NT Come Follow Me 9

NT Come Follow Me Lesson 9

Introduction:

“He Taught Them as One Having Authority”

What passages from the Sermon on the Mount resonate especially with you? What profound doctrines are found in this well-known literature? How can applying the Savior’s teachings in our lives give us direction, peace, hope, courage, and safety?

Matthew 7:24–25 Why is it important that we go beyond knowing what is written in the Sermon to living what is in it?

Personal Study: Living the Savior’s teachings can help me become like Him.

What does the Lord want me to learn?

Example: Matt 6:1-4: I want to care more about what God thinks of me than what others think.

How and when does the Lord want me to pray? How am I doing in prayer?

Examples: Matt 6:9 When I pray, I want to treat Heavenly Father’s name with reverence.
Matt 6:10 When I pray, I can express my desire that the Lord’s will be done.

Personal Study: What does it mean to use “vain repetitions” in prayer?

Matt 6:7 Vain repetitions may mean praying without purpose or sincerity. Get past praying for show.

Alma 31:12–23 Prayer gives us a chance to connect with the Almighty, both to worship and to seek His will; it is not an opportunity to show how important we think we are, but to praise the Lord and to seek His mercy.

Personal Study: I can judge righteously.

Matthew 7:1–5 We should be discerning in judgment, and we should never judge someone in comparison with ourselves in order to elevate ourselves. God’s judgment is always just, and he chastises us for our good, so that we can improve and do better. Our judgment, because we have limited access to assess shouldn’t be unto condemnation.

But we need to make righteous judgments, insofar as acknowledging truth, what is righteous before God and what is not. We do not have to accept all things as equal, because they are not.

Some people are called to make judgments, such as civil officers and ecclesiastical leaders. They bear the responsibility of making judgments according to the laws by which they are governed. We bear the responsibility of following the example of Jesus Christ and the Spirit of the Holy Ghost.

Judging Others Great resource!

The Righteous Judge

Personal Study: I come to know Jesus Christ by doing His will.

Matthew 7:23 How does the phrase “You never knew me” clarify the more common “I never knew you?” How do our efforts to be one with the Lord show that we are known to each other?

verses 21–22 Can we say that we believe in Jesus Christ if we are not willing to keep His commandments and do His Father’s will?

What can you do to get to know the Lord better?

If Ye Had Known Me

Personal Study: Obeying the Savior’s teachings creates a firm foundation for my life.

Matthew 7:24–27 Both houses received the same storm, but they did not fair equally.

Can you withstand the storms that are coming? How can living the Savior’s teachings give you a sure foundation?

Vs 24 What will you do to ensure that your house is built upon a rock, the Rock of our Redeemer?

Helaman 5:12 We must build our foundation upon Jesus Christ, the Rock of our Redeemer.

Family Study: The Sermon on the Mount

Videos: “Sermon on the Mount: The Lord’s Prayer” and “Sermon on the Mount: Treasures in Heaven”

Family Study: The Lord Showed Us the Pattern of Prayer

Matthew 6:5–13 How did the Lord teach us to pray? How do we teach others to pray.

 

PRAY acronym: Praise God and express thankfulness to Him; Repent, acknowledge your faults and your need from Him, tell Him you’re sorry; Ask—tell God what you need, ask for His will to be done; acknowledge your dependency upon Him, ask for forgiveness and for help to overcome, thank Him for everything; Yield, give your heart and your will to God, stop and let God speak to you, develop a real relationship and not just a monologue.

 

Who can we pray for each day? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rCeZGC3XGA

 

Family Study: Seek first the Kingdom of God

Matthew 6:33 What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God?
We have a chance to redetermine our steps every day.
Do you seek first the kingdom of God each morning? How would you do that?

How does what your prioritize point to what you seek?
What other things must we seek after?
How can seeking the kingdom of God make us more successful? Plus, our family and friends?
What does ministering have to do with seeking the kingdom of God?

 

Family Study: A mote versus a beam?

 

Matthew 7:1–5 How do a mote and a beam compare? Tell me, can you see clearly when your eyes have sand in them?
How do our sins compare? Does it matter? It would seem that we are all sinners, and we are all in need of grace. We might have mastery over one thing, but the person we are judging may have mastery over other things. Why should we think we are better? Our vision is skewed if we are looking at the faults of others, without trying to change what is amiss in our own lives.
How can we keep our eyes single to the glory of God? What and who should we be focusing our attention upon, and for what purpose?

 

Family Study: Be wise and build upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, our sure foundation

 

Matthew 7:24–27 Pore water over sand and over a rock. Mark the difference. Choose to be steadfast and immovable, by trusting in the One Firm Foundation.

 

 

 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/6?lang=eng

Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount—He teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer—They are commanded to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

What does the Lord want me to learn?

How and when does the Lord want me to pray? How am I doing in prayer?

Vs 1-4 Keep your donations and gifts to others secret. Don't be boastful, and be thankful for the rewards of the Spirit you are given when you serve and minister.

Vs 5-8 Our actions, our faith, and our prayers should be because of our love for the Lord and our desire to keep His first two great commandments. We shouldn't be doing things for show or to elevate ourselves. We should live our lives in worship of Him, with thanksgiving and humility and the desire to bring souls unto Him.

Vs 9-13 The Lord's Prayer teaches us a pattern. I like the acronym of PRAY.

Praise

Repent

Ask

Yield

 

As a child I was taught that we were to address our Heavenly Father, thank Him for the things that we have, ask Him for the things that we need, and close the prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.

 

I think Jesus showed that we should acknowledge our Father's glory. We can praise Him in prayer and in song. We can help set the stage by acknowleding His glory and our dependency upon Him.

 

We can show that we believe in Him and want to do His will.

 

We can offer Him the gift of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. This will happen more as we seek to repent and change those things that are amiss in our lives, and strengthen those things that are right with His help.

 

We can truly thank Him for our blessings and acknowledge that we are grateful for all the substance He's bestowed upon us and our families both physically and spiritually; and we should ask that He will continue to supply for our needs and our righteous wants.

 

We can seek earnestly the best gifts.

 

We should yield to His will. Just like Jesus did. We will become sanctified by yielding our hearts to God. As we pray for strength to do His will, we can find purpose in being yoked with Him and become empowered in our abilities to serve Him and minister to His children.

 

In yielding to Him, we can also be still and know that He is God, and take occasion to hear Him. Our amens should not conclude our walk and talk with God.

vs 14-15 If you want the peace of forgiveness, you must be forgiving, continually and with love.

Vs 16-18 Determine to fast with more purpose and more unity with God.

Vs 19-21 Laying up treasures in heaven truly has to do with putting the Lord and His mission first in your life. Do you love Him and are you learning to love and serve your neighbor?

Vs 22 23 These verses are also about putting God first. Is your eye single to His glory?

Vs 24 Don't sit on a fence. Get in there and follow Him who gave you agency.

Vs 25-34 What can I personally learn from this? I don't think the Lord wants me to be concerned with how things will work out; He's concerned with me following His council and doing my part. He's got this. He has always taken care of me, and He always will.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng

Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount—He commands, Judge not; ask of God; beware of false prophets—He promises salvation to those who do the will of the Father.

What does the Lord want me to learn?

How and when does the Lord want me to pray? How am I doing in prayer?

Vs 1-5 See earlier notes. Remember we are all sinners. When our eye is not single to the glory of God, we cannot see.

Vs 6 Don't share the things you've received from the Spirit, unless the Spirit invites you to share.

Vs 7-12 Ask you Father in prayer for all things that you need and desire. He wants to bless you. By the same token, give to them that ask of you, so that your Father will freely give to you. Especially, be a minister of His gospel.

Vs 13-14 The Doctrine of Christ is important. We need to follow Him, through faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, baptism of fire, and enduring to the end. His way is the gate, and He is the Keeper of the Gate. There is no other way back to the Father, except through Him.

Vs 15-20 This is of particular interest. What is sheep's clothing? Is it the garment of the Holy Priesthood? Is it any leader, religious or otherwise that pretends to have your best interest at heart? Is it those who practice priestcraft; who porport to teach the gospel, but do not seek the welfare of Zion?

False prophets are rampant in our day. Some know they themselves are; others are deceived. But pretty much, their works are works of darkness, because they do not lead people to Christ and His ordinances of salvation.

 

You can know by their fruits. Is the Spirit present?

 

Vs 21-23 This is continuing from the previous verses. Just because someone professes to have done the Lord's works, doesn't insure that the Lord accepted the gift. How can we know that we are right with the Lord? It's important to seek His Spirit and do things His way. We have to come to know Him. Are we one with Him?

 

Vs 24-27 A continuation. Are we hearers of the word only, or do we apply Christ's doctrine in our lives? We don't just need to know about Jesus, we need to know Him. He is our One and Sure Foundation.

If we don't learn to hear Him and hearken to Him, we will be driven by the winds that are all around us. If we build upon the Rock of our Redeemer, He is mighty to save.

Vvs 28-29 Jesus was and is the Son of God. He had the power and authority given to Him from His Father, and He taught and ministered with that power and authority.

In your own sphere, seek to do the same.