Various Confessing that we are sinners, and asking God for mercy through Jesus, is how we enter the kingdom of God. But how does anyone get from thinking they are essentially good and en route to a better place, to recognizing that they are sinners heading for judgement? This is the first talk in a series of two called ‘Crime & Punishment’.
Malachi 3:13-4:6 Why bother being a Christian? What’s in it for us? How do we benefit? Plenty of people who are not Christian seem to have a pretty good time and are happy, and in some ways their lives may actually be better than ours. So why bother? God tells us why in this final section of Malachi.
Malachi 3:6-12 Theft is a big problem in society, and we hate it. We hate having our stuff stolen. But could it be that we ourselves are thieves? Are we actually robbing God, without being aware of it? The people were in Malachi’s day. Perhaps we are too.
Malachi 2:17-3:5 There’s so much evil in the world; so many who seem to get away with it – why doesn’t God do something? Where is the God of justice? Answer: he’s coming. But who can endure it when he does?
Romans 8:28-39 Who knows what the year ahead holds – in the world, in our personal lives, in the lives of our loved ones. As we begin a new year we may find ourselves longing for some certainty and stability – and that is exactly what we find in this passage. It is a celebration of certainty.
John 3:16 Could you imagine Christmas without presents? Never! Christmas is all about giving and receiving. This idea actually goes right back to the very first Christmas, which celebrated the greatest gift ever.
Malachi 2:10-16 Dogs are famously faithful to their owners. As humans our track record in being faithful is not so impressive, but as believers we should be different. God accused his people in Malachi’s day of being faithless – to him and to each other. Especially in their home life. Would he say the same to us?
Malachi 2:1-9 At first glance this passage looks like we’ve been copied in on an irrelevant email to 5th century BC priests. But when we put our New Testament specs on, it becomes clear that the message is for us – pointing us to Jesus; teaching us about church leaders; and warning us as believers.
Malachi 1:6-14 The LORD is a great King who deserves our whole-life, whole-hearted commitment. But the people of Malachi’s day were dishonouring him. It may be that we are doing the same, without realizing it. If so, we need a fresh vision of who the LORD is.
Malachi 1:1-5 When things don’t work out in life as we had hoped – bad news from the doctor, loss of a loved one, disappointment in our personal or working life – we are tempted to doubt God’s love for us. The people in Malachi’s day could relate. And God’s message to them then is what we need to hear today.
