Matthew 6:1-4 - Jesus taught his followers not to do good deeds just to be noticed by others. When giving to those in need, they shouldn’t act like show-offs who only want attention and praise. If they give just to impress people, that will be their only reward. Instead, Jesus taught them to give quietly and privately. God sees what is done is secret and will reward it.

Matthew 5:38-42 - Jesus taught that while the Law of Moses called for justice through the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” his followers are called to a higher standard of non-violence and radical grace. Instead of retaliating against those who wrong them, they should turn the other cheek, give more than what is asked, and go the extra mile when compelled to do so. He also urged his followers to be generous to those who ask and a willingness to lend without refusal.

Matthew 5:33-37 - Jesus taught that while the Law told people not to break their promises and to keep their oaths, he gave an even deeper teaching: don’t make oaths at all. Don’t swear by heaven, by earth, by Jerusalem, or even by your own head. Instead, Jesus says we should be people of honesty. If you say “yes,” mean yes. If you say “no,” mean no. We don’t need to make big promises—we just need to speak the truth.

Matthew 5:13-16 - During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that his followers are the salt of the earth, meant to preserve and enhance the world. He also said that they are the light of the world: a lamp is not hidden under a bowl but placed on a stand to give light to everyone in the house. In the same way, we are called to let our light shine, so that others may see our good works and be drawn to God’s goodness.

Matthew 7:13-14 - Jesus teaches his followers about two different paths in life that we can take, one is wide and leads to destruction but many enter through it, and the other is narrow and leads to life but few can find it. Here he is referring to his way and teachings as the narrow path, a challenging road to follow but which leads us to fullness of life.

Matthew 7:1-5 - Jesus taught his followers not to judge others or they would be judged by the same standard. He taught that they should focus on removing the plank in their own eyes before pointing out the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eyes, thus highlighting the hypocrisy of judging others when we ourselves are not perfect. 

Matthew 6:25-34 - Jesus teaches his followers not to worry about things like food or clothing, since life is more than these things and since God takes care of our needs. He gives the examples of birds who do not store food in barns but are fed by God, as well as flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow and yet are clothed in beauty. Rather than worrying, we should seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and everything else will be provided. We shouldn’t worry about the future but should let the future worry about itself.

Matthew 6:19-24 - Jesus taught his followers to focus on storing up heavenly treasures rather than earthly ones, since earthly treasures do not last but heavenly treasures last forever. He also taught that whatever we treasure and value is what will be in our hearts. He then says that having healthy eyes (that focus on things of the spirit) fills us with light, while having unhealthy eyes (that focus on worldly things) fills us with darkness. Finally, Jesus says that we cannot serve both God and money.