PreachingHelp.org 
When I was just a little boy, my great-grandmother gave me a couple 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars. With my parents’ help, I’ve been able to keep them through the years without losing them. The coins my great-grandmother gave me weren’t in “mint” condition, but to me their value isn’t measured in silver, but in sentiment.
Now with that said, allow me to make a point from my great-grandmother’s silver dollars. The picture you see above contains only one of the silver dollars my great-grandmother gave me. The other silver dollar is a counterfeit. (Go ahead and double click on the picture to make it larger and compare the two coins). Both coins have the appearance of age (one artificially induced). Both look silver, but only one is actually silver, the other is a brass slug made to look silver. Both coins weigh the same amount. Both coins involve intricate artwork and design. But only one of the coins is the genuine item. The other is a counterfeit, manufactured in China, and intended to deceive novice coin collectors.
Careful examination of the two coins can reveal which is real and which is counterfeit. One is a bit thicker than the other. When you drop them, one has a “ring” of genuine currency, while the other has a dull sound. One contains a few flaws, especially on the flip side of the coin that exposes it as a counterfeit. But my point is this…unless you’re really informed and vigilant, you could easily be deceived into accepting what is worthless when you thought you were in possession of something of value.
Do you see how the same thing can occur with respect to the church and Christianity? Jesus promised to build his church (Matthew 16:18). Since that time, the Devil’s most effective tactic to keep you out of the church is to flood the world with counterfeits. No church presents itself as a counterfeit. All of them have features that resemble the real thing. But similarity is not sufficient. We’re looking for the real thing. Please friends, regardless of what church you’re a part of, investigate and compare what you’re investing yourself into with the trustworthy standard of God’s word.
(Want to guess which one is real and which one is counterfeit? Leave your guess in the comments).
The one on the left HAS to be the real one. The one on the right is way too shiny and polished. Just like in real life, when trials come our way, they age us and our luster wears off, but, like your parable of the two coins, the real beauty is what’s inside!!