FOR FAMILIES, AHEAD OF SEPTEMBER 13
BridgeKIDS and adults will be going through the Beatitudes in our online gatherings this fall.
To read & a verse to remember
Take a minute or two to get back into school and we will start reading and learning The Beatitudes in a little while.
Worship Dance Party
Follow this link to take you to a playlist for your family to worship together with on Spotify.
Think About It
How are we blessed?
In the kingdom of God, there is enough for everyone! In systems of oppression, people hoard and exclude others. Discuss how your family is blessed and how your family might be affected by oppressive systems. Remind your children that in God there is more than enough!
Pray together
Loving God,
We praise you that there is enough in you, that there is enough love for everyone! That everyone belongs and you give life to every child of yours! Help us to see and break down the systems around us which cause harm, and to bring your kingdom to our world today.
Amen.
I’m praying for you!
Let me know if there is anything specific that you’d like me to be praying for in this season of life.
Love and peace to you all, hope to see you on Zoom this Sunday morning, 9:30
Sarah x
WATCH OUT FOR YOUR ZOOM INVITE LATER IN THE WEEK
The Beatitudes - a bit of background before we get going
Life was extremely difficult for people who followed Jesus. A small group of wealthy people—people with lots of money, land, and honour—controlled almost everything. Money and land were some of the most powerful things a person could have in Jesus' time. Another important thing was honour. To have honour meant to have people's respect and to belong. This same small group of people made decisions in their government which helped them get more money, land, and honour. Those decisions also made life harder and poorer for others by taking money, land, and honour away from them. This is called an oppressive system.
Jesus began to help people by healing them from all kinds of sickness and telling them about God's kingdom. You can think of a “kingdom” as the way the world works or is set up, normally under a king.
After healing so many people's hurts and pains, Jesus cared for them in another way. He brought them up a mountain and sat down to teach them, bringing healing to their hearts, souls, and minds.
Jesus told the people God wants everyone to have all they need and no one to be harmed or oppressed. In God's kingdom, there is abundance! more than enough food, money, love, and resources for every child of God to thrive. When there's enough for everyone, no one needs to fight or oppress anyone else. Everything Jesus taught and did was about breaking down hurtful, oppressive systems, and building up God's kingdom of abundance instead.
Jesus listed nine ways people are “blessed” To be “blessed” meant to be happy in the fullest. People often thought happiness happened because of their situation or circumstances (or how life was going for them); people still think that today. The kind of people Jesus described as “blessed” or “happy” seemed strange.
Jesus said happy or blessed people are those we might usually think of as unlucky or having lots of trouble. Jesus' topsy-turvy teaching showed them they are loved, they are special, they are not alone. He encouraged them to see this in one another, too. Jesus blessed people through his actions and words. He gave them hope.