Hello church family and friends.  I hope you have had a good week, growing closer to the Lord and learning how to live as He has called us to live.  Life has its challenges for all of us, but we know Him who overcomes.

This week I have the privilege of speaking to you about the story of the “rich young ruler.”  This man’s encounter with Jesus is the foundation for our Sunday School lesson, and there are some other interesting things about this story that I would like to explore with you.  It is found in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30.  Each account reveals something new, so though we won’t have time to read them all in whole tomorrow, I suggest you do so in your private study time.

We’ve all been taught that we receive eternal life by making Jesus lord of our lives, or at least that’s what we should have been taught.  We have a nice little formula and prayer to get started, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  We learned one way to share it with others this summer and I hope everyone has been able to put it into practice.

If that’s the way to eternal life, why didn’t Jesus give that answer here?  If we’re all equal in His sight, why did He make a point of saying how hard it is for a rich man to enter his kingdom?  Even his disciples were amazed that he would say that.  If we study this story a little more closely, what else might we learn?  Come and see!