Christ Church » Jesus http://christchurchfw.org a network of Missional Communities seeking to join with God in the renewal of all things Mon, 21 May 2012 13:57:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The Sermon on the Mount, Day 1 http://christchurchfw.org/2009/10/the-sermon-on-the-mount-day-1/ http://christchurchfw.org/2009/10/the-sermon-on-the-mount-day-1/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:00:43 +0000 Ben http://ikoncommunity.com/?p=32 Yesterday our 50 day journey together through the Sermon on the Mount began with a worship gathering that focused on the context of the Sermon on the Mount (the audio was recorded, but was unfortunately unusable because of a technical issue). We discovered that the backdrop, or context, of the Sermon was the kingdom of God that Jesus had inaugurated, the community that Jesus had gathered around himself, and Jesus himself as a brilliant teacher.

The three chapters in Matthew that contain the Sermon are by far Jesus’ most well known teachings, and have been heralded for centuries as the greatest ethical teaching in history. As followers of Jesus we cannot possibly hope to understand the gospel or our role in the Kingdom of God unless we are deeply immersed in the Sermon on the Mount.

As we embark on this journey together, keep in mind that you don’t go alone. None of us is an expert, but we’re all committed to each other as apprentices of Christ. The daily exercises are meant to resemble the rhythm of a daily workout; we’ll mix it up, give you some regular rest days so you can process what you’re learning, and it will get somewhat more intense as the 50 days progresses. Also like a daily workout, it will go better if you find a partner to process it with. Read on for today’s exercise:

Exercise:

You can do this exercise alone, or with a friend or spouse. Find a quite time and place and read the entire Sermon on the Mount slowly (Matt 5-7), taking in the whole teaching. Then take a few minutes to reflect on what you’ve read, answering the following questions either in the comments or in a journal:

  1. What was your reaction to the Sermon on the Mount? (i.e. we’re you comforted, challenged, disturbed, etc.)?
  2. What particular passage challenges you the most, and why?
  3. What are you hoping to get out of this course of exercise over the next 50 days?

Finally, take some time to pray your reactions to this passage. This isn’t a time to ask God for things. Instead, speak openly to God about this passage and pay attention to the way your heart responds to the prayer.

]]> http://christchurchfw.org/2009/10/the-sermon-on-the-mount-day-1/feed/ 5