01/25/2017 — In the Lord Jesus Christ’s very first public teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, He began with a popular passage known as the Beatitudes. Professor Sean Sams expertly broke down this passage for us, showing that the core message of the text is “Love God, Love People” – which WHC has adopted for its mission statement for 2017 and beyond.

EDUCATION

Matthew 5:3-11:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they shall be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek,
   for they shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
   righteousness, for they shall be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful,
   for they shall obtain mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they shall see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they shall be called the sons of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’
   sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you,
   and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My
   sake. Rejoice and be very glad, because great is your
   reward in heaven, for in this manner they persecuted the
   prophets who were before you.” (MEV).

APPLICATION

• The Beatitudes are about blessing, which goes beyond the notion of “happy” to mean “well being.” The repetition in the text of the word translated “blessed” shows that Jesus puts particular emphasis on the well being of those who do what He says – the essence of which is “love God, love people.” Being what Jesus says in the passage – poor in spirit, mourners for ourselves and others, meek, etc. – will be righteousness to us when we do them.
• Meekness is not weakness. It is power under control. The opposite of meekness is pride. Pride is elevating yourself above God, believing and acting as though what you and what you want is better than anything God can possibly have for you.
• To love God is to love people, and to love people is to love God. It was in the Old Testament law – the first five of the Ten Commandments involve specific ways to love God and the next five are instructions for loving people. Love God and love people, and you will live in Jesus’s name!

IMPARTATION

Heavenly Father,

I am so grateful for Your Holy Word, and for teaching that makes the Word more clear to me! Thank You for showing me that to love You is to love people, and to love people is to love You!

Work through me to share Your love with the people I meet, in this body of believers and in my circles of influence, to advance Your Kingdom in my community.

I am blessed to be Your child and an instrument of Your peace! Thank You for the opportunity to be blessed by You and to be a blessing to others.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ – Jehovah Joshua Messiah – I pray. Amen!






WHC FAMILY PRAYER REQUESTS

In Matthew 18, Jesus said “Truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Let’s stand in agreement with the following members of our church family who have requested prayer:
We want to pray with YOU! Send in your prayer request on this online form so we can agree with you in prayer! Send in your testimony or praise report here when God moves in your life, so we can give Him glory with you!!