The Sermon on the Mount: A Twenty-One-Day Devotional Study

By Armondo L. Jackson

This book guides the reader methodically through a twentyone day meditation of the Sermon on the Mount. Each entry includes a portion of the sermon followed by brief commentary and questions for reflection. Some entries include short prayers as well.
All Bible verses are the author’s personal translation from the NA28 Greek New Testament. The devotional is designed to provide practical insight into the sermon that readers can use in their daily walk with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781663200723

Armondo L. Jackson

Armondo Jackson is a teacher, writer, ordained minister, and Air Force Chaplain. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida. He is married to Dione. They have four children: Elijah, Jaidah, Janiyah and Jeremiah. Armondo earned his MDIV from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has written several features for the Union Gospel Press Bible Expositor and Illuminator series publication.

Book preview

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The

Sermon

on the

Mount

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A Twenty-One-Day Devotional Study

ARMONDO L. JACKSON

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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

A TWENTY-ONE-DAY DEVOTIONAL STUDY

Copyright © 2020 Armondo L. Jackson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from The NET Bible® Copyright © 2005 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org All rights reserved.

The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6632-0073-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-0072-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020912163

iUniverse rev. date: 07/14/2020

CONTENTS

Introduction

Day 1 Who are You Really?

(Matthew 5:1 – 3)

Day 2 Having a Sober View of Life

(Matthew 5:4 – 6)

Day 3 Having the Right Motives

(Matthew 5:7 – 9)

Day 4 Enduring Hardships as Followers of Christ

(Matthew 5:10 – 12)

Day 5 Representatives of Christ to a Fallen World

(Matthew 5:13 – 16)

Day 6 God Does Not Change

(Matthew 5:17 – 19)

Day 7 Superficial Religion Does Not Cut It

(Matthew 5:20 – 28)

Day 8 Dealing with Internal Temptations to Sin

(Matthew 5:29 – 30)

Day 9 The Beauty of the Marriage Covenant

(Matthew 5:31 – 32) / (Matthew 19:3 – 12)

Day 10 Being Careful with Words

(Matthew 5:33 – 37)

Day 11 Learning to Defuse Heated Situations

(Matthew 5:38 – 42)

Day 12 A New Understanding of Love

(Matthew 5:43 – 48)

Day 13 Who is Your Audience?

(Matthew 6:1 – 18)

Day 14 Where is Your Treasure?

(Matthew 6:19 – 24)

Day 15 Trusting God to Meet our Needs

(Matthew 6:25 – 34)

Day 16 Qualified Counselors

(Matthew 7:1 – 6)

Day 17 It Is Not Without Effort

(Matthew 7:7 – 12)

Day 18 The Path Less Traveled

(Matthew 7:13 – 14)

Day 19 Got Fruit?

(Matthew 7:15 – 20)

Day 20 Deceived Hypocrites

(Matthew 7:21 – 23)

Day 21 A Strong Foundation

(Matthew 7:24 – 29)

Closing Remarks

Appendix A: Matthew 19:3 - 12

INTRODUCTION

What word or phrase would you use to absolutely capture the essence of Jesus’ teaching? This was the question New Testament scholar Gordon Fee asked a class of forty seminary students during a course on the life and teaching of Jesus. Out of forty students, Fee recalls, only three gave the answer he was looking for. Most students gave answers such as love or forgiveness. The best answer, however, is the kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven in Matthew’s gospel). The abiding theme in the teaching of Jesus is the kingdom of heaven (see Matt. 4:17; 5:3, 10, 19; 7:21; 8:11; 10:7; 13:11).

The Sermon on the Mount outlines the character requirements and expectations for those who are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. It is Jesus’ most extensive teaching recorded in the gospels. In the gospel of Matthew, it spans three entire chapters (Matthew 5 – 7). The background to the sermon is typological to Moses and the people of Israel in their wilderness wanderings and at Mount Sinai. Moses and the people of Israel spent forty years in the wilderness and were tested as they wandered in the desert. Jesus has just emerged victorious from a forty day fast (1 day for each year) in the desert wilderness and