When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Pastor Mark described Matthew 5 (the Beatitudes) as Jesus’ thesis statement for his ministry to come. Have you ever thought about what your thesis statement for your life would sound like?
Instead of the age old question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” how would you answer the question “Who would you like to be right now?”
With all of the struggles we see around us, what do you think of the idea that the church should go to where people are rather than wait for them to come to us for comfort and hope?
How often do we really evaluate how we are living our day to day lives versus spending most of our lives on autopilot or planning for the future?
How different would our day to day lives be if we started and ended each day with the questions, “Who do I want to be?” and “What can I do to ease someone else’s suffering today?”
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
As Jacey said in her message, “We all greatly influence one another.” If the words we speak are the “soundtrack” that we play for other people to influence them in both positive and negative ways how do you think other people are generally affected by what you say?
Do you have different soundtracks you subconsciously always have on repeat in different areas of your life? (Are you more cheerful/positive with friends, more optimistic at work, grumpier/negative around close family/loved ones?)
Like when the disciples were called by Jesus and what He said immediately felt right to them, have you ever heard a new thought or idea that immediately struck you as being right or true? Something you almost seemed to hear with your heart or gut that felt like it’s something you have always known?
Do we allow ourselves to be overly influenced by the soundtracks other people in our lives? Does being around a really negative person really bring you down no matter how good you were feeling before?
Knowing now how much your words can have an ongoing impact on people long after you’ve said them, what would you like to change/keep the same in order to be more intentional about the soundtrack others hear when you are around?
