111: A Call to the Life of the Kingdom

By Mark D. Hampton and Will Willimon

The Sermon on the Mount contains some of Jesus's most powerful and penetrating words in the Gospels. The words Jesus spoke within the Sermon confront us in numerous ways and challenge the status quo we often settle for in our faith. Jesus leaves no stone unturned, challenging all who claim to follow him to evaluate what it means to live in faithful obedience. As you read, you will find yourself challenged and encouraged to live as a citizen of Christ's kingdom.
Each page within this book is an invitation for you to dive deeply into the message of the Sermon and allow yourself to be confronted by Jesus's words. Moving through the devotional, you will explore each verse individually, allowing time to dwell on the depth each verse deserves. However, you will explore each verse as it relates to the broader themes and movements of the entire Sermon, providing a comprehensive picture as well. As you go through this devotional, may you be challenged and encouraged by the words of Christ, creating in you a desire to heed Christ's invitation to follow him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Sep 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666747089

Mark D. Hampton

Mark D. Hampton is a preacher, teacher, and minister. He has worked on the mission field, in the church, and in higher education, and has a passion for seeing people’s faith come alive through the study of Scripture. He and his wife, Laura, live in Augusta, Georgia.

Book preview

Day 1: Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (Matt 5:1)

Jesus begins his most iconic speech in a peculiar way, he retreats from the public. Rather than going to the streets or a crowded marketplace, he goes to a mountain. Remote, isolated, and not immediately accessible. He sees the crowds, but he then proceeds to go away from them. We might wonder why such a strange strategy. Why not go directly to the streets where the people are? In today’s culture of mass media and ubiquitous advertising, Jesus’ strategy appears inefficient and counterintuitive to the goal of teaching and preaching. Although it may seem odd to us, Jesus seems to be quite intentional about this method.

His goal is not to deliver a sermon for the masses but one that is, instead, for a targeted audience. It's for his disciples who come to him and sit at his feet to learn the ways of the Master. Jesus does not speak to those who are not his followers, but to his disciples. Alone. He is teaching them what the life of following him looks like. He does not tell them that if they obey these words they will truly be his followers. Instead, he is stating that since they are his followers their lives need to follow a particular pattern. Friends, today this is our call as well: to sit at the feet of the Master and see what he requires of our