Matthew 5:1-9 - The Beatitudes

This week we begin an extended study of the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:1-9

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God."


Here are some questions to stimulate our discussion:

How does this section fit in with the rest of the sermon (Matthew 5-7)?
What in this text strikes you as remarkable?
Have you seen a similar idea elsewhere in the Bible?
What aspects of the text excite your imagination?
What from this text do you need to hear?
What from this text does our congregation need to hear?

For the Sake of Others

Tell us what you think about this text, 1 Peter 4:7-11. Here are some questions to stimulate your thinking:

What in this text strikes you as remarkable?
Does anything arrest your attention?
What from this text do you need to hear?
What from this text does our congregation need to hear?
How does this text fit with the statement "We are baptized believers participating in the life of God for the sake of others," especially the last phrase?

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Participating in the Life of God

This week we continue to think about this statement:

We are baptized believers participating in the life of God for the sake of others.

Our focus is the middle portion of the statement: participating in the life of God. We are using 2 Peter 1:2-4 as a conversation starter.


Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.


Talk about anything you want regarding this passage.

What about the part that says we participate in the divine nature? What do you think that means? How do we do it? How do the verses that follow connect with the thought?

I really value your thoughts!

Baptism: 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13 AND Your Story

This week we shift into something different. I enjoyed the Psalms, but it is time to leave them and focus on other things. We are going to spend 3 weeks unpacking this statement:

We are baptized believers participating in the life of God for the sake of others.

This week we focus on baptism. Tell me what you think about 1 Corinthians 12:12,13:

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

I also really want to hear about your baptism. Tell me what happened, what you remember about it; how you felt, what you thought, etc.

Let’s have a great week of thinking and sharing. I love hearing from you.

Psalm 8

Here is our last Psalm for the Summer! Psalm 8

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Tell me what you think about this Psalm.
What strikes you as remarkable?
What thoughts are stimulated as you read it?
What does it say about God? About you?

Psalm 139:13-16

What do you think about Psalm 139:13-16?

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

What do you find remarkable? What strikes you as unusual?
Does it make any difference in the way you live your life? How? Why?

Psalm 139:1-12

David says some very striking things in this Psalm. After you read it, tell us what jumps out at you.

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in–behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

What is remarkable?
What thoughts does it stimulate?
Does this passage encourage or scare you? or both?

Psalm 133

Psalm 133

How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

Tell us what you think about this text. Here are some questions to guide your thoughts, but feel free to say whatever you think.

Why is unity a good and pleasant thing?

Do you think our church is united? Why or why not?

[For a little of the background on the oil illustration, see Exodus 30:22-33.]