Dr. Richard Hagenbaugh has spent six decades committed to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and endeavoring to build up individuals and congregations to walk with Jesus. He received an MDiv from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, 1975 and a DMin from Western in 1987. His fifty years of pastoral ministry include thirty years in one church and interim pastoring at three more after retirement. His greatest joy is the exposition of God’s Word while loving, ministering to, and encouraging people to know Jesus and the abundant life He offers. Pastor Rich has unswervingly served his Savior through personal encounters with the joys, sorrows, tragedies, disappointments, successes, and triumphs of others. He and His wife Carolyn, of fifty-nine years, live in Washington State. God blessed them with two children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandbaby.
Can the Sermon on the Mount solve challenges? Richard Hagenbaugh’s conclusion after fifty years of ministry, amid all the prayers, concerns, and tears, is that Matthew 5-7 does exactly that. Embracing this message from the heart of Jesus allows one to understand the most comprehensive statement of Christian living ever found in one place. It contains the principles, theology, and doctrine to enable anyone to deal with any circumstance if they live by its truth. Someone has said, “If the Sermon on the Mount were all the Scripture we possessed, we would have enough to please the God of the universe.” This book aims to bring life-changing principles to manifest themselves in New Testament believers. In a world and culture moving further away from God, Christians must raise the bar of their faith to survive and honor their Lord. This book helps them do precisely that.