This Sunday was the sixth, and final, week in a series we’ve been doing on the Minor Prophets. I have a couple purposes behind these updates; one is to help keep parents informed on what we’re up to in the 6th-12th grade Sunday morning classes. The second purpose is much bigger in my mind – to give parents some ideas/tools for continuing the lesson/conversation at home! So whether you talk about it in the car, over the table, or in the family room, here’s the summary of what was taught and some followup discussion questions you can use!

We were using the Minor Prophets, Major Messagesseries from Simply Youth Ministry. Chris Z taught this week’s lesson on Malachi. He looked at the words the prophet Malachi shares to the Israelites. Malachi challenges them to be faithful to the Lord by giving the first portion of their money to God and by giving their lives to serve him. We examined the stronghold money has on the world and how the discipline of regular giving can free us from that grip. A great follow up would be to read Malachi 3:6-18, and then ask the following questions:

• What do you think about the fact that God says His people are robbing Him? Do you feel like you’re robbing God when you don’t give?
• In this text, God says to test Him in being a faithful giver. Does this mean that God is going to make us rich if we give our money to Him? If not, what does it mean?
• How do you develop a good giving habit such as a tithe of 10% of your income? Do you think this is easier to do when you’re younger and have less money or when you’re older and have more money? Why do you think that?
• Have you experienced the rewards of serving God or giving money to Him? If so, how has God blessed you and others through your obedience? What would you encourage others to do this week?