Thursday Bible Study

  {sermon on the mount}   A PATTERN FOR DYNAMIC PRAYER_   Matthew 6:7-15     The fundamental difference between various kinds of prayer is the fundamentally different images of God that lie behind them.     [Group discussion starter] Imagine that your prayers, like those in the Psalms, were recorded for others to read. What would people learn about your image of God ?     The Lord’s Prayer was given by Jesus as a model of what genuine Christian prayer should be like. According to Matthew, he gave it as a pattern to copy (“This is how you sho uld pray”), and according to Luke, he gave it as an actual prayer (“When you pray, say...”). We are not obliged to choose , however, for we can both use the prayer as it stands and also model our own praying upon it .   Either way, Jesus not only teaches us about prayer but also gives us a greater vision of the God we call “Our Father”...     [Read Matthew 6:7-15]     What natura...

  {sermon on the mount}   HOW NOT TO BE RELIGIOUS_   Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18     Not conforming to the world is a familiar New Testament concept.   But it’s not so well known that Jesus also called us to not conform to the religious establishment. ..     [Group discussion starter] A friend that you invited to this Bible Study has declined by saying that she finds all Christians to be hypocrites. What evide nce is there that this is not true of the members of your group?     In Matthew 5 Jesus taught us that our righteousness must be greater than that of the Pharisees (because they obeyed the letter of the Law, while obedience must include ou r heart) ... and greater also than that of the pagans (because they love each other, while our love must include our enemies as well).   Now, in Matthew 6 Jesus draws the same two contrasts when he talks about religion. He says that we should not be hypocritical like the Pharisees and not mechan...