Sunday School

Happy Sunday! Welcome to the very first post in a weekly series called Sunday School! Why Sunday School? Why this series? Having a background in ministry, together with my husband, that was the head Pastor of a church for the last 7 yrs. We understand that over the last 11 months, due to covid-19, many people have taken to doing church from home, or maybe even not at all. I hope by reading this that you can find peace as you prepare for the week ahead of you.

This week we are taking a look at Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  

A few interesting things to think about as you read this passage:

1. A beautiful reversal of fortunes: God takes the poor and moves them to a Kingdom. He takes the sad and gives them immeasurable comfort. He takes the meek and gives them the world. He takes the hungry and fills them so they will never lack again. God is king of taking the dark and making it light; taking the crooked and making it straight. Take hope in this and trust no matter how bad it looks, if you follow Him, He will make it right.
2. A call to be holy: No matter the darkness and hate around us, we are to be merciful, we are to be pure, we are to seek peace, and we are to pursue righteousness. Holy means to be set apart. That means when people who are not believers look at you and me they should see that we are strange because we are not reacting the way everyone else is. We are set apart from the world and are living in the wisdom of God.
3. A focus on eternity: The devil strives to pull our attention away from Jesus and His eternal promises and have us focus on the temporary that is all around us. It makes us fearful, jealous, and selfish. Like Peter when he was walking on water, as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked on the surface of the water just like the Son of God. It wasn’t till he took his eyes off Jesus and instead focused on the wind and waves that he began to sink. You don’t have to pretend like there isn’t a storm around you, but you also don’t have to focus on it. Let your eyes, your heart, and your mind be locked on Jesus and His Word.

May you have a blessed week and go with God ❤️