August 14 – The Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5
The Sermon on the Mount is probably one of the most preached from passages in the Bible. It begins with the “Beatitudes,” nine areas of God’s blessings followed by a command to rejoice. Jesus continues teaching by addressing the necessity for Christians to be a light for Christ in the world. Jesus proceeds to give instruction on anger, murder, temptations, divorce, taking an oath, forgiveness, and loving your enemies. Throughout the chapter and different topics, we find Jesus emphasizing the importance of the attitude and mental approach to understanding Christ’s teaching. Notice the topic of murder as Jesus condemns killing someone in verse 21, but stresses that the attitude of anger in verse 22 will be in danger of judgment. Can you find the proper attitude stressed when Jesus teaches us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (verses 13-20)? Can you see the proper attitude taught in verses 27-30 when Jesus teaches on the subject on temptation of adultery? Attitude is EVERYTHING!
