Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Tim Janiszewski - "Why Malachi?"

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This Sunday
April 10, 2016



Sermon Title:
"The Heart of Worship"



Scripture:
Malachi 1:6-14  
Picture of Pastor Tim
April 7, 2016
 
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:
 
Last Sunday, I preached the first message in a new sermon series on "getting through the tough times." The series is based on Malachi, the last of the thirty-nine books in the Old Testament. After worship, someone asked if I really am planning to work all the way through Malachi during the coming two months.
 
I think I know what lies behind the person's question. Malachi is such a small and obscure book--at least in comparison to the Gospel of Matthew where we spent time from Christmas to Easter. Malachi is one document among the Twelve Minor Prophets. If it is minor, why spend so much time on it? Malachi writes a mere fifty-five verses in his prophecy. So short. And the book was penned at the end of the Old Testament era, long after great figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David have died and long before Jesus would be born in Bethlehem at first Christmas. So is little Malachi really a good use of our time? Is it worthwhile to give it so much attention? Why Malachi?
 
In response, let us consider our core belief about the Bible. As 2 Timothy 3:16 informs us, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [person] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (English Standard Version). Perhaps it is easier for us to think of this passage in terms of the well-known Bible books such as Genesis, Psalms, the Gospel of John, Romans, and Revelation; however, it equally applies to the lower profile ones, such as Malachi. All Scripture includes Malachi. We therefore have confidence that Malachi is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training us in the right ways of God.
 
In addition, Malachi is an Old Testament book. Though we confess that God inspired both the Old and New Testaments, I think we sometimes feel that the New is just a bit more inspiring than the Old. Many of us gravitate to the New Testament. In fact over the years, I've heard some people go so far as to say, "Well, I'm a New Testament Christian." In reflection, we might note that Jesus was not a New Testament Christian. Neither were Peter and Paul. All of the New Testament writers inspired by the Holy Spirit drew deeply and regularly from the Old Testament documents. That gives us our cue to look to books like Malachi, too. In fact, as we make our way through Malachi, we shall see that it is quoted a number of times by New Testament writers. This little book definitely was worth their time.
 
Lastly, I think it can be refreshing to attend to a piece of Scripture with which we are relatively unfamiliar. I call them the Bible books that don't get any respect. Perhaps some of us remember the comedian Rodney Dangerfield. With self-deprecation, Dangerfield would make fun of himself and then conclude with the tag-line, "I don't get any respect!" I suspect that Malachi doesn't get its share of respect, so we'll take a few Sundays to give it just a little. We'll ask the Holy Spirit who inspired Malachi to open our eyes to the things of God from a new perspective.
 
So I encourage us to look with anticipation to our series on Malachi. Let us ask the Spirit to teach us His ways as we ponder its four chapters and fifty-five verses. This is the "why" behind our sermon series on Malachi.
 
Pastor Tim
 
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