Introduction
Come with me, during the weeks of Lent, to sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen, once again, to the timeless treasures of the Sermon on the Mount. Take time out, every day, to find a quiet place where you can read and pray.
This will be the second year that we will have dealt with Jesus’ most famous sermon. Last year, we spent five weeks working our way through the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). Those studies are still available on line, by the way, if you missed them. If you go toyou will find them, beginning on February 8, 2009. This year, we complete the journey. It is a spiritual discipline that can only help us.
The Sermon on the Mount is more than a collection of platitudes; it is a manifesto for the Kingdom of God. Jesus deals, authoritatively, with a number of different subjects. Almost all of them have practical application:
· What is Christian character?
· What is the place of the Law in the Christian life?
· How can I exhibit the values of the Kingdom in my daily life?
· How should I pray?
· How should I relate to others?
By His words, Jesus shows us how Christians are called to create an alternative society, based on different values. The world, He seems to say, is bound to behave badly, because it is under the sway of sin; but this is how you are to live.
One of the key themes of the Sermon on the Mount is obedience. If we listen to His voice, if we allow the Spirit to teach us, and if we subject our will to His, then we do more than engage in Bible Study, we change our world.
May the Lord bless us as we gather around His Word, and as we leave to serve in the name of Christ.
Alan Trafford
First Presbyterian Church
Come with me, during the weeks of Lent, to sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen, once again, to the timeless treasures of the Sermon on the Mount. Take time out, every day, to find a quiet place where you can read and pray.
This will be the second year that we will have dealt with Jesus’ most famous sermon. Last year, we spent five weeks working our way through the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). Those studies are still available on line, by the way, if you missed them. If you go to
The Sermon on the Mount is more than a collection of platitudes; it is a manifesto for the Kingdom of God. Jesus deals, authoritatively, with a number of different subjects. Almost all of them have practical application:
· What is Christian character?
· What is the place of the Law in the Christian life?
· How can I exhibit the values of the Kingdom in my daily life?
· How should I pray?
· How should I relate to others?
By His words, Jesus shows us how Christians are called to create an alternative society, based on different values. The world, He seems to say, is bound to behave badly, because it is under the sway of sin; but this is how you are to live.
One of the key themes of the Sermon on the Mount is obedience. If we listen to His voice, if we allow the Spirit to teach us, and if we subject our will to His, then we do more than engage in Bible Study, we change our world.
May the Lord bless us as we gather around His Word, and as we leave to serve in the name of Christ.
Alan Trafford
First Presbyterian Church
Lent 2010
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