Beatitudes

Continuing our series on Blessed, we will be looking at the 8 beatitudes that Jesus teaches us about in Matthew 5:1-12.

Rob's paraphrase:
1. Verse 3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit... You could say it like this, you're blessed when you are ready to give up, because you are so tired and frustrated that it is easy to ask God for help - and God loves it when we ask for His help.
2. Verse 4 - Blessed are those who mourn... God is better at comforting us than our moms, grandma's, dads, whoever. The Holy Spirit is even called "The Comforter."
3. Verse 5 - Blessed are the meek... Meekness is kind of like being happy with who God made you and not being out of control.
4. Verse 6 - Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness... You could say it like this, Blessed are those who really love God, spend time with Him, pray, sing worshipful songs, and want more and more of God.
5. Verse 7 - Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy... If you plant corn seed what do you get? If you plant forgiveness, or love what do you get?
6. Verse 8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God...You have a pure heart by doing 2 things, first ask Jesus into your life because when you do He promises to give you a new, clean heart. And then by making right choices and fighting temptation.
7. Verse 9 - Blessed are those who don't start fights, who help others get along, who forgive others even if they don't ask for forgiveness, who are nice even when they want to be mean.
8. Verse 10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness... You could say it like this, Blessed are those who are made fun of, teased, hit or left out because they do the right thing by following Jesus.

Blessed

According to Warren Wiersbe the word blessed comes from the latin beatus, hence beatitudes. Which means divine joy and perfect happiness, even despite circumstances. At the time the word was only used for those already in heaven. However, since we now can experience heaven on earth... "You Are Blessed"

This month we are going to be looking at the Beatitudes, how they apply to our lives and what it means to be BLESSED even if our circumstances, moods, health, etc. say differently.

Specifically this week we will be talking about the meaning of the word blessed and that Jesus was talking about our righteousness throughout Matthew chapter 5 and the sermon on the mount. The Pharisees thought that cleaning the outside of the cup was what made the difference, but Jesus teaches us that it is the inside that counts.