Mount of Beatitudes Faith Lesson: Blessed Are Those Persecuted - Full Video in Description

Location
1. The Mount of Beatitudes is located on a hill overlooking the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
2. It has a spectacular view of the sea.
3. It has great acoustics.

Historical Background
1. This sermon is the most complete and famous teaching Christ preached.
2. It’s 3 chapters long and is found in Matthew 5–7.
3. In the same way the Law was given on Mt. Sinai, many theologians see the Sermon on the Mount as the summary of the New Covenant.
4. In this sermon, Christ clarifies many Old Testament meanings and misinterpretations by constantly saying, “You have heard it said, but I say to you.”
5. The view from the Sermon on the Mount is spectacular and provided a perfect backdrop for Christ’s hearers to see as they contemplated His powerful message.
6. It was no accident that Christ chose this setting as He used nature and creation to aid in much of His teachings.
7. A Byzantine church was erected here in the 4th century and was used until the 7th century. Its ruins have been discovered just a little downhill from the present church here today.
8. Today, the Church of the Beatitudes is an octagonal building located on this site. It was built in 1938 for a Franciscan order of nuns. The eight sides of the church represent the eight beatitudes shown in Latin in the upper windows.

Places of Interest
1. Entrance
2. Mount of Beatitudes
3. Sea of Galilee
4. Church of the Beatitudes
5. Beatitude Monastery
6. Monumental Rock (Below Mt. of Beatitudes)
7. Job's Spring (Below Mt. of Beatitudes)

The Sermon on the Mount in the Bible
1. In the 8 beatitudes, everything is flipped or reversed from what most