01 Does God Love us? (Malachi 1:1-5)

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Sermon Outline

1. We all wonder if we are loved
   1. Introductory illustration
   2. Intro to Malachi
      1. Book is contemporaneous with Ezra/Nehemiah/1-2Chronicles
      2. Malachi means My messenger
      3. The Burden of Prophecy
      4. Structure of the Book
         1. 6 Disputations which are kind of like Catechism Q-A.
         2. Each begins with an assertion, followed by a Questioning of the assertion, followed by a response and then an implication.
         3. Chiastic organization of Disputations
         4. Blessing and Curses
2. How can we know that God really loves us?
   1. Notice how God begins. He asserts/declares “I have loved you” (Mal 1:2a)
      1. The love God has for his people is based not on feeling but on the alliance, the covenant He has made with them. (1Ki 5:1, Dt 7:7-9)
   2. But Israel, like all pf us, forgets the past. (Mal 1:2b)
   3. The Destruction of Israel’s Enemies (Mal 1:2c-3)
      1. Notice the order of names and the way they are related to one another.
      2. Second, note the meaning that the NT gives to this story, what is it all about? (Rom 9:11, 13)
      3. Third, note the impact of this election in the present and the future. (Mal 1:3-4, Ezek 35:3-4, 35:15)
      4. Fourth, All Israel’s Enemies will be destroyed (Mal 1:5)
3. The Gospel in Malachi’s First Disputation (Mk 3:35, Rev 21:27, Jn 15:16, 1Cor 1:27-28, 1Pt 2:9)
   1. How can he love Jacob with all his covenant breaking (Duguid 197)?
   2. Christ loves covenant breakers.
   3. God’s electing love and grace is as true today as it was in the time of Malachi.