Where is the Worship?

In Malachi 1, God confronts a painful reality: His people kept the religious system running, but the worship was hollow. They offered God leftovers—blind, lame, and sick sacrifices—while still asking Him for favor. And the Lord responds with a piercing question that still lands on us today: “If I am a Father, where is My honor? If I am a Master, where is My fear?”

This sermon exposes the difference between real worship and religious motion. It shows how worship goes stale when we shrink God down, and why God would rather shut the doors than receive empty offerings. From polluted sacrifices to corrupt leadership, Malachi warns that hypocritical worship doesn’t rise like a pleasing aroma—it reeks like trash smoke.

But the passage doesn’t leave us in despair. Malachi points beyond failed priests to the true and faithful Priest—Jesus Christ. He honored the Father perfectly, became the sacrifice for our defilement, and now cleanses worshipers so we can draw near with confidence. The call is simple and serious: stop pretending, stop offering leftovers, and return to reverent worship shaped by the gospel.