For the week of March 30, 2026
MONDAY
Day One: Put Away All Malice
Sermon Focus: Repent now…Repent always…humility…just do the next right thing.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Sermon Point: It’s Holy Week – the week leading up to Jesus’ horrific death on the cross, to pay the price for our sin. It’s quite timely that we find ourselves here where Peter makes clear in no uncertain terms that if we have tasted God’s goodness and want to grow up into salvation, then we must put away our sin. So, today and for the rest of the week, we’ll consider the depth of our depravity and practice God’s merciful gift of repentance – turning from our depravity to pure spiritual milk.
First, we are to put away all malice – every last bit of our desire to do harm to someone else. At first, we may balk at the suggestion, but any time we knowingly speak words with the intent of hurting someone, we are being malicious (not to mention other ways we can hurt them). Often, our wickedness is so crooked we’re even willing to break rules to hurt someone else. How could we ever be holy, fear the Lord, or love others earnestly when there is malice in our souls? Every last bit of it must be put away.
Sermon Reflection: Where does malice lurk in your soul? What are some of the ways we justify this egregious offense?
Application: Our entire week will be spent in repentance and consecration. Today, identify and confess the malice you have harbored in your heart. Repent, asking God to help you hate your sin as much as He does. Make right any wrongs you have done that were rooted in malice. Receive God’s forgiveness and recommit yourself to walking in the way of holiness, for God’s Glory Alone.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Praise God that forgiveness is available to us in Christ. Thank Jesus for His faithful obedience, His sacrificial death on our behalf, His victorious resurrection, and His eternal reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.
- Pray by name for all those you know who have outwardly rejected God’s gracious offer of forgiveness and salvation by grace through faith in Christ’s shed blood. Pray that God would soften their hearts and open their eyes to the Truth and Hope of the Gospel. (And then invite them to our Holy Week services – Good Friday at 6:30 PM and Sunday at 9:00 or 10:30 AM.)
TUESDAY
Day Two: Put Away All Deceit
Sermon Focus: Repent now…Repent always…humility…just do the next right thing.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Sermon Point: Deceit started in the Garden of Eden, and to this very day, it runs rampant in our lives. It involves guile, slyness, and cunning…to lure someone in or to trap them. If you find yourself being crafty, perhaps only telling part of the story (half-truths) to benefit or make yourself look better, you’re being deceitful. It can be so subtle – we don’t even realize how often we seek to deceive. But make no mistake: it is entirely evil. So, Peter tells us here to put it all away. It is completely counter to Christlikeness. We cannot be holy, have healthy fear of the Lord, or love others earnestly with deceit in our lives. Every last bit of it must be put away.
Sermon Reflection: How often do you try to convince yourself that “little white lies” don’t matter?
Application: Today, identify and own the deceit you have harbored in your heart and spoken with your mouth. Repent, asking God to help you hate your sin as much as He does. Make right any wrongs you have done because you have cherished deceit in your heart rather than Truth. Receive God’s forgiveness and recommit yourself to walking in the way of holiness, for God’s Glory Alone.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Pray that God would make FM a place where we refuse to let careless, negative, or deceitful words take root in our hearts or in our community. Pray that every single one of us will take seriously our responsibility to protect FM from the sin of triangulation; that we would go directly to one another in humility and love, holding each other accountable to walk in honesty, integrity, and Christlike reconciliation.
- Praise God that in spite of our sinful ways, His mercies are new every single morning and that every day, He promises to give us sufficient grace to face whatever may come our way. Thank Him that He is faithful to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
WEDNESDAY
Day Three: Put Away Hypocrisy
Sermon Focus: Repent now…Repent always…humility…just do the next right thing.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Sermon Point: Hypocrisy and deceit are close cousins. Ultimately, hypocrisy is insisting that others not do a thing, while we secretly engage in the very same thing. It’s often used to characterize false prophets in the Bible – those who say one thing but do another. No one is immune to it; it’s perhaps most evident in politics – each party slamming the other for things that they, too, are engaging in under the cloak of darkness. At the root of all hypocrisy is a lie, which is why the Devil – the father of lies – loves it. And that’s why we must put it off. We cannot be holy, we cannot have a healthy fear of the Lord, and we cannot love others earnestly if our lives are marked by hypocrisy. Every last bit of it must be put away.
Sermon Reflection: Where/when does hypocrisy tend to surface in your life, and what does it reveal about the state of your heart?
Application: Today, identify and own how and where hypocrisy has crept into your life. Repent, asking God to help you hate your sin as much as He does. Make right any wrongs you have done while living hypocritically. Receive God’s forgiveness and recommit yourself to walking in the way of holiness, for God’s Glory Alone.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Thank God for Truth.Truth that never changes– Truth that sets free – Truth that lights every right next step – Truth that is found only in the Person, Words, and Works of Jesus Christ.
- Pray that God would deepen in us the desire to be holy. Pray that we would have a healthy fear of God that compels us to never want to let Him down in any way. Pray that we will walk in obedience so that our souls can be purified and we can love one another earnestly. All for God’s Glory Alone.
THURSDAY
Day Four: Put Away Envy
Sermon Focus: Repent now…Repent always…humility…just do the next right thing.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Sermon Point: Envy…jealous spite…engendering ill-will toward another – these visceral feelings just well up within us, sometimes, don’t they? Our depravity is so difficult to control; it’s impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. Someone has something we don’t, and envy takes us captive. Could be a position of authority, greater wealth, physical beauty or ability…maybe they have more friends or a better job. But when envy takes root in our souls, we begin to despise others just because of their advantage over us; we would like nothing more than to see them fall or suffer. If we’re nursing envy, then we simply cannot be holy, we cannot have a healthy fear of the Lord, and we cannot love others. And that’s why we must put every last bit of it away.
Sermon Reflection: Over what things/circumstances do you find yourself most tempted to envy? How does your envy blind you to what God has given to you and wants to do in your life?
Application: Today, identify and own the envy you have harbored in your heart. Repent, asking God to help you hate your sin as much as He does. In humility, thank God for His wisdom in giving you exactly what you need for life and godliness – nothing more, nothing less. Receive God’s forgiveness and recommit yourself to walking in the way of holiness, for God’s Glory Alone.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Pray that the Holy Spirit would shape our speech, our relationships, and our habits so that everything we do reflectsGod’s goodness and preserves the unity He’s entrusted to us.
- Pray that every FMiler will be intentional every single day to be filled with the Holy Spirit (by being thankful, praising God, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ) and to put on the full armor of God, so that, together, we might stand in His strength as we pursue Truth and long for God’s Glory Alone.
FRIDAY
Day Five: Put Away All Slander
Sermon Focus: Repent now…Repent always…humility…just do the next right thing.
Truth: 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Sermon Point: Slander. Backbiting, speaking evil of another, defaming someone’s character or reputation. At its core, slander involves judgment, but when you really begin to think about it, it is so often simply a result of misunderstanding. We jump to conclusions only knowing one side of the story! Slander is destructive! Do you know how many churches are divided, how many people are deeply hurt, and how often reputations are ruined…because of slander? It’s rampant in our lives. We must put it away – ALL of it. We cannot be holy, have a healthy fear of the Lord, or love one another earnestly if all we’re doing is running around slandering each other. It must stop.
Sermon Reflection: How has your own life been affected by slanderous words? How have your slanderous words caused division at FM or led to someone else being deeply hurt?
Application:
Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander belong to the old, dying way of life, and Scripture portrays them as foul, repulsive things that must be stripped off completely. Both Paul and Peter paint vivid images – our sin is like filthy, rotting garments or a pot of putrid waste. These behaviors have no place in a life being made new.
Today is Good Friday. Spend some time with this slide and consider how much our sin cost our Savior. Be broken over your sin – repent! Plan to come to the Tenebrae service this evening at 6:30 PM and invite a friend, neighbor, family member, or co-worker to come with you.
Kingdom Prayer Focus:
- Pray that God would make our hearts like newborn babies – unashamed of our need and eager for the One who gives us life. Pray that He stirs in us a deep longing for His pure, nourishing Word, that we may grow into the fullness of the salvation we have in Christ.
- Praise God for letting us taste the sweetness of His goodness in Christ! Pray that His Spirit would continue to help us crave what comes from Him alone, turning away from anything that dulls our appetites for His living and active Word and a life lived for God’s Glory Alone.