(15–20 minutes, easy set-up)
Learners will study Matthew 5:1–10 to understand the character traits that Jesus desires for His disciples to develop.
(15–20 minutes, easy set-up)
Download the Learner Worksheet. Print a copy for each learner. Also provide pens. Display the People are God's Treasure Essential Truth poster.
Pass out pens and copies of the Learner Worksheet. Then ask: Have you ever thought that you had mastered a skill or task only to find out that you were expected to do better next time? How did that make you feel? Explain that the people who heard Jesus’s message in today’s passage were probably shocked by the challenges that He presented.
1. Followers of Christ recognize the depth of their spiritual needs (Matt. 5:1–5).
Read Matthew 5:1–5. Explain that Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount describes both the character and actions of His disciples. Ask: What character traits are described in these verses? (Answers: Jesus’s disciples are poor in spirit, mournful, and meek.) Refer to the commentary to explain the significance of each of these statements. Then ask: What blessings does God bestow on His disciples who possess these traits? (He makes them members of the Kingdom of Heaven, He comforts them, and He promises that they will inherit the earth.) How do these traits differ from the typical traits that are culture values? (Our culture often admires and rewards the wealthy, the charismatic/happy people, and the powerful.) How do Jesus’s words surprise both His first-century disciples and His disciples of today? Suggest that Jesus turns our expectations upside down by calling us to acknowledge our total dependence on Him. Encourage learners to write recognize and spiritual in the first set of blanks on their copies of the Learner Worksheet.
2. Followers of Christ seek Jesus to satisfy their need for righteousness (Matt. 5:6).
Read Matthew 5:6. Explain that this is the pivotal verse in the Beatitudes. Ask: How many times each day do you eat or drink something? What comparison do you think that Jesus wanted us to make? (The soul needs spiritual nourishment just as often as the body needs food and water.) What happens when you continually ignore your body’s desire for food and water? What happens when you ignore spiritual nourishment? Suggest that our desire for spiritual nourishment can never exceed Jesus’s ability to satisfy us. Observe that when our initial spiritual desires are met, our hunger and thirst may actually increase. Ask: When God satisfies our desires for righteousness, how will our lives be changed? Encourage learners to write seek and righteousness on the second set of blanks on their worksheets.
3. Followers of Christ reflect His righteousness in their lives (Matt. 5:7–10).
Read Matthew 5:7–10. Then ask: What are the results of seeking God’s righteousness? (We show mercy to others, we strive to remain pure in heart, and we become peacemakers.) How do these traits become evident in our lives? (The ways in which we relate to others, both believers and non-believers, will change. We will begin to respond to others in the same ways that God responds to them.) What happens when we begin living each day as completely sold-out disciples of Christ? Suggest that we draw attention to God’s holiness and humanity’s sinfulness when this happens. Encourage learners to write reflect and righteousness in the third set of blanks on their worksheets.
Ask: How do people respond to this revelation of holiness? Suggest that people either become convicted of their sin and turn to God or they rebel against God and persecute His disciples. Ask: What forms of persecution do believers face today? Make sure that the discussion includes everything from losing friends to mild ridicule to ostracism to physical harm. Then ask: Why should we consider it a blessing to be persecuted because of righteousness?