The Sermon on the Mount Lesson 1: Matthew 5:1-12 Introduction John Stott has labeled this section of Scripture, “Christian-Counter Culture”. The term “counter-culture” was first applied to the culture of many young people of the 1960's and 1970's manifested by a life style that is opposed to the prevailing culture (Christian Counter Culture, John Stott, p. 54). Each generation seems to be dissatisfied with the world that it has inherited. During the 60's and 70's and even today, many want to have nothing to do with the mainstream or establishment, and at times for good reason. Young people often see greed, exploitation, waste, hypocrisy, injustice, and inconsistency in the prevailing secular culture. In rejection of the mainstream, many young people turned to alternative movements. Some turned to communal living, simple living, dressing casually, and going barefoot. Others turned to drugs and unrestrained sexual activity in the hopes of finding happiness. Some turned to various Eastern religions, meditation, and various philosophies. Others sought refuge in radical political movements and various causes. Yet young people often found that all these alternatives contained the exact same sins as found in the mainstream. They found that people in their own groups manifested the very same sins as found in their parent’s circle of friends. Here too, people were inconsistent, greedy, manipulative, selfish, and hypocritical. They were looking for right things (the meaning of life, true love, happiness, peace, fulfillment, contentment), but they were looking in all the wrong places.
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