“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” —Ephesians 6:18

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:5-13

Introduction:

Christ’s teaching on prayer in Matthew 6:5-13 establishes the foundational concepts every Christian needs to have an effective prayer life. But how are these concepts incorporated into our daily prayer life in a practical way?

WORSHIP—The Lord’s Prayer begins with worship. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). Prayer should start with a focus on God’s greatness, His majesty, and His mercy and grace in sending His

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” —John 15:5, 7

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:5-8; Luke 18:9-14

Introduction:

God is extremely concerned with our actions, but He is just as concerned with the condition of our heart. One of the ways we can know where our heart is at is by our prayer life.

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous passages of Scripture. Certain phrases are known by Christians and non-Christians alike. “Judge not…” “Blessed are the poor…” “You are the salt of the earth…” While phrases such as these are well-known, how often do we see the Sermon on the Mount in action? After all, if we hear and understand God’s Word, then we’re obligated to do it. If we don’t, we’re deceived, living in spiritual delusion (James 1:22).

Our familiarity with this ageless sermon can be somewhat like an old country road—if we’ve driven it enough times,

“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of the gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:” —Deuteronomy 15:7

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:1-4; 23:1-12; Exodus 36:1-7

Introduction:

True worship results from the desire to serve God. Worship spawned from any other motivation is idolatry. If we’re more concerned about being in man’s spotlight than in God’s, we’ve forsaken the call to seek the Kingdom first. This principle is especially true when it comes to

They’d been on the Mount many times before for one reason or another. This time it was different, though. Yeshua of Nazareth called them together—He was going to teach. The disciples knew Him, and had seen glimpses of His ministry, but there was a certain expectancy in the air, something beyond what they had heard before. And, they had heard a lot of teaching.

The Pharisees and scribes and Sadducees spoke with great fervor, and great conviction, and great complexity. Deep truths were supposedly pouring from their lips, but what they told the people to do, they couldn’t even do.

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” —Leviticus 19:18

Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:10-24; Genesis 45:4-15

Introduction:

The command of Christ in Matthew 5:44 is a paradox for the ages: love your enemies. By definition, an enemy is someone we should have license to hate. After all, they’re our enemy. Just as He usually did, Jesus presented an entirely new paradigm for His disciples. Love those that hate you, and pray for them, and do good to them. This command

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” —Philippians 2:3

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 15:7-14; Matthew 5:38-42

Introduction:

Vengeance can make us do incredible things. A man required to pay over $1,000 in alimony each month was so vengeful, he decided to send it to his wife in nickels. Vengeance and retaliation are the subjects Christ addresses in the next passage in the Sermon on the Mount.

Just as many principles from the Old Law had been misconstrued by the Jews of Jesus’ day, so too had the principle

“And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.” —Leviticus 19:12
“But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” —Matthew 5:37

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:33-37; 23:16-22

Introduction:

“To forswear means to swear falsely or perjure one’s self. Oaths taken in the name of the Lord were looked upon as binding and perjury of such oaths was strongly condemned by the law. Such phrases like ‘as the Lord liveth’ or ‘by the name of the Lord’ emphasize the

“It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery: and whosever shall marry her that is divorced commiteth adultery.”  —Matthew 5:31-32

Scripture Reading: Matthew 19:1-9; Genesis 2:22-25

Introduction:

Marriage was made to be permanent. When someone commits to another person in marriage, they’re making a life-long covenant to remain faithful in every way—spiritually, mentally, emotionally, sexually, and so on. Jesus discusses the issue of marriage and divorce and

“Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.” —Proverbs 5:15, 18

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:27-30; Proverbs 5:1-20

Introduction:

The idea that we can “look but not touch” someone of the opposite sex is commonplace in our society. Lusting and fantasizing over someone else is not only acceptable, we’ve actually begun to encourage it. Yet, Christ came to do away with this “look-but-don’t-touch” rule. If we’ve done it in our heart, then we’ve sinned.

Adultery not only speaks to a specific