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{sermon on the mount}


GOD’S WAY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE_ 

Matthew 5:13-16 

 
There are some people in the world who never open a Bible. Still they are forming impressions about God every time they meet a Christian. It has been said that you may be the only Bible that someone will read! 

 
[Group discussion starter] Who has been like a Bible for you, showing in their life what God is like? What did that person say or do that showed God to you? 

 

What possible influence could the kinds of people described in the Beatitudes have on this world? What lasting good can the poor and the meek do, the mourners and the merciful – those who seek peace and not war? What can they accomplish – whose only passion is righteousness and whose only weapon is purity of heart? 
Jesus expects us to have a profound influence on the world around us... 

 
[Read Matthew 5:13-16] 

 

What positive qualities of salt and light do you think Jesus had in mind as he spoke these words? 
 

 
Before refrigeration, salt was used to keep meat from rotting. 
What then does Jesus’ statement, “You are the salt of the earth” tell us about society and the Church’s role in it? 
 

 
What has been in the news lately that indicates society is rotting and decaying? 
 

 
What are some practical ways that we can function as ‘salt’ where we live and work? 

 
What kinds of things might cause Christians to lose their ‘saltiness’? 

 
 

Jesus’ second statement is, “You are the light of the world”. 
As ‘salt’ we prevent decay, the spread of evil. How does the Church’s role as ‘light’ complement its role as ‘salt’? 
 
 

 
How can we positively promote the spread of truth in the world? 
 

 
What are some reasons that we might be tempted to hide our ‘light’? 
 

 
In verse 16, what is the result, according to Jesus, of people seeing our good deeds? 
 

 
What examples, can you think of, where the work of Christians has brought people closer to God? 
 

 
What relationship do you see between the Beatitudes and our role as ‘salt’ and ‘light’ in society? 
 

 
What is one way that you can begin having a stronger influence as ‘salt’ and ‘light’? 

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