As Christians, it is sometimes easy to become pious and look down our nose at others thinking that they just don’t measure up to what God would have them to be.   We can get the idea that we have somehow managed to become what God wants and others have just missed the boat.  It is easy, sometimes, to lose sight of our own shortcomings and forget that we, too, still are creatures of sin, just like everyone else.  In today’s portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses man’s tendency to judge others.

 How many of us have ever been guilty of worrying about our needs from one day to the next?  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His followers that they did not need to do that.  For those of us who love Jesus, we can rest assured that He knows our needs and makes sure that they are met.  Read today’s text in Matt 6: 25-34 to see what Jesus had to say about worry.

Today I want to talk to you about a sensitive subject… our bank accounts.  We all have money put back to some degree, most likely.  It may be very little, or it may be a lot, but we are all sensitive when it comes to our money.  We care for it carefully, don’t we?  We want to make sure it is there for us when we need it.   And if we are raising a family, we may be even more careful to make sure we have plenty stored away just in case.

Jesus has been speaking to the crowds about the spiritual disciplines.  He has spoken to them about giving and He has spoken to them about prayer.  Spiritual disciplines are important in a Christian’s life, and we should practice these activities regularly as part of our usual activities before God.  These things are part of our worship.  Now, Jesus begins to speak to the crowds about fasting.

Jesus, our Lord, prayed often.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught about prayer.  It was an important element in His life, He loved to stay in contact with His Heavenly Father, and He taught the crowds about prayer.  First of all, He taught them to pray in private.  He encouraged His followers not to be like the hypocrites who loved to pray standing up to be seen.  According to our Lord, it is better to go into a room, unseen, close the door, and pray to the Father.  Then, your Father, seeing what is done in secret, will reward you. 

Christian charity.  Benevolence.  Things God asks us to give to others.  Sometimes doing good things in God’s name can cost us a little something.  Often, I think about the multitude of things God has given to me and I feel guilty over how little I sometimes want to share with others.  It is human nature, isn’t it, to hoard those things which we believe to be ours.  But God gives so much to us, I believe, so that we can share with others in need.  And, I believe, the more we are willing to share with others, the more God is likely to give to us.  He does not give us gifts so that we can be stingy.  As Americans, we have so much more than we actually need.  One must only go to a third world country once to appreciate just how much abundance we do have.

In today’s section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus deals with how we should treat our enemies.  Jesus gives special teaching to how we treat those who are against us.  It is not to be the same way that non-believers treat their enemies.  There is a reason God desires us to treat our enemies well.  What is it (2 Pet 3:9, Rom 5:8)?

Continuing on along with the Sermon on the Mount, we come next to a section where Jesus addressed the topic of oaths.  Read today’s text in Matthew 5:33-37.

Today, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of Adultery.  What a heavy subject.  But Jesus is a man for the hour and He knows what is in man’ hearts.  This is a topic which rears its head in every marriage, occurring to every partner at least once.  It is a very real topic which needs to be looked at from time to time.   A very serious topic.  It can sneak into even the best of marriages if no one is watching.

Everyone knows that “Thou shalt not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:13).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expands on this commandment.  He has been discussing The Law and how it has not been made obsolete with His coming on the scene.  Now, He begins to address specific points of The Law, starting with this commandment. 

As most people know, the Bible is made up of two parts… the Old Testament and the New Testament.  In most people’s understanding, the Old Testament covers when man was under the Law.  It was the time before Christ arrived on earth, and the New Testament covers the time beginning with Christ’s arrival.  Also, many people believe that the New Testament replaces the Old Testament… and that the Law no longer applies to us.  This understanding is not quite right.  We are going to look, today, at how these two parts fit together.