Preparing for Sunday - Matthew 7:28-29 & Chapters 5-7

March 21, 2013 by Bret Capranica Preparing for Sunday

Read Matthew 7:28-29.
What was the crowd's response to Jesus sermon? Why?
What was it about this sermon that separated Jesus' authority from that of the scribes?
Who are the scribes?
Read back through the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5-7.
What are the major sections of this sermon and can you summarize each section?
What are the themes emphasized in the sermon?
What are the marks of being in the kingdom of heaven and being out of the kingdom?

Was the response of the crowd saving belief? How do you know?
Why were only the scribes mentioned and not the Pharisees also (i.e., 5:20)?
If you have been with us through the series on the Sermon on the Mount, what was the most impactful sermons for you and why?
As you think back on sermons you have heard from this series, how has it shaped your understanding of what it means to be a Christian?
According to the Sermon on the Mount, summarize what it means to believe in Jesus in a genuinely saving way.

Write down ways the Sermon on the Mount could assist in deepening and instructing yoru prayer life.
What relationships in your life should be/could be most impacted by what particular points in the Sermon on the Mount?
Pray for our church to be a congregation that displays the marks of kingdom inclusion. Pray that we will be a people who assist one another in living for the kingdom of heaven.
Pray for those who will be leading our gathering on Sunday: Dawson Bryant, music; Rob Stouffer, Elders' Prayer and Scripture Reading; Bret Capranica, teaching.
Listen to the songs for Sunday and meditate on the lyrics, thinking through how the themes of the songs assist in expressing the themes of the Sermon on the Mount. Prepare yourself to sing with the congregation on Sunday.