Opening Prayer

 Introductions

 Theme hymn                 Seek Ye First

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness

And all these things shall be added unto you.  Alleluia.

We are seeking the kingdom of God in our lives, and Jesus, in Matthew’s gospel, invites us to draw near, ever nearer, to that kingdom. 

Could we, as a class, write a new verse to this hymn?

 General introduction

·        Review what was covered last week:  based on Mark; traces Jesus as son of David and as fulfillment of prophecy.

·        Matthew duplicates the 5-fold pattern of the Pentateuch, in gathering Jesus’ teaching into 5 blocks.

·        Here is our suggested outline for the gospel (see attached).

 Walk Through the Gospel of Matthew – Chapters 5 through 10 

• The Sermon on the Mount – chapters 5 through 7.  This has been called the gospel in the gospel.  If we could do this we would have gone a long way towards the kingdom and being the people of God, creating the kingdom.  A large number of these texts, passages and verses have made their way into our common vernacular.

The beatitudes - 5:3-16

They proclaim God’s favor towards those who aspire to live in the kingdom.  This is not a list of tasks, but examples of what certain situations would look like in the kingdom.  Vv. 13-16 are like a postscript.

     Jesus re-states the Law – 5:17-48

Vv. 17-20 is as introduction to what Jesus is about to do.

Vv. 21-26 – 6^th Commandment (murder) re-stated, we are called to a higher standard, to a fulfillment.

Vv. 27-32 – 7^th Commandment (adultery) and divorce.

Vv. 33-37 – 9^th Commandment (False Witness)

Vv. 38-42 – Retaliation and “the extra mile.”

Vv. 43-48 – Love for enemies

Chapter 6 – Concerning spirituality.  Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were the big three elements of Jewish spirituality.

Vv. 1-4 – Almsgiving.

Vv. 5-15 – Prayer, including the Lord’s Prayer

Vv. 16-18 – fasting.

Vv. 19-21 – Worldly treasures.

Vv. 22-23 – the Sound Eye, talking about either viewpoint or purity of thought.

V. 24 - Singleness of purpose.

Vv. 25-34 – The issue of worry, with some great examples or illustrations.  The deeper issue here is trust in God.  This concludes this section, as if to say that trust in God is the most important part of spirituality and the goal of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Chapter 7 – More issues of spirituality, of how to live out one’s faith and a proper attitude.

Vv. 1-5 – The issue of judgmentalism.

V. 6 – profaning the holy.

Vv. 7-11 – SEEK YE FIRST, with an added assurance of how trustworthy God is.

V. 12 – The Golden Rule.

V. 13-4 – The narrow way.

Vv. 15-20  False prophets and “you will know them by their fruits.”

Vv. 21-23 – on the issue of self-deception.  How we too may be judged.

Vv. 24-27 – following the above section, continues on hearers and doers, those who walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

Vv. 28-9 – Concluding bookend to the sermon on the mount.

Chapter 8 – Many healings, a warning to disciples and stilling the storm.

Vv. 1-4 – Cleansing a leper

Vv. 5-13 – Jesus heals a Centurion’s(Gentile) servant.

Vv. 14-17 – Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and many others.

Vv. 18-22 – the challenge of discipleship.

Vv. 23-27 – Stilling the storm.

Vv. 28-34 – Another healing, driving swine into the sea. Not well received.

Chapter 9 – More healings and sayings, apparently taking place in his own town of Capernaum (V. 1).

Vv. 2-8 – A healing that raises controversy.

Vv. 9-13 – Matthew’s call and a controversial meal (at Jesus’ own home?).

Vv. 14 –17 – a superficial question about fasting that turns into a lesson.

Vv. 18-34 – five more healings.

Vv. 35-38 – Rich harvest, few laborers.

Chapter 10 – Instructions to Disciples.  This is the second block of five of teaching.

Vv. 1-4 – The Twelve Apostles are named and commissioned.

Vv. 5-15 – The mission of the Twelve.  Instructions on how to be ministers or traveling evangelists.

Vv. 16-25 – Warnings or qualifications about discipleship.

Vv. 26-39 – more warnings and cautions.  Jesus seems to be asking the disciples to think through what they are about to get involved in.

Vv. 40-42 – The rewards of being a disciple.  Note how the warnings are much greater than the rewards!

Journaling – See the handout.

 For Nov. 6, 2002

1. Which beatitude do you identify with?

 2.  How often do you pray?  How often do you use the Lord’s Prayer.

 3. What do you think Jesus is expecting in the Sermon on the Mount?  In the area of reconciliation?  In the area of retaliation?