Jesus is Hope for Hopeless People

Call to Worship

Leader: With what shall we come before the Holy One, and bow ourselves before God on high?

People: God has shown us what is good.

Leader: What does the Holy One require of us,

People: but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God?

Scripture Reading

Matthew 5:1-12

Kidz Message

https://rfour.org/childrensmessage_a_09.html

Sermon

Opening

SLIDE 1 - Title

Story about Kasey at Bristol Mtn. Snowboarding

You best get to know someone by experiencing what they love.

Epiphany

- Explain the season (fresh awareness of who Jesus is)

SLIDE 2 - Big Idea

Big Idea: You know Jesus by what he loves.

And Jesus loves nothing more than bringing hope to the hopeless.

His whole ministry and life were precisely targeted to care for those who had nowhere else to turn.

If you are wondering why Jesus is worth getting to know, then I encourage you to keep listening.

Summary of the Beatitudes

Today we heard the beginning of Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount”, also known as “the Beatitudes” which simply means “the blessings”

Think for yourself: What would you consider a blessing?

- Kids, A beautiful home, Opportunities to travel, Special moments with friends

Jesus offers a bit of an inversion of what we assume makes for a true blessing.

These beatitudes are the foundation of Jesus's teaching, and the foundation of Jesus's perception of us. He's not saying, perform these behaviors or go after these character traits.

It’s almost as if he is describing what makes him feel blessed and why.

Big Idea: You know Jesus by what he loves.

So let’s do just that.

NOTE: As we read each, I invite you to not see commands for better behavior, but invitations to experience the Hope of Jesus Christ.

NOTE: There are 8, so don’t get hung up on trying to resonate with them all!

Looking at Each Beatitude (2 min ea)

Scripture 1/8 Matthew 5:3 (NIV)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Hopelessness: These are the people who life has just beaten down.

ILLUSTRATION: Explain the situation for folks at the mental health group home (can’t get out because they need help, can’t be independent when they stay)

Hope: Their struggle is the result of the injustice laced into this world, and the kingdom exists for the sake of people like this. They are why we care about building it!

Scripture 2/8 Matthew 5:4 (NIV)

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Hopelessness: These are the people who have lost what is most precious to them.

ILLUSTRATION: A widow & GriefShare

Hope: I’ve come to see that these painful experiences in our lives, if navigated in relationship with God, generate hope in a way we could not experience otherwise.

Scripture 3/8 Matthew 5:5 (NIV)

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Hopelessness: These are people who feel like passive observers in the world, almost like you don’t even exist or belong.

ILLUSTRATION: Not timidity or self- deprecation (I am nothing). These are the humble the people who do not think the world revolves around them but that they are merely a part of the world.

Hope: It’s not those who go out with intent to conquer, or those who timidly shrink into obscurity, but those who experience gratitude who understand their place in God’s earth.

Scripture 4/8 Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Hopelessness: These are the people who are trying SO hard to be good and it never feels like enough.

ILLUSTRATION: The Addict. “Always in recovery”

Hope: At Valley Chapel we would say this is people who are Pursuing Maturity. When you learn to love the taste of growth into God’s likeness you always have something to eat.

Scripture 5/8 Matthew 5:7 (NIV)

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Hopelessness: These are the people who are told they are “too soft.”

ILLUSTRATION: These are the parents who see their misbehaving kids as having a difficult time rather than being bad kids. Mercy is about Compassion and Empathy rather than “tolerance.” Explain how I have needed to learn this as a parent.

Hope: This is the closest jesus get’s to saying “what goes around comes around.”

Scripture 6/8 Matthew 5:8 (NIV)

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Hopelessness: These are the people who are focused wholeheartedly of seeking God, but often feel like things are crowing their vision

ILLUSTRATION: This is not about “being pure” in the moral or sexual sense. It’s about the way we focus on God. He is likely talking about the same people referenced in Psalm 24:3-4

Scripture REF Psalm 24:3–4 (NIV)

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

Hope: Jesus is assuring those who try to trust God, that their efforts to stay focused will not be in vain.

Scripture 7/8 Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Hopelessness: Peacemaking can be an alienating work. These are the people who feel homeless because they won’t “pick a side.”

ILLUSTRATION: These are the people who do the hard work of making things right, of bravely facing conflict, of not tolerating injustice, also not seeking Justice at the expense of others. Peacemakers make the world good for everyone, not just them and theirs. This leaves them feeling homeless and isolated. (This is like our current political environment)

Hope: Jesus tells them, that they have a home in the family of God.

Scripture 8/8 Matthew 5:10–11 (NIV)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Hopelessness: These are the people to whom those with power actively cause harm because of the way their devotion threatens that power.

ILLUSTRATION: Persecution is not restricted freedom. It’s active harm with the intent of forcing change.

The early Christians were not imprisoned because the government wanted them to believe something different, they were persecuted because they refused to swear loyalty.

It’s being “hunted” by the powers at be. Needing to hide in order to survive.

If you can vote, you are not being persecuted. If you can go out in public without your life on the line, you are not being persecuted.

How can we relate? We see this in other parts of the world.

Hope: They don’t feel like they belong, but God’s new kingdom is a place they can belong

Conclusion/ Application

So let’s pull this all together,

SLIDE 2 - Big Idea

Big Idea: You know Jesus by what he loves.

What does Jesus love? He loves bringing hope to hopeless people who are facing impossible situations.

Jesus, who is the creator of the universe in human form living with us and dying in order to rescue us from the sin cycle of defensive selfishness, trauma, and distrust.

That same Jesus loves stepping into impossibly hopeless situations, where we see no way out, and offering the light of hope.

This is what he calls “Blessed.” Not the elimination of hardship and pain, but the experience of hope in the middle of it.

So let me offer a way to chew on this.

SLIDE 3 - Reflection

REFLECT: Where am I experiencing hopelessness in my life? & What Blessing has Jesus created in the middle of it?

Where are you seeking God, seeking goodness, health, and wholeness yet facing impossible walls?

Jesus has hope for you there and calls you blessed, not because you have “a good life” but because in your suffering there is a unique opportunity to experience the fullness God is bringing into this world.

And you will only be able to see it if you keep your eyes and heart fixed first and foremost on Jesus. Not on your beliefs, not on your friends, not on your family, not on your possessions or work, but on Jesus Christ.

You will only see the hope through Jesus.

SLIDE 1 - Title

Prayer

Thank God for the hope he gives.

Pray for those who feel hopeless today, may they experience hope through Jesus

Pray for those who see the hope, may we help others see it

Benediction

(Song: The Blessing)