Preaching Point: Knowing how much God despises counterfeit confessions should strengthen our resolve to come to him with genuine faith marked by repentance and obedience.

Text: Matthew 21:28-32 (ESV) 28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

Preaching Point: Jesus' tactic for exposing counterfeits should embolden us to use similar tactics to engage those who appear genuine yet lack the sincerity to follow Jesus.

Text: Matthew 21:23-27 (ESV) 23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Preaching Point: The words of Jesus should prompt us to consider the judgment awaiting all forms of counterfeit faith while encouraging us with the powerful effects of genuine faith in God.

Text: Matthew 21:18-22 (ESV) 18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Text: Philippians 1:12-14 (ESV) 12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Preaching Point: We must trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection as the only means of dealing with our sin and securing our peace with God.

Text: Romans 4:25–5:1 (ESV) 25 (Jesus) was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. 1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Teaching Points: 1. Remember the Substitutionary Suffering of Jesus (v.4) 2. Reflect on the Results of Jesus's Suffering (v.5) 3. In Your Mind Ruminate on the Comprehensive Scope of Your Sin (v.6) 4. Realize God's Sovereign Plan for Jesus's Suffering (v.10) 5. Rejoice in the Ongoing Reign and Mediation of Christ (v.12)

Text: Isaiah 53:4-6, 10, 12 (ESV) 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Preaching Point: We must respond to Jesus' authority with humility and praise, knowing that our response reveals whether our relationship with God is genuine or merely a counterfeit commitment to Christ.

Text: Matthew 21:14-17 (ESV) 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Preaching Point: We must confront and eliminate all forms of counterfeit worship and strive to establish true worship that pleases God.

Text: Matthew 21:12-13 (ESV) 12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”