Blemished How the Message of Malachi Confronts Empty Religion

Overview

What’s the last thing God said to you? After centuries of dreams, visions, and words from prophets, the Lord went silent. He said nothing for 400 years. The last word from God to His people, before the New Testament, is recorded in the Book of Malachi.

And it wasn’t good news.

Malachi is a book about unfaithful priests, half-hearted religion, and blemished sacrifices.

The people had become checklisters, performing spiritual acts without the engagement of their hearts. And as we gaze across the landscape of the 21st-century church, we see that many of the same tendencies remain true today.

Blemished is a study of what went wrong in the days of Malachi and a call to self-examination in the church. It’s a reminder that God desires obedience at a deep level from His people who are still called to bring unblemished sacrifices, in a different way, before Him.

Study Length: 5 Sessions

Samples

• Blemished Sample

Audio

The emailable audio files in the Blemished Leader Kit do not work properly when sent via email, so we are providing them here for download.

• Word to Leaders
• Session 1
• Session 2
• Session 3
• Session 4

Playlist

Check out these recommended tracks to accompany your study of Blemished. Each of the songs below relate to one of the conversations discussed within Blemished. Make these your “soundtrack” for this study.

* = Tracks provided on the Leader Kit for this study

Playlist

Name	Time	Artist	Album	Purchase
The Tie That Binds *	3:19	Sandra McCracken	Red Balloon
Desperate Man *	4:01	Andy Gullahorn	Reinventing the Wheel
Knit My Heart	3:46	Charlie Hall	The Bright Sadness
Fill Me Up	3:42	Anadara	A Little Closer
Learning How to Die	3:28	Jon Foreman	Limbs and Branches
Nervous In the Light of Dawn	4:41	Leigh Nash	Blue On Blue
Breathe *	5:09	Amy Courts	These Cold and Rusted Lungs
Pass Me Not *	3:53	Robbie Seay Band	10,000 Charms
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior	5:00	Lyle Lovett	Ultimate Gospel Hits, Vol. 1

Need an easy way to find all of the songs for this study’s playlist?

Visit the iTunes Store and view the Blemished iMix—a one-stop place to find all of the recommended music for Blemished! Find more information on the artists/albums/songs, listen to samples, pick & choose which of the songs (or all of them) that you’d like to purchase, & then click to buy!

Jason Hayes

Jason Hayes is the young adult ministry specialist for Threads. His primary role for Threads is to serve as a speaker, church consultant, and writer. He is the co-author of Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches That Reach Them and the author of Blemished: How the Message of Malachi Confronts Empty Religion. Jason earned a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Prior to coming to LifeWay, he served at Long Hollow Baptist Church in north Nashville. He is also happily married to his beautiful wife, Carrie, and is a proud dad to their two sons. Learn more at jasonhayesonline.com.