In this week’s message, Pastor Mark Deering summarizes Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, identifying its central message as “living the kingdom life now” rather than waiting for eternity. He outlines three key elements of kingdom living: better values (emphasizing humility and vulnerability over worldly power), better relationships (focusing on the heart behind God’s commands rather than legalistic rule-following), and better faith (characterized by complete dependence on Jesus). Each element includes a warning: don’t be useless, don’t miss the heart behind the commands, and don’t become a hypocrite by trying to act like Jesus without actually trusting in Him. Pastor Mark emphasizes that Jesus calls believers to live so dependently on God that they have no choice but to trust Him daily, warning that there is no middle ground between living the kingdom life through Christ’s power or living by our own desires.
Reflection Questions
As we wrap up The Upside Down Kingdom series, let’s reflect on the Sermon on the Mount—a powerful sermon and ‘highlight reel’ of Jesus’s greatest teachings that reveal what it means to live in His upside-down kingdom, marked by Better Values, Better Relationships, and a Better Faith.
1. What new insights or understandings resonate with you after looking at the Sermon on the Mount in-depth?
2. How do you see the themes of the Sermon on the Mount lived out in different aspects of your daily life?
…in your thoughts and emotions?
…in how you spend your time and money?
…in your relationships?
…in your spiritual life?
3. How are you living differently (in your thoughts or actions) by what you learned studying the Sermon on the Mount?
Full Reflection Guide is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qZu6EF5MIfchtzeRQ4-P4sXq7Bi6oE6j/view?usp=sharing
