DISCOVER THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Explore life-changing passages from the most important sermon of all-time in these devotionals from October through November 2021.

 

  • A Message from the Master (Matthew 4:23-5:12)
    One sermon had a greater impact than any other speech in human history: the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus preached. When we as His followers discover it in Matthew 5, we will be truly blessed.

  • Poor and Mourning (Matthew 5:3-4)
    Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount in a startling way, calling the poor and mourning “blessed”. The world doesn’t see it, but blessing is exactly what follows when our need and hurt lead us to Jesus.

  • Meek and Hungry (Matthew 5:5-6)
    God's kingdom operates very differently than the world, as we discover when Jesus blesses the meek and the hungry in His Sermon on the Mount.

  • Merciful, Pure, and Peacemakers (Matthew 5:7-9)
    Everyone wants peace...but the only way to achieve it is to wholeheartedly seek Jesus and learn to do the hard things He teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount.

  • Persecuted (Matthew 5:10-12)
    Jesus' followers will face persecution...but sometimes we cause our own struggles. To experience the blessing Jesus promises in the Sermon on the Mount, we must discover what we are really supposed to stand for.

  • Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16)
    The world may not value you, but it sure does need you. As we discover in Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus teaches His followers to be salt and light as we live each day.

  • More Righteous than the Most Righteous (Matthew 5:17-20)
    Jesus told His disciples He expected them to be more righteous than the most righteous people in their society…and if you saw Jesus’ disciples, you’d appreciate how impossible that seemed. Yet, it had everything to do with just what God was accomplishing through Jesus, as we discover in Matthew 5:17-20.

  • Anger (Matthew 5:21-26)
    It is not a sin to feel angry...but that doesn't mean it is okay. We discover in Matthew 5:21-26 that Jesus wants to help us deal with our anger as He changes our hearts.

  • Lust (Matthew 5:27-30)
    In the most famous sermon of all time, Jesus talked about sex. No matter what the world says, we discover from God's Son in Matthew 5:27-30 that our thoughts and feelings about it have a serious impact.

  • Divorce (Matthew 5:31-32)
    The things Jesus preached in His Sermon on the Mount are needed as much today as they were then. As we discover in Matthew 5:31-32, His teaching on divorce leads us somewhere much different than where people usually go.

  • Yes or No (Matthew 5:33-37)
    People are flaky; but if we are learning from Jesus how to live, then we discover in Matthew 5:33-37 that we have to really mean what we say.

  • Turn the Other Cheek (Matthew 5:38-42)
    When people hurt us, we naturally want them to hurt, too. That makes the challenge of Jesus to "turn the other cheek" in Matthew 5:38-42 one we try so hard to get out of doing. If we will do it, though, everything can change.

  • Love Your Enemies (Matthew 5:43-48)
    There is a reason Jesus preached such challenging stuff like "love your enemies" in the Sermon on the Mount. As we discover in Matthew 5:43-48, He is trying to help us become more like God.

  • Giving’s Reward (Matthew 6:1-4)
    Being right with God means doing the right things for the right reasons, starting with giving to help those in need. As we discover in Matthew 6:1-4, giving like that brings us closer to God with all His rewards.

  • Praying’s Reward (Matthew 6:5-6)
    Activities like praying can help us grow closer to God. Yet, that reward only comes when we do them for the right reason, as we discover in Matthew 6:5-6.

  • The Father Knows (Matthew 6:7-8)
    Lots of people pray, but sometimes we go about it all wrong. As we discover from Jesus in Matthew 6:7-8, we don't have to pray to convince God to help us: He already knows and cares.

  • Pray like This (Matthew 6:9-15)
    In His most famous sermon, Jesus teaches history's most famous prayer: "The Lord's Prayer." Instead of mindlessly repeating or arrogantly dismissing it, we will discover a much closer relationship with God when we learn to pray like this.

  • Fasting’s Reward (Matthew 6:16-18)
    In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus assumed that you would skip a meal if it meant growing closer to God: would you? In Matthew 6:16-18, we discover how the practice of fasting can lead to incredible rewards.

  • Treasure (Matthew 6:19-24)
    Following Jesus requires asking some tough questions of ourselves, as we discover in Matthew 6:19-24. What do you treasure? Where are you looking? Who - really - is your Master?

  • Anxious (Matthew 6:25-34)
    Do you worry? I do. When we hear Jesus preach "do not be anxious" in Matthew 6:25-34, we will discover He not only gives us great reasons not to worry but also practical ways to overcome our anxieties.

  • Judgment (Matthew 7:1-6)
    Jesus teaches us to "judge not" because we really struggle with it. As we discover Matthew 7:1-6, He will show us how to first work on our own hearts so that we are truly ready to help others.

  • Ask (Matthew 7:7-11)
    God wants a real relationship with you. As we discover in Matthew 7:7-11, we experience true closeness to Him when we ask, seek, and knock.

  • The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12-14)
    While many religious teachers emphasize what you shouldn't do, Jesus focuses on what we should do. Yet as simple as that is, it is anything but easy, as we discover in Matthew 7:12-14.

  • Good Fruit (Matthew 7:15-20)
    Jesus preaches that people can be recognized by our fruit: what is your life producing? As we discover in Matthew 7:15-20, the fruit of our actions reveals the true from the false.

  • Do (Matthew 7:21-27)
    Lots of us have heard what Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount; but as we discover in Matthew 7:21-27, it will only make a difference in our lives if we actually do it.

  • Astonished at His Teaching (Matthew 7:28-29)
    When Jesus spoke, it wasn't like other religious teachers. As we discover in Matthew 7:28-29, His authority leaves us astonished.

  • Upside Down (Matthew 5:1-16)
    As soon as Jesus starts speaking in Matthew 5:1-16, we discover just how different God's kingdom is from the world. Hearing that leaves us with some questions to ask and choices to make.

  • Getting to the Heart (Matthew 5:17-48)
    As Jesus preaches in Matthew 5:17-48, we discover that everything we do, say, and even think affects our relationship with God. That is why Jesus aims for nothing less than the total transformation of our hearts.

  • Understanding Why (Matthew 6:1-34)
    Having our hearts transformed by Jesus involves more than just NOT doing wrong. As we discover in Matthew 6:1-34, it also includes doing the right things for the right reasons: namely, to grow closer to God.

  • Bible Doing (Matthew 7:1-27)
    As Jesus concludes the most important sermon of all time with Matthew 7:1-27, we discover that the incredible power of these words doesn't come from simply hearing them: we have to do them.

DISCOVER MORE!

  • CONNECT Daily Devotionals. Grow closer to God with our CONNECT 5 Minute Devotionals, originally posted from March - December 2020.

  • DiSCOVER Daily Devotionals. Explore how to study the Bible to discover who God is, who people are, and how to have our lives transformed as we obey and share it! Originally posted from November 2020 - September 2021.

  • CANCELLED: A Biblical Perspective on “Cancel Culture”. As Christians, we shouldn’t just be part of our culture…we should transform it. Through this special 5-day series of devotionals from April 2021, we will take on one of the challenging issues of our time from a biblical perspective.

  • New Life Series. Jesus came that we “may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). As we come to learn from Him, we will begin living a whole new life!

  • New Life Series: GROW. God wants us to grow! In this series, we learn how to grow more like Jesus together.