Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are foundational to all that it means to be Christian. Here the Sermon is read in the context of its setting in the world of Matthew's Gospel.

The continuing impact of the Sermon is traced through the experience of significant groups and individuals such as the Anabaptists, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Jordan.

Central to both lines of study is the overarching question of what the Sermon means for us and how its values may be realized in our world.