how to live
Living the way of Jesus according to his Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is perhaps the most influential teaching Jesus ever gave. It paints a compelling vision of what life looks like when God's reign shapes our hearts, relationships and priorities. Jesus’ words challenge assumptions about success, power, security and happiness, inviting us instead into a way of living that is often at odds with the values of the world around us.
In this four-week series, How to Live, we will explore four key movements within the Sermon on the Mount. Beginning with the Beatitudes and Jesus' call to be salt and light, we will discover the values and identity that define God’s people. We will then consider how Jesus calls us beyond mere rule-keeping to lives marked by love, forgiveness and generosity, even towards those we find difficult. The series continues by reflecting on the priorities that shape our daily lives, asking how we can trust God in the midst of anxiety and uncertainty and seek first God's kingdom. Finally, we will conclude with Jesus’ challenge not simply to admire his teaching, but to put it into practice, building lives on foundations that can withstand whatever life may bring.
Throughout the series we will ask what it means to follow the way of Jesus in the twenty-first century. In a world marked by division, consumerism, anxiety and uncertainty, Jesus continues to call his followers to live against the current - not for the sake of being different, but so that our lives may bear witness to God's love, justice and hope for the world.
4 October - Identity: Setting out guiding values
This opening section introduces the values of God's kingdom through the Beatitudes before moving naturally into Jesus' images of salt and light. It provides a foundation for all Jesus’ teaching. (Matthew 5: 1-16)
Key themes:
The upside-down values of God's kingdom
True blessing
Christian identity
Salt and light in today's world
11 October - character: Forgiveness Without Limits
Today’s reading is part of a larger passage - Matthew 5: 17-48 – in which Jesus addresses six antitheses ("You have heard it said… but I say…"). This shorter reading focuses on Jesus' most radical teaching: non-retaliation and love of enemies. These verses speak powerfully into today's culture of outrage, division and revenge. (Matthew 5: 38-48)
Key themes:
Breaking cycles of retaliation
Loving those with whom we disagree
Reflecting God's generous love
Transformation rather than mere rule-keeping
18 October - Priorities: Choosing what matters most
Today’s reading is part of a larger passage – the whole of Matthew chapter 6 in which Jesus sets out the priorities of God’s kingdom. This final part of that larger passage is one of the best-loved sections of the Sermon on the Mount and speaks directly to contemporary anxieties around work, money, health, politics and the future. (Matthew 6: 25-34)
Key themes:
Trust instead of anxiety
Simplicity of life
God's care for creation and humanity
"Seek first the kingdom of God”
25 October - Practice: Building on solid rock
This concluding section draws together Jesus' challenge to make a decision. Today’s reading is part of a larger passage – the whole of Matthew chapter 7 in which begins with teaching about judging wisely and compassionately, being persistent in prayer, and the Golden Rule. In the section that follows (the final part of the Sermon on the Mount) Jesus ends with the memorable image of the wise and foolish builders. (Matthew 7: 13-27)
Key themes:
Choosing the way of Christ
Authentic discipleship
Faith expressed in action
Building lives that endure
