Lesson Goal
In this lesson I hope to teach some features of a rich sermon gleaned from the greatest sermon of all time, the Sermon on the Mount for a sermon filled with splendid content.
Lesson Intro
Have you ever sat through one of those sermons where you wished you could remember every line, because it was so jam packed full of information? That is how the greatest sermon of all time is remembered in Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount.
Lesson Plan
This lesson will attempt to describe some of the characteristics that make the Sermon on the Mount the greatest sermon of all time, and how we can all learn from that to create sermons that are truly a full seven-course meal and more. We will see that a feast of a sermon can include servings of boldness, is exclusive, honors the past, shames empty religion, confronts motives, challenges double-mindedness, comforts the anxious, tackles judgmentalism, invites prayer, emphasizes love in action, points in the right direction, warns against falsehood, corrects religiosity, urges orthopraxy and is jam-packed.
Lesson Body
The seven course meal at one restaurant listed some yummy items. The first course was Gorgonzola Polenta with lemon basil and sun dried tomato butter sauce. Second, wild mushroom soup with rosemary, merlot, cream and crostini. Third, northwest wild greens with green apples, goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette. Fourth, lemon sorbet with fresh mint. Fifth, chicken Amore, almond crusted with blueberries, peaches and Grand Marinier. Sixth, salmon de Provence with horseradish crust and an orange beurre blanc. Seventh, macadamia cups with passion fruit cream and fresh berries. With sweet cream and herbed butter on rustic herb rolls included and appropriate drinks, the meal sounds delicious. Perhaps the items are not your preference. Some moderns cook seven course meals for their guests at home these days. I don't ever remember having a seven course meal, but if I did, I'm sure I could not eat it all, but would certainly enjoy taking a few bites out of each course. On a special occasion, such a meal must be a real delight.
The Sermon on the Mount is like a meal in several courses. Each course is a delight and a meal within a meal. It is not a quick snack for Sunday brunch, like some sermons are. It is a full on, sit down, nibble, sip and have a long conversation with good friends type meal. At our house, we occasionally have a four or five course, sit down meal with friends. It takes extra planning and foresight. We add things to the meal that we normally don't bother with. We use our best glassware, cutlery and dishes. We add fancy decorations, special background music, flowers, decorative napkins, and so on.
A sermon that is like a seven course meal also adds extra ingredients, involves special preparation and an expertise in gourmet preaching that is on a level way above sausages on the barbeque. How can we prepare such a spiritual meal for the delight and edification of our congregations? The Sermon on the Mount is such a meal in more than seven courses. What can we can learn from it in regard to preaching?
Just remember one thing. If you are going to prepare a feast of a sermon, it may be good to warn people ahead of time. I don't think I would enjoy going to a friend's house expecting a quick bite and a short visit, when they had prepared a feast. I would not want to have to constantly be looking at my watch, nor would I want to have eaten too much beforehand. So, tell your congregation ahead of time, if you are planning a special feast of a sermon. Like a seven course meal, this sermon may also take longer than your usual time.
1. The Sermon on the Mount is Bold
Jesus' begins the Sermon on the Mount with a bold and daring explanation of what makes for true happiness. He is not afraid to confront accepted wisdom and be at odds with trendy philosophy. Instead he boldly confronts the idea that happiness comes from money, or that thinking poor is wrong. Instead Jesus claims that the spiritual attitude that the poor have produces real happiness. He boldly confronts other attitudes and urban myths common to ancient society and ours. Jesus minces no words. He does not apologize for one single statement. He does not hedge his bets just in case he offends the ladies' auxiliary or the men's grounds committee. He just tells it like it is, no reservations.
2. The Sermon on the Mount is Exclusive
In a world where tolerance is expected, Jesus teaches that only his disciples are the light of the world and no one else. People today believe the myth that there are plenty of good people who are not Christians, but Jesus plainly states that it is only his disciples who are the salt of the earth. He boldly confronts no-works, “easy-believism” by stating that the only way we can shed a light is by our good works.
3. The Sermon on the Mount Honors the Past
In a world where old values are seen as worthless, and new generations believe that they have the right values, holding on to the past may seem a little out of touch. However, Jesus reaffirms the Old Testament Torah and that he is its true fulfillment. All of God's purposes have a unity of purpose. Yet the religious leaders of the time were not the right interpreters of the Torah, Jesus was. His teaching is the only thing that will satisfy the jots and tittles of the law. The entire teaching of the Torah is preserved through the ethical teaching of Jesus.
4. The Sermon on the Mount Shames Empty Religion
Jesus does not subvert the Old Testament law, but does rebel against contemporary religious teaching with six contradictions. He applies the Torah spiritually by explaining that unjust anger and verbal abuse are murder at heart, that lust is adultery at heart, that divorce is wrong except for marital unfaithfulness, that oaths are useless except for answering yes or no, that in court we should take the loss and be the more generous one, and that we should love our enemies and do good to them.
Today we tolerate verbal abuse and slander. Fornication is an acceptable alternative to marriage. Even in many churches, divorce is easy. We have no problem swearing and gladly sue anyone in court as our "right." And, loving enemies would seem like the unpatriotic thing to do in our lands. These ideas and many others are in direct opposition to Jesus' teachings, and many of them are supported by today's religious leaders.
5. The Sermon on the Mount Confronts Motives
Jesus is not afraid to confront religiosity done for show. He clearly explains that charitable deeds and religious duties done to please men, or for personal gain are worthless. How often have we seen public personalities advertise their generosity in the media, or even create whole television shows just to show off their charity? It's not just high profile celebrities who do it. We all do it. Jesus is only interested in those things done to glorify God and not the self. Of course Christians are to let their light shine with good deeds, but the motive must be for God and not self.
6. The Sermon on the Mount Challenges Double-Mindedness
Jesus does not attack wealth per se, but uses it as being the most conspicuous example of what distracts people from true discipleship. He encourages us to focus on heaven, and use our earthly goods to invest wealth in heavenly purposes. He challenges those who believe they can serve God and money both. He dares us to be single-minded and serve God only.
7. The Sermon on the Mount Comforts the Anxious
We live in a world of worry. People are troubled about terrorism, pollution, crime, road rage, taxes and debt. Many people are so devastated by their anxieties that it affects their physical and mental health. Jesus teaches that the answer to life's debilitating angst is an unqualified commitment to the kingdom of heaven and a life dedicated to practicing the righteousness that Lord teaches.
8. The Sermon on the Mount Tackles Judgmentalism
Churches can be horrible places sometimes. People judge and condemn others for all kinds of things like makeup, drinking an occasional beer or wine, dancing, long hair and short hair, clothing styles, music choice, tongues speaking or non-tongues speaking, what television shows or movies they choose, what job they work at, what their children are doing, whether or not they attend every week, or helped out at the last service project, and a host of other personal and private decisions. In order for a community to exist in harmony, such judgmentalism must be eliminated, or at least minimized drastically.
Judgmentalism is probably the number one reason that people leave churches today. Often, people are not criticized to their faces, but behind their backs. Most people are smart enough to know that those who have a habit of criticizing everyone else behind their backs are also criticizing them as well when they are not around. These judgmental gossips and slanderers are a real problem in some churches. Some churches wonder why they don't grow, yet their leaders are more like condemning commandants than loving shepherds. They continually tear people down behind their backs. Only when such judgmental leadership is gone, will such churches have a chance to become healthy and grow.
9. The Sermon on the Mount Invites Prayer
Prayer is a meeting with God. It invites him to be our senior partner in our businesses and commune with us in our private lives. When we leave God out of our conversations, spending all day talking things over with fellow human beings, but never talking things over with him, then we are in danger of him saying that he never knew us. Prayer to God is encouraged, because God will answer. Prayer is not just a religious exercise to fill a legalistic time slot of prayer. Prayer is a request that God is interested in hearing from us. When we do ask him, he will answer. He wants to answer. It is his delight to know us and be involved in our hopes and dreams.
10. The Sermon on the Mount Emphasizes Love in Action
The Golden Rule is not just a nice saying, nor a mushy verbal expression, but an active life of doing in the Christian community. It is DOING to others, as they would have DONE to them. No other teaching is as central to Christianity. It is popular in our Protestant world to say that all we have to do is believe, but that is dead wrong! Jesus expects us to be active in doing good works. Faith without good deeds, without works is a dead faith.
11. The Sermon on the Mount Points in the Right Direction
The correct gate is the narrow one, not the broad one. Christianity may be the official religion of most of the western world, but it is not seen as such in heaven's eyes. Too many have a religious name-brand Christianity, but are not living it. True Christianity is a minority religion, even in those countries with a cross on their national flag. Just going to church and doing religious stuff, does not make a person a Christian. Being faithful in giving to a church does not make a person a Christian. Being filled with every spiritual gift and performing miracles does not make a person a Christian. Real Christianity is a way of living, loving, giving, and knowing God. We ought not to worry that it is the way of the minority, but be thankful that it is the way to genuine life.
12. The Sermon on the Mount Warns against False Prophets
This is the other side of the coin to judgmentalism. We are to judge rightly, when confronted with counterfeit religion. The real test is not what a prophet says, but what he does, which proves him to either be genuine or a hypocrite. There are many false prophets in today's Christian marketplace. In fact that is one of the things that hint at their being a counterfeit in the first place. Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple, but the modern church has allowed them back in. It is important for any preacher worth his salt to point people to those things that constitute true Christianity and not give way to the counterfeits.
13. The Sermon on the Mount Corrects Religiosity
Many people will believe that their gift of preaching, or miracles, or their self-sacrifice will get them into heaven. Jesus will tell many such people that he never knew them, because they practiced lawlessness. This is a key to identifying a false prophet according to Deuteronomy 13. They prophesy things that actually occur and miracles actually come to pass, but their teaching is false. They teach contrary to the law of Christ. Religiosity is not enough. True religion is not about signs and wonders, or prophecies and a tongue that is out of control, but controlling the tongue, taking care of the needy and keeping unstained by the world (James 1:26-27).
14. The Sermon on the Mount Urges Orthopraxy
Orthodoxy (right teaching) is all well and good, but unless we are putting those right teachings into practice, it is all worthless. We need not just orthodoxy, but also orthopraxy (right practice). Jesus' teachings are not just to be heard, but done. Jesus is not interested in empty faith, but deeds. Too many people go to church for the thrill of an exciting preacher, to move in a trance to the music, or the comfort of ritual. But that is not the kind of right practice that Jesus was emphasizing in the Sermon on the Mount. The right Christian practice that he was urging was obedience to what he commands. It's okay to obey the dictates of a local church, as long as it doesn't contradict what Jesus taught, but so much of that is just religious mumbo jumbo, unless we also and primarily are obeying Jesus.
15. The Sermon on the Mount is Jam Packed
We notice as we read the Sermon on the Mount how many topics are addressed. This is a full seven course meal fit for a king, not just a light Sunday morning brunch. Jesus addresses a central topic, revolutionary religion, but he does so in so many illustrations and examples that his sermon is rich and full. It contains something for everyone.
16. The Sermon on the Mount is a Feast
This is not just a list of topics to be discussed in order, but each one is full of depth. Each sentence out of Jesus' mouth could become a whole sermon in its own right. This is a grand feast of a meal. Have you ever eaten a feast? I have occasionally. I remember as a young student visiting a friend's home in Paris. His mother served us a feast that lasted for several hours, and was an absolute delight. I remember visiting acquaintances in northern Germany on several occasions. A little known quality about the Saxon Germans is that they are a very hospitable people. The meals were incredibly generous and a true feast. A feast makes you feel welcomed. It gives you pleasant memories of your time with your hosts. A feast of a sermon does the same thing. It will be remembered and your congregation will be appreciative of your efforts.
Suggested Assignment
Take a couple of months to prepare a really meaty sermon. If this is the beginning of a semester at a Bible college, seminary or theology school, so much the better. This is a sermon that ought to be delivered after much careful thought and preparation. It may begin with a simple outline, but will grow like a well watered plant that bears much fruit, if you give it enough prayer, meditation and research.
Lesson Outro
We looked at some of the characteristics that make the Sermon on the Mount the greatest sermon of all time, and how we can all learn from that. We saw that a feast of a sermon can include servings of boldness, is exclusive, honors the past, shames empty religion, confronts motives, challenges double-mindedness, comforts the anxious, tackles judgmentalism, invites prayer, emphasizes love in action, points in the right direction, warns against falsehood, corrects religiosity, urges orthopraxy and is jam-packed. It is a challenge to preach a full-meal sermon, but when we do, everyone is well fed. It is a special sermon for a special occasion, when the congregation is prepared and ready to receive it. It is a spiritual gourmet banquet.
Outro to the Whole Book
The Gospel is the most imperative communication on earth. Instead of fulfilling their God-given responsibilities, too many preachers are tickling our ears with the church’s version of urban myths, questionable fads and shoddy theology.
Are we feeding Christ’s sheep a rich spiritual diet or empty-headed, meaningless fluff, weak and clumsy back-yard theology or outright heresy? Are we causing people to believe that the Gospel is dull and boring or the most exciting and meaningful message of our lives?
It’s high time that an army of faithful preachers took to the air waves and rescued the television set from those who preach a counterfeit gospel. It is absolutely imperative that an army of biblically literate preachers wrest the pulpit away from those who make the most important message on the planet a mockery.
If nobody else on earth will preach the same Gospel that the Bible presents, then at least make it your job. Don’t be afraid of the bias and prejudice against biblical preaching. Be bold and forthright. Preach the message of God faithfully in season and out of season.
Hard copy and Kindle version available from Amazon. Look for Preaching Manual by Ian Grant Spong.
