The smallest charges can be the most explosive.
The books of Obadiah and Malachi are among the briefest in the Bible, but their contents are pure dynamite. both prophets provide us with portraits of a God who can be passionate, weary with displeasure, possessive and angry. Even a God who hates.
And yet this same God keeps his promises, does not change and throws open the windows of Heaven to those who turn to him.
In the light of the gospel, Burning Desire explores the different fates of Jacob and Esau's descendants, one of whom will be blessed with a saviour who will rise from the ashes of judgement with "healing in his wings'.
An ideal study for individuals or small groups who want to explore these two marvellous prophetic books.
| Author | Phillip Jensen |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781921441998 |
| Format | Saddle stitch |
| First published | January 2004 |
| Dimensions | 152mm x 224mm x 3mm |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 52 |
| No. of studies | 6 |
| Publisher | Matthias Media |
Small group of 8 are working our way through Obadiah and Malachi. We find that a LOT of what is written in Malachi is very relevant today, as that nation has turned away from God. So we are finding he book very good and get good discussions from it. Thankyou.
We recently used this series of studies in our homegroup, and found them excellent. They are very user-friendly to prepare, and take the group through the books thoroughly - tying in references from other books to give the broader picture.
We also found it useful to have a "recap" session as an additional week 7, to tie everything together - in particular we found that by recapping them both in one evening we drew out a lot on the "day of the Lord" from having the Obadaiah passage (covered in week 1) next to the Malachi passage (week 6).
We have used the Phillip Jensen's book in a small group setting with much benefit to all in the group. There is sufficient background, practical application combined with very helpful questions. I would reccomend this book to anyone seeking to know more about the bible.
Unlike quite a few study guides, which appear never to have been used in a group, this one actually works! There is sufficient background material to be helpful in understanding Obadiah / Malachi - and questions to help application.
So far, we have only looked at Obadiah, which as a group we found helpful but sombre, the questions helped to tease out how we felt about the text and showed us a different view of our God.
One member in our group wanted to do an OT book, so we chose this series as Malachi is one of my favourite books. We weren't disappointed. Each member of the group was favourably impressed by this series of studies, and there was a huge range of discussion opportunity. Not only could we look at the historical significance of the way the Israelites were living, but there were also many practical applications of relevance for today. We would highly recommend this study series.
Malachi is a book to challenge. The Israelites thought they were getting it right and clearly were way off the mark in terms of total obdeience to God. The study pushed us to assess whether we were any better and what actually we should be focussing on in our lives. An excellent study guide to a a very challenging book.
Great studies, geting straight to the point with how God'sword speaks to us today.
