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)

Application Questions:

1. Write down one observation or application you found helpful from this week’s sermon. Why did it stand out to you?
2. Read Isaiah 53:4-6 and 1 Peter 2:24. How do these passages show that your sin, not just sin in general, put Christ on the cross?
3. Why must anyone who claims to trust in Jesus fully own their culpability in his death?
4. Read Galatians 2:16 and Romans 10:9-10. If you stood before God today, what would you point to as the basis for your acquittal, and does your answer match what these passages teach? How so?
5. How would you explain to a friend or family member how the death and resurrection of Christ make it possible for them to be declared righteous before God? (Be ready to share in LifeGroup this week.)
6. Read Jeremiah 6:14-15. Israel’s leaders falsely assured the people they had peace with God, even though God promised judgment unless they repented. It is possible to believe you have peace with God when you don’t. How can someone know for certain that they are not deceived about their position before God?
7. Read Romans 5:9-11 and Isaiah 53:5. According to these passages and Romans 4:25-5:1, why should a genuine Christian have confidence that they have true peace with God?
8. What other benefits does the Bible say belong to those who have peace with God? (Write down the verses you find below.)

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)

Application Questions:

1. Write down one observation or application you found helpful from this week’s sermon. Why did it stand out to you?
2. Read Matthew 18:3-4, James 4:6 and Isaiah 57:15. What do these passages teach you about the kind of people who truly come to Jesus?
3. What area of your life do you need the reminder that God opposes the proud but draws near to the humble and contrite?
4. Read Acts 17:22-31. Why is it possible to be very religious and yet not truly know God? What are some ways this can show up even in a church context?
5. Where might you be relying on religious habits, knowledge, or background instead of genuine trust in the person and work of Jesus?
6. Read Romans 14:23. Paul teaches that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Where are you tempted to engage in “religious activity” that is not flowing from real faith?
7. What steps can you take to ensure that your beliefs, convictions, and actions are flowing from a genuine relationship with Christ and submission to his authority?
8. Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 and 1 Peter 2:9. How are you doing at speaking wonderfully of Jesus in your interactions with others?
9. Where are you most tempted to stay quiet about Jesus? How can you be more bold about speaking more wonderfully about Jesus in your daily life?

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)
3. Share Christ’s Zeal for the Nations to Worship
4. Share Christ’s Zeal for Your Worship

Application Questions:

1. Write down one observation or application you found helpful from this week’s sermon. Why did it stand out to you?
2. Read Matthew 21:12. What does Jesus’ response in the temple teach you about how seriously you should deal with anything in your life that opposes God’s Word?
3. What is something in your life that you have had to, or need to, remove because it leads you to twist or reject God’s Word?
4. Read 2 Kings 22:8-13 and 2 Kings 23:24-25. How did King Josiah recognize the presence of counterfeit worship, and what stands out about how he responded? What can you learn from his example?
5. Read John 2:13-17. How does your attitude toward worship and reverence for God compare to Jesus’? Where do you see a need for growth?
6. Read Isaiah 56:1-8. How does Jesus’ quotation of Isaiah 56 in Matthew 21:13 deepen your understanding of Jesus’ desire for the nations to worship God?
7. Do you share Jesus’ desire for all nations to worship God? What in your life shows that you do, or don’t?
8. Read John 4:23-24. How are you actively pursuing genuine, God-centered worship? Where do you need to grow in sincerity, consistency, or reverence?