For the week of March 16, 2026
MONDAY
Day One: Our Obedience to Truth Leads to Purified Souls
Sermon Focus: Because of the Hope on Grace – love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:22-25 says, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
Sermon Point: In order to truly “love one another earnestly from a pure heart” our souls must be pure. This purification happens as we respond to God’s saving work with reverent fear and obedient holiness. It’s so important we get the order right: we don’t do this as a way of earning salvation but as the result of it. As we obey the Truth, the Holy Spirit does the actual cleansing work in us, shaping us into Christ’s likeness. This sanctifying process is essential because only a purified heart can produce sincere, brotherly love toward others. And, this isn’t mere tolerance either; but rather, a deep, genuine affection that persists even when others treat us poorly, which is why a pure heart is indispensable.
Sermon Reflection: How does purpose-shaping purification (“for sincere brotherly love”) change the way you think about obedience and challenge the way you currently relate to the people in your everyday, ordinary life?
Application: Did you know that by obeying our commission our souls are purified, enabling us to love one another with sincere brotherly love? So, get after it today! GO and MAKE DISCIPLES throughout your everyday, ordinary life so that we might become an entire church who loves like Jesus!
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Thank God today for the surprising and wonderful ways He works out His purposes in and through us! Ask the Holy Spirit to help you obey – thank Him for His abiding presence and faithful work of sanctification in all of our hearts and souls as we seek to do His will.
- Pray for all your brothers and sisters at FM – that every day, each and every one of us would be taking our next steps toward Christ, together – for our mutual good and His great glory.
TUESDAY
Day Two: We are Commanded to Love Earnestly
Sermon Focus: Because of the Hope on Grace – love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:22-25 says, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
Sermon Point: This kind of love is HARD! Our inability to love earnestly flows from impure hearts – hearts that resist the Holy Spirit through unrepentant sin, ignored counsel, and a refusal to be filled with Him. The result? We stay spiritually immature, clinging to pride, anger, and self-love, unable to sincerely love those around us. As we have learned, true love is not an emotion but a chosen act of the will – a choice to take joy in another person in response to Christ’s saving love for us. Peter calls us to choose this joy earnestly – resolutely, fervently, and from a purified heart. Can you imagine how much our lives would change if we loved this way?
Sermon Reflection: What does “loving one another earnestly from a pure heart” look like in the real rhythms of your week, especially with people who are difficult for you?
Application: Today, choose someone to love (maybe even one of the difficult ones) in a very intentional and tangible way.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Repent of all the ways we keep pushing back against the Holy Spirit’s comfort, counsel, and conviction. Ask Him to reveal to us all the ways we are grieving Him by living in unrepentant sin. Pray that we stop quenching His counsel by resisting Him every step of the way.
- Praise God for His abounding grace to us – praise Him for all the ways (literally recount as many as you can think of) He has poured out His love for us in Christ! Praise Him that we can love one another because He first loved us.
WEDNESDAY
Day Three: Born Again to New, Eternal Life
Sermon Focus: Because of the Hope on Grace – love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:22-25 says, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
Sermon Point: Because of Christ’s shed blood, we’ve been justified – made right before Almighty God – Born Again to a New Life in Christ – part of the Kingdom of God – on that narrow well-lit path – no longer subject to the perishable things of this world. We’ve been born of imperishable seed – our New Life has been, is currently being, and will always be sustained by God’s living and abiding Word – it’s eternal!
Sermon Reflection: In what ways are you actively allowing the Living Word – Jesus Himself – to sustain and shape the eternal life that He has given you right here and now?
Application: Pray for and reach out to someone in your life who has not professed faith in Christ. Be on the lookout for opportunities to share God’s living and active Word in ways that will hopefully invite questions and conversations about Jesus.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Thank God for His living and active word– that it remains forever, unchangeable, unshakable, and steadfast. Pray that He would give us a hunger for it and help us to build our lives on it – that it would dwell in us richly and direct our steps.
- Pray for the two pillars that are currently meeting – more than 40 people are being trained up to be more fully devoted disciples! Pray that relationships would be strengthened, eyes would be opened, and lives would be transformed as more and more people take their commission seriously.
THURSDAY
Day Four: God’s Word is Eternal
Sermon Focus: Because of the Hope on Grace – love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:22-25 says, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
Sermon Point: Peter turns to the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 40:6-8) to make his case. The things of the flesh and the glory of this world will wither and fall away. The one and only abiding constant – the one thing that remains forever – is the Word of the Lord. We know this to be true: the world around us (including our very bodies) withers before our very eyes. But…God’s Word remains forever!
Sermon Reflection: How does the contrast between human/worldly frailty (“all flesh is like grass”) and the permanence of God’s Word reframe your anxieties, ambitions, or disappointments?
Application: Go outside today and see if you can see any buds popping out on trees…any flowers peeking up out of the still-cold soil. As beautiful as springtime is, inevitably winter comes again. But God’s Word remains forever! Make this image (or any image of a flower) as your phone’s home screen for the next couple of days – each time you see it, say a prayer of thanks for God’s living and abiding Word!
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Praise God for Jesus! He is the Living Word – that is why we can believe every single word, every promise! Whatever God says, happens. Always. Praise Him for such a bedrock foundation on which to build our faith.
- Ask that God would grant us an eternal perspective – that we would not be dismayed or discouraged by the things of this world that are fleeting. Instead, pray that we become more deeply rooted in God’s unshakable, abiding Word.
FRIDAY
Day Five: God’s Word is the Gospel of Good News
Sermon Focus: Because of the Hope on Grace – love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
Truth: 1 Peter 1:22-25 says, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
Sermon Point: The Good News of Salvation is what we preach here at FM all the time. That we are saved by grace through faith, symbolized by that red drop of blood. Born Again to a New Life in Christ – moved from the wide dark path of eternal destruction, over to that narrow, well-lit path of eternal life as part of God’s Kingdom. All the while, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. He purifies our hearts and souls and helps us to be holy, to fear God, and to love one another earnestly as we make our way toward that narrow gate. That’s what eternal life looks like day by every ordinary day!
Sermon Reflection: Where might the Holy Spirit be compelling you to embody a love that reflects the eternal, imperishable nature of God’s Word and the power of the Gospel rather than the temporary, reactive patterns we so quickly fall into?
Application: Is there someone in your life struggling under a great weight today – illness, a broken relationship, loss of work, etc. Spend some time thinking and praying about a Scripture that would encourage them today – and then send it to them, reminding them that they are loved – by God AND you.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Thank God for all those who have sowed, watered, and nurtured the seeds of the Gospel in your life. Ask God to make you one of those people for others. Pray for FM – that the Gospel would continue to shape our identity in Christ, our relationships, and our understanding of what Christ-like love truly requires.
- Pray for this Tri-State region and beyond – that as FM obeys its commission…humility abounds, the lost are found, repentance and gratitude flow, praise and prayer erupt, lives and communities are transformed, love and joy fill hearts, freedom and forgiveness overwhelm, barriers are broken down, the hungry are fed, marriages are restored, families are reunited, and prodigals come home!