Épisodes

  • Malachi 3:13-18 - A Day of Distinction (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Malachi 3:13-18 - A Day of Distinction (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Nov 30 2025
    31 min
  • Malachi 3:6-12 - Robbing God and Ourselves (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Malachi 3:6-12 - Robbing God and Ourselves (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Nov 23 2025
    32 min
  • Malachi 2:17-3:5 - The Refiner's Fire - Who Can Stand? (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Malachi 2:17-3:5 - The Refiner's Fire - Who Can Stand? (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Nov 16 2025
    Malachi 2:17-3:5 We are returning this morning to our study of the prophet Malachi. We’re basically half-way through. Our sermon text this morning is from 2:17 to 3:5. You can find that on page 954. As you are turning there, I wanted to briefly remind you of what we’ve considered so far. Chapter 1 opened up with God reminding his people of his love for them. Even though they didn’t recognize his love, yet God confirmed it. He said, “I have loved you.” They were his chosen people, not because of anything they did, but because he called them to be his. The reason God opened up with his unconditional love is because they needed to hear some tough love. So, Malachi’s prophecy turns to their failures. First, he called out the people for bringing polluted offerings to the temple. Next, he turned his attention to the priests. They were supposed to guard and teach knowledge and be a model of uprightness, but they failed. Then, in the middle of chapter 2, God revealed their unfaithfulness in their marriages. Despite God’s faithfulness to them, they had displayed faithlessness to him. In all of these things, God was calling them back to himself. He was calling them to repent and return to him by faith. Which brings us to our passage this morning. We’ll see that there was an underlying problem. In their hearts, they had been questioning God’s goodness and justice. Listen for that as we now read Stand Reading of Malachi 2:17-3:5 Prayer In 1968, a man filed a lawsuit against his former employer. He alleged that his former employer ruined his life. He had been unjustly fired. This began a protracted 30-year legal battle against the company. But in the end, despite all his efforts, he lost. As you can imagine, that was greatly disappointing. So, in the late 1990s, this same man filed a new lawsuit against a new defendant. This time his lawsuit was against God, whom he identified as “the Sovereign ruler of the universe.” The lawsuit claimed that God had taken no corrective action against… (now listen to this) his nation, his company, or his church for the extremely serious wrongs which ruined his life. A judge declared the lawsuit frivolous, of course. None of us here have sued God in a state or federal court, but let me ask: have you put God on trial in your heart? Have you witnessed or experienced injustice (against yourself or someone else) and subsequently questioned God’s character because of it? I mean, if God is indeed sovereign and just, why does it appear that those who hate justice are the ones who seem to prosper? Why do those who hate the truth or who oppress and kill seem to get away with it over and over? In our verses this morning, God addresses and responds to those very questions. And it’s deeply personal. It was deeply personal to the returned exiles in Jerusalem and it is deeply personal to us. Look at chapter 2 verse 17. The Lord tells the people, through Malachi, that their words had “wearied him.” They had been believing and saying something over and over which God was displeased with. Look at what they had been saying. “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” They had been witnessing that evil people were thriving. And they assumed that because these wicked people prospered, that God was therefore pleased with them… even delighted in them. And then at the end of verse 17, they put God on trial. Notice the rhetorical question they asked. “Where is the God of justice?” They were implying that even though God declared that he was just, yet his inaction against injustice meant to them that God therefore loved sin and evil. Now, we’ve talked about the returned exiles’ plight before, but I want us to consider their situation from a different angle. It had been at least 80 years since the people began to return to Jerusalem from exile. To be sure, there were multiple waves of people who returned, so not everyone had returned at once. But a lot of time had passed since they started returning. And a couple positives things had happened. First, the temple had been rebuilt. And second, the walls of Jerusalem had been repaired. And because of that, they expected at any moment, the Messiah would come. After all, this was the time in their history when it was to happen, right? God had promised in Isaiah that out of the stump of Jesse, out of king David’s line, a righteous branch would emerge. So, when the royal lineage of David appeared dead, that was when God would raise up a humble king, the Messiah, who would restore the kingdom and bring peace. At that time. The lineage of David was indeed a stump. The exile had happened. And so, when some of the exiles started returning and when the temple was restored and when the city walls were rebuit. There was eager anticipation that the Messiah was about to come. He would come and usher in a new kingdom of prosperity and power. That’s what they thought. But he hadn...
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    32 min
  • Malachi 2:10-16 - An Unfaithful People, a Faithful God (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Malachi 2:10-16 - An Unfaithful People, a Faithful God (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Oct 26 2025
    Malachi 2:10-16 We are continuing in the book of Malachi. This morning we’ll be covering chapter 2 verses10-16. Please turn there. You can find it on page 954 in the pew Bible. This is our fourth of eight sermons in Malachi. It’s a short book. It only has 4 chapters, but as you have seen already, it packs a punch. Malachi’s prophecy began with a reminder of God’s electing love for Israel. But then God turns to the ways in which they have been unfaithful in response. The overall theme of the book is God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness. And we will see that clearly in our text this morning. The people were demonstrating a lack of faith in God because of unfaithfulness in their marriages. Reading of Malachi 2:10-16 Prayer There is one relationship in life that is more important than any other. This relationship requires dedication. It’s a relationship built on forgiveness. It’s one where if you are not seeking to honor the one with whom you are in this relationship with, then you will struggle. Your path will be filled with difficulty. This relationship is that important. I’m talking about your relationship with the Lord. Some of you probably thought that I was going to say, “your relationship with your spouse.” Right? After all, a marriage relationship is critically important. But your relationship with the Lord is more important. It’s tempting to see our text this morning as only applying to marriage. After all, it has plenty to say about marriage, and we’re going to get there. However, this passage is ultimately about your faith in the creator God. So, whether you are married or not, you are directed to draw near to the Lord by faith. I don’t know if you noticed it, but the word “faithless” is used here 5 times. Look at verse 10. After asking a couple of rhetorical questions, which we’ll get to, it says, “why then are we faithless to one another.” Then immediately in verse 11. “Judah has been faithless.” Judah was the southern kingdom which was exiled, some of whom had returned. So in other words, God was calling them faithless. Now go down to verse 14. In the middle there it says, “…the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless.” That is repeated at the end of 15. “Let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” In those instances, it is faithless to their spouse. And finally, this passage ends with this, “so guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” So, faithless. Their faithless actions and faithlessness in their marriages, displayed a faithlessness before God. To give a little structure this morning, we’ll consider this in 4 points. 1. Faithless before a Faithful God (2:10–11a) 2. Faithless with a Faithless Bride (2:11b–12) 3. Faithless to a Faithful Bride (2:13–16) 4. Faithful despite a Faithless Bride Those may be hard to remember, but they are printed there on page 4. 1. Faithless before a Faithful God (2:10–11a) So again, #1, Faithless before a faithful God. Verse 10 and the first half of verse 11 begin by emphasizing their covenant relationship with God and therefore with one another. The two questions there in 10 direct them to God. Malachi asks “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?” They already know the answer. Yes, he is God their Father. Yes, they are his children. And yes, he is their creator. Those questions are to remind them of who God is; who they are; and the centrality of his relationship with them. You see, before God speaks into the tangled mess of their marriage relationships, he first directs them to himself. He also directs them to one another. That is because their faithless actions not only reflected their faithlessness before God. But it also reflected on their faithlessness with one another. In other words, because they were in a covenant relationship with God together, anyone who broke that covenant with God, was being faithlessness toward one another. And anyone breaking the covenant with one another, was being faithless before God. By the way, we are going to get very practical in just a couple of minutes. But before we get there, it’s critical to first understand why breaking the covenant was an act of faithlessness. It says that by their actions, they were “profaning the covenant.” That’s a strong statement Let me say a couple things about it: · The reference to covenant here includes the promises that God made to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. God established a relationship with them as his people. He called them to be his. He gave them his law. He promised them a kingdom and that they would be a people as numerous as the sands of the sea. They were set apart by the God of all creation. It was a beautiful thing. · But they “profaned” the covenant relationship. They profaned it because they were dishonoring God by violating the relationship that he...
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    32 min
  • Malachi 2:1-9 - The Polluted Priests and the Perfect Priest (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Malachi 2:1-9 - The Polluted Priests and the Perfect Priest (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Oct 19 2025
    Please turn in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 2. Our sermon text is verses 1-9. That can be found on page 953 in the pew Bible. Last week, we learned that the people had been bringing polluted offerings to the temple. They were supposed to bring unblemished offerings for the sacrifices. Instead, they brought lame and sick and blind animals. By doing so, they were dishonoring the Lord. I usually don’t spend a lot of time on sermon titles. But last week’s title and this week’s title are connected. Last week’s title was The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering. This week, it’s The Polluted Priests and the Perfect Priest. That is because last week’s passage and this week’s passage are connected. The problem was not only that the people were bringing impure offerings. The problem was also that the priests were allowing it. And not just allowing it, supporting it and failing to lead the people in God’s way and will. Let’s now come to God’s Word Reading of Malachi 2:1-9 Prayer In 1794, a young man was ordained to pastoral ministry in Berlin. He was brilliant and eloquent. This man had studied theology and philosophy at a Protestant university named after the great Martin Luther. As a young pastor, he witnessed the younger generation in Germany walking away from the church. That greatly grieved him, as it should. But, to win them back, he developed a new kind of theology which he hoped would make Christianity more attractive to modern minds. He began to teach that the essence of faith was not trusting in God’s revealed truth, but feeling God’s presence within. The Bible, he said, was not divine revelation itself, but a record of human experiences with the divine. Repentance gave way to sentiment, and the cross of Christ became a symbol rather than a saving act. His name was Frederich Schliermacher. Sadly, his sermons and teaching spread across Germany. Even worse, after he became a professor at the University of Berlin, his influence spread to all of Europe and into America. In the last two centuries, Schleiermacher’s beliefs have led thousands of churches and millions of Christians astray. Few men in modern history have done more to undermine the Gospel while claiming to defend it. I bring this up as an example of what Malachi 2:1-9 warns against. The priests were supposed to lead the people. They were the ones who were to direct the people to the Lord and were to faithfully teach his truth. But they failed. Look down at verse 7. I know we are jumping ahead. But this is an important verse about the role of priests. It says, “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” The priests were not only to oversee the temple and sacrificial system, but they were to faithfully teach God’s truth. By the way, that is different from a prophet. A prophet was given new revelation from God. A priest was to teach what God had already reveled. Does that make sense? Well, as you know, we do not have priests today. No, the priestly function in the Old Testament has been fulfilled in Christ. That is why there are no priests in the New Testament. There are no more animal offerings, because, as a reminder from last week, Jesus offered himself for us as the ultimate offering for sin. However, there are some parallels between priests and pastors… or priests and teachers of God’s Word. Both are to direct people to God, and both are to faithfully teach his Word and live out his ways. So, a big part of the application of these verses today is about preachers and teachers. And as you will see, the stakes are high. Now, you may be tempted at this point to check out. Maybe you are thinking, “I’m not called to teach the Bible, so this doesn’t really apply to me.” Well, I want to say a couple things. · First, one of the passages we read earlier in the service was from 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2:9, God’s people are called a royal priesthood. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “priesthood of all believers.” In some ways, we are all to teach and model God’s Word. You may not have a formal teaching role in the church, but you may be called to disciple others at some point in your life. Or if you are married, you have a responsibility to lead or participate in leading your family. · Second, this passage teaches us to know what to look for in a Godly leader in the church. In the Old Testament times, the priests were descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. However, in the New Testament, elders and pastors in the church are appointed by the church. So, we have a responsibility to seek Godly men to lead. I’m just saying that these verses apply to everyone in the church. Which brings us to Malachi 2. We’re going to look at three things: #1. The Curse. #2. The Corruption. And #3. The Covenant. 1. The Curse So, number 1. The Curse. Briefly look at verse 1. It...
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    30 min
  • Malachi 1:6-14 - The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Malachi 1:6-14 - The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Oct 12 2025
    31 min
  • Malachi 1:1-5 - From Doubting God's Love to Declaring God's Love (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Malachi 1:1-5 - From Doubting God's Love to Declaring God's Love (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Oct 5 2025
    Malachi 1:1-5 - From Doubting God’s Love to Declaring God’s Love We’re beginning a new sermon series this morning. We’ll be in the Book of Malachi for the next couple of months. You can find Malachi chapter 1 on page 953 in the Pew Bibles. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, so if you can find the book of Matthew, turn left a couple of pages. We’ll begin with verses 1-5. One note before I read. In these verses, you will hear of a reference to Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. That will be some helpful context. Reading of Malachi 1:1-5 Prayer When I was in high school and college, I spent a few summers working at a Christian camp. Well, one particular summer, one of my fellow counsellors had a very difficult camper. This kid was, I think, only in 1st grade. And he was rambunctious. He was mean to the other campers. He struggled to follow rules. He didn’t want to participate in activities. In those moments, his counsellor would get down on one knee to his level, and try gently instruct him. During dangerous activities, like archery, his counsellor would often have to hold his hand, to keep him safe. Of course, the other boys in his cabin would get angry at him. Their counsellor would always intervene and remind them all to speak kind words to one another. Well, one afternoon, things escalated. The counsellor tried to calm his camper down, but the boy lost it and started screaming. Literally, the whole camp could hear it. They were in the middle of a big group activity, so his counsellor had to gently carry him away. As this young boy was being carried away, he kept screaming over and over, “I hate you.” “I hate you.” To which his counsellor calmly responded over and over, “I love you.” “I love you.” Their back and forth slowly faded as they passed out of sight. The camper, of course, didn’t understand that his counsellor did love him. He didn’t know what love really looked like in that situation. To this boy, it didn’t appear to be love at all. Maybe some of you who are parents have experienced something similar. Well, as we get to Malachi chapter 1, God’s people, likewise, were questioning God’s love. It didn’t feel like God loved them. But he did. And in response, God mercifully reminds them of his love. Most of us here today have at one point or another cried out to God. We’ve questioned whether he was even there or if he was loving. Maybe that is what you are feeling today. My hope and prayer that you will leave here with a renewed or new sense of God’s love for you. Introduction As we get into the book of Malachi, let me first mention some background things. Malachi is one of 12 books called minor prophets. They are called “minor” not because they are less important but because they are shorter. We don’t actually know much about the prophet Malachi other than that his name means “messenger.” He was a messenger from God. As we will find out next week, he lived in Jerusalem. And based on the themes in the book and its position in the Old Testament cannon, Malachi prophesied sometime during the middle of the 400s BC. He very likely overlapped with Ezra and Nehemiah. At that time, some of the exiles had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, and the temple had been rebuilt. The last thing to point out is the word “oracle” right there in verse 1. It’s used throughout the Old Testament when a prophets were given a particularly burdensome word from God. Oracle, in fact, means burden – you know, like a heavy load that an animal would carry on its back and the weariness or distress that it would bring. When the word “oracle” is used to describe a prophetic utterance, it is conveying the weight of that prophecy. As we work our way through Malachi, we are going to see the weight of this prophecy. Over and over, God very clearly calls for repentance from grievous sin, and God warns them if they do not return to him. However, before all of that, God begins with a reminder of his love. And that is what verses 2-5 are about. If you turn to page 4 of your bulletin, you can see where we are headed. · First, God’s Love Doubted. Verse 2. · Second, God’s Love Defended, the end of verse 2 through verse 4 · And third, God’s Love Declared, 5 So, God’s love doubted, defended, and declared. 1. God’s Love Doubted We see right there in verse 2 that the people doubted God’s love for them. “I have loved you,” says the Lord, but you say, “how have you loved us?” By the way, this is the pattern throughout Malachi. God quotes the people questioning him, and then he answers. It’s the organizing framework for the book. How have you loved us, Lord? It sure doesn’t feel like you do. This was a difficult time in Jerusalem. We don’t often think of it that way because, after all, the people were back in Jerusalem. The temple had been rebuilt. However, socially and economically, ...
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    28 min
  • Discipleship - Growing in Grace and Truth (Rev. Erik Veerman)

    Discipleship - Growing in Grace and Truth (Rev. Erik Veerman)
    Sep 21 2025
    Over the last 6 weeks, we’ve been talking through our vision, mission, and philosophy as a church. We started with 4 sermons on the pillars to our ministry.· First, being a faithful church, which begins with God’s faithfulness to us in the Gospel.· Second, the means through which God applies his grace in us – which are his Word, prayer, and the sacraments.· Third, the overarching theme of the entire Bible, God’s covenant promises and their fulfillment in Christ.· And forth, God’s appointed leaders for his church – elders.And now we are applying those pillars to our worship, our discipleship, and our missions. Last week we focused on worship – that is, corporate worship. This week’s focus is on discipleship, and then next week, we will conclude with missions and outreach.Please turn to Matthew 28 in your Bibles. Our first of two sermon texts is what we call the great commission. Matthew 28:18-20. That is on page 993 in the Pew Bible.You may be wondering why our sermon text is the great commission, yet our focus is on discipleship. Well, that is because this passage is about discipleship. You can’t really separate missions and discipleship. In fact, worship is in the mix as well. Discipleship begins in worship and includes missions. They all overlap.Reading of Matthew 28:18-20Our second sermon text is from 2 Peter chapter 3. That is on page 1209 in the Pew Bible. 2 Peter 3 verses 14-18.This is one of the more traditional passages related to discipleship. The apostle Peter has just written about the second coming of Christ. And then Peter writes these very important words as far as our godliness and our knowledge of Jesus Christ, as we wait for the new heavens and hearth.Reading of 2 Peter 3:14-18PrayerIf you were to survey 1000 pastors and you were to ask each one for a definition of discipleship, you would get 1000 different answers.Some would focus on relationships. Others would focus on Bible study. Some would center their answer on serving. Others would say it’s about being real. Others would make the case that discipleship is all about missions. Some would say that it is about God’s kingdom – kingdom discipleship. For others, it’s life-on-life ministry. Others talk about sonship – being sons of God. Yet others describe it as head, heart, and hands. For some, families are the most important thing. For others, the church is key. Some say discipleship is about self-denial and taking up your cross.And we ask why? Why are there a gazillion definitions of discipleship?Well, I think the main part of the answer is quite simple.The word “discipleship” is not in the Bible. It is therefore difficult to come up with a Biblical definition for that reason. To be sure, the word “disciple” singular and “disciples” plural are in the Bible. It’s just that the word discipleship is not. It’s is a word that we’ve come up with to capture the task of making disciples. The word discipleship seeks to answer the “how” questions. How do we make disciples of Jesus? Discipleship is about implementation. That is why there are so many definitions.And so, I think it’s better not to come up with a single approach to discipleship. Rather, I think it’s best to first understand what a disciple is, then second, consider the foundations to making disciples. And only after we do that, can we evaluate discipleship approaches and start identifying our own principles.Here’s what I am saying… rather than trying to come up with a definition of discipleship, it’s better to consider the broader Biblical framework for the task of making disciples. That framework can then be used to evaluate discipleship approaches.By the way, this is an impossible task. I’m not talking about identifying the Biblical principles for making disciples, I’m talking about trying to preach on it in one sermon. I realized this on Friday afternoon. I thought, what have I got myself into? There is no way to fit this into a 30+ minute sermon. I also thought, I’m looking forward to getting back to our regular expository sermons in a couple of weeks.But we are here now. And many of you have mentioned that this series has been helpful. So, I’m going to press on and try.1. What is a disciple and what is the call?As I mentioned, let’s begin with the question, what is a disciple?Let’s start by looking at Matthew 28. These verses give us a good foundation on what a disciple is and what a disciple should pursue. And we know these verses well. Matthew 28 verse 19 – “Go therefore and make disciples.” By the way, much debate has been had about the underlying Greek words, especially the word “go.” We’re not going to “go” there today. Let me simply say that the imperative here is to “make disciples.”The call is to bring people from not following Jesus to following Jesus. That is what the word disciple means - a follower. Being a follower includes, of course, believing in ...
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    32 min