Story: The Rich And The Kingdom Of God

MATTHEW 19:16-26

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Memory Verse: 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

story of gideon

Story of Gideon(over three week period)

Judges 6:1-2, 12-16 & 7:2-8, 15-22 (NIRV)

1-2 Once again the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So for seven years he handed them over to the people of Midian. The Midianites treated the people of Israel very badly. That’s why they made hiding places for themselves. They hid in holes in the mountains. They also hid in caves and in other safe places.

12-16 The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He said, “Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you.” ”But sir,” Gideon replied, “you say the Lord is with us. Then why has all of this happened to us? Where are all of the wonderful things he has done? Our parents told us about them. They said, ‘Didn’t the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has deserted us. He has handed us over to Midian.” The Lord turned to Gideon. He said to him, “You are strong. Go and save Israel from the power of Midian. I am sending you.” ”But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I possibly save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I’m the least important member of my family.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you. So you will strike down the men of Midian all at one time.”

2-8 The Lord spoke to Gideon. He said, “I want to hand Midian over to you. But you have too many men for me to do that. I do not want Israel to brag that their own strength has saved them. So here is what I want you to announce to your men. Tell them, ‘Those who tremble with fear can turn back. They can leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So 22,000 men left. But 10,000 remained. The Lord spoke to Gideon again. He said, “There are still too many men. So take them down to the water. I will sort them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one will go with you,’ he will go. But if I say, ‘That one will not go with you,’ he will not go.” So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord spoke to him. He said, “Some men will drink the way dogs do. They will lap up the water with their tongues. Separate them from those who get down on their knees to drink.” Three hundred men lapped up the water. They brought it up to their mouths with their hands. All of the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord spoke to Gideon. He said, “With the help of the 300 men who lapped up the water I will save you. I will hand the Midianites over to you. Let all of the other men go home.” So Gideon sent the rest of the men of Israel to their tents. But he kept the 300 men. They took over the supplies and trumpets the others had left. The Midianites had set up their camp in the valley below where Gideon was.

15-22 Then Gideon worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel. He called out, “Get up! The Lord has handed the Midianites over to you.” Gideon separated the 300 men into three companies. He put a trumpet and an empty jar into the hands of each man. And he put a torch inside each jar. ”Watch me,” he told them. “Do what I do. I’ll go to the edge of the enemy camp. Then do exactly as I do. 18 I and everyone who is with me will blow our trumpets. Then blow your trumpets from your positions all around the camp. And shout the battle cry, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’ “ Gideon and the 100 men who were with him reached the edge of the enemy camp. It was about ten o’clock at night. It was just after the guard had been changed. Gideon and his men blew their trumpets. They broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew their trumpets. They smashed their jars. They held their torches in their left hands. They held in their right hands the trumpets they were going to blow. Then they shouted the battle cry, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” Each man stayed in his position around the camp. But all of the Midianites ran away in fear. They were crying out as they ran. When the 300 trumpets were blown, the Lord caused all of the men in the enemy camp to start fighting each other. They attacked each other with their swords. The army ran away to Beth Shittah toward Zererah. They ran all the way to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.