Seeking Holiness in the Sermon on the Mount

Materials Included • 4 Sessions of Learner’s Materials • 4 Sessions of Teaching Materials • 3 Handouts Sessions Included 1. Holiness as a State of Being 2. Holiness that Exceeds Our Expectations 3. Holiness in Relation to Religion 4. Holiness and the Priorities of Life Scriptures 1. Matthew 5:1-16 2. Matthew 5:17-48 3. Matthew 6:1-18 4. Matthew 6:19-34 Brief Description The Sermon on the Mount has long been recognized as the pinnacle of Jesus' teaching. But with this importance in mind, it's easy to think of Jesus' teachings as lofty and idealistic, offering little guidance for everyday life. But what if Jesus' famous sermon works like a window? After all, when we look through a window, we see beyond the room where we are standing. We see beyond the house where we live. We see the larger world. Perhaps Jesus' sermon allows us to see beyond ourselves, beyond our own failures and shortcomings--revealing God's intention for our lives. The four sessions of this unit aim to help us see through the window of the Sermon on the Mount in order to gain a fuller vision of life as God intends it. Looking through this window, we see an image of our lives and world transformed by Jesus' call to holiness and wholeness. We see an image of ourselves in God's world. A part of the NextSunday Resources line of adult Bible studies, Seeking Holiness in the Sermon on the Mount contains four lessons for use as individual study or group discussion. Each study contains lessons on the biblical material, combined with an additional commentary from an alternate, but complementary, viewpoint.