Sermon on the Mount

Clarence Jordan's Sermon on the Mount is not a book to admire from a safe distance -- it's book that won't let you stay comfortable. With his trademark blend of biblical insight, southern storytelling, humor, and plainspoken courage, Jordan brings Jesus' most challenging words down to the red clay of everyday life. Here, the Beatitudes aren't embroidered on pillows -- they're lived out in fields, kitchens, courtrooms, and neighborhoods. As sharp and necessary now as ever, this classic invites readers to imagine what could happen if we took Jesus seriously and dared to make his teachings real. Jordan earned an undergraduate degree in agriculture and a PhD in New Testament Greek. In 1942 he and his wife, Florence, along with Martin and Mabel England, founded Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia -- an intentional Christian community committed to living a life rooted in the Sermon on the Mount. Out of that Christian experiment came not only this powerful reflection on Jesus' teachings, but also ministries whose influence continues to ripple across the world. Habitat for Humanity, Jubilee Partners, the Fuller Center for Housing, and many more were all given birth out of the soil of this little farm halfway between Americus and Plains. Clarence Jordan's words remain as bracing, hopeful, and challenging as ever -- an invitation to take Jesus seriously and to imagine what becomes possible when we do. More than eighty years later, Koinonia still welcomes guests, grows food, practices hospitality, and strives to carry on Jordan's and Jesus' legacy.