Cliff Notes for the Sermon on the Mount

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There is such a richness of material in the Sermon on the Mount — It is like Jesus wanted to share as many practical thoughts as possible while he had everyone together! (We can appreciate how he felt!) To summarize his teachings in typical Cliff Note fashion became quite a challenge — one of those “It seemed like a good idea at the time ...” or “what WERE we thinking?” kind of moments! And we found that we got so excited about certain segments we just wanted to spend more time there. But  never fear – we did it! We've created a "Cliff Notes" style summary that gives the Key Teaching Focus Areas of the Sermon on the Mount, along with a one-sentence MetaSpiritual summary for each!

Let's Set the Stage: Matthew 5:1 - 7:27   Sermon on the Mount

  • What? A collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teachings.
  • When? Estimated around AD 30
  • Where? On a hillside on the north end of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum (this is the most accepted belief as to location)
  • Who is the Audience? The disciples of Jesus and a large crowd who gathered to hear His teachings. (Jesus had just healed the sick, so there was quite a crowd of interested folks!)
  • One Sentence Summary: How to be the best YOU you can be!

Key Teachings

LOCATION

TOPIC

KEY TEACHING

Matthew 5;3-12

The Beatitudes

You are blessed as you put Principle into action.

Matthew 5;13-16

Salt and Light

Keep the taste for Truth, and let your inner light shine.

Matthew 5;17-20

Attitude toward the Law

Divine Law is unchangeable.

Matthew 5;21-26

Anger and Murder

Forgive yourself and others.

Matthew 5;27-32

Adultery

Do not ever deny your Oneness with Spirit; choose spiritual thoughts over material thoughts.

Matthew 5;33-37

Oaths

Thoughts are things ~ keep your thoughts congruent with Truth.

Matthew 5;38-42

Eye for an Eye

Give no power to personal attacks or slights; go within for Divine guidance.

Matthew 5;43-48

Love Your Enemies

Love every aspect of yourself, and visualize your humanness into wholeness; love your vulnerabilities into strengths; and affirm your oneness with Spirit.

Matthew 6:1-4

The Practice of Giving

Focus on building a Consciousness of Giving.

Matthew 6:5-15

How to Pray

Prayers must come from your inner connection with Spirit and be grounded in Truth; keep them simple and avoid flamboyance and showiness.

Matthew 6:16-18

How to Fast

Be joyful as you fast from error thoughts and actions.

Matthew 6:19-24

Treasures in Heaven

Never confuse your net worth with your self worth.

Matthew 6:25-34

Do Not Worry

Live at the speed of your Higher Consciousness and trust what you experience in your time at Headquarters.

Matthew 7:1-6

Do Not Judge Hypocritically

Watch out for metaphysical malpractice; focus on understanding Truth and living from your most elevated level of Consciousness.

Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, Seek, Knock

Declare the Truth of your Divine Ideas, and use the power of Mind, Idea, Expression to bring your thoughts into fruition.

Matthew 7:12

The Golden Rule

We can re-cause our thoughts and produce Divine effects.         

Matthew 7:13-14

The Narrow Gate

Stay true to the Truth principles, even if it seems difficult, because you will experience powerful results.  

Matthew 7:15-23

False Prophets

Give no power to thoughts which create a sense of separation or appearance of error; remember the Truth of who you are!

Matthew 7:24-27

The Wise Builder: Rock & Sand

Doubt or fear cannot affect you when you stand strong in the foundation of Faith in Truth principles.

The Non-negotiable: Always remember the Truth of who you are, and make time for a regular Spiritual practice with time in the Silence!

Transform the Metaphysical Cliff Notes into a Personal Growth Lab

You will notice that we have provided a one-sentence summary of each Key Teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. There are 19 in all! So take one of the Key Teachings, read the MetaSpiritual one-sentence summary, and then use it as your focus for the week.

Ask the question: “How can I practice doing this — this week?”

For example, suppose you chose Matthew 6:19-24. The MetaSpiritual Cliff Note is “Never confuse your net worth with your self worth.” So during the week, you could do things like:

  • Create affirmations stating your value, affirming the Truth of who you are;
  • Notice if you begin experiencing a spiraling feeling about an appearance of lack in your life — then refuse to give any power to the appearance. Follow up with statements of abundance and flow in your life.
  • Use our Fillmore Challenge: Never affirm anything you do not want to see manifested in your life. (That means you don’t say, “I don’t have enough money”; or “I can’t afford that.” You instead affirm, “I have all the funds I could ever want to do the most important things in my life” or "I choose not to use my money for that."

Another Example: Suppose you chose Matthew 6:25-34. The MetaSpiritual Cliff Note reads: "Live at the speed of your Higher Consciousness and trust what you experience in your time at Headquarters." If you selected this key teaching to focus on this week, you could:

  • Schedule 20 minutes every day to spend in the Silence, then journal the ideas and thoughts that come into your awareness immediately after you are through. Keep these ideas up in front of you, and see how they can inspire you to action.
  • Throughout the day, ask yourself: “Am I acting from my highest, most elevated level of Consciousness right now?”
  • Create a Worry Jar. This is some kind of container where you can toss in your worries and problems, and affirm that the answers are coming from your Higher Self. Affirm you are open and receptive to those answers. Once a week, schedule “Official Worry Time” when you open the jar, dump out the worries, and review them. Many can be thrown out, because they are resolved. If the worrisome issue still exists, allow yourself to fret over them! It is amazing how hard it is to worry on cue! Then toss it back into the jar till next week!

There is an abundance of wise, practical advice in the Sermon on the Mount, and all of us can use this wisdom to master the art of living! As we rekindle our alignment with our Higher nature by using the MetaSpiritual Cliff Notes from the Sermon the Mount, we truly can walk the spiritual path on practical feet!

Bil-Cher-floorshot-optimized

Revs. Drs. Bil & Cher Holton ‧ Co-founders of Unity Center for YOUniversal Prosperity

Combine a flair for the dramatic, a deep understanding of metaphysics, a commitment to a “bumped up theology,” an ability to think outside the box, and a knack for bringing scientific research and spiritual practices to life in practical ways—and you have defined the dynamic duo Revs. Drs. Bil & Cher Holton. They currently lead a global on-line Unity-approved, Events-driven Alternative Ministry dedicated to helping people master the art of living as they walk the spiritual path on practical, positive, prosperous feet.

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