Fall is upon us and for many it is a time of anticipation and excitement. Kids journey into new grades with exuberance. Sports and after-school activities fire back up. Your favorite football teams are still holding the promise of a good season without any of the disappointment (at least not yet). And the thing I am sure you are most anticipating… a new sermon series at Westminster. Okay, maybe it doesn’t top the list, but I think it should. 

This fall, we will be walking through the Beatitudes. For those who are not familiar, the Beatitudes are found at the beginning of a larger section of Jesus’ teachings known as the 'Sermon on the Mount' in Matthew 5-7. I remember as a child hearing the word 'beatitude' and thinking the Bible passage must comprise a list of attitudes or dispositions that good Christians should have, or at least aspire to become, hence “be” plus “attitude.” Surely it was a to-do list for a better mindset to get you through the day. An image of a poster outside of my third-grade classroom comes to mind. Every day that year, I walked past a 24” x 36” picture of an eagle soaring over a mountain and read the words “Your attitude determines your altitude.” I took that challenge, believing if I remained positive and energetic I would soar to success like that eagle. The problem with that mindset is that life can be challenging. There were times when I had a rotten attitude, and I certainly didn’t feel like I was soaring. I am relieved to tell you that the next several weeks will not be a study on the power of positive thinking and there will not be eagles or mountains. Instead, I believe God will open our eyes to see a few profoundly important truths in new ways. 

First, I truly believe God will use this series to help us understand this life more clearly. One striking feature of the Beatitudes is that they begin each line with the word “blessed are the...” Jesus is obviously laying before us a picture of what the blessed life looks like. One small problem… most of the traits listed are not what we would consider blessed at all. 'Poor', 'hungry', 'mourning', and 'persecuted' sound like the characteristics of a cursed life. And if I’m honest, I actively avoid them like the plague. Yet Jesus wants us to see that those who follow Him will experience these painful realities again and again. As we study the Beatitudes, Jesus will challenge and change our understanding of what constitutes a blessed life. He will call us to embrace His heavenly values rather than our culture-inspired values that tell us wealth, health, success, and personal happiness are the only true paths to a rich and full life. I pray those who faithfully suffer for the gospel will find hope and assurance in the promises offered to Jesus’ faithful disciples. As followers of Jesus, what could be more valuable than reflecting on what our Father taught us regarding a life well-lived? 

Perhaps more importantly, God will use this series to help us understand Him more clearly.  The Beatitudes display to us the character and nature of a true follower of the King. One who has received the love of Jesus and been transformed by the power of the Spirit should bear these qualities. But they do far more than just describe a faithful disciple. They describe the Master. Jesus is the ultimate embodiment of each of the Beatitudes. So, to understand more fully the attributes and promises listed in the Beatitudes is to understand more fully our Savior and King. I pray that as we camp out in these 12 short verses over the next several weeks, we will begin to grasp more fully who Jesus is for His people. Perhaps to make it a little more personal, I want us to see who Jesus has been, who He is, and who He will be for you and for me.

While there are many reasons to be excited for church this fall, I am confident our time spent in the Beatitudes will help us see this life differently. More importantly, it will cause us to see Christ more clearly, and that is always a good cause for great excitement.