Sermon on the Mount Leader Guide: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven

by Amy-Jill Levine

How is the follower of Jesus to understand the words of the Old Testament? How are those words relevant to the New Covenant he is establishing? What might the words of the Lord’s Prayer have conveyed to his initial followers, and why is that historical information essential to the prayer two millennia later?


In Sermon on the Mount , Dr. Amy-Jill Levine takes a detailed and colorful overview of Matthew 5-7, collectively known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Through Dr. Levine’s engaging method of biblical interpretation, readers will come away with a solid understanding of the Sermon on the Mount in its historical and theological context.


Chapters


The Beatitudes

The Extensions

Practicing Piety

Our Father

Finding Your Treasure
Living into the Kingdom



Explore the major topics in the most popular sermon ever delivered and unpack how Jesus makes his points using a solid knowledge of Hebrew Scriptures and moral teachings.
The Leader Guide includes session outline for each group meeting with Scripture, prayer, opening activity, discussion questions, activity, and ending call to action.

64 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2020

About the author

Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies. Her books include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi; four children's books (with Sandy Sasso); The Gospel of Luke (with Ben Witherington III); and The Jewish Annotated New Testament (co-edited with Marc Z. Brettler). Her most recent books are The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently (co-authored with Marc Z. Brettler), Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven; and The Kingdom of Heaven: 40 Devotionals. In 2019 she became the first Jew to teach New Testament at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute. Professor Levine, who has done over 300 programs for churches, clergy groups, and seminaries, has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Institutions granting her honorary degrees include Christian Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.

Reviews

[Beverly J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy-Jill Levine's treatment of any topic is consistently thorough, extremely well-written, and always instructive and interesting. As a Jewish scholar as well as a scholar of the New Testament, Dr. Levine knows well how to integrate the lessons from the Old Testament to such topics as The Sermon on the Mount. This book, and the accompanying audio lectures by Dr. Levine provide a fascinating exploration of the topic and this book is great for individual reading or for your study group.

[Diann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not find this leader’s guide helpful. I typically want suggestions for reflective questions for the group. I found the prep work suggestions light and not probing.