We conclude our series on the Beatitudes by looking at the “extra” Beatitude (or the wrap-up) that Jesus gave us. This last statement has great hope and joy!
We are challenged to understand why Jesus said that we could be happy to be persecuted. No rational person wants to be persecuted. We are not expected to be radicals to invoke persecution. Happiness is found in persecution only when we share in the suffering of Jesus.
We’re living in a world and a time that is very good at dividing people, but not very skilled or inclined at uniting people. This beatitude speaks directly to our life and times, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” We want to be skilled peacemakers! This weekend's beatitude tells us that when we bring people together, we resemble our Father in heaven.
We move to the sixth Beatitude. This is the one that really doesn’t seem to fit into Jesus’ teaching or the chart — at first glance. It is the one that makes little sense if you don’t take time to really study it. Take a look at this and think about what it means to you, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” To many, it probably will be confusing and counter-productive. We will learn all about it this weekend!
We continue our Beatitude series by starting the second set of four Beatitudes. This weekend, we look at being merciful and what that really means.
We move to the fourth Beatitude and learn about righteousness. We will see that the progression of our faith continues as we seek to live in purity. This may be my personal favorite of the Beatitudes because it is choosing to live rightly — it is not commanded!
We continue our Beatitude series by looking at the third Beatitude and being reminded of the progression that Jesus teaches. Once you realize that you have nothing to offer God towards salvation (Beatitude #1) and then mourn over your sin (Beatitude #2), the next step is to yield control to Christ and others (Beatitude #3). Meekness has become a bad word in our society but you will see this weekend, that God thinks it is a good thing.
We continue our Beatitude series with the idea of “mourning over sin” and how the Lord brings comfort. This will be a wonderful reminder that you don’t hear anywhere today but from God’s Word.
We continue our study of the Beatitudes and study the first one after doing an overview last week. We will be reminded that Jesus has accomplished everything for us (as we learned a few years ago in Colossians — Jesus + Nothing = Salvation).
We begin a summer series called “The Secret of Happiness” as we study The Beatitudes in great detail. This weekend, we will do an overview of the Beatitudes which will help us find context for this amazing section of Scripture.