Suggestions for leading a study:

• Familiarize yourself with the passage in context, including the book itself.  Who wrote it to whom, and why?
• Read through the study guide a couple times to get the “big idea” as well as the flow of the argument
• Have the group read through the passage in it’s entirety before beginning the study.  One of the goals is to try to get your members to learn how to study Scripture methodically, and this is an important step.
• Be prayed up
• Have fun!
  

Building Blocks

Read vv.24-29.  How can each of these kingdom principles from the sermon on the mount help create a solid foundation for a healthy and significant life?

5-12 (Beatitudes): The eternal perspective on our lives which comes from living in the Kingdom should be able to transform our attitude toward life because we have constant access to what is really important. 

13-16 (Salt and Light): Good works are not the means to God’s salvation, but are still critical in order to accomplish Kingdom ministry and mission in this world.

17-20 (Fulfilling the law): We cannot keep the law of God by trying hard—we keep it by becoming the kind of people who naturally live in accordance with what God desires for us.

21-32 (Sex and violence): Healthy relationships with others come from dealing with the underlying heart issues of selfishness and pride rather than just managing our outward behaviors.

33-47 (Integrity and crazy love):The confidence we have as children of God and citizens of the Kingdom give us a different value system which allows us to be in control of situations where other people are trying to control us.

6:1-18 (Impressive Piety): people who live in the kingdom of God are motivated to pursue spiritual disciplines; not out of a sense of ritual or duty or in order to impress other people, but to deepen their relationship with the Father.  

6:25-34 (Anxiety Antidote): when our value system is aligned with the Kingdom of God, our lives in this world become much healthier.

7:1-12 (Community of Care) Helping people grow in godly living doesn’t come from condemning them or trying to “fix” them; but happens through respecting them, developing a relationship with them, and praying for them. 

7:13-23: (the Real Deal) Behaving as good citizens of the kingdom is not a matter of trying hard to do the right things, but rather it is the result of becoming the kind of people who naturally do the will of God because of our relationship to Christ.

Each study on the Sermon on the Mount is based on the fact that God has translated us into the Kingdom of God, with all of the benefits and expectations being things that should currently characterize our “life in the Kingdom.”  Each lesson illustrates an important Kingdom principle that, when taken together, will help achieve a “Kingdom worldview,” in order to live healthy and significant lives while we await the complete fulfillment which will attend the second coming of Christ. 

Read vv.24-29.  How can each of these kingdom principles from the sermon on the mount help create a solid foundation for a healthy and significant life?
            This final lesson in the series is a chance to review each principle in light of Jesus’ teaching that when we understand and do these things, it will give us a life with a solid foundation.  The picture of a house that doesn’t collapse is one of a life that doesn’t disintegrate (healthy), and hence can still accomplish its intended purpose (significant).  It wouldn’t hurt to just read back through the text for each of the following passages if you’ve got a bible or two in the room.  It will make for a lot of bible reading and not as much discussion, but the whole point is simply to review and reinforce the elements of a kingdom worldview, particularly in  light of how it will make us healthier, and how it will increase our significance.

 5-12 (Beatitudes): The eternal perspective on our lives which comes from living in the Kingdom should be able to transform our attitude toward life because we have constant access to what is really important. 
            The beatitudes represent an outlook on life that isn’t controlled by temporary circumstances.  It is a healthier way to live because we won’t be subject to the emotional problems that come up when the experiences we have in this world are all we focus on. It increases our significance because we can focus on our relationship to God and what he wants us to do when we’re not always distracted and discouraged by the difficulties of this life.

13-16 (Salt and Light): Good works are not the means to God’s salvation, but are still critical in order to accomplish Kingdom ministry and mission in this world.
            Living a life that is outward focused will always be healthier than a self-focused life which will be constantly disappointing and frustrating when you don’t get everything you want, or people don’t always treat you like you would prefer.  Good works and our significance is self evident: God doesn’t just save us: he saves us in order for our lives to accomplish something significant in this world and maximize the value that our lives have. 

17-20 (Law Abiding Citizens): We cannot keep the law of God by trying hard—we keep it by becoming the kind of people who naturally live in accordance with what God desires for us.
            An absolute key aspect of kingdom living is to pursue an intimate relationship to Christ in such as way that he transforms who we are on the inside, rather than being people who have to try to obey his will simply by doing the right things (or not doing the wrong ones).  It is a way healthier and less stressful way to live, and will certainly make us more significant because this is the way that actually works. 

21-32 (sex and violence): Healthy relationships with others come from dealing with the underlying heart issues of selfishness and pride rather than just managing our outward behaviors.
            Anger and lust are two specific issues Jesus brings up which illustrate the point that we need to have the kind of relationship with Christ that helps deal with the source of these, rather than just trying to manage them.  These two especially will have the result of better relationships with people.  That, of course, is always a healthier way to live as well as more significant as we allow ourselves the opportunity to positively impact people for the kingdom.

33-47 (integrity and crazy love):The confidence we have as children of God and citizens of the Kingdom give us a different value system which allows us to be in control of situations where other people are trying to control us.
            This also builds on the security we achieve when we have that strong relationship to God which enables us to fully understand who we are in Christ.  When we do that, turning the other cheek and going the extra mile are ways that we assert our confidence and control in situations rather than just being passive victims. 

6:1-18 (Impressive Piety): people who live in the kingdom of God are motivated to pursue spiritual disciplines; not out of a sense of ritual or duty or in order to impress other people, but to deepen their relationship with the Father.  
            The full application of all of these principles have been dependent on developing that deep relationship with God through Christ that accomplishes inner transformation.  You simply cannot and will not achieve a kingdom worldview without doing the things that give the Spirit of God a chance to really work on your heart.  It is healthier because it makes you into the kind of person God created you to be, and it increases your significance as it empowers your ministry to this world.

6:25-34 (Anxiety Antidote): when our value system is aligned with the Kingdom of God, our lives in this world become much healthier.
            Building our treasures in heaven rather than obsessing over the accumulation of material things decreases our stress, according to Jesus.  Why that is healthier is self-evident.  It also makes us more significant, because accomplishing things that actually matter is what does, in fact, build our eternal treasures.

7:1-12 (Community of Care) Helping people grow in godly living doesn’t come from condemning them or trying to “fix” them; but happens through respecting them, developing a relationship with them, and praying for them. 
            No kingdom worldview would be complete without understanding that as citizens of that kingdom, we exist in healthy community.  Not judging each other, or seeing people as damaged goods that we need to fix, but walking alongside each other in our spiritual journeys: moving forward with grace and prayer.  It is a healthier way to live because we all require that kind of community as relational beings.  And it increases our significance, because we can accomplish so much more together than we can as individuals.

7:13-23: (the Real Deal) Behaving as good citizens of the kingdom is not a matter of trying hard to do the right things, but rather it is the result of becoming the kind of people who naturally do the will of God because of our relationship to Christ.

            This re-states and confirms the entire message of the sermon on the mount: we can be people like this, with truly healthy and significant lives in this world, if we develop our relationship to God and allow him to do the works in our lives that he promises.  We will be “good trees”, obviously healthier.  And we will bear “good fruit:” clearly significant.