Six Things About God That Don’t Change – Week 2 Guide

God’s Glory – Malachi 1:6-2:2

To download the guide for this week, use the link below.

Connecting question

When have you seen someone treat something valuable casually or carelessly (for example: a car, a painting, a piece of jewelry, a family heirloom)? How did that feel?

Introduction to the Six Things About God That Don’t Change Week 2

God deserves our wholehearted honor and sincere worship. In Malachi’s day, the priests dishonored God through careless sacrifices and empty rituals. God reminds the people that God is a Father and a Lord, worthy of respect. True worship flows from hearts that revere the Lord and give God our best — not our leftovers. Today’s scripture is a powerful rebuke to priests who failed to honor God properly. This passage raises timeless questions about giving glory and honor to God through our worship, reverence, and integrity.

Malachi 1:6–2:2 (NIV)

“A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

“By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible.When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.

“Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty.

“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food is contemptible.’ And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty.

“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.

“And now, you priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

Questions for Discussion

1. What does this passage reveal about how the priests were dishonoring God? What attitudes or actions made their worship unacceptable to God? What might similar examples of neglect or complacency look like in our own spiritual lives?
2. God says, “If I am a father, where is the honor due me?” (Malachi 1:6). What does it mean, in practical terms, to honor God and respect or revere God as Lord? How do we show (or fail to show) that kind of honor in our homes, work, or worship?
3. The priests offered defiled sacrifices (Malachi 1:7–8). What might “blemished sacrifices” look like for us today? Are there ways we give God our leftovers — time, energy, resources, or attention — rather than our best?
4. God challenges them: “Try offering these gifts to your governor!” (Malachi 1:8) What does this reveal about how seriously we take God’s worth compared to how we treat people in authority? How might our choices and attitudes change if we truly recognized God’s supreme value and majesty?
5. In verse 11, God declares that His name will be great among the nations. What does this tell us about God’s ultimate purpose for His glory? How does our personal worship and obedience contribute to making God’s name great in the world?
6. God warns the priests “if you do not resolve to honor my name” (Malachi 2:1–2). What does it mean to intentionally set our hearts to honor God? What are some spiritual practices or habits we could do to help us keep God’s glory at the center of our lives?
7. How does this passage challenge us as believers who serve or lead in the church today? What lessons can we learn about sincerity, reverence, and integrity in our service to God? How might our church better reflect honor and glory to God?

Praying for Each Other

Are there any joys to celebrate, any burdens we can share?