Malachi: Return

Most people hear Malachi 3 and immediately think, “Oh great… a sermon on money.” But this passage is not first about dollars—it’s about distance. God looks at His people and says, “You’ve drifted… but you can come back.” Before God calls them to give, He calls them to return—because the real issue isn’t what’s in their hands, but what’s happening in their hearts.

Malachi 3:6-12

Sermon Outline
1.God Does Not Change
2. The Heart Problem
3. Holding Back Shows What We are Holding onto
4. Generosity is Faith In Action
5. Returning Opens the Floodgates



Discussion Questions

• Where do you see in this passage that God’s real concern is relationship, not money?
• What are some signs that a person has drifted from God even if they are still “doing religious things”?
• If God has not changed, what does that say about changes in our spiritual life?
• Where have you seen yourself drift in the last season—and what may have caused it
• Why do you think God calls the people to return before He talks about giving?
• What does our giving (or withholding) reveal about what we trust?
• In what ways can financial decisions become spiritual decisions?
• Why is God’s promise here not simply “prosperity,” but “provision and protection”?
• What blessings come from trusting God that have nothing to do with money?
• If God evaluated your giving, would He see worship and trust—or caution and fear?