For the week of March 2, 2026
MONDAY
Day One: The Father Judges Impartially According to our Deeds
Sermon Focus: Set your hope on God’s grace…fear God.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:17-19 says, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Sermon Point: A very important feature of our adoption in Christ is that God is our Father – One who provides, cares for, builds up, encourages, protects, disciplines, nurtures, and teaches His beloved children. However, He’s also the One who judges impartially. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, everyone will be judged according to each one’s deeds. Let that sink in: the totality of all we desire, think, do, and say is subject to the judgment that awaits. That is an incredibly sobering Truth.
Sermon Reflection: Our behavior often changes depending on who’s watching. Why, then, do we still choose to sin, even though we know this Truth: that nothing is hidden from our Father and one day, we will be judged by Him?
Application: Set a reminder on your phone to go off three times today. Each time it does, evaluate: would your thoughts, behavior, conversations, and desires in that moment be pleasing to the Lord? If not, repent and ask the Holy Spirit to help you live according to the Truth, rather than your own evil desires.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Praise God for being such a good, just, and loving Father! Praise Him for all the specific ways He’s provided, cared for, built up, encouraged, protected, disciplined, nurtured, and taught you over the years.
- Ask the Holy Spirit for the constant awareness of God’s presence with you – He sees and knows all, and He judges impartially. Ask Him to give you the desire to glorify Him with the totality of your life. Pray that FMC would become a place where we are constantly spurring one another on to this end.
TUESDAY
Day Two: Conduct Yourselves with Fear
Sermon Focus: Set your hope on God’s grace…fear God.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:17-19 says, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Sermon Point: It may sound strange, but the seeds of salvation are sown in fear. The moment we become citizens of heaven, we become exiles. And so, Peter is basically saying that for the rest of our time on this earth as sojourners and exiles, we are to live with a healthy fear of the Lord. It’s a fear that causes us to respect, revere, and be in awe of Him. It’s a fear that manifests in us being terrified by what it would be like to have to face up to our sin and rebellion against Him. But it’s also a healthy fear because it dreads sin and leads to obedience.
Sermon Reflection: Does all you think, do, say, and desire reflect that you have a healthy fear of the Lord? Would the people closest to you agree?
Application: When you get your mail today, look at the address. It’s only temporary – this world is not your home. If you are one of God’s beloved children, you are an exile here. Say a prayer right there at your mailbox that the Spirit will strengthen you to live as one with a healthy fear of our great God.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Repent of all the ways you live in fear of this world – of what other people think of you, of something “bad” happening to you or to someone you love, of God not being true to His promises. Pray that FM would become a place where our healthy fear of the Lord is evident in all we do.
- Thank God that we can be delivered from all our unfounded fears as we trust in His faithfulness and believe all His promises!
WEDNESDAY
Day Three: Ransomed from the Dark Path
Sermon Focus: Set your hope on God’s grace…fear God.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:17-19 says, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Sermon Point: In the original language, to be ransomed means to be redeemed, liberated by payment. We were once slaves to our sin and rebellion on that wide, dark path that leads to eternal destruction. The only way we could be set free from our captivity is if someone else paid the ransom. There could be no other way, because God never lets sin off the hook. It must be paid for.
Sermon Reflection: What “futile ways” inherited from your past or our surrounding culture still tempt you; how might God be calling you out of them?
Application: We cannot walk away from the futility of our sinful ways without the Holy Spirit’s power. So once again today, be filled with Him (give thanks, praise, and humbly submit) and put on the full armor of God so that you can be strong in His strength that you might conduct yourself in reverent fear of the Lord.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Praise God today for paying the ultimate price to ransom His beloved children! Pray that praise and prayer would erupt from us – that love and joy would fill our hearts – and that freedom and forgiveness would so overwhelm us that our lives and our community would be transformed!
- Thank God for the church today – not just FM but the entire invisible church past, present, and future. Thank Him that nothing and no one will ever be able to thwart His purposes. Pray that His Kingdom come and His will be done in our lives and through FMC.
THURSDAY
Day Four: We Weren’t Purchased with Silver or Gold
Sermon Focus: Set your hope on God’s grace…fear God.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:17-19 says, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Sermon Point: As far as the world is concerned, silver and gold represent great value and wealth. Though we can use silver and gold to purchase the things we desire, no amount of either could ever buy us out of the predicament of sin. We can never pay the ransom from the bondage of our sin with the riches of this world. Salvation is not purchased with earthly treasures; it can only be purchased with blood.
Sermon Reflection: In what area(s) of your life do you still treat worldly treasures (silver, gold, achievement, reputation) as more precious than the redemption Christ has given you?
Application: In that area you just reflected on, choose a way to demonstrate that you want to treasure Christ’s redemption more – maybe it’s a monetary gift to someone who needs it more than you do or perhaps it’s allowing someone else to take credit for your good idea. Simply choose to take one concrete step today toward cherishing Christ’s blood more than the treasures of this world.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Repent of the ways you have treasured the things of this world more than you have treasured the redemption secured for you through the precious shed blood of Jesus. Pray that the Spirit would strengthen us to resist the temptation to cling to the fleeting treasures of this world and to fill us with the desire to treasure Christ above all.
- Pray that FM would become a church of people whose lives are wholly given to treasuring Christ so completely that we throw ourselves into obeying our commission every day – for God’s Glory Alone.
FRIDAY
Day Five: We Were Purchased with the Precious Blood of Christ
Sermon Focus: Set your hope on God’s grace…fear God.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:17-19 says, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Sermon Point: Sin MUST be paid for. In the OT days, unblemished animals were sacrificed to atone for sin. The problem was that because Israel continued to indulge in sin, those sacrifices were required repeatedly. That is why Christ’s once-and-for-all sacrifice is so amazing! He was that unblemished Lamb perfectly suited to shed His blood to pay that ransom for our sin, so that we might be set free from its bondage. That’s why His precious blood means everything to us!
Sermon Reflection: How would your conduct look differently if you lived every single day more consciously aware of the cost of your redemption?
Application: Spend five minutes reflecting on the phrase “the precious blood of Christ.” Let the weight of that sacrifice recalibrate your sense of worth and the seriousness of your calling to be a fully devoted disciple.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit today for so great a salvation! Praise the Father that His salvation plan that was set in place before the foundation of the world. Praise Jesus for His willingness to leave the glory of heaven to come into this world as a man and die in our place, so that we could be ransomed back to the Father. Praise the Holy Spirit for opening our eyes to the Truth of God’s salvation available to us in Christ. Praise our great Three-in-One God for all He has done to rescue us from destruction and deliver us to eternal life!
- Pray for FM – that together, we would have a greater awareness of and deeper appreciation for the precious blood of Christ and that the magnitude of our salvation would shape how we speak, work, worship, and serve all throughout our everyday, ordinary lives.