In this week’s message, Jesus presents a contrast between two possible directions we might choose for our lives. One direction is attractive because it is “easy,” yet it ultimately leads to destruction. The other direction is hard but actually is the way that leads to life. According to Jesus, these two potential directions are the only options we’re presented with in life. He confronts us with our need to make a choice of which of these ways we will pursue.

Jesus has spent all this time throughout his Sermon teaching those who follow God how to truly live under God's new Kingdom reign, rather than under the law. He now reveals to us why that really matters - and what's at stake.

Nearing the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summarizes his teaching in one simple sentence—the Golden Rule. This sentence is simple to say but so difficult to live out in our daily lives. So he precedes the sentence by assuring us that if we seek him, he is completely trustworthy to give us every good gift that we need to live for him.

In this passage, Jesus addresses how we assess the spiritual condition of those we encounter in our daily lives. There is a place for paying attention to clues about how others are doing in relation to God. However, we must exercise immense caution in the conclusions that we draw based upon these clues. Jesus challenges us to employ Kingdom measures in assessing the spiritual state of the people in our lives. In this weeks’ message, we see that kingdom measures will cause us to recalibrate our perspective about others in three crucial ways.

Worry is nothing new. Perhaps it’s on the rise in our time, but for Jesus’ listeners, most of whom lived in poverty, worry was a very real issue. Jesus tells his disciples plainly not to worry about everyday life, and he gives many reasons why worrying is not helpful. But he doesn't stop there. In his kindness, he also shares the way to stop.

Regularly in his teaching, Jesus waded into the uncomfortable topic of personal finances. In this passage he challenges his disciples to consider the durability of two different types of treasures, earthly and heavenly. Then he goes deeper, directing us to realize that our treasure-handling really flows from our hearts, that our hearts are directed by the influences and ambitions we pursue, and that these ultimately flow from who we serve. The choice is clear but difficult: will we serve God or money? We can’t have it both ways.

Jesus teaches his followers about the role that fasting can have in our spiritual lives and, even more importantly, the posture we should take when we engage in fasting. Unlike the world around us, our aim should be to please God, rather than to draw the attention of others.

Whose attention and affirmation are we hoping to gain when we engage in “spiritual” activities? In this passage, Jesus uses the practice of fasting as a case study to warn against engaging in spiritual activities for the sake of impressing others. He encourages us to be people of authenticity whose inward motivations and outward actions are oriented to the “Audience of One,” our heavenly Father.

In part 3 of His 3-part lesson, Jesus again warns about practicing our righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If we do, we will have no reward from God. He gives simple instructions about keeping our fasting a secret from others, so that our unseen, all-seeing God will reward us.

Conversation is the lifeblood of any relationship, and it is no different with God. If we want to grow to know him we need to learn to talk with him and listen to him. Jesus continues his teaching by warning against praying like hypocrites (who would rather impress others than know God) and against praying like pagans (who think that great effort is needed to get God’s attention). Instead he teaches us to pray like Christians, authentically and thoughtfully, and he gives us a model prayer to guide and grow us.