"Even with all of the devotion to Jesus we see in the church and society today, many Christians lack a clear understanding of his most central teachings," believes Church of God pastor Robert C Buehler of Marbury, Maryland. That observation, corroborated by recent findings from evangelical pollster George Barna, motivated Buehler to write a detailed analysis of the Sermon on the Mount in an easily accessible style.
Buehler's book, Building On the Rock: Practical Advice from Jesus (ISBN 1-55212-205-0) has just been released by Trafford Publishing in Victoria, Canada. It provides a provocative introduction to Christian ethics along with a thematic overview of Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7. While carefully researched, it does not encumber the reader with the scholarly apparatus of a more technical approach.
"My intent was not to write a commentary but to focus on a single question," says Buehler. "That question is, how can the ethical teaching of Jesus be taken seriously in the modern world, and not merely dismissed as an impossible, irrelevant ideal? This book is an attempt to raise that question. It should serve the reader as a starting point for further thought about practical Christianity."