There are several small books of the Bible, some made up of only a single chapter. Yet they each carry a big message. This series is about the big things God has to say to us through those little books of the Bible.
The book of Obadiah was written as warning to those who deny His Word and lash out against believers and try to destroy them. "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." This little book tells of the descendents of Esau (the Edomites) and how they are battering Israel, then tells of the restoration of Israel. Like the Edomites, you can't go on defying God and deliberately wronging His people without feeling the sting of His vengeance. He is a God of justice. He will avenge His righteous name and He'll do it in His own way.
The next little book in this series introduces us to a man who had doubts. One of the plaguing problems of Christian life is the recurrence of doubts, which may be prompted by the deception and evil we see in the world today, or may be prompted by severe personal crisis. We wonder whether God really knows what's going on. Habakkuk sees all kinds of evil in Judah. He cries out to God to do something and God promises to do just that. In fact, He tells Habakkuk He already is doing something--something that Habakkuk won't even believe! Just as Habakkuk prays for revival, if the church is going to greatly influence the unbelievers around us, we need revival. And we need to have faith that indeed God is doing something in this world.
In the book of Haggai, God tells His people to get busy building the temple. He encourages them to get started on the mammoth task, not putting it off because there are other personal things the people want to take care of first. The book of Haggai is very practical. We've got a lot of programs at this church and there's a lot of work to be done. It's a mammoth task. And we stand here and ask how God is ever going to do it. This message shows us that He's going to do it through us when we get our values straight.
Paul's letter to Philemon shows what a big heart Paul has toward the runaway slave Onesimus. Having stolen from Philemon and fled, Onesimus ends up in jail next to Paul, where the Apostle shares the good news of Jesus Christ and Onesimus becomes a Christian. Paul has a heart of love, not only for the Lord Jesus but for others. This epistle shows how God can use bad circumstances to bring someone to Himself. We are exhorted to love one another as Christ loved us.
John's second epistle is the only letter in the Bible addressed to a woman. In the book of 2 John, John commends the woman for "walking in the truth." We need to know the truth. We must know the doctrine of the Scriptures. We must study the content of the Bible. You can't walk in something you don't know. You can't live in accord with something you don't understand. But it's also imperative to put that doctrine and content into practice.
The book of 3 John is John's third epistle: a letter to Gaius. In it, three men are contrasted. We learn about two good men and their characteristics, which should be emulated. We also learn of another man (who seems to be a leader in the church) who showed us what not to do.
The book of Jude is covered in two parts: Part 1 and Part 2. Jude sits down to write a letter to an unnamed people, intending to write about the doctrine of salvation. But he is compelled to write about a big battle instead. The little book of Jude is built around the big message that we are to be fighting, contending, and battling for the truth of God's Word. We're in a battle. The sides are God's truth vs. Satan's lie. God wants us to get in the fight for the truth of the Word of God."