WEEK 4: Don't Fall For Fake

Intro:  Discernment matters—stay grounded in the real Jesus.

Have you ever bought something online and when it arrived… it was nothing like the pictures?

Maybe it was a pair of shoes that felt like cardboard, a hoodie made of tissue paper, or tech that broke in five minutes. You thought you were getting the real deal—turns out, it was a knockoff.

John is writing this part of his letter because the same thing was happening with people’s beliefs about Jesus. Teachers were showing up claiming to have “new knowledge” or a “better take” on Jesus—but they were fake. Not just slightly off, but dangerously wrong.

He calls them antichrists—not because they had horns and red pitchforks, but because they rejected who Jesus really is and led others away from the truth.

This week is about discernment.

It’s about learning how to recognize fake spiritual takes, no matter how confident or cool they sound.

And here’s the best part: You don’t have to guess your way through it. If you know Jesus, you’ve got His Spirit inside you and His truth in front of you. That’s all you need to stay grounded.

Let’s talk about how to stay real in a world full of fakes—because when it comes to your faith, your eternity, and your identity, you can’t afford to settle for counterfeit.