Blessed are the Poor in Spirit; Revelation 3:14-22

I just did a quick search on Twitter for "#Blessed." Among the results were: - A pool party for someone's grandson. - Before and after pictures from a diet. - The results of a soccer match. - And someone was celebrating finally hitting 500 followers on Twitter. #blessed indeed! When we count our blessings, we calculate the positive things that lift us up and make us feel valued—and we should! But how does our #blessed list stack up against Jesus' list? "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." I seldom see Jesus' idea of blessings hashtagged and celebrated on social media. Jesus' list sounds painful! Like if they don't bless you, they'll kill you! In this message, we begin exploring the Beatitudes, the blessings Jesus offers to those who follow him. As we do, we may have to redefine what a blessed life looks like to us.