Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

This morning we begin an examination of Jesus' greatest sermon on the condition of man and his need for God's grace. This sermon is concise, yet it fully exposes the heart of man much like a small scalpel can do in the hands of a skilled surgeon. It covers a variety of topics, yet weaves them all intricately together as a weaver does in making a tapestry by blending threads of different colors together into one theme. It begins with promises of God's blessing and then exposes all that is in man that keeps him from those blessings. It concludes with a call to secure those blessings by following God and a warning about living life based in man's wisdom.