Book of the Quarter: The Sermon on the Mount: Explorations in Christian Practice, by Ed Gallagher

The Sermon on the Mount: Explorations in Christian Practice, by Ed Gallagher, Copyright © 2021 by Ed Gallagher, published by Heritage Christian University Press, Florence, Alabama, ISBN 978-1-7374751-1-8 (e book).

On the fifth Tuesday of each quarter of the year, I share a book I’ve read recently. I highlighted “mustard seeds,” which impressed me. I hope you find one or two that will be helpful to you.

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Here are the “mustard seeds” I highlighted:

Marriage is good because a good marriage represents Christ and the church (Eph 5:21–32). Singleness is good because a faithful, single person represents to us both Christ, who was single, and the resurrection life (page 100, Kindle Edition).

The church has not encouraged fasting, the church has encouraged eating. We have potluck meals with two long tables full of food and another long table full of deserts (page 139, Kindle Edition).

But the church also has an obligation to encourage people to not live according to the flesh. And the practice of fasting could be very beneficial toward that end (page 140, Kindle Edition).

Jesus seems to assume that his disciples will fast repeatedly, that it will be a constant part of our spirituality, like prayer and giving (page 140, Kindle Edition).

Good deeds done with the wrong motivation earn no credit with God. That’s the way hypocrites act, and they earn credit only with people (page 143, Kindle Edition).

It’s not necessarily about how long we pray. After all, Jesus’ prayers weren’t always short; he spent all night in prayer at least one time (Luke 6:12), and another time he repeated himself a few times (Matt 26:36–46). The issue that Jesus highlights is more about directing the prayer toward God and his glory and not our own glory and trusting that God understands what we need (page 150, Kindle Edition).

The first word in the English form of the Prayer (“our”) tells us something important about this prayer: it is framed as a communal prayer (page 151, Kindle Edition).

For all these reasons, we might lump Matt 7:1 in with certain other statements in the Sermon that we should not take completely literally, like the one about poking out our eyes (5:29–30) or about keeping a secret from our hand (6:3) (page 191, Kindle Edition).

When people fail, think about how you would like to be treated in their situation. And then do it. (Easier said than done.) We can be thankful to Jesus. He just cut out three quarters of the time we devote to social media (page 206, Kindle Edition).

But the storm is coming, the wrath of God is coming, and neither riches nor reputation will provide any protection, but only the blood of Jesus, only following in his way. That way provides a sure foundation, but the house built on sand will not survive God’s wrath (page 224, Kindle Edition).

Reading the Bible is a foolish pastime unless we commit ourselves to living out what we read. According to Jesus, a person who reads the Bible and does not put its teachings into practice is a fool. The foundation is only helpful once you pour the concrete, not when you read up about how to mix concrete (page 225, Kindle Edition).

Ed’s section on Practical Tips for Bible Study is excellent (pages 221-236, Kindle Edition).