I was required to memorize the Sermon on the Mount in Bible College. That was in the early 1980’s. If I stick to my Yearly Bible Reading Plan, I am reading that sermon in the early days each January. I memorized it in the KJV and have read it in every other translation I have. This year I am reading it in my Holman Christian Standard Version.
The problem with memorizing a Scripture, and then reading it at least once a year for decades (not counting the multiple times I have brought a message from it or heard a message from it) is that it becomes so familiar that it often loses the impact it had at the beginning.
So I took a new look this year at Matthew chapters 5-7. I want a fresh look. I am not sure why but the first thing I noticed were the “titles” over the various passages. My Bible divides the Sermon on the Mount into 19 passages.
I sense the Holy Spirit telling me to do more with the Sermon on the Mount than just read through it again this year. I sense Him telling me to approach it from the perspective of two words, “Am I?”
I am going to spend the next few days going through some of the passages of the Sermon, asking myself “Am I?” I invite you to join me.
The Sermon on the Mount begins with a simple Introduction. “When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to teach them, saying:” [5:1-2]
I guess I will begin this study with a simple question. “Am I teachable?” Something to reflect on today.