The Sermon on the Mount — 8-Week Study
Matthew 5–7
Restoring Hope MinistriesThe Sermon on the Mount — 8-Week Study
Study Guide · Spiritual Formation · Matthew 5–7
The Sermon on the Mount is the most sustained teaching of Jesus we possess. It is not a self-help program — it is a description of the life that is possible in the Kingdom of God. This 8-week study moves through Matthew 5–7 carefully, allowing each passage to do what it is meant to do: expose, convict, and ultimately invite.
Week 1 — The Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1–12)
- 1
Who are the "blessed" in the Kingdom? How does this invert the world's definition of success?
- 2
Which Beatitude is most challenging or confusing to you? Why?
- 3
What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? Is that a description of you? Do you want it to be?
1. Who are the "blessed" in the Kingdom? How does this invert the world's definition of success?
2. Which Beatitude is most challenging or confusing to you? Why?
3. What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? Is that a description of you? Do you want it to be?
Week 2 — Salt, Light, and the Law (Matt. 5:13–20)
1. What does it mean to be "salt" and "light"? What does saltiness require?
2. Jesus says He came to fulfill the Law, not abolish it. What does that mean for how we read the Old Testament?
3. Where are you tempted to reduce the demands of discipleship to something more manageable?
Week 3 — The Higher Righteousness (Matt. 5:21–48)
1. Jesus moves from external behavior to internal orientation six times. What is He exposing?
2. Which of the six antitheses is most convicting to you personally?
3. What does "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" actually require?
Week 4 — The Hidden Life (Matt. 6:1–18)
1. Jesus warns against performing giving, prayer, and fasting for human approval. How does this apply today?
2. Work through the Lord's Prayer slowly, phrase by phrase. What do you actually believe when you pray each line?
3. What would fasting reveal about what you truly trust and depend on?
Week 5 — Treasure, Worry, and Serving Two Masters (Matt. 6:19–34)
1. Where is your treasure? What does your spending, attention, and anxiety reveal?
2. What is the relationship between worry and trust in this passage?
3. What does "seek first the Kingdom of God" look like in your daily life this week?
Week 6 — Judgment, Prayer, and the Narrow Gate (Matt. 7:1–14)
1. What is the difference between judging and discerning? What is Jesus actually warning against?
2. What has been your experience of "ask, seek, knock"? What does this passage promise?
3. What makes the narrow gate narrow? What does it cost to enter?
Week 7 — False Prophets and Knowing Jesus (Matt. 7:15–23)
1. How do you recognize a false teacher or false prophet? What are the marks?
2. Jesus says some who called Him Lord and did miracles will be told "I never knew you." What does this mean?
3. What does it mean to "know" and "be known by" Jesus — not just know about Him?
Week 8 — The Two Builders (Matt. 7:24–29)
1. What is the difference between hearing and doing? Where are you hearing but not doing?
2. What is the "rock" on which you are building? Be honest.
3. What would obedience to one thing from this study look like this week?
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For personal and counseling use only. Not for redistribution without permission.