We conclude our series in the beatitudes with the last beatitude, a double-beatitude of sorts that sees Jesus reiterate the reality of persecution for his followers. Why would Jesus and his followers be persecuted? And why would we embrace this? We contemplate what this means for our lives as followers of Jesus.
The peace that Jesus offers us is very different peace from what the world offers us and it calls his followers to be intentional and active as peacemakers for the sake of others. What does this peace look like and what posture does it call us to? We dig into these questions and more as we continue our series The Kingdom Manifesto.
The sixth beatitude, “blessed are the pure in heart” may be the most comforting, compelling but challenging beatitude yet. What does Jesus mean by pure in heart? Is this about perfection? What does the promise that we will see God mean? To wrestle with these words, we look at Psalm 51 and Psalm 139 as we continue our series, “The Kingdom Manifesto”
The word is for merciful in the beatitudes is only used one other time in the New Testament, used to describe Jesus himself in Hebrews 2:17. We are meant to see that Jesus is the very embodiment of mercy. So what does Jesus say is mercy? What does this beatitude reveal? We dig into this as we continue our series "The Kingdom Manifesto".
Meekness is weakness. Or something to that effect. We typically don't look at meekness in a positive light. But Jesus says the meek are blessed, in-sync with the way of his kingdom. How do we understand meekness and what does God say in His Word? We look at this disregarded quality as we continue our series in the beatitudes.
We don't talk much about mourning in our lives. We might accept it as an emotion for certain circumstances but we don't embrace it. And yet. Jesus says those who experience grief in their lives are in sync with the kingdom of God. How can this be? In this message, we consider how mourning is evidence that Jesus' way is taking root in our lives.
