Pastor's Corner - The Sermon on the Mount

Dear Friends,

I am thoroughly enjoying being your pastor and the highlight of my week is the joy of opening up God's Word and studying it with you.  This Sunday we will begin a new sermon series on the most famous sermon EVER preached, The Sermon on the Mount. I have entitled this series, Kingdom Living as we will explore what it means to be a child of the King and live in His kingdom.

What is the first thing that Jesus started to do when he set out on His earthly ministry? He preached. He taught and discipled men and women on how to live in the Kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount is still relevant for us today. Sinclair Ferguson says that the Sermon on the Mount "is intended to set before us a glorious vision of what the Lord intends our lives to become. The sermon is Jesus' manifesto. It describes a regal lifestyle, the new behavior pattern for the new kingdom we have entered."

Matthew 5-7 encapsulates this sermon Jesus preached commonly called "The Sermon on the Mount."  However, the title, The Sermon on the Mount, is not found in Scripture. This title came from the early writings of the ancient theologian Augustine of Hippo. Augustine is credited with coining this title in the 5th century as he saw the teaching in Matthew 5-7 as a sermon with rich content and application. Geographically, Matthew records for us that Jesus "went up on the mountain" and He spoke these words. Therefore, Augustine coined this term because of the location from which Jesus preached these words.

I'm looking forward to the coming months as we dive deep into this rich, biblical teaching. I invite you to read along and study Matthew 5-7 with me. For those of you who would like to study along with me, I have many resources I can recommend to you - just ask!  I know we will all be encouraged in Kingdom Living as we study this important text spoken by our Lord.

The late J.C. Ryle said this of the great sermon:

Would we know what kind of people Christians ought to be? Would we know the character at which Christians ought to aim? Would we know the outward walk and inward habit of mind which become a follower of Christ? Then let us often study the Sermon on the Mount.

I agree!  See you Sunday.

by His grace and to His praise,

Wilson