Sun 19th Jan 2025  - Sermon on the mount - The Teacher

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.” (Matt. 5:1-2)

Anger, murder, adultery, revenge, love, hate, hypocrisy, money, anxiety and
ruin are all dealt in the first sermon Jesus preached. It sounds more like an
advert for a new series on Netflix, or the contents of a tabloid newspaper, than
a sermon you’d expect from the Son of God. However, when Jesus taught, he
taught about life and the human heart as they really are, as well as calling for
us to change.

This week we’re beginning a new series looking at the Sermon on the Mount.
This long block of teaching at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (Matt. 5-7)
is part of Matthew’s presentation of Jesus as the true teacher God’s people
had been waiting for.

Many Christians today, focus more on Jesus as Saviour than they do on him as
a Teacher. However, as we’ll see, the two are inextricably linked. I hope that
as we begin to look at this part of Jesus’ teaching in the coming weeks, we can
rediscover its importance and value.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.”