Main Text: Matthew 21:33–46 (ESV) 33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Preaching Point: Knowing that God will call our lives into account should move us from a self-focused life to one united with Christ and governed by his authority.

Teaching Points:

1. Expect God to Collect (vv. 33-34)
2. Respect God’s Ownership (vv. 35-41)
3. Submit to the Son’s Authority (vv. 42-46)

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

Teaching Points:

1. Understand What God Expects from You (vv. 28-31a)
2. Respond to God with Repentance and Faith (vv.31b-32)

Main 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. 25The 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: 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.

Teaching Points:

1. Probe for Genuineness (vv. 23-25a)
2. Expose Intent (vv. 25b-27a)
3. Refuse to Answer Insincere Questions (v. 27b)

Main 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.”

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.

Teaching Points:

1. Grasp God’s Disdain for Counterfeit Faith (vv. 18-19)
2. Expect God’s Generosity Toward Unwavering Faith (vv. 20-22)

Main 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: You need to prioritize sharing the Gospel because God has placed you where you are for His redemptive purpose to reach unlikely people.

Teaching Points:

1. Trust God is at Work (v. 12)
2. Remember God Reaches Unlikely People (v. 13)
3. Fearlessly Proclaim the Gospel Together (v. 14)

Main 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.

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.

Teaching Points:

1. Own Your Sin (v. 25a)
2. Trust in the Risen Christ (vv. 25b-1a)
3. Enjoy Peace with God (v. 1b)

Main 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 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.

Teaching Points:

1. Notice the Kinds of People Who Come to Jesus (vv. 14,15b)
2. Distinguish Religious Activity from Genuine Faith (vv. 15a,15c,16a)
3. Speak Wonderfully of Jesus (vv. 16b-17)

Main 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.”

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

Textual Points:

1. Decisively Remove Counterfeit Worship (v. 12)

2. Share Christ’s Zeal for Pure Worship (v. 13)

a. Share Christ’s Zeal for the Nations to Worship

b. Share Christ’s Zeal for Your Worship