5×5 readings for this week: Matthew 1-5

Warm-up: What is your favorite Easter memory or food?

Read:  Matthew 5

Background: The early church unanimously affirmed that the apostle Matthew authored the Gospel of Matthew. It was written in the first century, around AD 60, before the fall of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. The Gospel of Matthew serves as a gateway between the old and new testaments. Matthew makes the most direct connections to the Old Testament than any other gospel, giving us God’s entire plan from Genesis to Revelation, referring to the Hebrew prophecies about 60 times.

Discussion/Application:

1. Matthew 5:3-10 | This is the beginning of Jesus’s first sermon and his ministry. He could have opened with any thought that he wanted, be he chose “blessed are the poor in spirit.” How is the teaching of beatitudes countercultural in Jesus’s day and ours?
2. Matthew 5:13-16 | In what ways are you the salt of the earth and the light of the world? In what ways do we get this wrong?
3. Matthew 5:21-26 | Christ tells us that murder begins in our heart. What does this teaching show us about our motives?  
4. Matthew 5:37 | Why is it important for us as Christians to keep our word and to say what we mean and mean what we say?
5. Matthew 5:38-39, 44-45 | Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek and to love our enemies. Do you find this teaching easy or difficult to live out?

Close in prayer: How can we pray for, encourage, and support each other this week?

5×5 readings for next week: Matthew 6-10

Ridgeland, MS 39157

Trace Ridge Baptist Church