Sticky Notes - FOUR MILE CHURCH

Sticky Notes

For the week of May 11, 2026

MONDAY

Day One: Live as People who are Free

Sermon Focus: When we submit to God’s authority, we are free to live the way God designed us to live.

Truth: 1 Peter 2:16-17 says, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

Sermon Point: Peter reminds us that we are now truly free – born again to a new life in Christ – and no longer trapped by the sin that once held us captive. This freedom is a sheer gift of The Grace, purchased by the precious blood of Christ. We’ve been liberated from that wide, dark path that leads to eternal destruction. Now we’re able to move freely down that narrow, well-lit path of eternal life. Freed from the stench of sin – we have been redeemed!

Sermon Reflection: Where do you still live as if you are trapped – holding on to patterns of sin that Christ has already freed you from? What would it look like to step onto the narrow, well-lit path today?

Application: Once you’ve identified that area where you are still living as though trapped, resolve in your heart and mind – strengthened by The Grace – to choose true freedom and do the next right thing today.

Kingdom Prayer Focus:

Thank God for The Grace today – for grace after grace, day after day, made possible for us because of Christ’s shed blood. Thank Him that we no longer have to live enslaved to our sin but are now free in Christ to choose holiness and obedience!
Pray for FM – that we would not just be eternally grateful but that we would also be daily compelled by the priceless gift of redemption we have been given through faith in Christ. Pray that we would truly long to live out the freedom we have in Christ.

TUESDAY

Day Two: Don’t Use Your Freedom as a Cover-up for Evil

Sermon Focus: When we submit to God’s authority, we are free to live the way God designed us to live.

Sermon Point: Just because we are free in Christ, we cannot use our freedom as an excuse to sin. The truth is, we’re still prone to choose sin when left to ourselves; our only Hope is the grace of God, which frees us and continually draws us back to repentance every time we do. We must also reject antinomianism – the deadly lie that we can just keep on sinning because we’re forgiven. No! If we are truly born again, our sin should be unbearable, especially in light of what Christ endured to secure our freedom.

Sermon Reflection: When you consider the cost of your freedom (the suffering Christ willingly endured), what sinful patterns become impossible to justify, and how might that remembrance draw you back to repentance today?

Application: In the area of sin struggle you identified yesterday, choose one act to bring your behavior in line with repentance (delete the pictures, pour it down the sink, ask forgiveness of the person you slandered, cut up the credit card, etc.).

Kingdom Prayer Focus:

Spend some time confessing your sin to God; receive His forgiveness; humbly commit yourself (and ask for His strength) to walk in obedience, delighting in the freedom you have to bring glory to God.
Praise God for brand new mercies every day; that even though we still wrestle with our sin, He is faithful to forgive when we embrace the amazing gift of repentance that He’s given to us.

WEDNESDAY

Day Three: Live as Servants of God

Sermon Focus: When we submit to God’s authority, we are free to live the way God designed us to live.

Sermon Point: Our freedom in Christ is not the absence of boundaries but the ability to live as God designed – free from the bondage of sin and joyfully submitted to Him as our true Master. In Christ, the bars of sin have been removed, and yet real freedom is found in staying within the good and protective boundaries God sets for His beloved children.

Sermon Reflection: How would your daily choices change if you truly believe that joyful submission to God is not bondage but the very place where your freedom flourishes?

Application: Submission to God (obedience) is the means to true freedom! So, go be FREE today by making disciples everywhere you go and with everyone you meet!

Kingdom Prayer Focus:

Pray that at FM, we would learn to treasure the freedom Jesus has won for us and that we would joyfully live within the good and wise boundaries of God’s design. Pray that we would take every opportunity we can to share with others the joy and freedom we have found in Christ.
Thank God for the ultimate example we have of humble servanthood in Christ, who came not to be served but to serve. Thank Him for the Holy Spirit who is able to transform our selfish hearts into ones that seek others’ well-being above our own; pray that we would respond to His power at work within us, relying on His strength to resist sin and choose obedience.

THURSDAY

Day Four: Honor Everyone and Love the Brotherhood

Sermon Focus: When we submit to God’s authority, we are free to live the way God designed us to live.

Sermon Point: Peter calls us to honor everyone because every human being bears the image of God. He then commands us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ because each one carries the very life of Christ within them – even the ones who frustrate or annoy us. Because Christ Himself is in them, our treatment of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is ultimately a reflection of our love for Him.

Sermon Reflection: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal…next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses…If he is your Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.” ~ C.S. Lewis.

Application: Every single person you see or interact with today bears the image of God. Set some reminders on your phone to go off throughout the day that will remind you to honor them – with kind words, eye contact, encouragement, time, generosity…find specific ways to show honor that will bring glory to God.

Kingdom Prayer Focus:

Pray that God would help us honor every person we encounter as someone who bears His image and deserves dignity because He created them. Pray that the Spirit would help us to love those around us – especially the ones who are difficult – with the same love with which Christ has loved us.
Thank God today for as many people as you can think of who treated you as an image-bearer – who loved you when you were difficult, who served you, who shared the Gospel with you. Thank God for all the people and circumstances He has used for your good and His glory in your life.

FRIDAY

Day Five: Fear God and Honor the Emperor

Sermon Focus: When we submit to God’s authority, we are free to live the way God designed us to live.

Sermon Point: Fearing God means living with deep awe, reverence, and humility before the One who is sovereign, holy, and good, recognizing that true wisdom begins with seeing ourselves rightly in relation to Him. Honoring the emperor flows from that same posture because God has ordained human authorities to provide order and establish the boundaries within which we can flourish. So, because of The Grace, we are to live as free people who refuse to use our freedom as a cover for evil, staying within God’s good design—boundaries that help us thrive the way He intended – running free as His servants, for His glory alone.

Sermon Reflection: What would it look like today for you to run free as God’s servant – living within His design and letting reverence for Him guide your choices so that you bring Him glory alone?

Application: Church, we cannot live as people who are free the way God intends without His empowering grace. Today – and every day – be filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5:18-21)! Put on the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-20)! Proclaim His salvation today – declare His glory – in all you say and do!

Kingdom Prayer Focus:

Praise God today for being all-knowing, everywhere-present, and all-powerful – the Sovereign Ruler over all of creation. Praise Him for being perfectly good, loving, and holy – the very definition of Truth. Praise Him for His salvation, for the freedom we have in Christ – celebrate His glory – exalt His great Name!
Pray that deep repentance and humility would mark us as a church; that God’s Glory would truly become our greatest aim and desire; that unity would be guarded within this body of believers; that obedience would be embraced and encouraged. Pray that we would be wholly devoted to Christ in every single area of our lives.