Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 1 to 25 of 1232 results

1. Sermon on the Mount: Final Warnings and Call to Obey Jesus’ Words

Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... means doing the will of God (7:21) rather than doing evil, a topic to which Jesus will return (12:46–50). The sermon concludes with a parable about the wisdom of putting Jesus’ words into practice (7:24–27). The narrative conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount (7:28–29) includes the first of five uses of the formula “When Jesus had finished saying [these things],” which closes each of the five major discourses of Jesus in Matthew (chaps. 5–7, 10, 13, 18, 24–25). The amazement of the crowds at ...

2. Sermon on the Mount: Praying, Not Judging

Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 7:1-6

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... words in 5:17 at the front of the body of the sermon: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.” Teaching the Text 1. Jesus warns his disciples against presumptuous and harsh judgment of others. Many moments of the Sermon on the Mount have made it into popular parlance (e.g., “This person is the salt of the earth”). Probably no one-liner is as famous as “Judge not lest ye be judged” (in the language of the King James Bible). And this aphorism in its popular usage hits ...

3. Sermon on the Mount: Allegiance and Trust

Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:25-34

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... height?). So a cubit makes little sense if pechysis referring to height here. Instead, it is more likely that pechys refers to a measure within a lifespan.5 6:30 you of little faith. This brief characterization of the disciples, the primary audience of the Sermon on the Mount, will be repeated on the lips of Jesus four more times in Matthew (8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20). The twelve disciples are portrayed as having little faith, as distinct from those in Matthew who lack faith (the Jewish leaders and Jesus ...

4. Sermon on the Mount: Jesus Teaches on the Torah

Matthew 5:17-48

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... teacher of the Torah (Old Testament law) and expects his disciples to live in covenantal obedience to his expression of the Torah, culminating in the call to love even one’s enemies. Understanding the Text This passage begins the body of the Sermon on the Mount and introduces Matthew’s extensive emphasis on the law. In the title sentence (5:17) Jesus claims to fulfill rather than abolish the Law and the Prophets and then calls his kingdom followers to obey the commands of the Torah. Their righteousness ...

5. Sermon on the Mount: Giving, Prayer, and Fasting

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... divine rather than human approval. Their behavior is to contrast with “hypocrites” who care about present, public honor. The problem of hypocrisy will also be addressed by Jesus in chapters 15 and 23. The centerpiece of this passage (and possibly the whole Sermon on the Mount) is the Lord’s Prayer (6:9–13). The importance of prayer will also be emphasized in 7:7–11, with the theme of forgiveness (6:12, 14–15) reiterated in the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew’s fourth discourse ...

6. The Way Up Is the Way Down

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... . In case you haven’t noticed, this world and its obsessions are opposed to the kingdom of God; therefore, the big issue in life, and the one from which all others precipitate, is this: Which kingdom are you loyal to? How would we know it? What we have in the Sermon on the Mount is not so much an ought and a moral obligation but an is and a new opportunity.4 Our world is wrong side up, and in Jesus and his kingdom teaching we see the world flipped back over; in him we get a preview of what’s ahead when ...

7. Look Ma, No Hands

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... for Christians who are on a journey. This is the way we are supposed to live. Mark doesn't record the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount. Luke has his own version of the Sermon on the Mount. So maybe in Mark, instead of teaching the Sermon on the Mount, Mark has Jesus say to the disciples, go into the world and live the Sermon on the Mount. Listen to the Sermon on the Mount. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and ...

8. The Forbidden Anger

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... St. Paul urged Christians to be quick in settling problems. He wrote, "Don't let the sun go down on your wrath." All of that sounds good when one is cool and collected, sitting peacefully in a worship service. But there is a problem here. The Sermon on the Mount asks the impossible of us humans. We are told to forgive our enemies seventy times seven times. Every lustful thought is labeled as sinful. Almost all divorce is outlawed. When someone does us wrong, we are labeled as sinful if we get angry; we are ...

9. A Second Look

Matthew 5:27-48

Sermon

Will Willimon

... ability to return the blow to the stomach before he again slaps my cheek; and quite easily to say No to "him who would borrow from me." even No to impecunious relatives and in-laws. This, we have come to call, "growing up," "being realistic" about the Sermon on the Mount. Not that I was always so. I remember the evening we had been visiting in New York when we were students. We had spent the day visiting anything that was free, walking the streets, eating our lunch out of a paper bag to save money. In Grand ...

10. Scaring the Church, So It Will Be the Church

Matthew 5:13-20

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... is speaking. Every now and then, we hear of a survey that tells us that a surprising percentage of people in the church do not know who preached the Sermon on the Mount. In case a surveyor ever asks you, the answer is Jesus. Jesus is speaking in this passage. The question is, who is listening? In Matthew's mind, to whom does Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount? Matthew is not quite clear about who the audience is. Matthew 5:1 says that Jesus saw the crowds, went up the mountain and sat down. Then Matthew ...

11. Sermonon the Mount: The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12, Matthew 5:13-16

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... the church to live well in the time of the “already and not yet.” 2. Jesus’ followers find their identity and mission in covenantal relationship with God. It is important to notice that 5:13–16 continues the emphasis of the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount on “what is” rather than “what ought to be.” Those who follow Jesus, in line with faithful Israel, are declared to be salt and light for the world. These images evoke the covenantal identity of God’s faithful people as well as their ...

12. The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... : Kingdom Ethics and the Law: Matthew’s Gospel has a didactic purpose. Special emphasis is given to the message of Jesus. One of the distinct features of Matthew’s Gospel is that the teaching of Jesus is collected into five sections. The Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7) is the first of these blocks. The others are Instructions to the Twelve (chap. 10), Parables of the Kingdom (chap. 13), Life in the Christian Community (chap. 18), and Eschatological Judgment (chaps. 23–25). Each block closes with a ...

13. An Eye for an Eye

Matthew 5:38-42

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

14. The Ultimate Mountaintop Experience

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... valley of doubt and despair. After the temptation experience Jesus had other memorable experiences on mountaintops. It was to the Mount of Olives that Jesus retreated for prayer--it was also the place where he was betrayed. And who can forget Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)? While we do not know from the Bible exactly where Jesus delivered this most famous of all his sermons, evidence suggests it was on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum, the fishing town located on the northern ...

15. Obedience Really Matters

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... on kingdom parables, the fourth on church discipline, and the last on the end of the world. Moses had five books to his credit (the first five books of the Bible), and, as the new teacher, Jesus has five great discourses, the first of which is the Sermon on the Mount.8 Each ends with a strong warning. One of Matthew’s favorite moves is to lay out the teaching of Jesus on a topic and then take us to a scene of the Last Judgment to show why it matters. Heaven and hell, final blessing and final judgment ...

16. Being Good

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... were astonished at his teaching" (7:28)! You want to be good? Don't just keep the law like the scribes and Pharisees, go beyond the law. Duke's W. D. Davies, in his classic commentary on the Sermon, says that this text, opening the Sermon on the Mount, "stands as a guardian against every immoral or antinomian misunderstanding of the gospel." And what a guardian it is. Here we encounter the bracing unsentimentality of Matthew's moral gospel. It challenges us to be good, really good, if we would be God's. To ...

17. Let’s Climb a Mountain

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... Were not the right man on our side, The man of God’s own choosing. B. Include mourners among the crowds who sat at the feet of Jesus when he taught on the mount - and in the meadow and by the sea. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, the mourners are "those who are peculiarly sensitive to sin in themselves and society, and who feel deeply all the distress caused by the greed and covetousness, the selfish ambitions and cruelty of men." C. The meek were represented in the crowd, too. The gentle people ...

18. Proper 4

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... worship service. Choices include using some of the alternative readings for the sermon. Other alternatives would be to set up a series which would be based on some theme or related topics of the preacher's choice. Context of the Sermon on the Mount The parable comes at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount and is a summary of the admonitions given in the sermon. It calls on those who heard the Sermon to take the admonitions seriously. They are not just to be enjoyed as a mind game, but to be translated ...

19. With a Firm Foundation, Application Is Second Nature

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... life in the church. Among its gems include The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12 — where Jesus refers to the blessedness of those who mourn, are pure in heart, and are peacemakers). Matthew also reports that Jesus taught The Lord's Prayer as well the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13). In Matthew's version, the sermon as a whole is a summons to a way of life. This emphasis fits the first gospel's orientation to making Jesus' teachings more important than any of the other three gospel writers do, presumably ...

20. Past, Present, Future

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... , the only way to live — if we want to live like Jesus. Historically, the church of Jesus Christ has tried to find a way to get out of doing what Jesus mandated. One of the most popular "outs" given by church leaders is that this Sermon on the Mount is delivered to the disciples, not the crowds. It doesn't count for us. Only those specially chosen by Jesus should turn the other cheek. This way of thinking became necessary when Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal around the year 315 A.D. Once the ...

21. Divorce

Matthew 5:31-32

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

22. Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

23. The Fulfillment of the Law

Matthew 5:17-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

24. Oaths

Matthew 5:33-37

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

25. Building According To Code

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the book of Matthew and read to the end of the 7th. If you are going to build a home, Jesus said, you must build upon something solid. There are no words more solid on which to base your life than these words from the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon has been called the Christian Magna Charta, the Christian Manifesto, the Design for Life, and the Rules for Christian Living. It contains the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Golden Rule. It deals with murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge, and worry ...

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