Category Archives: Sermon on the Mount Series

Location, Location, Location

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“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them … is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock … But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation” Luke 6:47-49 ESV1

Read Matthew 7:21-27 & Luke 6:46-49

Have you heard it said that the three most important things to consider in real estate are location, location, and location? As it turns out, location is pretty important in the spiritual realm as well. As Jesus concluded one of His training seminars for a group of committed followers who had climbed a mountain to hear what He had to say, He chose a powerful cohering illustration that involved real estate to cement His teaching in the minds of His students. The real estate, a house, to which Jesus is referring in His illustration is a metaphor for one’s life.

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Final Warnings from the Sermon on the Mount

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Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven. Matthew 7:21 ESV1

Read Matthew 7:13-29, 13:1-30 & Luke 6:43-49

Jesus was up on the mountain teaching His committed followers. He had already given them some pretty radical teachings on a variety of subjects. The above words are among His closing remarks. These final few paragraphs contain the most important instructions His followers were going to need to know as they headed down the mountain and back into their daily lives. If any of them were beginning to doze off, these serious words would have perked up them. They should do the same for us.

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Ask, Seek, Knock

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“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 ESV1

Read Matthew 7:7-11 & Luke 11:9-13

These words on prayer were spoken by Jesus to the dedicated followers who had joined Him on the mountainside. They apply to those disciples as much as they apply to Christ-followers today. Jesus is very clear in this passage that God most definitely with absolute certainty answers prayer, but that may not be our daily experience. Let’s explore why.

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The Thing About Judging

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“Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure, you use it will be measured to you.”  Matthew 7:1-2 ESV1

Read Matthew 7:1-14 & Luke 6:37-38

To the rational mind, racism, sexism, and all forms of prejudice are senseless. After all, who of us chose the color of his/her skin? Which of us decided before our birth which gender we would be? Who among us had any input on who his/her ancestors were? Did any of us get to vote for the color of his/her eyes, or height, or body structure? Who got to pick his/her personality, strengths, or weakness? Though it is not rational, most of us harbor some kind of prejudice. Why is that?

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Jesus’ Prescription for Anxiety

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But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV1

Read Matthew 6:25-34 & Luke 12:22-31

We are anxious about so many things. Worry visits every single one of us. It captures our imaginations. It takes us to extremes. It steals our joy. “Anxiety has become the number one mental health issue in North America. It’s estimated that one-third of the North American adult population experiences anxiety unwellness issues.”2 But does it have to be this way? Is there a Biblical solution to anxiety?

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The Healthy Eye

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The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. Matthew 6:22-23 ESV1

Read Matthew 6:19-24

Have you ever heard the idiom looking at life through rose-colored glasses? It means positively seeing things or having an optimistic outlook. Often, if one is wearing rose-colored glasses, he/she sees things better than they really are.

There doesn’t seem to be an idiom for the opposite of rose-colored glasses, yet that mindset definitely exists. Some people look through another kind of glasses, and those glasses are half empty. Those people have a negative outlook on life and circumstances. To them, things often appear worse than they really are.

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Model for Prayer

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Pray then like this… Matthew 6:9 ESV1

Read Matthew 6:6-15 & Luke 11:2-4

If you have been around Christianity for any length of time, you are probably familiar with the Lord’s Prayer. You may have repeated several times with others in church services, on your own in times of need, or even at an occasional sporting event. With as many times as you have heard and said it, you probably even have it memorized. But did you ever consider that you may not be using the Lord’s Prayer the way the Lord intended?

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Am I a Hypocrite?

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Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in Heaven. Matthew 6:1 ESV1

Read Matthew 6:1-6 & 16-18

When we begin reading Matthew 6 our ears are perked up and our senses are heightened. Matthew 6 is the continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which began in Matthew 5. Because of His teaching on some serious subjects presented in a surprising way, this sermon convicts the hearts of all who seriously read it. We expect to continue to be convicted in Matthew 6, but when Jesus teaches here on giving and praying, it is easy to let down our guards and assume He is speaking to someone else. After all, who of us has actually sounded a trumpet to draw attention to our giving (see Matthew 6:2) or has stood on a street corner loudly praying to get others to notice us (see Matthew 6:5)?

Therefore, we often miss what Jesus is teaching us here, specifically and personally, about hypocrisy. At this point, instead of looking around at the other guy, I believe Jesus is calling us each to honestly and prayerfully ask ourselves the question, “Am I a hypocrite?” If I were to ask myself that question, I must truthfully say, “Yes, I think I am. At least, I have that tendency.”

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Holy Perfectionism

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You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.               Matthew 5:48 ESV1

Read Matthew 5:13-48 & Luke 6:20-36

In the Sermon on the Mount, (recorded in Matthew chapters 5-7) Jesus challenged His committed disciples to live lives on a higher plane than even the highly respected religious leaders of their day. This plane of perfection went beyond that which they had been taught. Jesus equated anger with murder (see Matthew 5:21-22) and lust and divorce with adultery (see Matthew 5:27-32). He called oaths evil (see Matthew 5:33-37) and commanded His followers to return retaliation and enmity with love (see Matthew 5:38-48). In teaching His disciples to obey not only the Law but the spirit of the law, He was teaching them how to show God to their world. This perfection was, and still is, a high road.

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Ultimate Satisfaction

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Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them.                   Matthew 5:1-2 ESV1

Read Matthew 5:1-12 & Luke 6:20-26

Jesus had been going “throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people, so His fame spread throughout all Syria” (Matthew 4:23-24a). Once again, Jesus was confronted with a crowd of people wanting something from Him, but instead of immediately ministering to the multitude, He climbed a nearby mountain and got away from the hustle and bustle. Only those who were really committed to following Him joined Jesus on His climb. When they all reached a quiet spot, Jesus sat down and began to teach these disciples.

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