I published this essay on Discipleship 101. This essay explains the discipleship principles of the Sermon on the Mount in simple terms that I hope give some insight into the meaning of our Lord’s teachings.
At the end of Jesus’ teachings, He says that the wise man hears these words and puts them into practice. On the other hand, the fool is the one who merely hears these words.
So I would like to give some very practical assignments we can take to “put these commandments into practice”.
What follows by the Grace of God will be a regular kind of assignment of the day or of the week. As we do these assignments, with a coach, we will be learning how to put these sayings into practice.
Some Definitions:
“The kingdom of heaven”:
The kingdom of heaven is true happiness and a heavenly quality of life. The kingdom is within reach to all who put faith in Jesus Christ because the messiah has come. The cross is the great liberating event that has made available true liberation from all our enemies, namely sin and death (actually, the fear of death because without fear death has no sting).
Another definition of the Kingdom might be the life of Christ. Christ said “My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives you my peace I give you”. In other words, the kingdom is the process by which we enter into the “shalom” which Christ lived in this life by through the power of His life in us, by grace through faith, we live His life in our shoes.
The first principle:
Matt 5:3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Assignment
1. Memorize Matt 5:3-4
2. Answer the following questions. These questions are simply a contemplation of the word “blessed” as used in these sayings of our Lord.
Q1: How happy are you? Rate your happiness and explain. In what ways does your life lack the peace and joy of Jesus Christ?
Q2: What do you believe constitutes true happiness?
God Bless,
brad
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