Previous Week’s Sermon Notes

We are currently going through a sermon series through the book of Malachi, titled, “A Wake Up Call from God.” The book of Malachi was God’s last words to the people of Israel for 400 years (until the New Testament).  The primary purpose was to wake up the people of God from complacency.

Malachi 1:6-2:9 “Wake Up to Worship”

1. The Charge: Do You Worship God (1:6)

– Worship entails honoring & fearing (revering) God

– The charge against the Israelites was they had grown complacent in their worship of God – they forgot the worthiness of God.

2. Compromised Worship (1:7-14)

– Defective Sacrifices (1:7-9, 12-14). In the Old Testament, the primary means of worship was sacrifices.  God was very clear what kind of sacrifices were acceptable (cf. Leviticus 22:17-25). However, in their complacency they began to not just offer God their second or third best, but their worst. God was no longer “worth it” in their eyes of worship.

– Compromised Worship = No Worship (1:10). Their sacrifices were of no value to God. (cf. 1 Samuel 15:22)

– Compromised Worship Comes from a Compromised Heart (1:13). The deeper issue was the people’s hearts. The defective sacrifices were only the symptoms.

3. Compromised Leadership (2:1-9)

– Compromised Worship Because of Compromised Leaders (1:6-2:3). God’s strong rebuke of the leaders was because by accepting these defective sacrifices, the priests were incorrectly saying, “God is pleased.”

– Role & Rebuke of the Priests (2:4-9): The priests’ role was to 1. Lead people to the path of righteousness, 2. True instruction, 3. Righteous in their own walk with God, 4. Live in awe of God. Instead, these priests did the opposite.

Reflection & Application

– How are we like the Israelites in offering a “compromised” worship to God? In what ways have our hearts been compromised or lost sight of the glory of God?

– How might my life and witness to others guide people away from God instead of towards God?
– Gospel Truth:  Remember that Jesus is our Great High Priest who is the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  Because of His grace we can worship Him for His glory to the world!

We are glad you are here this morning to worship God together with us! As a church we believe the Gospel – the good news of God’s grace to us through Jesus Christ. This is why we sing, what we preach about, and how we live – centered on the Gospel. This Gospel is what unites us as a church community – regardless of our age, life stage, personalities/interests, or even culture or language.

Please fill out one of the info cards in the pew and pass on to any of our ushers if you would like us to contact you with more information about our church.

Announcements

1. Serving Lunch: Community Groups are scheduled to serve lunch today. See David Tsao for more details.
2. Community Groups: Our small group fellowship for adults (college, single/married, working, etc.) meet weekly every Saturday 10 am-12 pm and Sunday 4-6 pm. For more information, please contact Pastor Joey (joeywang@cfccsj.org).
3. English Ministry Prayer Gathering (10/14): We’ll be having our monthly prayer meeting this Wednesday from 8:00-9:15 pm at Jeff & Ruth’s place as we gather to pray for our church and for revival. Please contact Pastor Joey for more information.
4. Care Packages: This weekend (10/16-10/18), everyone is invited to help make care packages for our current college and grad students! We will be breaking up into smaller groups throughout the weekend. Today is the last day to sign up, so please contact Daniel Chen (dantchen83@sbcglobal.net) if you are interested in participating.
5. Saltshakers (Youth Group): No Saltshakers this week because of the Care Packages event. We will resume next Saturday (10/24). For more information, contact Daniel Chen (dantchen83@sbcglobal.net).
6. ESL Teachers Needed:  We are experiencing a shortage of ESL teachers for our Friday morning and Sunday afternoon English classes. If interested, please contact Vicky Lan (vickylan28@gmail.com).

Prayer Requests & Praises

1. Pray that as a church we would “wake up” in areas of spiritual complacency – that we would awaken to the truth of God’s Word, the grace of Jesus, the fellowship of the Spirit, and God’s heart for the world!
2. Pray for our ESL (English Second Language) outreach classes that meet every Friday morning and Sunday afternoon.  Pray for our teachers as they not only teach but share the Gospel through their lives and their words!
3. Pray for the AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) group that meets at our church facility on Tuesdays. Pray that these individuals would find support from one another in battling their addictions.
4. Pray for Pastor Paul Sanchez as he begins serving at Emaus Church in East San Jose. Praise God for His provision for Emaus Church as they have been seeking a pastor since the beginning of the year.

Commentaries on the book of Malachi

The following are some of the commentaries used in preparation for our sermon series through Malachi:

Joel, Obadiah, Malachi (The NIV Application Commentary) by David W. Baker

– A very user-friendly commentary that spends equal time on the original context (meaning) as well as the contemporary significance (application).

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) by Andrew E. Hill

– An excellent shorter commentary that provides good background as well as exposition of the verses.

The Books of Haggai and Malachi (The New International Commentary on the OT) by Peiter A. Verhoef.
– A  very technical and detailed commentary that gets into the original Hebrew text (verse-by-verse) and interacts with other scholarly works.  Not for the faint of heart but those that want to dig deep into the passage.

New Bible Commentary edited by G.J. Wenham, J.A. Motyer, D.A. Caron, R.T. France

– The best one-volume commentary (on the entire Bible).  If you can only have and use one commentary, this is the one. While the information provided on each book won’t be as detailed as single volume commentaries on a specific book of the Bible, this commentary is a collection of the works of some of the best biblical scholars on the different books of the Bible.

New City Catechism (adapted from www.newcitycatechism.com/intro.php)

We hope that this will be a tool for us to use in discipling our children, one another and ourselves as a church community.  The New City Catechism is also available online and for your smart phones.

Question 5:  What else did God create?

Answer:  God created all things by his powerful Word, and all his creation was very good; everything flourished under his loving rule.

Passage(s):  Genesis 1:31 – “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”