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Journey Through Malachi: 2:1-16 Ripples In Relationships

Ripples in Relationships

Malachi 2:1–16

We do not live our lives in a vacuum. Our spiritual condition inevitably affects the people around us—like a rock tossed into a still pond, our sin sends out ripples that disturb the relationships we care about most.

Malachi 2 drives this home. The spiritual shortsightedness from chapter 1 doesn’t just remain internal. It spills out into our families, our relationship with God, and even our marriages.

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Journey Through Malachi: 1:1-14 – Symptoms of the Spiritually Shortsighted

INTRODUCTION

My family and I just returned from vacation yesterday. We went out west, visiting a couple of cities in Arizona before heading to Las Vegas for a few days. We saw the Grand Canyon and made a stop at the Hoover Dam.

We started out in Phoenix and then made our way to what ended up being my favorite part of the trip: hiking in and around Sedona. It’s truly stunning—pictures don’t do it justice. It’s one of those places you have to experience for yourself.

We all began with a relatively easy hike—just a couple of miles to the base of Bell Rock. Flat, scenic, and enjoyable for everyone.

Later that afternoon, Allison and I left the little ones behind and set off on a more intense hike: a 6-mile round trip that started at the Boynton Canyon Trailhead. About two miles in, we veered off onto an unmarked path that led us to some Indian caves and a rock formation hikers have nicknamed “The Subway.” You can see some photos on Allison’s Facebook page. It started out easy, but the final half mile was grueling.

I love hiking—being outdoors, surrounded by creation. But there’s a real danger in hiking—not a physical one, but a mental and spiritual one. You can become so focused on the path, on watching your feet, that you forget to stop and take in the view. You miss the beauty of where you are. The grandeur around you. The majesty of the mountains.

The same thing can happen spiritually.

We can become so focused on our day-to-day struggles, our routines, our work, that we forget to look up and see the greatness of God. That’s the message of Malachi.

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Ground Zero: Facing the Fall and Finding Freedom (Session 4): Ephesians 4:17-32

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

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Ground Zero: Facing the Fall and Finding Freedom (Session 2): 2 Samuel 11-12:7

11 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

  • 3 Factors that often lead men into sin:
    • Shirking responsibility
    • Idleness
    • Isolation
  • APP: Find something to do with your time: Read, develop a hobby, invest in others, exercise, etc.

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Ground Zero: Facing the Fall and Finding Freedom (Session 1): Genesis 3

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’

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Phyllis Wingo: Participation Trophies and Finishing Well

A Celebration of Life Service for Mrs. Phyllis Wingo (1937-2025):

Apr. 7, 2025

When my two youngest girls were barely old enough to stand on their own two feet, they began, what would become a long career in dance. Around the ages of 7 and 8 years old, they entered the world of competition dance and became members of the competition dance team at their dance studio.

I was ignorant and naive about this new world. Now, I know better, and try my hardest to avoid any type of thing called a dance competition. I don’t have time to elaborate, but the best description I could provide you would be a combination of the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day and artistic purgatory.

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The Victorious Church: Learning From the Seven Churches of Revelation – Revelation 3:1-6; 14-22 – The Churches at Sardis and Laodicea

You can watch a video of this teaching by clicking here.

SARDIS (3.1-6)

A little background concerning the church at Sardis:

  • About 30 miles SE of Thyatira, a city located in a fertile area (thus commercially important), but was really known for their dedication to the arts, especially music. One might think of Sardis as an ancient New Orleans. Much of the “entertainment” found on Bourbon St. could be found in Sardis as well.

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The Victorious Church: Learning From the Seven Churches of Revelation – Revelation 2:18-29 – The Church at Thyatira

You can watch a video of this teaching by clicking here.

A Bit of Background Concerning the Church at Thyatira

  • Although we’re uncertain how the church came to be in Thyatira, Acts 16.14-15 mentions the conversion of Lydia who was from the area.

12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

  • A small city, but important for trade. The major road that led to Pergamum ran though Thyatira.

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The Victorious Church: Learning From the Seven Churches of Revelation – Revelation 2:12-17 – The Church at Pergamum

You can watch a video of this teaching by clicking here.

A Bit of Background Concerning the Church at Pergamum

  • about 60 miles north of Smyrna.
  • known for being a great religious, intellectual, and medical hub of the day.
  • the city was known for containing the alter of Zeus, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Also had the first temple dedicated to Ceasar.
  • the city contained a medical center which accompanied the worship of the deity of medicine, Aesculapius (signified by a coiled snake on a pole).

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