August 31, 2025

• Welcome and Announcements
• Firm Foundation
• Prayer of Invocation
• Your Love Oh Lord
• I Love You Lord
• Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:12-25
• Jesus
• Pastor's Message - God on a Mountain: Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
• Jesus

Matthew 4:12-25

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;
¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
¹⁵ "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-
¹⁶ "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a Light dawned."
¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
¹⁸ Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
¹⁹ And He *said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
²³ Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
²⁴ The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.
²⁵ Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

SERMON NOTES - God on a Mountain: Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

INTRODUCTION

• Today we are beginning a series on a body of teaching by Jesus referred to as the Sermon on the Mount.

THE CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF THE SERMON

• There was a 12-14 month time gap between the temptation in the wilderness and Jesus' arrival in Galilee.
• Why is that significant? Because all three of the other gospel writers, for the most part, bypass what happened in the first year of Jesus' ministry which, largely recorded in the Gospel according to John, began in Judea, not Galilee and has been referred to as a "Year of Obscurity," because it was marked by limited public recognition and relatively quiet beginnings compared to the later surge of popularity and controversy. During this period His focus was on private and personal teaching rather than public discourse.
• By the time Jesus delivers the Sermon on the mount though, things have changed. Though probably given early in His ministry in Galilee, His popularity had grown, He performed many miracles, and crowds followed Him with growing enthusiasm.
• Matthew mentions several factors help us understand what was happening in the ministry of Jesus. First Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues. The second thing Matthew tells us about the ministry of Jesus is that in addition to His teaching He was, "healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." The third thing Matthew tells is about the ministry of Jesus is that, "large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan."

THE CONSIDERATION OF THE RECIPIENTS

• In a sense, the Sermon on the Mount is not an evangelistic sermon; it a discipleship sermon, a rule of life for those who are saved
• The Sermon on the Mount is relevant to us today because it expresses how those who are God's people should live. A thread that runs through the sermon is what defines true righteousness - that a relationship with God is not about outward ritual and performance, and conformity to the Mosaic Law, but about inward righteousness and character. Who we are is revealed by our heart.

CONCLUSION

• When you come to faith in Jesus, when you trust Him as your Lord and Savior, the demands of the sermon do not change but the power and resources to live in obedience do because they are provided through by the new birth, and life that God's Spirit gives as He takes up residence in the life of every believer.
• "The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount." - Oswald Chambers