Illustrations from Malachi

Malachi 3UniversalRefiner

Malachi 3 — Universal (edgy)

Malachi 3: In context, it doesn’t flatter us—calls us to live the text’s core truth with integrity.

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⛪LensLines™(54)📖Stories & Illustrations(31)

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Repentance

Malachi 3Black ChurchRefinerRepentance

Malachi 3 — Black Church (edgy)

Malachi 3: From the struggle for freedom, it doesn’t flatter us—proclaims hope, dignity, and God’s liberating justice.

Malachi 3ChristocentricRefinerRepentance

Malachi 3 — Christocentric (pastoral)

Malachi 3: In the red thread, it meets us gently—leads us to Jesus—the center and fulfillment of Scripture.

Malachi 3CharismaticRefinerRepentance

Malachi 3 — Charismatic (edgy)

Malachi 3: In Spirit-led life, it doesn’t flatter us—stirs hunger for God’s presence and empowered ministry.

Malachi 3CharismaticRefinerRepentance

Malachi 3 — Charismatic (pastoral)

Malachi 3: In Spirit-led life, it meets us gently—stirs hunger for God’s presence and empowered ministry.

Malachi 3Progressive/Social JusticeRefinerRepentance

Malachi 3 — Progressive/Social Justice (edgy)

Malachi 3: Through the margins, it doesn’t flatter us—demands a faith that repairs harm and includes the excluded.

Historical

The Priest's Contempt: When Duty Becomes Dishonor

A son honors his father; a servant fears his master—yet Israel, the son of Yahweh, offers Him what it would not dare present to an earthly ruler.

Malachi 1:6-7Universalhypocrisy in religious practicecontempt disguised as duty

Matthew 6:21, 1 Timothy 6:10, Malachi 3:10Reformed

Money Talks: What Is Your Treasure Saying? - Contemporary Example

The sermon illustration emphasizes the importance of viewing money as a spiritual force that can either draw us closer to God or lead us into idolatry. It highlights the Reformed theological perspective on stewardship, urging believers to recognize God's ownership of all resources and to transform their relationship with money through practices like tithing, which fosters trust and heart transformation.

Matthew 6:21, 1 Timothy 6:10, Malachi 3:10Reformed

Money Talks: What Is Your Treasure Saying? - Story

The sermon illustration emphasizes the importance of viewing money through the lens of stewardship rather than ownership, highlighting that our relationship with money reflects our beliefs about God's character and provision. It teaches that tithing is a way to break the hold of money over our lives and to affirm God's ownership of all resources, ultimately leading to heart transformation and spiritual growth.

The Lighthouse That Never Moved

In 1698, the first Eddystone Lighthouse was built on a jagged reef fourteen miles off Plymouth, England. A wooden tower, it lasted five years before...

Malachi 3:6Universal

The Farmer Who Planted in February

In 1947, a cotton farmer named Earl Thibodeaux stood at the edge of his sixty acres outside Opelousas, Louisiana, staring at frozen ground. His wife,...

The Dare That Changed Everything

Marcus and Elena Rivera had been married three years when Marcus lost his warehouse job in Memphis. They were already stretched thin — rent, a...

The Farmer Who Planted Through Drought

In the spring of 1988, outside Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Dale Hendricks stood at the edge of his wheat field and watched the dust lift off cracked...

The Farmer Who Planted His Last Seed

In the spring of 1934, outside Broken Bow, Nebraska, Raymond Holt stood in his barn holding a burlap sack — the last forty pounds of...

The Artesian Well Beneath Artesia

In 1903, farmers near the small town of Artesia, New Mexico, discovered something remarkable beneath the dry desert floor. When they drilled down and opened...

The Farmer Who Planted Through the Drought

In 2012, Marcus and Denise Holloway ran a small produce farm outside Tulsa, Oklahoma. When a brutal drought scorched the region, most neighboring farms held...

The Irrigation Ditch on Samson Road

In 1987, a drought pressed hard against the farmland outside Macon, Georgia. Wells ran low. Fields cracked. Most farmers held tight to whatever water they...

The Irrigation Ditch on Kemper Road

In 1983, a tobacco farmer named Earl Sutton outside Danville, Virginia, faced the driest August anyone could remember. His wells were low. His neighbors had...

The Only Invitation to Test God

Margaret Chen sat at her kitchen table in Raleigh, North Carolina, sorting the month's bills into two stacks — due now and past due. Her...

Priming the Pump

In rural Appalachia, old homesteads still have cast-iron hand pumps standing over deep wells. Anyone who has used one knows the frustrating secret: you cannot...

The Hand Pump and the Hidden Aquifer

In rural Appalachia, old hand-pumped wells still dot the hillsides. Anyone who has used one knows the rule: before you can draw water out, you...

R.G. LeTourneau and the Reversed Tithe

In 1935, a Texas earthmoving contractor named R.G. LeTourneau made a decision that his accountant called reckless. Already tithing ten percent of his income, LeTourneau...

The Farmer Who Opened the Floodgates

Margaret Chen had farmed forty acres outside Salinas, California, for nineteen years. She knew the math of survival — every bushel counted, every dollar stretched...

R.G. LeTourneau and the Reverse Tithe

In 1935, Robert Gilmour LeTourneau stood in his Peoria, Illinois factory surrounded by earthmoving machines of his own design. He had nearly lost everything during...