Sermon on the Mount Sample

Think back to a proud moment when you received some kind of trophy or award. Especially when you’re growing up, winning a trophy is a special way to remember something you’re proud of. It’s really fun when you first get it, but most of the time, your excitement for it doesn’t last. Twenty years later, your trophy is probably collecting dust on a shelf somewhere out of sight. Or it’s been lost or thrown away.

One thing Jesus teaches His followers in the Sermon on the Mount is how they should think about the things they own and their money. Like our trophies, Jesus says the things we own aren’t going to matter in the long run. Over years and years, things get dusty and rusty. They might get lost or stolen. Something you love right now probably won’t matter to you much in a few years.

Jesus also says that you can’t follow Him and be obsessed with money. You can’t focus on serving God if all you’re doing is trying to get more and more money for yourself. Money isn’t bad by itself and can be used to help people. But if you save and save all of your money your whole life and never use it to help anyone, what happens when you die? You lose it. You can’t take it with you. What was the point?

Have you ever visited or seen pictures of the pyramids in Egypt? Many centuries before Jesus taught these things, the Egyptian pharaohs were building these massive tombs where they could store all their treasure and bring it with them when they died. But that’s not what happened. They died, and their stuff stayed put. Eventually, people came and robbed many of the pyramids and took the treasure for themselves.

Jesus says we don’t want to end up like that. Instead, He says we should store our treasures in heaven where they will be safe. What does that mean? It means the treasures that will last aren’t the things we think of as treasures. We can’t take our possessions or our money with us to heaven. But the treasures we can store in heaven are the things we do because we have faith in God and want to follow Jesus.

Jesus says, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:21)

Reflect: Are the desires of your heart for the things of this world—like the stuff you can buy? Or do you really want to live in a way that will matter forever—even after you die?

Read: Matthew 6:19-24, 33