One Way Or Many?

Introduction

Hand out numbers for kids, and get them to guess how many using their numbers.

HOW MANY WAYS ARE THERE TO?

1. Cook an egg

a. Scrambled b. fried c. poached d. boiled. There are many ways to cook an egg.

2. Get to school

a. school bus b. car c. cycle d. walk. There are many ways to get to school.

3. Get to Ghana

a. fly b. air balloon c. boat d. submarine. There are many ways to get to Ghana.

How many ways to get to heaven? Sin separates us from God. Jesus makes a bridge for us to cross.

‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’ Matthew 7:13-14

Explain the verse with a picture.

‘ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’ John 14:5-7

Explain the verse with a picture.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16

Explain the verse with a picture

In the film Night at the Museum, Larry has arrived at his new night watchman job and, just before he begins, the previous watchmen have some advice for him.

As the three old watchmen prepare to leave, Cecil gives Larry a sheaf of paper, which he says are the “instructions.” Gus warns Larry to do them in order and do them fast. Curiously, Larry is told that he is not to let “anyone in, or anything out.” After the three leave, Larry starts his night shift.

Instead of looking at the instructions, Larry just sits around the information booth playing with the phone, pretending that he is a Monster Truck announcer and singing a terrible version of “Eye of the Tiger” from the Rocky movie. After dozing off for a bit, he finally awakens and decides to start his rounds.

After walking a short way, Larry notices that something is wrong. He turns back around and sees that the large skeletal exhibit of the T. rex is missing. At first, he thinks that this is a practical joke played on him by the three retiring watchmen.

But he hears a noise and moves to investigate. Shining his flashlight, Larry is amazed to see the T. rex “drinking” at the water fountain. He is petrified and drops his flashlight. The sound gets the T. rex’s attention, and it comes after Larry with a vengeance.

Larry scrambles out of the way, running for the exits, but everything is locked. Larry pushes, in vain, against the door, begging it to “revolve, revolve!” Eventually, he dives for cover in the information booth enclosure. He frantically dials Cecil’s number to get help, but Cecil is at a party with Gus and Reginald and a host of young women.

The music is so loud that Cecil can hardly hear Larry, who is screaming. Finally, Cecil asks Larry if he followed the directions. Suddenly, Larry looks at the instruction sheet and sees that number one on the list is “Throw the bone.”

Larry is clueless until a rib bone falls in front of him. He picks it up cautiously and throws it. The T. rex scurries after the bone, and just as Larry thinks he is in the clear, the T. rex is back, with the bone in its massive jaws.

Larry is terrified, but the T-Rex drops the bone in front of him and waits. It dawns on Larry that the T. rex just wants to play fetch. Something he would have known had he simply read the instructions.

APPLICATION

Larry is terrified as he flees from what he takes to be a gigantic monster come to life. Everything about the T. rex skeleton looks like impending doom. But all of the terror, and much of the running, could have been easily avoided had Larry done but one simple thing: read the instructions.

Many people believe there are many ways to heaven, but they won’t get there because they simply won’t read the instructions we find in the Bible. The Bible tells us there is only one way to heaven. Through Jesus.

There is only one way to do many things. Many things are always true.

1. If you jump off the roof of your house, you will fall.

2. If you touch fire, it will be hot.

Jesus tells us that there is only one way to get to Heaven. There is but one way to Heaven, we must believe that Jesus, God’s one and only son, died for our sins, 1 Corinthians 15:3.

We must repent and turn from our sins, Luke 13:3, confess Jesus as boss of our lives, Romans 10:9-10, and be baptised into Jesus so that He can forgive us, Acts 2:38.