one of those yet, start one.”

27s

#HouseOfPrayer

“The building no longer held God's presence the same way, but it was still a place where his people gathered and where outsiders could come in and find the hope of heaven. See, Jesus himself, he called it a house of prayer for all the nations. An open door in the middle of any city or any community where it was. That's what a campus is when it is doing what it's doing well.”

37s

#GenerousLiving

“We don't get to project our timeline onto God's timeline. And when he says, the silver is mine, the gold is mine, that's not some arm twisting giving verse that we're seeing. It's the same thing that David prayed. It's basically saying, everything we see in the world is God's. None of us get to take it with us. God doesn't need our money and that's exactly what frees you and me to live and give without anxiety because we realize that every good and perfect gift that we have, so much of our lives that we take for granted was a gift anyway.”

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