Combining two sermons into one, this message explores two ideas about the beatitude of pure hearts. One, hearts see. There is a consistent theme throughout scripture that hearts see. We must not see with our physical eyes, we must see with pure hearts. Two, hearts must not be divided. Pure, or singular, hearts are what see God. A divided heart is unstable. Stability comes when we our singular of heart.

This message starts off the Beatitude: Pure in Heart. The pure in heart see God. This beatitude seems to echo the question from Psalm 24, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…” Jesus identifies the ones who see God on His holy hill…the ones with pure hearts.

Guest Speaker, Pastor Josh Passmore, talks about the connection between effective spiritual warfare and the unity of the Church. The Church moving forward will need each other more than ever before to fight the spiritual battles that lie ahead.

This message gives a few final thoughts on the beatitude “mercy”. It explores some hard questions on the “fairness” of God and what it means to be a good neighbor. Ultimately, we must be convinced that mercy has more power and authority than the thing that disrupted our lives.

One of the greatest New Testament examples of someone who needed mercy, and how that changed their life was Saul, who became the Apostle Paul. This message recounts how three ordinary disciples of Jesus were able to show mercy to the church’s great enemy and create an extra ordinary testimony that is the life of Paul.

Mercy. This first message on the topic of mercy focuses on the transactional nature of mercy. If you need mercy, and at some point we all do, you must be willing to give it away. It’s the law of reciprocity. It’s the law of sowing and reaping. Whereas, giving mercy makes you blessed, withholding mercy will bring judgement and torment. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Guest speaker, Luke Holter, delivers a pointed message about hope and going through the storms of life. Using the famous story of when Jesus slept in the boat during the storm, Luke gives us insight into the purpose of storms and where our peace comes from. Listen and share with anyone going through a storm.

This is part two of the teaching on the Beatitudes about hungering and thirsting for righteousness. We learn from the Apostle John, his gospel and his epistles to the churches, and what he teaches about personal righteousness and feeding our hunger on the body and the blood of the Righteous One.

This sermon starts off our look into the fourth beatitude, those that hunger and thirst for righteousness. We tend to look at the subject of righteousness on a micro level, our own individual righteousness. This message pulls the focus back and announces that the coming Kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness. Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for that coming kingdom of righteousness, in that they will be satisfied.

This final message on Meekness uses the final moments of the life of Christ to illustrate His commitment to His own teaching from the Sermon on the Mount regarding meekness. This meek humility that chooses the cross and provides justice and ultimately peace between God and man is to be our way as well. It will require meekness for us to pick up our cross as well.