3/16 - 3/20 Life Group Questions
^ Click “Note” ^ Remember to write down some short notes for each of the questions below before heading to life group.
1.
Share 1 thing that stood out to you about Sunday's Message. (1 minute max please) Also press play button in image above to watch or listen to Sundays message if you missed it or just to refresh your memory. (Each Individual)
2. Plumbing Problems
Malachi 2:1-7
1 “Listen, you priests—this command is for you! 2 Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart. 3 I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. 4 Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 5 “The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin. 7 “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Why do you think God chose men of God to be Priests/Pastors and then use them as plumbing (pipes) to get His peace and love (living water) to the people instead of just going directly to individuals Himself? Has God changed His ways or plans for Priests/Pastors and how He primarily communicates with His people? How should people relate to or engage or interact with their Pastors? How can we know if Pastors are allowing living water to flow to the people or not? (Group Discussion)
3. People Problems
Malachi 3:6-15
6 “I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ 8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 13 “You have said terrible things about me,” says the LORD . “But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’ 14 “You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the LORD of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? 15 From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”
On Sunday Pastor Gary said that Plumbing Problems lead to People Problems. He connected the unfaithfulness of the Priests to the unfaithfulness of the people. Malachi talked about how important faithfulness is in the area of tithes & offerings. Malachi also alluded to unfaithfulness in the way the people spoke about God and said that He was unfair & unrighteous in His judgment of them and His blessing of others.
Malachi clearly sees unfaithful Priests and unfaithful People but where is the line drawn between the responsibility of Pastors and the responsibility of individual Christians? We know the two are connected but if our leaders are tithing and we are not, is that a plumbing problem or a people problem? Discuss some of the areas where you think the connections to Pastor’s faithfulness are strong and some of the areas where you think the focus & responsibility is more strongly connected to individual people AND why? (Group Discussion)
4. 400 Years From Now
Malachi 4:2
2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free
Isaiah 61:1 (Jesus 400 years later)
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
Malachi 3:1
1 “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.
Matthew 11:10 (Jesus 400 years later)
10 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’
Malachi 4:5
5 “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives.
Matthew 11:10 (Jesus 400 years later)
13 For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. 14 And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.
On Sunday Pastor Gary said that “The Final Words Of God” were “I love you and I will save you” and then He was silent for 400 years until the birth of Jesus. Pastor Gary told us that even when we feel like God is silent in our lives we should remember what He has said before and trust that He loves us and will save us.
How does God speak to you? How important are His last words to your generation? (The Bible) God’s plans for good often take centuries to come to pass, how should that impact the way you look at the promises of God in your life? (Group Discussion)
* Remember to pray for each other before heading home from life group and to stay in communication here in the app throughout the week on your life group messaging thread!