Matthew Part 2 Series Introduction

Welcome to the second installment in our long, slow journey of teaching through Matthew’s Gospel. It’s part two in what we hope to be a seven-part series over the next few years. We’ve called this term ‘Dangerous Life’, following our first installment last year, ‘Dangerous Promises’.

This term, in Matthew chapters 4-7, we’re hearing the most famous sermon in history: Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount’. In it, Jesus casts a vision of the ‘perfect’ life of a true community of disciples of the Lord (Matthew 5:48). But what does he mean? How can we aspire to follow him into such a vision, when we are so ‘imperfect’?

We’re going to see that the key to understanding Jesus’ ‘Dangerous Life’ is found in the bookends of the sermon, the location of his sermon, and in the heart of His prayer, taught at the heart of his sermon. For this reason, we’ll also be learning the Lord’s Prayer each Sunday.

It’s called ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ because Jesus deliberately teaches it on a mountain - like Moses, teaching the Israelites back in the Exodus. And like Moses did for them, Jesus now calls for us, to a dangerous new way of living. We’re going to hear his call to a life that’s not impossible nor burdensome, but restful, beautiful, holy, healing, blessed, good, fruitful and whole. A dangerous life because it’s the vision of Jesus’ coming Kingdom of Heaven, for which his perfect life resulted in death before resurrection, and to which he calls us to risk all, saying, ‘Come, follow me!’

Your brothers in Christ,

Rev. David Bailey, Rose City PC (Warwick)
Rev. Peter Evans, Stanthorpe PC
Rev. Andrew Purcell, Callide Valley PC
Rev. Troy Wilkins, Mackay & Sarina PC

Our Growth Groups

Our growth groups traditionally use pre-written ‘studies’. This series continues this habit: each episode has a set of ‘study’ questions on the following pages. However, in recent years some of our churches have tried something different with our questions: process-based rather than content-based questions. This means we’ve moved from ‘information focussed’ groups to ‘transformation focussed’ groups. So, for this series, our questions direct the group towards possible transformation out of the passage, in the presence of God and the wisdom of each other. ¹

1 Although we have been refining this process over the last few years in our own churches, the original idea for this approach was provided by Tim Dyer, of John Mark Ministries.

Resources

The Bible Project provides a great overview of Matthew’s gospel over two videos.

1. Matthew 1-13 https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/matthew-1-13/
2. Matthew 14-28 https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/matthew-14-28/

 We also recommend a few commentaries for those who would like something for their personal study.

1. A good introductory book that is highly accessible and a great first go-to is Matthew: A Great Light Has Dawned by Peter Bolt.
2. For those who’d like something to sink their teeth into and enjoy the beauty of this gospel have a look at Matthew: The Gospel of Identity by Michael Card.
3. Jonathan Pennington’s The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing offers rich insights into Jesus’ teaching, showing how it calls us into a whole, flourishing life with God. This thoughtful commentary helps us dig deeper into the Sermon’s meaning, shaping our hearts and lives. A valuable resource for personal study!

 The Seven R’s

The best way to understand how these studies work is to assume we’ve written them for grown-ups! That is, we’re making certain assumptions about adult education in the 21st century: that you’re self-motivated and highly impacted by experience, that you learn well through discussion with other adults in a healthy and non-anxious setting, and that the primary role of the group leader is to facilitate the group’s learning rather than having to teach it. This means that each week we’ll follow a similar pattern, working through the ‘Seven Rs’ to help us reflect on, respond to and grow through God’s word together.

These are:

1. RELATE (Connect with our Group)

First, we begin with our experience of church together on Sunday, as we relate to one another. If God’s Word was opened, God was at work in our church! This could be in a number of ways: in the sermon, singing, readings, video, conversations, prayers, welcoming, morning tea, on the drive home, etc:

‘Where did you see or experience God at work in church together on Sunday? (Eg. in the sermon, Bible readings, songs, prayer or a conversation)?’

2. REMEMBER (Connect with God's Word)

Next, we remember God’s word by hearing the Matthew episode and the other readings for this week:

‘Together, hear out loud the readings from church (especially the background and Matthew readings). What strikes you afresh?’

3. REFLECT (Connecting with our Minds)

God’s word is something we should reflect on together. This question helps us think through the meaning of the passage, using our minds:

‘With one another, reflect on Sunday's lesson. Share what you learned. What's a question you'd like to ask of the group?’

4. REACT (Connecting with our Senses)

This is about our senses, beyond just our intellect: God’s word provokes reaction in the rest of our ‘selves’! Share what you sense, and how you feel in your body, as you read through these passages:

‘How do you feel about what is said in this passage? How does it impact you? If you were to put yourself in the shoes of someone in this passage, what would you see, smell, touch, taste, or feel?

5. RESPOND (Connecting with our Lives)

God’s gospel changes everything. This question helps us respond to God’s word in our day-to-day life following Jesus:

‘Share one thing that you need to do or change, to be obedient. What is God convicting you of personally? Make a commitment to be accountable for one way you are learning to be loved by Jesus.’

6. RENEW (Connecting with God)

Renew one another in prayer - Spend time praising God for who He is, confessing our sin, thanking God for what He’s done, and praying for one another and for those who still need to be delivered by Jesus:

‘Pray for each other to respond in practice. Needs to be simple, and achievable in a significant way. Changes that stay are often habitual, leading to genuine renewal in our lives.’

7. RESOURCE - Further Reading

Check out articles and other readings to go deeper on this topic distributed through our church social media posts.