Sermon on the Mount

Salt and Light – Making a Difference

/ Bob / Leave a comment

You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

In 1st Century Galilee, salt was used commonly as a preservative, a healing and cleansing agent, and as a seasoning. However, its spiritual and ceremonial use gives us the depth of meaning found in this simple mineral. Sacrifices were brought to the altar with salt – even the grain offerings. In passages such as Numbers 18:19 and 2 Chronicles 13:5 God’s unchanging, everlasting, permanent covenant was referred to as the “covenant of salt.” In ancient Middle Eastern cultures a covenant was sealed (ratified) with various means of sharing salt (i.e.- a meal or simple exchange) with the salt representing permanence, incorruptibility, and shared fellowship. As believers we are the “salt of the earth” and, hence, we are physical agents of healing, cleansing, purification, preservation of God’s goodness, seasoning – bringing out and highlighting the glorious flavors of God’s creation, and of reminding the world of God’s “chesed” – His Everlasting Love!

The prime focus of the Romans was glory. The prime focus of the Greeks was knowledge. The prime focus of the Jews was light. The world began with God saying, “let there be light” and light has been the central theme all along. A burning bush, a pillar of fire, and numerous descriptions of the LORD and His Word being light. (Psalm 27:1; Isaiah 60:19-20; Micah 7:8) Jesus refers to Himself as the Light of the world and there is no doubt that He is “the light that shines in the darkness” as seen in Isaiah 9:2. Paul summarizes the superiority of Jesus as the Light in 2 Corinthians 4:6: For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

And now that Light lives within us and consequently, as believers, we are bearers of the Light, torch bearers in the darkness, lighthouses of hope in the storms of life, glowing examples of what God can do and how God can love, and reminders to the world of God’s Everlasting Light, the Light of the World!

We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world because God, through the blood of Jesus, has made us so.

Class Notes – Salt and Light – Making a Difference – September 6, 2026Download

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .

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The Pure in Heart Peacemakers

/ Bob

Many theologians down through the centuries – Augustine, Thomas of Aquinas, John Wesley, and Pam Young, just to name a few – have seen the Beatitudes as a progression of faith and a process of sanctification in which you begin with a poverty in spirit before you mourn and you mourn before you develop meekness. Meekness leads to a longing for God’s justice to prevail which leads to a response of God’s mercy for those who face God’s justice.  This growth process must be observed when you find yourself in the role of peacemaker, because unless you are pure in heart, your peacemaking efforts will fall flat.

Purity of heart seems like a lofty goal, but it is actually an unattainable goal from the human perspective.  Those who are pure in heart are those whose inmost being is focused on one thing and only one thing – God Himself – and that focus is not the result of human effort, but rather the Holy Spirit working within the Christian to purge the impurities and remove the things that keep us from pure devotion to Christ. The beatitude doesn’t say, “Blessed are they who have purified their hearts.” It says “Blessed are the pure in heart” – a condition that comes from the sanctification of Holy Spirit.

As our hearts are cleansed, then and only then can our hearts know true peace. The Hebrew word for peace is “Shalom” and it means so much more than just peace. It means properly joined together, whole, complete and, for the Christian, true peace is being properly joined together with Christ, whole in Him, complete as He intended us to be from the beginning. The singleness of focus for the heart that is pure is the same singularity in the peace that passes all understanding. It’s the peace of Christ.

Peace is not the absence of conflict, but rather the presence of God. If you want to be a peacemaker you must allow the Spirit to purify your heart and then you must bring Daddy to the table with you, because He alone is true peace.

The Final Word is this: Let the Spirit lead you as you are told in Galatians 5:16-25. Your heart will be pure (clean, clear, singularly focused) and you will truly know God and see Him work in your world. Furthermore, your heart will be at peace (whole, complete, bonded together with Jesus) and then you will be able to introduce into any situation the peace that passes all understanding.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, August 16, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Class Notes – The Pure in Heart See God – The Peacemakers Are God’s KidsDownload

Meek, Hungry, and Thirsty – a Winning Trio

/ Bob

The two beatitudes for this session involve meekness and hunger for righteousness. They both include our response to the wickedness of the world around us. We are constantly bombarded with the evil actions of people around the world and in our own backyard. We see it on the news, at work, at school, in our politics, and in our churches. Our initial response might be anger, disgust, frustration, or any number of emotional reactions. However, at some point we will quite often allow our emotions to move us to taking action – or at least wanting to do so. That’s when the Holy Spirit, if He is allowed to do so in our hearts and minds, will trigger meekness. We exercise God’s strength under His control and we trust Him rather than our own power to act and assert our own will.

Similarly, these scenes of wickedness in our world – these acts of injustice – cause us to hunger for righteousness. Our justice warrior genes are activated and we are ready to go into the moral battlefield with our spiritual guns blazing. However, Jesus says we are blessed when we hunger, not when we act. We are blessed when we thirst for righteousness because it is at that point that we are most in tune with the heart of God who longs for righteousness to prevail. “Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

It all comes down to trust. Can we trust God or do we have to act? Can we trust the Hand of God or do we need to take matters into our own hands? Now and in the Day of the Lord we are more than conquerors not because of our wisdom or morality or strength but through Jesus Christ our Lord

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, August 2, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Class Notes – Meek, Hungry and Thirsty – A Winning TrioDownload

The Happy Mourners

/ Bob

We spend so much time and so much money trying to avoid physical pain.  Likewise, we spend time, money, and sorts of personal resources trying avoid or ease emotional pain.  In the Bible mourning was woven into the fabric of life.  In fact, the clothes worn were used as visible exclamations of mourning and lament as they were torn apart in the face of deep grief.  Biblical characters like David, Jacob, Job, Peter, Mary and Martha, and even Jesus Himself mourned to the point of shedding tears.  Mourning is Biblical.  There is even an entire book of the Bible called Lamentations written by Jeremiah who was known as the “Weeping Prophet” because of his laments found in the Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations.  

So what is the Christian response to mourning?  Avoidance?  Certainly not.  Dismissal, since Christians are always to be joyful? Uh, no.  We should mourn properly – first as God mourns.  God mourns over the lost condition of mankind.  God mourns over thee pain of death.  God mourns over hardness of heart.  If God mourns over these things and more, so should we.  However, God also provides a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the One Who comes along side us in our grief.  Furthermore, He gives us hope in the midst of our grief.

The Christian’s response to mourning?  First, we don’t grieve as those who don’t know Jesus.  (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)  Second, we come along side those who are grieving with the same hope that we have receive. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)  Third, we glorify God through our trust in Him when we face grief.

The difference between Christian grief and worldly grief is not the absence of tears but the presence of hope.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, July 26, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Class Notes – The Happy Mourners – 07.26.2026Download

Kingdom Living – An Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

/ Bob

Matthew’s Gospel was written in a time of distress for thee Jewish people. The prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah seemed to point to the beginning of what we know as the 1st Century AD and specifically to about 30-33 AD. Daniel’s “70 Weeks” were up and the Promised One was due to arrive at any moment. However, Rome’s grip on the land was firm and demanding.

Matthew, under the inspiration of the very Spirit of God, spoke to the people about the true Kingdom – the Kingdom of Heaven. Of the 162 times the word “kingdom” is used in the New Testament, 150 times it refers to the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, etc. 55 of those 150 are found in the Book of Matthew. Of those 55, 47 were spoken by Jesus – including 8 times in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus wanted us to fully understand what Kingdom living was all about and Matthew gives us His instructions in how to do just that.

For the next few weeks we will take a deep dive into the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5-7. The early Christians learned what it meant to live as Kingdom Citizens in a land controlled by a foreign power. We will see what Kingdom Living is and we will see what it means for us as we live in a land controlled by the prince of the air. (Ephesians 2:1-2)

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, July 12, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Class Notes – Introduction – Kingdom Living – 07.12.2026Download