October 26, 2025
Fruitless
Pastor Ricky Smith

Sermon Notes

Real faith shows up in real fruit.

Mark 11:11-25
And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

1. Fruitless Religion Is Exposed

“The great majority of persons who have any sort of religion at all bear leaves, but they produce no fruit.”
– Charles Spurgeon

2. Hollow Worship Is Rejected

3. True Faith Bears Fruit

Next Steps

• I confess my sin and turn to Jesus as King for the first time.
• I commit to walking in biblical community with this church. Contact me about membership and service.
• I choose to trust in God rather than man.

Deep Dive

1. In what ways can churches unintentionally become barriers to worship?
2. How do prayer and forgiveness show evidence of real faith?
3. What specific fruit is the Lord calling you to bear in your life or our church?

Springboards

1. Who or what has the greatest authority in your life right now—and how can you tell?
2. Have you ever avoided a hard truth because you feared how others would react?
3. What would it cost you to fully surrender to Jesus’ authority—and is He worth it?