Learning the Sermon on the Mount

Into: Blessed, but not how we might think. Matthew 5:1–10

What does it look like to grow toward living God’s ways?

Persecuted for blowing the corruption curve. 5:11–20

Peacemaking is a practical path between aggression and avoidance. 5:21–26

Pure in heart is character that doesn’t rely on PR. 5:27–37

Merciful because of who you are, not what others do. 5:38–48

How do we make progress without getting tangled in religious weirdness?

Things made right in this world, that is what we crave. 6:1–4

Meek dependence on God’s graciousness helps us each day. 6:5–15

Mourning about what is not yet right breaks bad cycles. 6:16–18

Treasuring what really matters is essential. 6:19–24

What about the challenges that tempt me to lose the plot?

Physical needs are real, but we can pursue things with integrity. 6:25–34

Relating with others isn’t about us fixing them, it’s about us interacting respectfully. 7:1–12

Spiritual progress involves sensible discernment, not cultish gullibility. 7:13–23

What difference does the Sermon on the Mount make?

Jesus could have gone up on a mountain to talk about dogma, but what he said we need to do is learn what he teaches here and for us to rebuild our lives on these things. Matthew 7:24–29