The Sermon on the Mount:                             

Matthew writes this gospel tp emphasize how Jesus fulfills God’s promises from the Old Testament. He includes numerous sayings of Jesus about living as one of his disciples and as a member of the church, concludes with the command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. As you read this book, ask your self whether you are living as a disciple of Jesus, as well as how you tell others the stroy of Jesus.

The Gift of Understanding: SOMETIMES, when we love someone, we feel we just can’t give them enough. We may even do without things we need ourselves. I think most parents feel that way about our children. Love makes us generous. But generosity is more than giving. If anyone could have showered gifts on those he loved, it was Jesus Christ. But he didn’t. He provided for their basic needs; he saw to it that they has shelter and enough to eat. He watched them counting coins when he could have filled their laps with riches. Jesus gave something more precious and more lasting than gifts. He gave understanding. He knew hiw hard it is to live in this world. He felt what others felt and couldn’t put into words. Andnout of his understanding he gave what people truly need, such as forgiveness for Zacchaeus’s guilt, hope for cynical woman at the well, recovery for a dying child. The next time you want to give a gift to someone you love, don’t worry about how much you can afford to spend or how big the present ought to be. Consider, instead, what generosity really means: understanding. That’s something each of us can afford to give – all the time.

The “Sermon on the Mount” is perhaps the most familiar instructive sermon ever presented by Jesus. Matthew and Luke may record Jesus’ teaching in two different settings, although the content appears much the same. Just as many of Jesus’ sermons are apparently never recorded, so too some of his sermons are probably repeated from place to place. In any event, this collection of Jesus’ teachings brings one to the heart of his message concerning the kingdom of God. Covering a broad spectrum of spiritual topics, Jesus speaks of the nature of the kingdom, of repentance, of faith, and of worship-and particularly of prayer and humility. Always demonstrating a concern for human welfare, Jesus deals specifically with family and social relationships and discusses at course begins beautifully with the blessings in store for the righteous, and harshly with the woes which will befall those spiritually rebellious.