You can view an in-depth discussion of “The Sermon of Jesus on the Mount” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. (Adobe Flash Player version.) A Youtube version of this week’s lesson at Hope Sabbath School is below. You can download the video, the MP3 audio, and the lesson outline from … Continue reading –>
Perhaps the most radical teaching of Jesus is found in Matthew 5:48. Read the text. How are we, especially as sinners, supposed to do that? Of all the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, this has to be one of the most amazing, the most “extreme.” To be as perfect as “your Father in … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 5:20. What does Jesus mean when He says that unless our righteousness “surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law” (NIV), we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven? Though salvation has always been by faith, and though Judaism, as it should have been practiced, was always a system of grace, … Continue reading –>
He taught with authority. Were Jesus’ listeners amazed that He spoke with authority even before they knew He was Jesus Christ? In other words, was it “who He was” or “How He spoke” that first impressed them concerning Jesus?The “Sermon on the Mount” is fairly short, but it is “the most powerful sermon ever preached,” according to … Continue reading –>
Some Christians view the Sermon on the Mount as a new “law of Christ,” one that replaced the “Law of God.” They say that a system of legalism was now replaced with a system of grace, or that Jesus’ law differs from the Law of God itself. These views are misconceptions about the Sermon on … Continue reading –>
Skim through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Summarize on the lines below what stands out the most in your mind about it, about what it says to you. “Perhaps no other religious discourse in the history of humanity has attracted the attention which has been devoted to the Sermon on the Mount. … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 5-7, Rom. 7:7, Gen. 15:6, Micah 6:6-8, Luke 6:36, Matt. 13:44-52, Rom. 8:5-10. Memory Text:“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29, NIV). In the … Continue reading –>
An evangelist came to town and advertised his meeting like this: “Come see a preacher tear a page out of the Bible!” That, no doubt, brought a crowd. He then stood before them, opened his Bible, and—to their astonishment—tore out a page. “This page,” he said, “never belonged there. It’s the page separating the Old … Continue reading –>
If one didn’t know better they might think that Jesus could have benefited from a savvy P.R. marketing manager. We know that first impressions are lasting, and it is imperative for any public figure to get their debut right. The society in which Jesus began his ministry was very religious. At the top of the … Continue reading –>
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17, NKJV). Just like John, Jesus began His ministry with a call to repentance. He knew, as did John, the fallen state of humanity and the need for all people to repent and come to a knowledge of God. Thus, it’s not surprising that His … Continue reading –>
