Sermons

Through the prophet Malachi's final warning and the events of Elijah, this passage points to the essence of faith. Seeing the people of Israel offer formal sacrifices while drifting away from him, God announces that he will send John the Baptist so that they may repent. This is not simply a religious ritual but an important turning point connected to Christ's cross, which deals with the problem of sin.

The sermon stresses that believers must not waver between God and the world. Just as Elijah demanded a clear choice when he confronted the prophets of Baal, believers today must also clearly discern good from evil. A formal faith that simply attends church, or a state in which one studies the Word but does not truly believe in Christ, can both be condemned. True faith is enjoying the freedom gained in Christ and living in reverence for his name.

Looking toward the judgment and the completion of salvation that will come in the last days, how should believers live? It asks what it looks like to live a life that is not shaken by the world's temptations and persecution, that boldly proclaims the gospel, and that endures with the hope of taking part in the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Through the writing of the prophet Malachi, this passage deals with the fact that God records the reverence and good deeds of the righteous in a ‘book of memory’, and also records the deeds of the wicked, using them as the standard of judgment. God permits Satan's rule, but since he uses what is recorded as the basis when he decides final judgment and rewards, believers must act carefully at every moment.

Citing the visions of Daniel and John, the sermon stresses that the books will be opened at the judgment, and explains that believers who kept the faith through suffering will reign with Christ. Using the example of Abraham's obedience, it points out that since faith apart from works is dead, true faith naturally shows itself in good deeds and devotion. It also mentions the great tribulation and persecution believers will face in the last days, and warns that we must abandon formal faith and live honestly in the truth.

The sermon asks which side believers want to stand on, and asks whether we are checking every day that we are going the right way, carrying out the mission we have been given without being swept along by the currents of the world.

This passage deals with a situation in which the people of Israel disregarded God's love and the honor due him, defiled the sacrifices, and went against the tithe, living sinful lives; and when God did not judge them at once, they even mocked him, saying, “We have not troubled God.” The people do not admit their sin, treat God's patience with indifference, and, seeing the wicked prosper, complain that faith is in vain.

Through the time of the prophet Habakkuk, it also makes clear that the reason God stays silent even as he sees the wicked gain power is not to put off judgment, but to give an opportunity to repent while he waits for the time of wrath. God declares that he will use the cruel Babylonians to discipline his corrupt people, pointing to the human weakness that will not turn back without suffering.

What attitude should we take while God is silent?

This passage deals with a time when the house of God lay in ruins because the people of Israel did not bring their tithes and offerings. God points out that the people have turned away from his ordinances and calls them to return to him. But the people ask in reply how they are to return, saying they do not know, and even deny the rebuke that they have robbed God. This shows the corrupt state of their faith: they did not fear God, and lived for the world and for themselves.

God commands them to bring the tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food, and tells them to test him by it. This is not simply a material demand but a way of showing clearly the blessing from heaven and the curse that a life of obedience brings. God promises concrete protection and abundance to those who obey, such as keeping back the locusts and not letting the fruit of the vine fall before its time. On the other hand, a curse follows those who rob God, and this is an earnest exhortation from God, who loves his people, to help them not to sin.

We must realise that what God wants is not simply an offering of money, but a sincere life and faith that obey his word. Believing God's promise that for those who bring the whole tithe he will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing with not room enough to receive it, how should we think about what testing God in this way will actually bring about?

This passage deals with an age when corrupt priests despised God by offering unclean sacrifices, and with the event of God himself coming into the world to become the eternal High Priest. Through the account of Abram giving a tithe of the spoils to Melchizedek, the king of righteousness, after winning a battle, it sheds light on the true office of priest that existed even before the Law, and on its meaning.

The sermon stresses that no act or devotion that human beings offer is accepted by God without the blood of Christ. Believers do not offer animals as sacrifices; they become people who offer God offerings in righteousness through faith in Jesus' cross and resurrection. It also points out that, remembering that God does not change, we must live lives that truly fear God, not a faith of pretence.

It asks what believers should hold on to as they live, and how they should trust God's unchanging promises.

This passage emphasises the sacredness of marriage made before God, and sternly rebukes the sin of husbands who abandon their wives and marry foreign women. Like the union of Adam and Eve, husband and wife must leave their parents and become one, and the passage makes clear that this is not merely a legal union but a covenant relationship with God. Yet the people dishonoured God's holiness by mistreating or abandoning their wives and marrying foreign women who worshipped idols. As the cases of Solomon and Rehoboam show, the faith and character of parents are an important factor in shaping their children's destiny.

The sermon points out the double-minded attitude of performing religious rituals outwardly while sinning in daily life. It makes clear that the reason God does not accept the people's offerings lies in the breakdown of their families and their false faith. In particular, it treats a husband's mistreating his wife or abandoning the wife of his youth as a grave sin that grieves God. It emphasises that God wants upright families in order to raise godly offspring, and that the character of the head of the household determines the family's peace and the children's growth in faith.

Finally, it warns that God's holding back judgment in patience does not mean he forgives sin. When judgment is delayed even though they sin, the people protest by asking where the God of justice is, but this is an attitude that abuses grace. Should we not, instead of taking God's patience for granted, repent and build godly families?

This passage deals with the covenant of life and peace that God made with the priests of the tribe of Levi. The priests were called to be messengers who teach God's law rightly and lead the people in purity, but many priests became lazy and corrupt, did not proclaim the truth, and defiled the offerings. God shows fierce anger at the disobedience and corruption of these priests, and emphasises that their lips should keep knowledge and that the people should seek the law at their mouth.

The sermon points out that the priests' failure was not simply a personal matter; it led the whole people to death and brought judgment on the nation. God warns that he will cast them off, as though spreading the dung of the sacrifices on the priests' faces, and sternly rebukes the sin of perverting justice and taking bribes for the sake of power and wealth. These ancient warnings apply just as they stand to pastors entrusted with the Word and to believers today. Believers must not know faith only as knowledge, but live out the six days of the week by faith and offer pure worship.

Believers must stay awake, holding the sword of the Spirit, to guard their souls from the temptations of the world and the smooth talk of heresies. We must not justify our own sin because others sin, or ignore God's law in the name of common practice. God unchangingly keeps his covenant and requires us to live by his word, and he warns us not to live lives that are identified with the corrupt priests. What kind of faith will you choose?

This passage deals with a time when the people of Israel and their priests defiled the sacrifices they offered to God, disregarded his grace, and mocked him. God points out that they were bringing not healthy offerings but sick and blemished ones, trying to use him. This goes beyond a mere question of ritual; it is a spiritual corruption that exposes their complaints against the Creator and their lack of thankfulness.

The sermon points out that such an attitude is, in the end, an act of despising God. Just as the priests' corruption put the whole nation in danger, a faith today that seeks only blessings and tries to use God is also a serious problem. It warns that God does not accept offerings brought with deceit, and that we can enjoy his grace only when we sincerely repent and live holy lives. Like King David's earnest prayer, what is required is a true faith that serves God as Lord without being shaken by whether circumstances are good or bad.

The sermon asks why believers must not fall into the world's temptations and greed, but live in obedience to God's unchanging word. It also raises the question of what wisdom enables us to live as believers who keep the faith while waiting for Christ's return.

This sermon deals with the corrupt priests whom God rebukes through the prophet Malachi. God points out that although the priests should have offered unblemished, healthy sacrifices, they placed sick and injured ones on the altar. They kept the good offerings for their own gain and treated God with what was left over, and without even recognising their own sin they questioned God in return. This is the grave sin of despising God's name and treating his table with contempt, and it shows that the corruption of the priests leads to the spiritual ruin of the people.

In the sermon, the priests of the Old Testament are likened to the spiritual stance of pastors and believers today. Just as the apostle Paul kept an unchanging faith in every circumstance, believers must handle both wealth and hardship with trust in God. On the other hand, the attitude of offering good things to the rulers of this world while calculating and begrudging what is given to God is that of an unjust steward. God wants not the offering but the sincerity and honesty of the one who offers it, and pretended worship or selfish giving is regarded as an insult to God.

The sermon leads believers to look back on whether, regardless of their circumstances, they are offering God complete devotion and worship without complaint or doubt. It also leads them to reflect on whether they neglect what they give to God by following the world's standards, or treat their offerings as a means of gaining blessing. The sermon puts to the reader the question of what a life that fears God and truly serves him is.

This passage explains, by contrast, the sturdiness of a work made of stone, which endures the years, and the weakness of a castle built of sand, which easily crumbles before the waves. It warns that believers' faith is the same: a faithful belief centred on God's word is like stone that does not shake even in hardship, but a faith of outward show can vanish without a trace as circumstances change. In particular, through the history of Edom and the parable of the prodigal son, it makes clear that what is built by human effort and pride will in the end be thrown down when God removes his hedge of protection.

When God sends rebuke and warning, complaining against it or resisting it is the same as walking the path of judgment by one's own choice. God's voice calling us to repent of sin and turn back is not for the benefit of our human relationships, but a signal of grace to guard us from Satan's schemes. However much we marshal the world's knowledge and reason to justify our own way, apart from God we cannot build anything firmly, and in the end everything comes to nothing.

The difficulties and collapses we go through may not be simple failures, but signals from God, knocking on our hearts and calling us into deeper fellowship. We are led to look back at the crossroads of choice where we now stand: whether we will be those who, like Edom, refuse to let go of our pride despite the warnings and keep complaining, or whether, like the prodigal son, we will acknowledge our sin and decide to return to the Father's arms.

This passage deals with the spiritual corruption of the people of Israel who had finished their exile and returned to their homeland, and with the warning of the prophet Malachi, whom God sent. Though they had come back after seventy years of suffering, the people complained against God and mocked him because of the hardships of their situation and the lack of prosperity. Along with the corruption of the priests, the people drifted far from God through formal worship and offerings and through sins such as marrying foreigners.

The sermon compares this attitude of Israel with Esau of Edom, and points out the danger of a faith that treats God's grace lightly and pursues only its own benefit. Although God had already chosen them as his people and poured out countless graces, the people clung only to the visible realities before them and doubted God's unchanging love. This shows the human nature that reveals its evil intentions when answers are slow in coming, even after experiencing grace.

We need to look back on whether we are demanding immediate solutions to our problems and prosperity, and pressing God for answers. We ask ourselves whether we are committing the folly of complaining while trusting what we can see rather than the invisible God, and whether we are seeking only blessing without having restored a clean heart through repentance.