Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO To whom shall we go? Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA August 24, 2003 Main Scripture text: John 6:56-69. Verse 66 says many of Jesus' disciples turned back "and no longer followed him." Put yourself in their place. There are good reasons for not following Jesus: He isn't socially acceptable! He hangs out with the wrong crowd -- the poor, the lame, the blind, beggars, prostitutes, tax collectors, and lepers. He's too easy on sinners! What about the woman caught in the act of adultery. She should have been put to death. What did Jesus say? "I don't condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." He's too hard on good people! Remember the time a good man who had kept the commandments asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor." He's not religious! He spends time with people don't keep the traditional fasts, and his disciples were seen harvesting grain on the Sabbath. He claims to be the "bread of life" and says if we want to live forever we have to "eat His flesh and drink His blood." Weird! So there are good reasons to leave. But if we leave Jesus, to whom would we go? Or, why go to anyone at all? What are we after anyway? We're after life. The older we get the more we are aware that death dogs our footsteps. We want to know that our years won't end in nothingness. Peter said: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Jesus ravaged hell and walked victoriously from the tomb. With Him, even the grave has become a place of hope. Everyone who looks to the Him and believes has eternal life, and Jesus "will raise him up at the last day." Jesus Christ is the King of all kings and the Lord of all Lords. He alone will Judge the earth and is the Savior of the world. He alone is God -- there is no other. To whom shall we go? If we want life, there is no one else but Jesus. Supporting texts: Luke 14:13-21 | Luke 5:29-31 | John 8:1-11 | Leviticus 20:10 | Luke 18:18-27 | Luke 5:33-34 | Luke 7:36-48 | Mark 2:23 | Matthew 15:1-2 | Matthew 11:19 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030824a: To Whom Shall We Go? © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us