Dear Parents,

Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project^® for Kids. Over the next few weeks, kids will be studying some of Jesus’ sermons and parables. During His time on earth, Jesus spent time preaching about God’s kingdom. One of Jesus’ most well-known sermons is the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is recorded across three chapters in the Gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 5–7, Jesus taught how believers should live. While Matthew 5:1-2 specifies that Jesus taught His disciples, Matthew 7:28 reveals that the crowds listened to His sermon as well.

First, Jesus began with the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes describe God’s great blessings for believers. God’s kingdom belongs to the spiritually needy, God will comfort those who are sad, and God will give mercy to those who show mercy to others. Jesus gives believers reason to be glad when life on earth is hard because great rewards await in heaven. Jesus also taught how believers should live in a world that does not honor Him. Jesus called believers “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13-14). He said the good works of His followers should cause others to give glory to God.

Jesus taught about a righteousness that comes from the inside. God’s people had the law of Moses, but some of them—the Pharisees, in particular—were concerned mostly with the appearance of being righteous. The scribes and Pharisees looked righteous on the outside, but Jesus taught His disciples about a righteousness that comes from the inside. People who know and love Jesus have changed hearts that want to honor Jesus.