The Pastor’s Garage April 9th, 2021

Matthew 5:3-12 says this:

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.

This is the opening to the sermon on the mount and if we read it honestly,
I think that many of the things that Christ says we will be blessed for –
we probably don’t want or are things we don’t want to do. And yet, here
they are, the words of Christ.

I’ve not heard many sermons on this passage… and I am not sure that I
want to. I think the power of passages like this is robbed when we add too
many words and ideas. Ideas that quite frankly let us get off the hook a
bit from passages like this. They are meant to be jarring and to tip us
over and to challenge our limited thinking. So I will say no more. Read
them again.

This weekend Rachel Kardash is leading worship and I will be preaching.
Please pray that God would anoint us and strengthen us. We need God!

Have a great weekend,

Pastor Dave