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Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

February 2, 2020 • Pastor Ben Cross

For this sermon we are on the fourth beatitude, "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness."

We'll learn about what it looks like to pursue a life of righteousness that pleases God.

When we place our trust in Jesus, God credits us with Christ's righteousness. Because of Jesus, we stand fully righteous before God.

God also put his righteousness in us. He gave us a new heart, fashioned after his own righteous heart. If that wasn't enough, we also have God's Holy Spirit in us to enlighten and empower us to become more righteous like Jesus.

This message, we’ll explore what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness, not only personally, but publicly as well.

Read the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12

Perseverance

March 1, 2020 • Pastor Ben Cross

This message we're on the final beatitude from our sermon series, where Jesus makes a surprising statement. He says blessed are those who face persecution and opposition for their faith! We wouldn’t normally think persecution as a blessing, but when Jesus said those words to his followers, that was their reality. Even today, there are places in the world where persecution for following Jesus is the norm. Although we live in a time and place where opposition for faith in Christ rarely if ever, comes to the level of physical persecution, there are more subtle ways we can suffer for our faith in America today. As we unpack this beatitude, we’ll learn about why Jesus said persecution truly can be seen as a blessing, and we’ll also get to see how our church can be a blessing to people in areas of the world who risk immensely and suffer personally for their decision to follow Jesus. You can read all eight beatitudes here in Matthew 5:1-12

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

February 16, 2020 • Pastor Ben Cross

This sermon, we’ll focus on what it means to be pure in heart before God. Being pure in heart means that we are honest with ourselves about who we really are before God. Often Christians feel a need to project an image that everything is polished and put together, even when that is far from reality. This message, we’ll learn about how to live honestly, so that the way we see ourselves, and how we present ourselves to others is in line with the reality of how God sees us. In these last few weeks of our beatitudes series, we’ll see how each of the beatitudes come together to build upon one another. In order to see ourselves accurately before God, we need humility and meekness. As we pursue righteousness, we also recognize the mercy that we have already received. This message, we’ll learn how to live as people with pure hearts before God. You can read all eight beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12

Blessed Are The Peacemakers

February 23, 2020 • Pastor Ben Cross

This message, we’re on beatitude number seven: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” In a world of a conflict and division, learning to live as peacemakers is so unique and valuable. Jesus even said those who are peacemakers will be called “sons of God.” As we'll see this sermon, becoming a peacemaker not only requires courage but also teaches us something about the heart of God. Throughout this series, we’ve learned about what it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, and see ourselves humbly before God. To live as a peacemakers requires all the skills of the beatitudes put into practice. In these last two weeks on the beatitudes, we’ll look at how to be peacemakers and then the following message we’ll close our series with learning how to live in the face of persecution. Read all eight Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12