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ACTIVITY
This week, for a bit of variety, I like to do a “Choose Your Own Adventure” type activity. The teachings of the Sermon on the Mount are so many and so varied that it’s really hard to pick and choose which principles to teach this week. More challenging than usual because all of the principles are so good and so relevant. You really can’t go wrong with any section of the Sermon on the Mount. So I kind of leave it up to my class to decide which principles we do and which we leave behind for them to examine on their own in their personal study. And there are a number of different ways you can accomplish this. For youth, I have a lot of fun with this idea. I draw a large target on my whiteboard at the front with all of the different possible lessons that we could cover that day in each ring. Then I have a little Nerf Gun with suction cup bullets that I allow a student selected randomly to come up and attempt to shoot the target with. Whichever ring of the target the bullet lands on, is the part of the lesson that we do. And we just do as many of the sections of scripture that we have time for. If someone shoots a ring that has already been done, then we just do the next ring adjacent to it. For the bullseye, I usually write TREAT on it, and if they hit it, I have a little piece of candy or a treat for everyone. You could also include a ring that says “Funny Video” or “Quick game” on it, which if they hit, you show them a quick funny Studio C or YouTube video that you’ve selected. I also usually include a “magic trick” ring, and I do a quick magic trick for them if they hit it. If that seems a little too irreverent or juvenile for the class you are teaching, there are some other ways to approach this. You could place the various lessons on notecards and have a student select a card from the shuffled pile. Or you could list all the lessons on the board and allow your class to vote for which ones they would most like to cover. However you do it, it does require you to be prepared to teach any or all of them, so keep that in mind. Or you could skip the class selection idea altogether and choose which parts YOU as a teacher feel would be most beneficial to your students that day.
And here’s how I’ve divided up these two chapters. I try to give each section an intriguing title and I include the type of activity that portion of the lesson will use. And as you can see, I like to use a variety of different methods to cover these sections. And there’s a pattern to each of these sections. For each I include an activity, a message, and a “liken the scriptures” question of challenge.
Motives Matter (Case Studies)
Too Many Masters (Object Lesson)
Prayer Power (Game)
Don’t Worry, Be Happy (Personal Study Guide)
Ouch, My Eye! (Movie)
Potpourri (Crossword Puzzle)
How Firm a Foundation (Story)
MOTIVES MATTER (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21) Case Studies
Activity: Case Studies
The activity for this section invites students to categorize the following actions as either “NICE” or “NOT SO NICE” in their opinion.
1. Someone gives you an expensive gift. NICE
2. Somebody tells you you’re overweight and you ought to do something about it. NOT SO NICE
3. Somebody comes and sits next to you at lunch and starts talking to you. NICE
4. Somebody breaks a stranger’s car window to get something left on the seat. NOT SO NICE
5. Somebody gives a homeless man 100$. NICE
Then, tell your class that you’re going to give them a little more information about these situations and see if you would change anything.
1. The person giving you the gift hasn’t talked to you in months and is now hoping for a favor. NOT SO NICE
2. The person telling you you’re overweight is your family doctor that’s worried you’re showing early signs of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. NICE
3. The person sitting next to you was assigned by a youth leader to “be your friend” and they reluctantly agreed. NOT SO NICE
4. The item left on the seat of the person who broke the car window was a dog left inside on a hot day that is visibly suffering. NICE
5. The person who gave the homeless person 100$ is a politician trying to get reelected and has numerous cameras filming him at the moment. NOT SO NICE
Now what made you change your mind in each of those scenarios? Because the action being observed was still exactly the same.
The motives behind the action changed the nature of it. The reason people do certain things counts for something to us. Motives matter. And the same holds true with our Father in Heaven. Jesus often reserved his greatest criticism for those people who were doing all the right things—the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, but who were motivated by pride and praise rather than piety. He seemed to be bothered more by hypocrisy than almost anything else.
So if Matthew 5 was all about striving towards perfection, then chapter 6 covers one of the most seductive and subtle temptations that can come with trying to live that way—pride and worldly recognition. We may become so enamored with the praise and approval we receive for righteous action that we forget the reason we decided to try and live that way in the first place.
This first section of chapter 6 invites us to ponder the “Why’s” behind our “Do’s.” And Jesus is going to give us three different examples of consider. Almsgiving, or service, acts of charity . . . prayer . . . and fasting. Which are good representative actions to look at because they’re the kinds of things that we do often in the church. So in each of the following areas, be prepared to tell me the proper way to do them, and the improper way.
So Proper and Improper Almsgiving in Matthew 6:1-4
What’s the improper way to do alms? To be seen of men. With the sounding of a trumpet before you. Now I don’t think he’s saying that they’re literally blowing a trumpet and then saying, “Look at me! I’m about to give this homeless person some money. Are you watching?” But that’s the spirit of it. They do it in such a way that they assure others will see them doing it. In public, in the synagogues and in the streets.
What’s the proper way then? Let not your left hand know what thy right hand doeth. And what does that mean? Seek to do your acts of service and charity so discretely that not even your other hand knows what’s going on over there. Do your service in secret or do it anonymously, as much as is possible.
And to me, the most beautiful thing about anonymous service is that the person for whom the service is done has no individual to direct their thanks to. So where is their gratitude going to go? To heaven. Which is where we want it to go. So they say, “Thank you Lord, for sending somebody to me who cares.” They thank God, instead of us.
Now how about prayer in verses 5-6? The improper way?
Again, to be seen of men, in the synagogues and out on the corners of the streets, for all to see. For their praise. They’re treating prayer like a speech instead of a conversation with God. It’s directed outward instead of upward.
And the proper way? In secret. In a private place, where it’s not about being seen, but about connection with divinity. And this isn’t suggesting that public prayer is wrong. He’s not talking so much about the location of prayer as he is the motives behind it. A public prayer is completely appropriate when it’s sincere and directed to God with devotion.
Then how about fasting in verses 16-18? The improper way?
Well, fasting is a little more difficult to make public because people can see you give alms, they can see you give a prayer, but how do they see you fasting? It’s the abstaining of doing something. So how do you communicate that? You try to make it as visible as possible. So they disfigure their faces. They make it look like they’re hungry. And what do you think that would look like? You might even want to challenge your students to try it out. What kind of faces would you make so that people would assume you’re fasting? That activity can be really fun to watch.
But what’s the proper way though? Jesus instructs us to do just the opposite. To do everything in our power to make it look like we’re not fasting. Anoint thy head, wash thy face. Go out with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Nobody needs to know, but God, that you’re fasting.
The common thread we see in each of these areas is that the focus of our attention should be upward instead of outward. That our acts of righteousness should be about magnifying the Father and his gospel and not ourselves. Our motives should not be selfish but selfless in nature.
Then verses 19-21 beautifully summarize and clarify that principle. When we do the right things, what kind of reward are we looking for? There are two options. And as we read, look for those two different kinds of rewards.
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The two kinds of rewards or treasures? Treasure on earth or treasures in heaven. And what’s the problem with seeking for earthly treasures? They’re rustable, corruptible, and stealable. They’re fleeting. You can’t take them with you. But heavenly treasures? They’re eternal, they’re significant, they’re divine. And what accompanies that treasure? Our hearts. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So where’s your heart? Hopefully we place our hearts in heaven. Because if my heart is in heaven, Satan can’t get to it. He’s not allowed there. But if my heart is on earth because I’m focused on earthly treasures, then it’s vulnerable to attack. Whatever we desire we get. Ask and ye shall receive. If we do things for the praise of men, we’ll probably get it. We’ll “have [our] reward”. But empty self-promotion and praise will all come to an end eventually. But God’s good will towards us, his heavenly blessings—those things don’t rust or corrupt. What are those treasures He offers? Brainstorm that for a second. Knowledge. Love, Eternal marriage and family. Exaltation. These are the kinds of treasures that last. They don’t rust and they can’t be stolen. They’re the real treasures.
So our message here:
Right things, wrong reasons,=rustable rewards.
Right things, right reasons=rich rewards.
Liken the Scriptures:
Examine your motives. And strive your hardest to be honest with yourself in this. Why do you pray, fast, go to church, serve in your calling, pay your tithing, live the gospel, do acts of service, etc.? Is it out of sense of devotion to your Father in Heaven and your Savior Jesus Christ? Or is it more out of a sense of social pressure or desire for recognition?
And I’ll be honest with you here, that this was a good exercise for me to ask myself. Particularly in regard to what I do here on this channel. And I ask myself, “Why do you do this channel, Brother Wilcox?” Is it because you want people to think you’re a great teacher? Do you want recognition? Do you like the praise that comes in the comments or emails? Or do you do it because you love your Father in Heaven, and his word, and the people you’re teaching? And I think that when we examine our motives in this way that we’re probably going to see a little bit of both in us. If I’m being 100% honest with you, I’ll admit that the temptation is there and I’m not immune to the lure of recognition and praise. But you know, just being aware and wary of that, helps. And maybe we laugh at ourselves a bit, and say, “Gosh, darn you natural man. Go take a hike. I know why I do what I do. I love my Father in Heaven and my Savior. Stop trying to tempt me with the treasures and glories of the world. I’m looking for unrustable, uncorruptible, and unstealable treasures—treasures in heaven.” So in your self-reflection, don’t forget the spirit of the whole Sermon on the Mount. We’re being perfected. We work on purifying our motives as we pray for God’s help to focus our attention where it should be. And that’s love. Love for God. Motives matter.
TOO MANY MASTERS (Matthew 6:24)
Activity: Object lesson
What I like to do with this one is to take two strips of masking or duct tape and place them on the floor forming a large open V shape. And be sure to place the open end of the tape far enough apart that it would be physically impossible for somebody to have a foot touching both pieces at the same time no matter how tall or flexible they were. Then I invite my students to come up and try to get as far as they can from one end of the pieces of tape to the other without losing contact with both strips. You could even make it a contest to see who can get the farthest.
But once that’s done you make the point that, in order to keep making progress, you would have to eventually choose one side or the other. And the longer you try to keep a foot on both paths, the more painful and difficult the process becomes.
Then you could ask how they feel the object lesson relates to what’s being taught in Matthew 6:24.
Message:
Which says,
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
So what’s the point? We can’t serve both God and the world—and footnote 24e tells us what mammon is. It’s idolatry, treasure, or worldliness. We can try to walk both paths in this life, but eventually we’re going to have to choose. And the longer we try to follow both God and the world, the more painful our journey becomes. It’s not a winning strategy. We need to strive to commit whole heartedly to either one or the other.
You see this principle expressed in a number of different places in the scriptures. In the Old Testament, Joshua challenged us to “Choose you this day whom ye will serve”. Elijah asked the wavering Israelites of his day in 1 Kings 18:21, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” John makes that point in Revelation 3:15-16, “I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, . . . I will spue thee out of my mouth.” The closer we get to the Second Coming the more diverging the Church becomes from the world. We can’t keep one foot in Zion and the other in Babylon without losing our balance or straining or spiritual muscles.
Liken the scriptures:
Is there any worldly Mammon” in your life that you could give up this week? Some media you could delete from your phone. A piece of clothing that doesn’t match your standard of modesty? A friendship that you feel is leading you down a dangerous path? A sin that’s holding you back? Some words that you need to drop from your vocabulary? Or on the more positive side, is there a righteous act you could add to your life? Daily prayer, scripture study, more acts of kindness and service?
Whatever we decide to do, I believe the sooner we commit to one side of that v shaped path, the better off we’ll be.
PRAYER POWER (Matthew 6:7-13, 7:7-11)
Activity-Game, or a team challenge. And the game is called Principle Hunt
With this activity, depending on the size of my class, I divide my students into teams of 2-6 players and give each team a small whiteboard to write their answers on. The goal is to be the first team to identify the true principle that a specified verse teaches us about prayer. The team member with the whiteboard writes their answer and holds it up. I’ll typically provide every team with a handout with all the principles on it, or I’ll display this slide on my screen for them. I also tell them that not every principle on this list is going to be used. And whichever team has the most points by the end, wins. And although games don’t always lend themselves to deep, meaningful discussions about principles. I find that this particular activity doesn’t tend to get too unruly, and I’d encourage you to have a short discussion about each principle or idea with them as you go so that the purpose of the activity hits the mark of really helping them to have more meaningful experiences with prayer.
6:5 We already looked at this verse, but the principle would be B. Seek to make prayer a conversation with God, not a speech for others to hear. And this would be some good advice for our public prayers. We don’t pray to be heard of others or to make ourselves seem more holy or devout. We’re seeking to connect with our Father in Heaven. We pray upward, not outward.
2. 6:6 The answer is M. Remember that private personal prayer can be powerful. The first principle applies here too. Are our personal prayers real conversations with God or are they just rote speeches we run through to check personal prayer off our list for the day. Prayer is about building a relationship with divinity. Speaking to God like he’s really there and giving him time to speak and opening our ears to him.
6:7 This verse instructs us not to use vain repetitions in our prayers. The answer is J. Notice that it doesn’t say to not use repetitions, just not vain repetitions. I think that’s an important distinction to make. I know that I pray for a lot of the same things every day and I don’t feel the to try and come up with something new or different every time or feel I need to pray with a Thesaurus. Repetitions are fine, it’s when they become vain, or meaningless, that we have a problem.
4. 6:8 The answer is O. Remember that God already knows what we need, but part of prayer is to discover that for ourselves. And I say that because, some will look at that verse and ask, “If God already knows what I need, then why should I pray in the first place?” Well, GOD knows what we need, but WE don’t always know what we need. We know what we want. But what we want and what we need are not always the same thing. So prayer can sometimes be a way of discovering, with God, what it is that we need. Because I believe that prayer is more about seeking to align our wills with God rather than bending his will to ours.
Note: Now these next verses are what are commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer.” And please, let’s not use this lesson as an excuse to bash or criticize other Church’s out there that do actually pray this prayer word for word. I would imagine that there are some people who pray “The Lord’s prayer” with more heart and devotion than some of us say our prayers. But the way that we interpret these verses are as a formula or an example of proper prayer. So our goal here is to glean general prayer principles from what he says. That’s why he begins verse 9 with, “Ater this ‘manner’ therefore pray ye:”
5. 6:9 The correct match is F. We should praise God in our prayers. That’s what “Hallowed be thy name” is an example of. It’s praise and respect for deity. Our prayers nowadays don’t always have much praise in them, my own included. They have a lot of asking and gratitude in them, which is important, but praise is a little different than gratitude. Gratitude is focused on the gift. Praise focuses on the giver of the gift and the feeling of how wonderful a being He must be to give the kinds of things he gives. Phrases of praise could include, hallowed be thy name, How great thou art. We praise thee. Thou art gracious, good, and wonderful. Although, I don’t think we need to get too hung up on the words of praise in prayers. I believe it’s more about feeling than words. But do we pray with that attitude and feeling in our hearts. That we are communicating with the type of being that merits our deepest respect and honor and admiration.
6. 6:10 The answer is A. Prayer is about aligning our wills with God’s rather than trying to align God’s will with ours. Jesus says, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Jesus recognized right from the get-go, that his prayer was all about discovering and following and accepting his Father’s will. A “What wouldst thou have me to do?” bearing.
7. 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. The answer is K. In our prayers, we should recognize our reliance on God for all that we have and are. This is a statement of humility. A recognition that we need our Father in Heaven and that at every moment we are dependent on him for our lives, our gifts, and our blessings. And it also demonstrates humility in that it only asks enough for today. I don’t need enough for the whole week or month or year. Just please, allot me what I need to sustain myself today. I’m not asking for abundance or ease or luxury. Which I think we may be tempted sometimes to pray for.
8. 6:12 I love that Jesus says, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. That’s a very spiritually mature way of asking for something. So the answer is N. When we ask for blessings from God, we should also recognize our own personal responsibility to act as well. God, please be as forgiving of me as I am of forgiving of others. We recognize that if we desire certain blessings, that we need be willing to give those same blessings to others. And he’s going to explicitly repeat that principle in verses 14-15 regarding forgiveness. It’s a yo-yo principle. If I wish to be forgiven, then I must forgive others as well. We’ll examine that idea in much more depth when we get to the parable of the unmerciful servant.
9. 6:13 The answer is G. We can pray for protection from temptation and the agency of others. Be sure to point out to your students the JST change there. God would never deliberately lead us into temptation or set us up for failure. What is really being said here is “And suffer us not to be led into temptation”. Help us to avoid places of temptation and deliver us from evil. God knows that people have agency, and they can and do use it to hurt others. We can pray for protection from that evil use of their agency.
10. 7:7-8 Very famous promises here. 7 Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. The answer is I. God answers all faithful prayers (although not always at the time or the way that we desire). I think we tend to read that as three different ways of saying the same thing. But maybe not. Could he be describing three different types of prayers. First, we have, “Ask and ye shall receive” prayers. Those are my favorite kind of answers to get. When, I ask for guidance or help or a blessing, and the answer just comes, like that. That’s happened to me before. The Brother of Jared seeking a solution for his barges not having air is an example of that kind of prayer. He asked, and God gave him the solution. However, at other times we have, “Seek, and ye shall find” prayers. These are the times when the Lord expects us to be persistent in our requests. Seeking suggests effort and time in the process. Enos praying in the wilderness may be a good example of this kind of prayer. He sought the help of the Lord for a long time before he found. Then we have “knock, and it shall be opened” type prayers where we aren’t seeking a specific solution or answer to something, but simply knocking for God’s guidance and presence in our lives. When we say, “Are you there, Lord? What instructions do you have for me, what guidance can you offer, what wisdom can you impart.” And we can’t talk about it in detail here, but for those who have been through the temple, think about how “knock, and it shall be opened,” could apply here. But the assurance of God’s promise stands out here. I answer all prayers of faith. And I believe he does. God WILL give guidance and wisdom to us. Although, I don’t believe there’s anything in this verse that suggests or guarantees ease, or immediacy in receiving those answers.
11. Matthew 7:9-11. And speaking of answers to prayers, I love the example that Jesus gives in 9-11. He says: 9 Or what man is there of you, whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Do you understand the metaphor here? It’s almost humorous. Can you imagine a Father doing that? His son comes up and says, “Dad, I’m hungry, can I have a piece of bread?” And the turns around and says, “Sure son, I’ve got something for you here, why don’t you enjoy this nice rock to eat, chew on that!” Obviously, a good Father wouldn’t do that. Or what if my son came into me and said, “Dad, could you make me some fish sticks, I’m really hungry,” and I turned around and said, “Actually, instead, why don’t you take this live rattlesnake for lunch, and toss it at him”. No father would do that. Not a good one at least. And God is the best of Fathers. And that’s why he comes to this conclusion: 11 If ye then, being evil, (and he means: human) know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? And that’s the point here and the answer. It’s D. The answers God gives to our prayers are always good and beneficial to us, even when they’re not what we expected. God doesn’t give stones or snakes. When you're hungry, a stone is useless. And God doesn’t give useless answers. When you want fish, a snake is harmful. He’s not going to give you an answer that will harm you. He most assuredly will give you something good and helpful if you ask Him. God only gives bread and fish. And that’s important for us to understand because he is a God that doesn’t always answer at the time or in the way that we desire or expect. He may not give you the kind of bread you wanted. You may have wanted white bread, and he gives you whole wheat. It may not be the kind of fish you were hoping for. You may have wanted salmon, and he gives you trout. But the point is, he’s still giving us something good. And we need to learn to trust that wisdom. If we don’t have the proper perspective, we may turn his bread into a stone in our own minds. We may turn his fish into a serpent, with our impatience or pride, but that’s on us. There’s the expected good, and the given good. And hopefully we can develop the spiritual maturity to recognize the difference between the two. Allow me to give you an example of this because I feel it’s an important concept to grasp. My wife and I both grew up in the Salt Lake Valley and loved it. But when I was hired by the church to teach seminary I expected that I would be able to teach and live in Utah and be near my family and the mountains that I love. I figured that most of the teaching positions that would be available would be somewhere along the Wasatch Front. But they said they needed me to move to Arizona and teach there. Now the expected good was to live and teach seminary in Utah. The given good was to live and teach seminary in Arizona. Now I could have been bitter and unhappy or even decided to quit because, honestly, my wife and I were not super enthusiastic about moving there. We could have turned God’s bread into a stone. But Arizona was good. It was a blessing to have that experience there and not a curse. My years of teaching in Arizona and raising my family there are a greatly treasured time in my life. All of my children were born there, my marriage was solidified and strengthened there. I developed into the teacher I am today there. Now, after 14 years we were given the chance to move back to Utah, and we took it, but I will always be grateful for the Arizona years of my life. God gave me good bread. It wasn’t necessarily the bread I wanted or expected or asked for, but it was bread, nonetheless. Do you understand that principle?
Liken the Scriptures
Have you felt prompted to apply any of the prayer principles we discussed today in your own prayers? Will you?
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY (Matthew 6:25-34)
Activity: Personal Study Guide
For this section of the Sermon on the Mount, we’re going to do a personal study guide. So you give your students 5 minutes or so to study and answer the questions and then you cover them together and have a little discussion about what they teach. And I really do love this section, it contains a unique and extremely relevant lesson from the scriptures. So let’s go through the questions together.
Message:
Can you find the repeated similar phrase in verses 25, 27, 28, 31, 34?
What’s the phrase? Take no thought. Jesus says this over and over again.
Now question #2 What does that phrase mean according to footnote 25b? It says, “anxious concern”. Jesus is telling to not have so much anxious concern in our lives. It’s his way of saying “stop worrying”. We worry way too much in this life and spend many a day anxious and fearful about things. And that’s a problem because worry robs us of joy, which is what Christ is trying to bring us. Remember the beatitudes. Beatus means “to be happy”. And we can’t be happy if we’re worried all the time.
So our next question.
What things does Jesus tell us specifically to “take no thought” or stop worrying about in verses 25, 27, and 34?
One. Stop worrying so much about your temporal needs. So he says in verse 25, “take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment.” So don’t worry so much about satisfying your personal needs. We probably spend way too much time worrying about temporal matters. Am I going to have enough money to pay my bills? What am I going to wear tomorrow? Where’s my next meal going to come from? Jesus says don’t get too wrapped up in those worries.
In verse 27 Jesus says, “which of you by taking thought (or worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature.” So he’s asking, “Will worrying about your height make you any taller?” The answer is nope, it won’t. I think this is a question that represents a category of things that we should stop worrying about. Things that we can’t control. And let’s do a little brainstorm with that here. What kinds of things fall into that category? The weather, what other people think, most world news and events, the past. Do we spend a lot of our mental and emotional energy worrying and getting all bent out of shape over things that we just can’t do anything about? It’s a waste of time and more often than not makes us very unhappy. You know, I don’t watch the news much anymore because of this. I mean, I want to stay informed, but only just enough. When I get wrapped up into checking the news too often, I find that I get too anxious about politics and wars and celebrity this and that and I start to take too much thought in those things. And honestly, what I do or think has absolutely no bearing on any of it. Why not take that time and energy to focus on the things we can control? Things like, our own actions, our own behaviors, our own decisions, our own families, and relationships. That’s where that energy should go. Then try to ignore the rest. What’s the AA Serenity prayer? “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.”
And then he gives us something else not to worry about in 34:
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow
shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the
day unto the evil thereof.
So stop worrying so much about the future. Don’t worry yourself to death about possible future problems. There’s no limit to our imaginations of “what could go wrong.” We can play “what if” all day long and stress ourselves out over things that haven’t even happened and more than likely will never happen.
I love the little joke about the wife who was so worried about burglars that she had all kinds of sleeping problems and anxiety for 10 years. Finally, one night, a burglar actually did break in, so the husband went down and said, “hey, you ought to come up and meet my wife, she’s been waiting for you for ten years”.
And what does “Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof” mean? It’s Christ’s way of saying. “Today has enough problems of its own, don’t add tomorrow’s problems to the equation as well. Who can stand up to that kind of stress? Take each day one at a time. Focus on today’s challenges, not tomorrow’s and yesterday’s too. You’ll waste your present by worrying too much about your future.
What two examples from nature does Jesus use to make the point that God will take care of the faithful?
The birds. He feeds them. And he’ll feed you too.
The lilies of the field. He clothes them—beautifully. And he’ll clothe you. This principle is testified of in nature.
Is he saying that food, and drink, and raiment aren’t important? Use verses 31-32 to support your answer.
The answer to that question is no, he’s not saying that they aren’t important, he acknowledges in verse 32 that he knows we need these things. If we don’t eat or drink, we’ll die. But he’ll take care of us. He’ll make sure we’re all right. That we’ll have sufficient for our needs. Many of the people I taught in Brazil are a good example of this principle. Many had very little by way of temporal belongings, but they were happy nonetheless and didn’t get too wrapped up in advancing their career, or keeping up with the neighbors, or having the latest technology fad. As long as they had food to eat, a roof over their head, time to spend with their family and friends, and a television set to watch soccer, they were content. I mean. what more do you need? On the other hand, I know of many people in the US who make hundreds and even thousands of dollars more a month than those in Brazil, who are anxious, and stressed and overworked trying to keep up with some manufactured and excessive standard of living. Maybe we could stop worrying so much about that and we’d find that the happiness we’re working ourselves to the bone trying to earn, is actually well within our grasp.
So now, the most important question. Jesus IS going to give us something to focus on. Let me give you a different priority here.
So question #6. Instead of worrying, what’s the one thing he does want us to focus on in verse 33?
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you.
So, put God’s kingdom first. Choose the right. Live the gospel. Serve in his kingdom. If we make that our priority, Jesus promises that everything else is going to work out in the end. That’s it. The simple key to happiness and stress relief. Choose righteousness and God’s kingdom first and you will have happiness. So in the words of Bobby McFerrin, "Don’t worry, be happy,” Take no thought, I love it. A great philosophy for life.
Liken the Scriptures
Think of something you worry a lot about. Is it a temporal need? Is it something out of your control? Is it something based on fear of some future problem? Or something else?
Whatever it is though, How could you give your worry over to God?
OUCH! MY EYE (7:1-5)
Activity
Movie (Looking Through Windows)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2012-01-0004-looking-through-windows?lang=eng
Show your students the following video (it’s great by the way) with this simple question in mind. In your own words, what’s the major message of the video. And I’ll invite you to watch it if you like by clicking the link above.
Message
And the message. Judge not that ye be not judged. And I do realize you could have a lesson here, using the JST translation of that verse, on the difference between righteous judgment, unrighteous judgment, and final judgments. But I don’t do that here. There’s another place later in the life of Christ where I like to teach that principle. But here, I think everyone understands what kind of judgment Jesus is talking about. It’s the type of judgment that looks for the negative in others. The critical and faultfinding kind of judgment—looking for the worst in our fellowman. Sadly, it seems almost inherent in our mortal natures to look for faults and weaknesses in the people and cultures and religions around us. Probably because there’s a soothing sense of self-satisfaction in being aware of others’ weaknesses. It makes us feel better about ourselves.
So to complete the message of this section, I ask a student to read verses 1-5 and challenge my class to put Jesus’s message into their own words. How would they explain it? And you may want to point out that a mote is a small speck of dust, or a chip, or small splinter of wood. And a beam is a beam of wood, like a big 2x4 or something.
And what does this section mean? Jesus asks a very pointed question in verse 3. “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye?” How would you answer that question? I might be tempted to answer that question with a “Because it’s there, Lord. It’s obvious to me and others that this person’s character is flawed in such and such a way.” They’re annoying, arrogant, lazy, greedy, too loud, too soft, too forward, too shy, whatever. And everybody has something like that. Because we’re human. And I think that I’ve sometimes assumed that question of the Savior referred to faults that other people don’t really have. Times when we feel we see something that isn’t really there. And that can be the problem at times. But what if the mote is there? It is in the parable. So I don’t think the message is pretend it’s not there. It is there. But why are you focusing on it? is the question. Why are you beholding IT so intently. Do you not realize that there is so much more to that individual than the little mote.
But we certainly live in a mote-beholding world. We see it in social media, politics, international relations, and between religions and cultures. And I don’t know if you’ve sensed it, but I’ve felt that within the past decade or so, that society as a whole seems to have become less civil, more critical, and even more mean-spirited in many ways. Fault finding and criticism are far more destructive diseases to our society than COVID ever was and yet not much has been done to combat it. We may even find ourselves frequenting virtual echo chambers where our opinion of how stupid, how wrong, how silly, or how flawed the OTHER entity is out there. Those motes become enlarged and more and more grievous to us. And this disease is highly contagious because once we sense a mote in others, we instantly desire to seek justification and validation by others. WE see the mote, but we want to make sure that others see it too. Even more harmful, is the mote-picking that takes place in workplaces or wards or within families and marriages. This habit can be so destructive. And so Jesus pleads, “Why beholdest thou the mote? Why?!! I know it’s there, but why are you looking at it? Why are you focusing so intently on it.”
And then Jesus adds another phrase to his question. Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
What does that mean? Focus on your own faults. Work on you. If you’re so eager to find someone to judge, then let me give you someone. Judge yourself. I’m sure you’ll find plenty to work with. I’m also intrigued by the word that is used in Luke’s account of the same teaching. He says “perceiveth not the beam that is in thine own eye.” “Considerest not” suggest that the person is aware of their own beams, but they choose to focus on the motes in other people’s eyes regardless. “Perceivest not” suggests that perhaps the individual is not aware of their own beams and that they need to reflect on and discover what they are. Either way, the message is the same. Focus on those things which are flawed or imperfect in yourself before you start going around and trying to fix everyone else’s problems. You want somebody to judge? Judge yourself. You want someone to improve? Improve yourself. You want someone to change? Change yourself. If you do wish to look for something in others, look for the good. What can you celebrate? What can you admire? I’m certain that whatever we look for, whether good or bad, we’re certain to find it. So let’s look for the good!
Liken the scriptures:
Think of someone that annoys you for whatever reason. Now, think of something good about that person. I know that might be challenging but concentrate. Then, resolve to focus on that thing the next time you interact with them and see if it makes a difference.
And, what is a beam in your own eye that you need to work on pulling out. What’s your removal plan?
POTPOURRI (Matthew 6:14-15, 7:6, 7:12, 7:13-14, 7:15-20, 7:28-29)
Activity: Crossword Puzzle
Message: To understand what I mean by the title of this activity, I guess you have to be familiar with the gameshow Jeopardy—a trivia show with questions in sections of different categories. “Potpourri” was a category frequently used where the clues didn’t share anything in common. It was just an assortment, or a “potpourri” of topics. So, I know this is kind of cheating, but there was just no way to go into depth on every principle in these two chapters. So I took those remaining principles and combined them all into one activity, this short crossword puzzle that invites them to fill in the blank of a key principle phrase from the Sermon on the Mount. And then, I invite them to choose one of those principles that they would like to focus on most and answer one question about it to help deepen their understanding. So here we’ll go through the answers of the crossword puzzle and the accompanying questions.
ACROSS 3. “For if ye ____________ men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” 5. “Strait is the gate, and ___________ is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” DOWN 1. (In reference to the question of how to tell a false prophet from a true one) “Wherefore by their _______ ye shall know them.” 2. “Neither cast ye your _________ before swine.” 4. “Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should ______ to you, do ye even so to them.”
So depending on which above principle they choose. Here are the accompanying questions for them to ponder.
3 Across: Why do you think Heavenly Father wants us to forgive others so badly?
5 Across: Why do you think God makes the way into his kingdom so narrow, or more challenging to enter?
1 Down: What are some of the good fruits you see in the character and teachings of our modern prophets?
2 Down: In what kinds of situations do you think it would be best NOT to share your testimony or spiritual experiences with others? Times when you “cast not your pearls before swine.”
4 Down: Think of something you would like somebody in your life to do for you. Are you willing to go and do that same thing for that person first this week? I encourage you to do it.
And that’s really it for that activity. Wish we could go more deeply into each. But I feel that should be sufficient for this week. We’ll be covering some of those same ideas in more depth in future lessons this year.
ANSWERS
3 Across: FORGIVE
5 Across: NARROW
1 Down: FRUITS
2 Down: PEARLS
4 Down: DO
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION (Matthew 7:24-27)
Activity: Story
I like to introduce this section with a little story. And I begin by showing my class the following picture. In 1996 in Saguenay, Quebec, it started to rain. And it rained, and it rained. Then the floods came. The nearby Saguenay river breached its banks and started to pour into the surrounding area. Entire neighborhoods were washed away and ten people lost their lives. But one little house stood firm. For days, as the waters raged around it, this house continued to stand. All of its neighbors eventually succumbed to the powerful pressure of the torrents of floodwater surging around them. So what made the difference? How did it survive when so many others didn’t? Well, there’s a spiritual and a scientific answer to that question. Both are instructive. The spiritual answer? The owner of the house at the time was a deeply religious woman who prayed to the heavens as she was being evacuated, “Please, protect my house.” The scientific answer. The owner at the time the house was built in 1950 took the time and effort to dig down right to the bedrock and then anchored the house’s foundations to it. So when the floods came, the foundation acted as a sort of dam, keeping the house above it sturdy and safe. Now with that as a backdrop, please read Matthew 7:24-27. It’s the parable of the wise man and the foolish man who built their houses on two very different kinds of foundations. And then, take the time to answer the following questions. Keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers to them. Just be able to explain why you picked what you did.
So one.
What makes someone wise according to the Savior?
A. They consider future problems and prepare themselves for them.
B. They not only listen to the word of God, but they actually strive to do it.
C. They develop a strong testimony and seek to continually strengthen it.
D. They liken the scriptures to themselves and seek to apply their lessons.
E. Other: __________________________
What do you think the Rock represents in these verses?
A. The truth of the gospel
B. Faith in Christ
C. Jesus himself
D. Obedience to Jesus’s words
E. Other: __________________________
What do you think is Jesus’s promise to those who build on the rock?
A. You’ll never have to face the storms of life.
B. You will experience storms like everybody else.
C. The storms of life and trial and doubt will not succeed in destroying your faith.
D. Preparation will bring you confidence.
E. Other: __________________________
What kinds of storms do you feel claim the most victims?
Doubts
Trials
Temptation and sin
Conflict in relationships
Taking offense
Negativity
Other: __________________________
Liken the scriptures.
And now, some more personal questions to consider. Don’t have your students answer these out loud, but ponder their answers in their minds or write them down in a journal.
If you could compare your spiritual foundation right now to a house, what would it be?
A. Shaky
B. Brand new
C. Slipping
D. Solid
E. Temporary
F. Rebuilding
G. Other: __________________________
What could you do to more firmly establish your house on “the rock”?
A. Pray more intently
B. Study the scriptures more consistently
C. Strive to live like Christ more closely
D. Repent
E. Deepen my connection with the Spirit
F. Other: _____________________________
CONCLUSION
And now. No matter what order the class ends up doing the messages in. I always like to at least refer to this final section as a conclusion to our study of the Sermon on the Mount. I feel there’s a reason Christ concluded with it. It’s the capstone to his entire message. I believe that the Rock upon which we build must be Jesus Christ. Helaman 5:12
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
My friends, our efforts to live the principles we’ve just been taught in the Sermon on the Mount must be centered and founded on Jesus Christ. They cannot stand firmly alone as just mere moral teachings or good ethical principles. If not connected to Christ, I think we are bound to fail in applying them. There must be a connection between us and our Savior if we ever wish to weather the storms of life. Our love and devotion and gratitude towards him is the only thing I think that can save us and our faith in these latter-days. The temptations, the skepticism, the mocking, the opposition to faith that we face now is just too great. Fear of punishment isn’t going to do it. Promise of reward isn’t going to do it. Social pressure isn’t going to do it. Only a love for Christ and a deep abiding union with Him can keep us strong in the rains that are pouring down as we speak. That’s why we can’t separate the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount from “The Sermon” itself. Jesus IS that Sermon. His character and his life and his being are the sermon. I pray that we all can be like that little white house and stand firm on that foundation. For if we build our lives on it, we CANNOT fall.
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