Suggestions for leading a study:

• Familiarize yourself with the passage in context, including the book itself.  Who wrote it to whom, and why?
• Read through the study guide a couple times to get the “big idea” as well as the flow of the argument
• Have the group read through the passage in it’s entirety before beginning the study.  One of the goals is to try to get your members to learn how to study Scripture methodically, and this is an important step.
• Be prayed up
• Have fun!
  

Being Blessed

Read through the text.  If the beatitudes are ways to earn God’s blessings, which one would you prefer to use to accomplish that?

Consider each of the following circumstances.  How does being in the Kingdom of God give you a “happier” perspective when you’re in that situation?

-Poor in spirit.  “Spiritually impoverished”--you are not what anyone would think of as a spiritual giant.

-In mourning.  You have suffered a loss that causes you to grieve.

-Meek.  You have trouble advancing your own interests.

-Desiring things to be made right, either in their own lives or in seeking justice for others.

-Mercy for those who suffer or need forgiveness.

-Pure in regards to the motives of your heart: your allegiance to God is complete and undivided.

-In the middle of conflict between people and trying to achieve reconciliation.

-Paying the price for making moral choices.

-Looked down on for being a “Jesus Freak”.

 These are just examples Jesus gives us.  What do they teach us about how a kingdom perspective can give us a better attitude toward life?

 
Each study on the Sermon on the Mount is based on the fact that God has translated us into the Kingdom of God, with all of the benefits and expectations being things that should currently characterize our “life in the Kingdom.”  Each lesson illustrates an important Kingdom principle that, when taken together, will help achieve a “Kingdom worldview,” in order to live healthy and significant lives while we await the complete fulfillment which will attend the second coming of Christ. 

   Read through the text.  If the beatitudes are ways to earn God’s blessings, which one would you prefer to use to accomplish that?
            This question is designed to make it clear that the beatitudes are not, in fact, ways to earn God’s blessings.  If so, we would certainly pick something like hungering after righteousness rather than mourning or being persecuted.  Having to try to make the selection should make it obvious that Jesus is not offering us a list of “causes and effects.”  If so, the beatitudes would become another form of legalism rather than part of the gospel of grace.  This is a very common mis-interpretation, so be sure that your group understands this key concept: these are meant to convey the fact that God’s blessings are available to everyone, regardless of their circumstances.  They are not meant to tell us what we need to do to “earn” them.

Consider each of the following circumstances.  How does being in the Kingdom of God give you a “happier” perspective when you’re in that situation?

            The term “blessed” is sometimes translated “happy.”  It is about achieving a better attitude toward life based on the perspective we have when we look at it from the perspective of the Kingdom of God rather than the world’s point of view.

-Poor in spirit.  “Spiritually impoverished”--you are not what anyone would think of as a spiritual giant.

            The sermon on the mount begins with grace.  For anyone who thinks that these teachings of Jesus are a new “law”, the very first beatitude clarifies how wrong that way of thinking is.  The Kingdom of Heaven is available for everyone, regardless of spiritual upbringing, knowledge, experience, right behavior—whatever.  If the beatitudes described the means to God’s blessing, then we should all be racing toward the bottom in regards to spiritual growth.  Clearly, that isn’t what God intends. We aren’t complacent about spiritual growth, but we are certainly happy not to be excluded because we aren’t “spiritual” enough. 

-In mourning.  You have suffered a loss that causes you to grieve.

            The fact that people who have suffered loss “will be” comforted does not necessarily imply that it will only be sometime in the future.  Eternal security certainly does give us hope when we grieve, but there are all kinds of losses that we mourn over—dreams unachieved, financial loss, etc.  God never promises us a life without loss, but in the Kingdom we have the ultimate comforter there with us.  We also have his people around us to walk with us, part of what your group is all about. 

-Meek.  You have trouble advancing your own interests.

            Here again, the eternal perspective comes into play.  In this life, it isn’t about how much we get for ourselves but how much we do for others.  A focus on our ultimate inheritance that we are building up to enjoy in a new heavens and a new earth should help us keep a good attitude if we don’t always get it “down here.”  Ultimately, however, training ourselves to have a kingdom perspective will help us get more joy over serving others than serving ourselves, so we receive our blessing now as well.

- Desiring things to be made right, either in their own lives or in seeking justice for others.

            “Righteousness” in this beatitude is about being right with God, but also related very strongly to the notion of justice—things being “made right” when there is injustice being done.  In the long run, of course, God will be the ultimate judge and “justice will be done.”  But God promises throughout Scripture that if we work to make things right, either between ourselves and God, or to right a wrong, he will be working to apply his power to accomplish that with us.  Sometimes in this world the injustices seem overwhelming to us and we can suffer from “compassion fatigue.”  In those circumstances, this is an important promise to hold on to so we can maintain the attitude that will help us persevere in righting wrongs in this world.  

- Mercy for those who suffer or need forgiveness

            From the world’s point of view, showing mercy where it is not earned or deserved doesn’t make much sense.  In God’s economy, that gets his attention and causes him to, in turn, show us the same kind of mercy.  A kingdom perspective understands that we don’t deserve much (if anything) either, so we are happier to show mercy and offer forgiveness when the opportunity arises.

-Pure in regards to the motives of your heart: your allegiance to God is complete and undivided.

            Obviously, the beatitudes are not just about getting a better attitude in bad situations.  Even when we’ve got it together, we can benefit from knowing where we are in the Kingdom.  In fact, that perspective is critical to having the right attitude in this situation to avoid pride and self-righteousness. 

-In the middle of conflict between people and trying to achieve reconciliation.

            Being in the middle of trying to help people reconcile with each other can be one of the most difficult and trying experiences.  Often-times, you are asking people to compromise and accommodate when they have no intention of doing so.  So you are not always being called “sons of God” (maybe sons of something else).  Remembering that you are a child of God and that nothing either party can say or do can change that will help immensely in those situations.

-Paying the price for making moral choices.

            Making choices based on God’s moral framework can be costly in this world.  But what is a few more bucks on our tax return, or even our very lives compared to the Kingdom of God?

-Looked down on for being a “Jesus Freak”

            One of the worst insults can be when people think of us as stupid or having been duped by “religion”.  Jesus reminds us that in the Kingdom of God we have lots of company if that is our situation.  It always helps to know that we’re not alone and others have withstood that test before us.

 These are just examples Jesus gives us.  What do they teach us about how a kingdom perspective can give us a better attitude toward life?

            This is your wrap-up question.  It is a chance to underscore that these are not the new “law” that we have to follow to be blessed.  Mostly, though, be sure to underscore the main Kingdom principle: we need to learn to see ourselves in the Kingdom of God at all times and train ourselves to view our entire lives, regardless of our situation, from that perspective rather than that of the world.  Doing so will go a long ways toward living a fully functional and healthy life in the Kingdom.