The Beatitudes, Part 7

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

— Matthew 5:10

Click here to read the introduction to this series on the Beatitudes.

I often refer to God as “the God of Detail.” From flowers and sunsets to neighbors and nurses, I am often struck by his hand in the smallest of details. Some will say you can find love in the details; I would agree. Just look around, you see his details (love) everywhere!

The scripture that we have been studying over the last few weeks is no different. In chapter 5 of Matthew, Jesus begins by teaching his disciples using the Beatitudes. He has placed each one in order and, in his perfection, the first 7 lead up to the 8th: Blessed are the persecuted because of righteousness.

If we are poor in spirit, mourn, humble, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure-hearted, and workers of peace, there is a high probability we will experience persecution. If we model our life after Christ, using the Beatitudes as our litmus test, we will suffer. As I have meditated over each Beatitude, I often asked myself, what does that look like through my words and actions? Each one, in its own way, can be difficult in striving to master, but ideally, we must display them all.

The final Beatitude is the only one that is explained further as we read Verses 11 and 12:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:11-12

If we purposefully live a righteous life, we will be insulted, persecuted, and slandered. But take heart and rejoice, because we will find favor in the eyes of the Lord and our reward will be eternal. Again, looking to our Savior we see nothing short of perfection, as his life on earth exhibited all the characteristics of the Beatitudes, even as he was led to the cross.

-Pastor Darcy Webster
Associate Pastor of Operations and Pastoral Care

The Beatitudes, Part 6

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

— Matthew 5:9

Click here to read the introduction to this series on the Beatitudes.

Peacemakers—one who makes peace. I don’t know about you, but peace almost seems unattainable in our world’s and country’s current situation. Life as we know it is anything but peaceful and yet it seems to be a universal desire. Yet, why is peace so hard to come by? And even harder to produce? Because peace is not manmade…we must submit ourselves to our Creator to experience true peace.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7

The New Living Translation of Matthew 5:9 states “blessed are those who WORK for peace.” The verb “work” is full of action, not a docile waiting for something to happen. What does work for peace look like? It may look very different for each one of us, but I would ask do your actions, words, thoughts, and the way you love move others towards peace? Is your compassion and love for others so great, that those around you sense harmony?

Again, like all the previous beatitudes, for us to even slightly obtain peace we must look to the one who lived a perfect life. Isaiah 9:6b describes this man:

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

One of the many names for Christ is “Prince of Peace.” The man we are to emulate our lives after displayed perfect peace. Jesus, in perfect union with his father, was able to exhibit peace through his way of life. Follow his example, lead a life of peace that only is found in God, so that others will know the Father’s love!

-Pastor Darcy Webster
Associate Pastor of Operations and Pastoral Care

The Beatitudes, Part 5

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

— Matthew 5:7

Click here to read the introduction to this series on the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the merciful, the fifth beatitude from Christ. Mercy. What is mercy? Webster defines mercy as, compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.

Are you merciful to others? Do you show compassion to those who you have every “right” to punish or harm? Is forgiveness your first line of defense when you have been wronged?

Having mercy can be extremely difficult. The only way we will be able to show true compassion is to follow Christ’s example.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV) explains how each one of us have been saved through Christ’s love, grace and mercy:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Also, in Titus 3:4-5 (NLT), Paul reminds this young leader and the Church of their Savior’s love and kindness because of his mercy:

But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

How are we able to show compassion to others? The same way Jesus did—through love, kindness and grace. We must put others before ourselves and offer compassion that may not be deserved, but would speak volumes of Christ’s love! Each of us have been shown this mercy, compassion, and forgiveness that only Christ can give. Because of his mercy, we have experienced a life of grace and will experience an eternity with Him! Don’t you want your life to reflect this kindness and compassion, so that other’s will turn to their loving Savior?

-Pastor Darcy Webster
Associate Pastor of Operations and Pastoral Care

Routine Shakeup: Encouragement

Over the last several weeks we have been challenging you to find different ways to shake up your spiritual routine. This week, the challenge is to stretch your “Encouragement Muscle.” Physically, if we haven’t stretched our muscles for a while, they can become tight and start to weaken. Spiritually, it can be clunky and awkward at first to use some muscles that we haven’t used in a while. We need to be intentional in “working out” our faith and getting into that new routine of spiritual exercise.

So the new training regimen for this week is to think of two people each day that you want to encourage this week. The bible is filled with verses on the importance of encouraging one another. Especially in times like we’re in right now, the need for a sincere and genuine encouragement from a friend or relative is massive. Encouragement holds the power to soften the air, strengthen those feeling weak, bring hope to the discouraged, and usher God’s kingdom more fully into the world.

Here are some tips for how this can look for you:

1. Begin each day with a prayer to God to put someone’s name on your mind that might need a word of encouragement that day.

2. Do a search for all of the bible verses that mention the importance of encouragement. See what you can learn from those verses and their surrounding contexts.

3. Every hour stop what you are doing and ask yourself, “Have I encountered someone this past hour that could use a follow up encouragement?”

4. Send someone a text, write a hand written note, a well-timed email, or maybe a personal call.

5. Get your kids involved. Go to your neighbor’s or a friend’s house and have your kids write some special notes or bible verses with chalk on their sidewalk or driveway.

6. If you are married, don’t forget about the importance of a thoughtful and genuine note to your spouse. Maybe write it down and leave it in a spot where they will find it later.

-Pastor Tyler Lemen
Associate Pastor of Family Ministries at Friends Community Church

FAMILY ACTIVITY: Wrapping Paper Fashion Show

If you have any leftover Christmas wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows, get ready for a runway fashion show! We did this with some of the girls’ friends when they were about 11 and they had a blast. I can still remember their giggles!

How To:

1. Select teams of two. Ask them to pick a team name. Give them each a roll of wrapping paper, construction paper, paper bags, plastic bags, ribbons bows, tape, and scissors.

2. Give each team paper and markers to sketch out an a few outfits they will attempt to create. Remind them to create accessories too like hats, men’s tie, purses, scarves, shoes, jewelry.

3. Give the teams time to prepare their team introduction and description of the outfits for when their model walks down the runway. Embellish with creative words and silly descriptions.

4. Ask them dress in something light weight that can be covered in paper. Send them to separate rooms to make the first outfit. Cut, wrap, twist, fold, drape, and tape it directly on the first runway model.

5. Have your fashion show!

6. Send them back into separate rooms to design another outfit for the other child to model.

Tips:

• Lay out fabric, a sheet, or a tablecloth for a makeshift runway.

• Play music.

• Heavy paper works best. Double up thin paper and tell your children that rips and tears are expected and okay.

• Have an accessory (real accessories) table that they can use to enhance the outfit. Artificial flowers, bracelets, purse, shoes they can wrap paper around.

• Add special lighting, or a fan for a windswept look.

• Decide if you want to make this a competition and rate the outfits based on different categories.

• If you don’t have wrapping paper, you can use other household items.

-Barbara Grattan
Ministry Leader at Friends Community Church