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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 36
Read Matthew 7:1-6 and do the following exercises:
- Perhaps more than anything else, Christians are known in our culture for being judgmental and hypocritical – two of the very things Jesus condemns in this passages. Why do you think that is?
- All of Chapter 6 could be summed up with the words “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33). How does Jesus’ teaching about seeking God above all else provide a logical foundation for being the kind of people that don’t judge?
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 35
Today is our day to practice worship together. Christ Church gathers at 5pm on Sunday evenings, and tonight we’ll read Matthew 6:19-34 in the context of worship together. If you’re not part of Christ Church, get together with a group of friends and practice the following exercises:
- Eat together
- Receive communion together (choose a reading from John 6:43-58, or 2 Cor 11:23-26, a liturgical book like the Book of Common Prayer)
- Read Matthew 619-34 together and share your experiences from your exercises this week
- Pray for anyone in need
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 33
Again, continue the prayer exercise we started Wednesday using the Lord’s prayer as an outline (Matt 6:9-13) but today do it in a group. Find at least on other person to pray with (feel free to gather a larger group of people if you like). Set aside 20-30 minutes together and start by reading the Lord’s prayer out loud. Then, pray freely through the model of the points and themes of the Lord’s prayer in your own words together. Pay attention to what the other person prays and use each others words and petitions as a catalyst for adding to one another’s prayers. Group prayer can becomes like a group conversation, a group brainstorming session, or a musical collaboration – complete with a life and rhythm of its own. Try to find that rhythm together.
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 32
Continue the prayer exercise we started yesterday using the Lord’s prayer as an outline (Matt 6:9-13). However, today take one line or phrase from the Lord’s prayer that captures your heart most and use it as a starting point for your prayer. Spend 15-20 minutes praying. Try to dig a little deeper than normal in your prayer time.
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 31
We’ve just completed the middle portion of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapter 6), which compellingly portrays the central life of one who lives squarely in relationship with God – who is Himself the “blessing” and the “reward” that Jesus speaks of.
At the very center of this middle piece of Jesus’ great Sermon we find the chief activity of the people of God: Prayer (v9-18). If the blessing and reward of the Kingdom is God Himself, then there can be no activity that can replace prayer as the chief duty and delight of Kingdom people, for prayer is where we join with God through a conversation of the heart. (more…)
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 28
Today is our day to practice worship together. Christ Church gathers at 5pm on Sunday evenings, and tonight we’ll read Matthew 6:1-18 in the context of worship together. If you’re not part of Christ Church, get together with a group of friends and practice the following exercises:
- Eat together
- Receive communion together (choose a reading from John 6:43-58, or 2 Cor 11:23-26, a liturgical book like the Book of Common Prayer)
- Read Matthew 6:1-18 together and share your experiences from your exercises this week
- Pray for anyone in need
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 27
Reflection day. Take time today to consider what you’ve been reading and studying all week.
Also, today we’re having a FALL/HALLOWEEN PARTY! Details below:
- When: Saturday October 31st
- Where: The Hipskinds’ @ 4715 Hartford Drive in Fort Wayne
- Time: 4:30pm till whenever
- What: Soup and caramel apples, games,
- Come dressed up if you want, and bring a side dish or dessert with you.
- Email Amber to RSVP (or call: 260-415-7265, or find Amber Hipskind on Facebook).
- Other: If anyone wishes to take their kids trick-or-treating you are welcome to do so around our neighborhood… we will have a pinata and other candy for those who wish to stay.
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 25
Read The Lord’s Prayer again (Matt 6:9-13) and do the exercises below:
In The Cotton Patch Version, Clarence Jordan translates the Lord’s prayer like this:
Father of us, O Spiritual One
Your name be truly honored.
Your kingdom spread, your will prevail
Through earth, as through the heavens.
Sustaining bread grant us each day.
Forgive our debts as we forgive
The debts of all who cannot pay.
And from confusion keep us clear;
Deliver us from evil’s sway.Jordan translates the Lord’s prayer as a poem because that is how it appears in the original Greek. As a poem, it took advantage of the ability to communicate deeper meaning through structure, rhythm, and rhyme.
- Take time to write out your own version of the Lord’s prayer in your own way.
By Henry Darger
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Sermon on the Mount, Day 18
Read Luke 6:27-31 and do the following exercises:
- Often when we think of ancient Jewish resistance in Jesus’ day, we think of the zealots who were attempting to violently overthrow the Roman ruler-ship. But, there are actually several examples of Jewish non-violent resistance during the time Jesus was teaching these ethics. Here is one example, taken from the writings of Josephus:
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Sermon on the Mount, Day 16
Read Matthew 5:33-37 and the story below, and then do the exercises at the bottom:
A friend told me this story:
One day, a few years ago, three daughters were jumping up and down in excited anticipation, asking if we could get ice-cream later that night after dinner.
In typical fashion I didn’t say “yes” or “no.” I looked them up and down with a poker face and said, “we’ll see.” Immediately my oldest daughter Savannah pumped her fist and exclaimed, “Yes! We’re getting ice-cream tonight!” I quickly protested: “Hold on, I didn’t say ‘yes,’ I said ‘We’ll see!’” To which she dismissively responded, “Whenever you say ‘maybe’ it always means ‘no,’ but whenever you say ‘we’ll see’ it always means ‘yes.’”
Stunned and speechless, I realized she was right. I had fallen into the unconscious habit of using language to hedge my bets and buy a little wiggle-room to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ without really appearing to. Worst of all, my 12 year-old could see right through me.
- When you agree to do something, do you tend to think of it as a rock-solid promise or more of a “maybe” a “probably” or a “we’ll see?”
- How could Christ’s simple straightforward words here be twisted into just another pointless law?
- The issue of wiggling out of commitments in business – as well as personal relationships – is such a serious issue that we often make contracts or elaborate promises to solve it. But how can contract-making and promise-keeping actually become a way to break our commitments?
