We invite you to join us in a study of what has been called by some the Magna Carta of the Christian Church – the Sermon on the Mount. This four week discussion will begin Thursday, October 29th, and will address some of the major topics of Jesus’ clarification of what is expected of those would be Christ-followers.It is our prayer that this study will encourage you to cast your anxiety on Jesus, trust in Him always, rejoice in all things, and seek Him with all your heart.
Introduction to The Sermon on the Mount
Jesus had chosen the twelve who would make up the inner core of His ministry. To them would be given the responsibility of evangelizing the world. They were ordinary men being asked to do extraordinary things. It was important that they understood.
When God first outlined His expectations for the children of Israel, it was given to them in an awesome manner – thunder and fire from the mountain top and commandments written in the Hand of God that gave no room for question. They were ten moral absolutes, intended for a people of little solidarity, surrounded by depravity and godlessness. But time had passed, and the Israelites had become the Jews, a nation which was defined by its religion and led by those who sought to limit the law by identifying the point to which wrong could be tolerated. Jesus would lead His disciples to a higher understanding of what it meant to belong to God and, in doing so, redefine the parameters of obedience. In a discourse intended initially for His disciples, the Sermon on the Mount has become a guide to the realization of what it means to do right.
Comentarios