Part Two

Picking up in Malachi 1:6 through 2:9, God confronts the priests and His people with a piercing question: If I am a Father, where is My honor? Instead of bringing God the firstfruits of their lives, the people were bringing defective, blind, and lame animals to the altar—handing God their scraps while keeping the best for themselves.

In this convicting message, we unpack the truth that when God gets our leftovers, He doesn't have our heart. Whether it’s squeezing God into the final five minutes of a packed schedule, giving Him leftover pocket change after our non-essentials, or coasting on past spiritual achievements, we often treat God's table with contempt. Looking through the lens of 1 Peter 2:9, believers today are called a "royal priesthood". How we honor God's name with our time, attention, and resources directly shows a watching world what Jesus is truly worth.

Key Takeaways:

The Pink Glitter Candle: A personal story about regifting an unwanted White Elephant gift to save money for food and movies—illustrating how easily we hoard our best for ourselves and hand God our scraps.

Scraps Over Firstfruits: Exploring how screen time, tight schedules, and leftover budgets creep into daily life, and why a sacrifice that costs us nothing fails to honor God.

The Royal Priesthood: Understanding our identity as priests in Christ who represent God to the world—and asking whether our daily lives demonstrate that His name is precious or worthless.

The "Governor" Test: Applying Malachi’s challenge: If we offered our boss, spouse, or government the same leftover energy and minimum effort we give God, would they accept it?

Primary Scripture: Malachi 1:6–2:9 Supporting Passages: Genesis 4:3–5, Deuteronomy 15:19–21, 1 Peter 2:9