(a) Suppose a friend says to you, “I’m not interested in church or in organised religion, but I do try to live according to the Sermon on the Mount.”  How might you respond?

(b) What do you think Jesus was getting at in the repeated pattern, first seen in v21, where he says, “You have heard that it was said…but I tell you”?

(c) Supposing we really took verses 13-16, 21-26 and 38-48 to heart during the coming week.  What differences in attitude and behaviour would other people see in us?  (This might be done in groups of 2 or 3, with each looking at one of the passages, and then sharing their thoughts with the whole group).