A "journey into blessed living" requires a series of steps. The first step requires we become poor in spirit, which means we come to understand, in God's sight, we are all spiritual beggars, totally destitute of the righteousness required to enter heaven. The second step is to mourn over our sin. Mourning is the emotional response to the intellectual knowledge of our spiritual poverty and sin. How does Jesus sum up the third step in Matthew 5:5?
Did you know you must mourn to have a blessed life? It is the second step on a "journey into blessed living." In our last lesson we discovered the first step is to become poor, or a beggar, in spirit, which means we must first acknowledge our spiritual poverty. The second step for finding lasting happiness is found in Matthew 5:4.
The Beatitudes are one of the best known portiotns of Scripture because they tell us how to have a blessed, happy life. We live in a very unhappy world. Someone has said, "Unhappiness is not knowing what you really want and working yourself to death to get it." Blessed living is knowing what you want and that you don't have to work for it and you can't buy it, because it is a gift of grace from a loving God. The first step on a "journey into blessed living" is understanding what statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:3?
In the previous lesson we saw God change Peter's prejudice toward Gentiles through his encounter with Cornelius. Now, the explosive growth of the church, even among Gentiles, brings fierce opposition from King Herod Agrippa I, who begins to arrest some who belonged to the church (12:1). This Herod is the brother of Herodias (wife of Herod Antipas), who was responsible for having John the Baptist beheaded (Mk 6:17-28). Herod Agrippa is also the grandson of Herod the Great, who reigned over Judea at the time of Christ's birth. In an attempt to kill the baby Jesus, Herod the Great ordered all boys, two years of age and younger, in Bethlehem and its vicinity to be killed (Mt 2:1-18). Herod Agrippa was part Jewish and had a good relationship with the Jews. However, now that the chief persecutor of the church, Saul, has converted to the other side, Herod takes Saul's place as persecutor of the church. To keep his good relationship with the Jews, what does Herod do, according to Acts 12:2?
The Beatitudes are one of the best known portiotns of Scripture because they tell us how to have a blessed, happy life. We live in a very unhappy world. Someone has said, "Unhappiness is not knowing what you really want and working yourself to death to get it." Blessed living is knowing what you want and that you don't have to work for it and you can't buy it, because it is a gift of grace from a loving God. The first step on a "journey into blessed living" is understanding what statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:3?
Throughout our Christian lives, God is constantly changing us. These changes are often not so much in lifestyles as in attitudes. Changes are a part of our spiritual growth called "sanctification." We are now going to see God make some dramatic changes in the great apostle Peter and also discover three ways God changes us.
After the healing miracle at the temple (3:1-10), Peter has to fight opposition from outside the church (4:1-22). When opposition from the outside doesn't work, the Evil One starts working through people inside the church. The church has always attracted people who come for the wrong reasons. However, all believers should have certain characteristics that are attractive to genuine seekers in whose lives God is working. From this passage, we can find three requirements for becoming magnetic Christians who attract people to Christ. First is to...
