Malachi 1

Malachi chapter 1. We're starting a new series. A friend of mine conducted a wedding recently and he showed me the wedding programme that he'd been given.

Malachi 1 · chapter mention

! The groom was an actor and the service sheet went like this. Wedding St. Clemens starring Elizabeth and James and James and music by Pachelbel and William.

conducted by Mark Jones based on the text of the Book of Common Prayer. World premiere 4th of December 2023.

You opened it up and on the other side of the front page was the cast. Bride, the bride, the groom, the bridesmaids, the best man, the ushers.

It said in small print, understudies not required today.

Act 1, some songs and wedding vows. Act 2, Bible readings including some audience participation. Act 3, etc.

And the conclusion was the curtain call.

On the front of the service sheet for this wedding, it said, marriage, the ultimate theatre piece.

James and Elizabeth, the groom and the bride, were aware that weddings are a piece of theatre.

There's a ceremony. There's a ceremony. There's rings. There's dresses. There's the churches.

But none of those things make a marriage. They only make a wedding.

And a wedding is really, isn't it, only half a day in a lifetime of relationship.

Of course, in the context of that relationship, a wedding is a beautiful thing.

But it's the relationship is far more important, isn't it?

The relationship is more important than the wedding.

The same is true of our relationship with God.

Ceremonies, the outward actions, the vows we make with our lips.

Well, they're important.

But they're not the most important thing.

What counts most is the inner reality.

If you like, the inner reality of our relationship to God.

And that's the issue that is right at the heart of this little book at the end of the Old Testament, Malachi.

Malachi contains God's last words to his people in the Old Testament.

It's written about 430 BC.

Chapter 1, verse 1, if you look down, says,

The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

The message is called an oracle.

It's a word of authority, a word that has come from God.

But it's not just any divine word.

It's a word from the Lord, capital letters, L-O-R-D.

It's God's special covenant name to his people.

That was the name by which God had given himself to his people.

And he'd marked himself off from any other so-called God.

The word Lord, L-O-R-D, in capital letters, speaks of his special relationship with his people.

So what we've got here is Yahweh, the Lord God's word to his special people.

The name of Malachi just means messenger.

And what follows is a record of the one true God, the God of the universe, speaking through his messenger to his people.

For the last time.

Under the Old Covenant.

After this prophecy, there's 400 years of silence until John the Baptist turns up.

And so look at verse 2.

I have loved you.

That seems simple enough.

But Israel's response to the question is, you say, how have you loved us?

And that introduces us to one of the major themes of Malachi.

How you can understand this book.

That it's structured behind a series of statements and then questions.

We're going to call them disputes.

There's six disputes in Malachi.

Six disputes where God and his people have this kind of argument.

The first dispute is that they dispute God's love.

They call God's love into question.

I think it's a pretty foolish thing to do.

It must have broken God's heart to hear the question.

Let me tell you why it's foolish.

If you know anything about the Bible and you know anything about the people of Israel,

you do not have to be Einstein to realise that God has loved them faithfully, patiently, generously, extravagantly.

From the very beginning.

And yet Israel questioned God's love.

I want you to listen to God's unexpected answer.

Look at the end of verse 2.

I have loved you, says the Lord.

But you say, how have you loved us?

Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord?

Yet I've loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.

I've laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to the jackals of the desert.

If Edom says, we are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.

The Lord of hosts says, they may build, but I will tear down.

And they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.

You might not be familiar with the Bible, but Esau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca.

And Isaac was the son of Abraham, who you probably have heard of.

And right back at the start of the Bible, in Genesis 25, we're introduced to these twins, Jacob and Esau.

Before they were even born.

And so I want to read you just a couple of verses from Genesis 25, 22.

The story of Jacob and Esau.

It says about before they were born, the children struggled within their mother.

And she said, if it is thus, why is this happening to me?

Why are they fighting in my womb?

So the mum went to inquire before the Lord and the Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb.

And two peoples from within you shall be divided.

The one shall be stronger than the other.

And the older shall serve the younger.

Jacob was the younger of the two.

And he became the founding father of the people of Israel.

Esau was the older of the two and he became the founding father of the nation of Edom.

You can see Edom is mentioned in verse 4.

The Israelites, do you remember?

In the Old Testament, they became the people of God, his treasured possession.

The Edomites didn't.

And that's what God is reminding the Israelites here at the start of Malachi.

When questioned about his love for Israel, he points to the fact that they found favour in his eyes.

Even though other nations like Edom didn't.

The descendants of Esau, they didn't share.

They didn't share the favour of God like Jacob's descendants did.

God appeals to their chosenness.

That's his answer to their question.

How have you loved us?

It's an unexpected answer, isn't it?

When Israel, the people of God, questioned God's love, I think I would have expected God to say,

Well, look at my rescue, how I rescued you in Israel, out of the wilderness of Egypt.

I would point to my patients when they grumbled and when they complained and when they went astray.

Maybe God would point to his willingness to be their king, to their military triumphs, to a promised land.

The list could go on and on, couldn't it?

But God doesn't point to any of those things.

He goes way further back and he says,

You can know I love you because I chose you.

I chose you out of all the nations of the earth to be my own.

And what is even more unexpected is the way that he talks about his choice of Israel.

I want you to imagine for a moment that I take my wife Claire,

I haven't got another wife,

I take my wife out for a very romantic dinner at a restaurant.

And I want you to imagine that she looks longingly at me over the dinner table and she says,

How do I know that you love me?

Imagine for a moment that I responded like this.

Claire, you see that woman at the table over there?

I let her tyres down and I threw a brick through her window on the way into the restaurant.

That's how I love you.

That would be a very odd response, wouldn't it?

I don't think that God is saying something as ridiculous as that.

But it is surprising what he says.

You see, he spoke about his love for Israel and his choice of Israel

by focusing on what life has been like for those he hasn't loved and he hasn't chosen.

Edom.

And he uses really stark language in verse 3 and 4 to make his point clear.

God's choice of Israel, the people of God, creates a significant distinction.

It's as if the chosen ones are loved and everyone else is hated.

And these verses spell out the implications of what those choices have been.

Their land is wasted.

Even if they try to rebuild, God will not allow them to.

Because of his wrath against them because of their sin.

And all of that is because of God's choice.

And the point that God is making is,

I chose you Israel and I chose you alone.

Why did God do that?

Well, even from the very beginning of God's relationship with his people,

God made the reason for his choice very, very clear.

Let me read to you this time from Deuteronomy 7, verse 6.

Deuteronomy 7:6

You don't have to turn to it.

But I'll read to you from Deuteronomy 7, verse 6.

Deuteronomy 7:6

And God said to Israel, and he addresses them, and he says,

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.

The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people

for his treasured possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

It was not because you were more in number than any other people

that the Lord set his love upon you.

For you were the fewest of all peoples.

But it is because the Lord loves you

and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers

that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand

and redeemed you from the house of slavery,

from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God,

the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love

with those who love him to a thousand generations.

It's because of God's love and his faithfulness

that he chose Israel the way he did.

Which of course makes the logic of Malachi chapter 1 even clearer.

Malachi 1 · chapter mention

God's choice of Israel is evidence of his love for Israel.

In fact there's no other reason why he chose them.

There was nothing about the people of Israel

that made them inherently attractive to God.

It was simply because of his undeserved love for them.

And the whole question of God choosing some

and not choosing others is very troubling isn't it

for many Christians.

Maybe for you.

It can be hard to understand

and it can be very hard to accept.

And sometimes we ask why.

Why does God choose some and not others?

And people often say the Bible doesn't tell us why.

But that isn't quite right.

The Bible does tell us why.

God's choice is because of God's love.

It's the follow-up question

that the Bible chooses not to answer explicitly.

Why does God love some in this way

and not others?

And the Bible's response to that

is to encourage us to trust God.

Not to grasp at the depths of God's wisdom.

To recognize that he is God and we're not.

And we don't understand him fully.

And we'll never fully comprehend.

And that is a question isn't it

that requires real humility.

But we must remember

that the Bible's answer to the first question,

why does God choose,

is because he loves.

And that's not just about God's

Old Testament relationship

with the Jewish people.

It's also the way that the New Testament

talks about God's relationship

with us as Christians now.

Those, if you are a Christian this morning,

the Bible says

it's because God chose you.

And he called you to himself.

And why did he choose them?

Because he loves them.

Paul connects the two things

in Ephesians chapter one.

He says to the Christians in Ephesus,

in love,

he predestined them.

And it's always been that way with God.

And that is why God responded to Israel

in Malachi chapter one

in the way that he did.

How could Israel be sure

that God loved them?

Well, they only had to look

at the Edomites

to see what life was like

for those whom God did not love

and God did not choose.

And God is saying

that ought to be enough

to assure you once and for all

that you are his chosen people.

And therefore that they were loved.

Now before I move on from this,

I want to ask another question.

I want to ask the question,

is God's reply foolish?

And I want us to consider that

because it is unavoidable

when you put these two key elements

of the opening verses together.

God is giving evidence of his love.

Yes.

But he's giving evidence to people

who've called his love into question.

Why is he even answering

their challenge at all?

God is not answerable to you and I.

He doesn't need to defend

his love to his people.

The evidence is all there.

They don't need extra evidence.

What's more,

this isn't the first time, is it?

It isn't the first time

that Israel have called

God's love into question.

In fact,

the whole history of the people of God

is riddled with them

questioning

and rejecting

and disobeying.

They've run away from God

again and again and again.

When is God's patience

with his people going to run out?

When will he finally refuse

to answer that question?

When will he cease to love

such an ungrateful people

so persistently and so completely?

You can see

why God's love may seem foolish.

Because it's a love for fools.

Fools like you and me.

It's a love that continues

to take a beating.

It's a love that keeps

getting thrown back in his face.

A love that continues

to be rejected.

If I could say it reverently,

is God not a fool

to show love to those

who show no love in return?

We need to be really careful,

don't we,

how we answer that question.

But the Bible's answer is this.

What seems foolish

in the world's eyes

is often the wisdom of God.

But call it what you will,

it is true,

it is true that

at the very heart

of the God of the universe

is a God of love.

He is so deeply

and profoundly committed

to those he loves

that he will not give up on them.

Human sin

and rebellion

can never overwhelm his love.

His love overwhelms

the worst that his people

can throw at him.

And that's the story

that Malachi 1

is attempting to tell.

It's a familiar story.

It's the story,

if you look through the Bible,

of people like Abraham

and Moses

and David.

People who failed God

in big ways

and in small ways,

but who were still

his chosen people.

It's the story

of Israel

from the beginning

to the end,

despite their constant

rebellion and sin.

And it's our story too,

isn't it?

It's the story

of the whole Bible.

God's

soft-hearted

love

for a hard-hearted

people.

God's soft-hearted

love

for a hard-hearted

people.

Let's go to the

second dispute.

And that starts

in verse 6.

Because the faithful

love of God

for his people

means that

he deserves

better

than what they

were offering him.

chapter 1

verse 6.

Look down with me.

A son

honours his father

and a servant

his master.

If then I'm a father,

where's my honour?

And if I'm a master,

where is my fear?

Says the Lord of hosts

to you,

O priests

who despise my name.

And here God

is suggesting

his need to the

Israelite priests,

to the religious

leaders,

that they hadn't

shown him the honour

and the respect

that he deserves.

God is saying,

I am your heavenly

father,

I am your master

in heaven,

yet you've shown

me contempt.

God has guided

Israel,

saved Israel,

been patient

with Israel,

loved Israel,

yet they've rejected

him,

they've been

ungrateful to him,

they've sinned

against him,

and God is saying,

I deserve better.

They've shown

contempt for

his name.

But as we just

read in verse 5,

as Malachi says

again and again,

God's name is great

and worthy of praise

and honour.

So look at verse 11.

For from the rising

of the sun

to its setting,

my name will be

great among the nations,

and in every place

incense will be

offered to my name

in a pure offering,

for my name will be

great among the nations,

says the Lord of hosts.

Then look at the end

of verse 14.

For I am a great king,

says the Lord of hosts,

and my name will be

feared among the nations.

He's saying,

this is who I am,

and it's precisely

that which the

Israelite leaders

had failed to reckon with.

The ones who

should have been

representing

the people before God

and nurturing

their relationship

with God

were the very

ones who were

responsible for

not giving God

the respect

and honour

that he's due.

Instead,

they showed

contempt for his name.

So look at the end

of verse 6

and see the dispute,

the second dispute.

They say,

how?

You say,

how have we

shown contempt

for your name?

Listen to how God

puts it,

verse 7.

He answers them

by saying,

by offering polluted

food on my altar.

But you say,

how have we

polluted you?

By saying that

the Lord's table

may be despised.

When you offer

a blind animal

in sacrifice,

is that not evil?

Or when you offer

the lame or the sick,

is that not evil?

Present that to your

governor,

take it to your boss,

will he accept it?

Will he show you favour?

They were offering,

weren't they,

defective sacrifices.

Animal sacrifices

were a central part

of Old Testament

worship,

of their relationship

with God.

They were the way

that God had provided

for Israel's sin

to be dealt with

and for Israel

to express devotion.

Way back when God

introduced

sacrifices,

he made it clear.

He says,

when you come to me

to worship,

second class

sacrifices won't do.

Let me read you

from Leviticus chapter 1

Leviticus 1:10

verse 10.

It says,

if his gift

or burnt offering

is from the flock,

from the sheep

or the goats,

he shall bring a male

without blemish,

the best of the sheep.

Offering

an animal to God

without any defect

was to be an expression

of our love

and worship to God.

That they'd show respect

by an honouring him

by bringing the best.

The best animal

from their flock

or herd.

But a thousand years

on from that,

when God had given

an instruction

to these priests,

we find that

they were disobeying.

They were bringing

any old animal

will do,

anything will do

for God.

And so Malachi

brings God's

word of rebuke

to them

and he says,

you're cheating me.

Look at the end

of the chapter.

It says this,

when you bring

what has been taken

by violence

or is lame or sick

and this you bring

as your offering,

shall I accept that

from your hand,

says the Lord?

Cursed be the cheat

who is a male

in his flock

and vows it

and yet sacrifices

to the Lord

what is blemished.

For I'm a great king,

says the Lord of hosts

and my name

is to be feared

among the nations.

And what is even more,

just two verses before

in verses 12 and 13,

they say the whole thing

is just a burden, God.

You profane it

when you say

that the Lord's table

is polluted

and its fruit,

that its food

may be despised

but you say

what a weariness

is this?

And you snort

at it.

Even offering

bargain basement

disabled animals

was something

that they considered

a real drag.

Israel were giving

second best

blemished sacrifices

to God

and they're even

doing it begrudgingly.

And they're treating

something very sacred,

very important

in their relationship

with God

with contempt.

As if doing it

the way that

God wanted

didn't really matter

despite what

he deserved.

And God responds

verse 10 with anger.

Can you see that?

He says this,

Oh,

that there was

one among you

who would shut

the doors

that might not

kindle fire

on my altar in vain.

I've no pleasure

in you,

says the Lord of hosts

and I will not

accept an offering

from your hand.

The word there

is useless fires.

The animal sacrifices

they were usually

burned,

but God says

the fires

that you Israelites

are lighting

to burn your sacrifices

are useless.

These sacrifices,

they make no difference

at all

to your relationship

with me.

There may be fires

but they're leaving

God cold.

And he's saying

I'd rather that

someone came along

and shut and locked

the doors of the temple.

I'd rather you

didn't even come

into the temple

than to have you

continue with your

half-hearted,

ritualistic excuses

for worship.

Do you see,

the Israelite leaders,

the priests,

they are presiding

over a religion

that has got no heart

and no reality.

It's not a genuine

relationship with God.

They're going through

the motions,

through the outward show,

but there's nothing

of God in their hearts.

And they might have

thought,

our coming to church

were keeping God happy

but they weren't.

In fact,

they were making him angry

because their relationship

with God

was just a theatre piece.

It was all wedding,

no marriage.

And it wasn't just

a one-off problem,

was it?

Because 300 years earlier

the prophet Isaiah

had said about the people

then,

he says,

they come

and they draw near

to me with their mouth,

they honour me

with their lips,

but their hearts

are far from me.

And their worship

actually is made up

only of rules

taught by men.

And 400 years

after Malachi,

in the time of Jesus,

the Jewish leaders

were still at it.

And Jesus' conflict

is about this very issue,

isn't it?

In Mark 7,

remember all the Pharisees

and the teachers

of the law,

they were upset

because Jesus' followers

were eating food

with unwashed hands.

And Jesus quotes

to them,

Isaiah 29,

13,

he says,

you people,

you worship me

with your lips

but your hearts

far from me.

It's all outward forms,

it's all rule keeping,

it's all rituals,

it's all being seen,

but no heart.

No inward reality,

it's a theatre piece.

And Jesus warns us,

doesn't he,

really clearly

that we need

to be careful

of being hypocritical

like them.

To not be like

the Pharisees

in the days of Jesus' day

or the priests

and the people

in Malachi's day

because the problem

is still with us

right now,

isn't it?

Sometimes we get

caught up

in the outward displays

of religion

while inwardly

we're really cold

towards God.

And we do

all the right things

but our hearts

are far from him.

And so you can wear

a cross

around your neck.

You can say

on your CV

that you are a Christian

and you go to church.

You might carry

a well-worn Bible

with you to church maybe.

Maybe you read your Bible

on the tube.

Are they signs

of mere religion

or relationship with God?

You might turn up

to church

and sing heartily.

You might

take of the Lord's Supper

when it comes around

but is it just

outward observance?

Or do those things

reflect a genuine

love for God?

You may have been

baptised in a church,

confirmed in a church.

You may have been

in church all your life

but was that because

you honoured

and respected God

or because

you're just going

through the motions?

You might read your Bible

and pray every day.

You might lead Sunday school

or youth group.

You might even

preach a sermon.

But is it just

because of what you do?

Because it's possible

to do all those things

with a heart

that's far from God,

isn't it?

Is it just habit?

What others expect

or do you do them

out of a heart

that burns

a deep longing

to please

the God that you love?

And that's the kind

of hard question

Malachi asks you

and I this morning.

He's asking us

about our willingness.

The Israelites

sniffed at their

or snorted

at their obligations.

They said,

what a burden.

Are we like that?

Dragging ourselves

out of bed

or off the sofa

begrudgingly

on Sundays

for church.

Or do we

leap at the chance

to meet

with the people of God?

Do we transfer

our money

to the church

joyfully

or are we thinking

oh,

I could have bought

loads of that?

Saving others

with joy in our heart

or just wishing

they'd get their act

together

and sort their lives out?

There are many things.

There are good things

that we do

but things

which have no value

before God

if they're done

begrudgingly

or if we do them

just because we're

going through the motions.

God wants us

to give, doesn't he,

to him cheerfully

and wholeheartedly.

And so Malachi 1

is so challenging

isn't it

because it says to you

unless the things

we do flow

from our hearts

that truly honour God

they are what Malachi

calls useless fires.

And God says to us

this morning

rather than carry on

with your rituals

and your religious duties

God would rather

that we built a wall

at the front

of the entrance

and put a chain

around the gates

and boarded up

the entrance

of the church

and carry on

and closed down

the youth group

so that we'd

no longer insult him.

It's not an issue

of us doing good

for bad reasons.

It's not as if

they kind of cancel

each other out.

It's not neutral.

It is offensive

to God.

It's not what

our Father in Heaven

or what our Master

in Heaven deserves.

It's not what

our God

our Saviour

our King

deserved.

And if that is

what you're engaged

in this morning

God's word to you

is

I wish you

wouldn't bother.

I'd rather receive

nothing from you

than be insulted

like this

by your sacrifices.

They don't move me

they actually show me

contempt

they're pieces of theatre

they're useless fires.

I meet

lots of people

who are not Christians

and maybe you're not

a Christian this morning

and one of the things

they really hate

is they hate

the hypocrisy of Christians.

And I want to say

to you

if you're here

this morning

and that's you

you don't hate it

half as much

as God does.

He says to his people

don't burn the sacrifices

any longer.

And Israel's problem

the Pharisees problem

is my problem too.

And we maybe

need to recognise

how displeased

God is with us

how rude we've been to him.

He seeks the fruit

of a genuine relationship

with him

not mere religion.

He looks for a fire

in the heart

not our useless fires

which are really

no sacrifice at all.

That's the challenge

God's word has

for us today.

But what are the answers?

Do I leave you in despair?

Let me give you

what I think are

God's two answers

to this

this morning.

The first one

is the word repentance

which means

stopping what you're doing

and expressing sorrow

and turning

in another direction.

For Israel

it meant

didn't it

in this passage

stop offering

the

kind of

blemish sacrifices.

It meant

doing things

with a heart

to God

with gladness.

And we live

a long time

after Malachi

because Jesus came

and he is

the great sacrifice.

we don't have to come

with animal sacrifices

thankfully.

But the New Testament

calls on us

to offer our whole life

that's our sacrifice.

Listen to what

the Apostle Paul says.

He says

I appeal to you

therefore

brothers

by the mercies

of God

to present

your bodies

as a living

sacrifice.

Holy and

acceptable to God

which is your

spiritual worship.

All that I have

all that I am.

and that's going

to involve me

trusting God

isn't it?

But as Malachi

reminds us

we'd be really

foolish

not to trust

God

even with our

lives.

It's really

what a Christian

is.

A Christian

is someone

who trusts

God

with their life.

And that is

what God

wants of us.

He wants

our all.

He wants

everything.

He wants

our whole life

to be an act

of worship

to him.

that we may

live the way

he wants

with hearts

of gladness.

And actually

repenting

means expressing

right sorrow

and turning

away from

anything less

than that.

But the

second answer

to the

question is

this.

We can't

do that

can we?

I certainly

can't.

You see

God does

want me

and he

wants you

this morning

to repent

but ultimately

that won't

do.

he wanted

Israel to

repent

but even

if they

did that

wouldn't

have made

everything

right.

Because

we're still

sinful human

beings aren't

we?

And we

will continue

to fail

and God

knows that

of course

he knows

that and

we're so

foolish

that we

hear a

challenging

word like

we hear

today from

Malachi

Malachi 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and we

think

do you

know

what

I'm

going to

try a

bit

harder

I'm

going to

lift

my

game

for a

while

but I

can

promise

you

what will

happen

is you'll

fall back

into your

old habits

you'll be

lighting

useless

fires

within

days

because

my

sacrifice

to God

and your

sacrifice

to God

will never

be perfect

never be

without

blemish

so listen

to me

for a

moment

what

Peter

says

to

the

Christians

in

1 Peter

1

and I

want you

to soak

in this

today

knowing

that you

were

ransomed

from

futile

ways

inherited

from

your

forefathers

not

with

perishable

things

such

as

silver

or

gold

but

you

were

ransomed

with

the

precious

blood

of

Christ

like

that

of

a

lamb

without

spot

or

without

blemish

the

Lord

Jesus

rescues

us

from

an

empty

way

of

life

he

rescues

us

from

empty

fires

kind

of

way

of

life

and

how

does

he

do

that

he

does

that

by

offering

himself

as

an

unblemished

sacrifice

to

God

he's

the

only

one

that

ever

needed

to

be

offered

in

fact

it

is

only

because

Jesus

made

that

sacrifice

that

God

will

allow

you

to

make

a

sacrifice

for

him

our

feeble

attempts

at

sacrifice

are

only

acceptable

because

of

his

ultimate

sacrifice

in that

sense

even our

repentance

is a

waste

of time

isn't it

without

Jesus

but because

of Jesus

it's not

Jesus

did

what

Israel

could

never

do

perfectly

or

consistently

and

Jesus

did

what

you

and

I

can

never

do

consistently

or

perfectly

and

Jesus

sacrifice

today

brings

forgiveness

to those

who will

trust

him

the

blemishes

on all

our lives

are swept

away

Jesus

can put

out our

useless

fires

and he

can

ignite

a fire

in our

heart

that will

never

go

away

that will

never

go

out

Israel's

story

is my

story

and yours

love

we

too

call

don't

we

God's

love

into

question

and yet

he

can

say

to his

people

with

perfect

integrity

I

have

loved

you

we

too

have

found

that

God

is

full

of

a

soft

hearted

love

for

a

hard

hearted

people

his

love

is

ultimately

unquestionable

and his

love

changes

our

hearts

forever

in the

words

of our

closing

hymn

love

so

amazing

so

divine

demands

my

soul

my

life

my

all

and so

the

apostle

Paul

says

in view

of

God's

mercy

brothers

and

sisters

I

urge

you

to

offer

your

body

as

a

living

sacrifice

holy

and

pleasing

to

God

that

is

your

spiritual

act

of

worship

let's

pray