New Year. Same Promises. God’s Promise of BLESSING

Check out Second Presbyterian Church!  Read along with the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-12 HERE. 

 

Sermon excerpt: 

In this life, in this present age, the truth is that we will suffer: “mourners often go uncomforted, the meek don’t inherit the earth, those who long for justice frequently take that longing to the grave.”[1] But according to Jesus, to be blessed is to know, that through your suffering, you are “included in the coming realm,” in the kingdom of heaven.[2]

So in the larger vision of what it means to be blessed according to Jesus, it’s not just that suffering is far away and you’re happy and in comfortable circumstances—it also means that, in the midst of turmoil, you can live with confidence and peace because you are secure in the promise of God’s love and faithfulness in Jesus Christ. You have a place in the kingdom.

[1] Wright, Mt for Everyone, Part 1, p. 36.

[2] Ibid.