The Blessed Life: Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Text: Matthew 5:1-9

This message explores the next to last beatitude and is vitally connected to those coming before and after. This beatitude perhaps gives us the greatest glimpse at how we can reflect the character and mission of our heavenly Father. In this beatitude we are reminded that those who have experienced true peace through the Prince of Peace become the ambassadors for peace in a world desperately seeking peace in their own hearts and in the world around them. The peace He provides is a peace to be shared even, and perhaps especially, with those at odds with us. We invite you to listen today and invite the God of peace to fill your heart with His peace so that you can share that peace with others around in living in strife and conflict.

The Blessed Life: Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Text: Matthew 5:1-8

This message concerning the sixth beatitude is of vital importance. Writers have called this verse “the most comprehensive of all the beatitudes” and “one of the greatest utterances in all the Bible.” The reason this has such significance is that Jesus immediately addresses what is most important. We often get distracted by all the external happenings in our lives, both good and bad, but Jesus shows us emphatically that God is looking at the heart. He desires and requires that we must be pure in heart, but this is impossible with man. We invite you to listen today and invite the Great Physician to examine your heart so that He might bring the cleansing and healing that He alone can bring.

The Blessed Life: Blessed Are the Merciful

Text: Matthew 5:1-7, ESV

Jesus calls us, in Matthew 5:7, to be merciful to those around us. Can we firstly lay claim to the mercy God has shown us at the cross, and how should that compel us to live and show mercy with those around us? Many of us understand what is at stake, but the challenge at hand is if we know why it should matter to us. What is the heart of the merciful person in light of God’s Kingdom? In this sermon, we will observe three realities that every merciful person must understand if he is to bear the name of Jesus faithfully.

The Blessed Life: Blessed Are the Hungry

Text: Matthew 5:1-6

All of us know the feelings of being hungry and thirsty because this is part of being human. Jesus, though, uses these very familiar words and feelings to convey a much deeper spiritual truth that we need to ponder and practice in our lives. Much of the stagnation and complacency in the American Church, and in so many of our lives, is because we do not know what it means to hunger and thirst in this way. Jesus’ simple illustration of spiritual hunger and thirst will have a profound impact if we take it to heart and apply it. We invite you to listen today to be encouraged and challenged to consider what you truly hunger and thirst for today.