10.15 Sermon

Sermon Passage: Matthew 7:13-14
Sermon Title: The Choice is yours
Sermon by: Pastor Davy (Youth)
Sermon Summary:
In the last few paragraphs of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is concluding his sermon with a call for us to decide between two gates. One is a wide gate which leads down an easy road but ultimately destruction. Another is a narrow gate which leads down a hard and difficult road but it leads to life. The choice is obvious but why is it so hard for us to enter by this narrow gate and walk on the hard road? The reason is our sinful desire and need for instant gratification. Jesus says the wide gate is appealing because it is easy and wide. And in our sinful selfishness, we are often tempted to go down this easy road because we want the temporary pleasures of this world more than the eternal life in heaven. There was study done by a group of people who would go to poor families and offer them two choices: a bag of rice which would last two weeks or a plot of land and the materials to farm this land and the ownership of this land for years to come. This study found that most poor families chose the bag of rice over the long term solution in the plot of land. In their desperation, they chose the temporary but instant solution. In this study, we see an example of how blind we could be in light of the long term solution that requires patience and obedience. It is obvious which gate is the better choice for us all. But the question is a personal one. Which gate will you choose? which gate have you been choosing in your life? Have you entered by the narrow gate? Jesus, in the conclusion of his sermon, asks us to decide. death and destruction? or life and salvation? The choice is ours. I hope and pray we choose and enter by the narrow gate.