Sermon OTM - Matthew 5:8-9

Jesus is sitting on a mountain overlooking Sea of GalileeHe is teaching a course on “Christian Spirituality”- we are now five weeks into his introduction: The Beatitudes• prior to teaching this course, Jesus had been announcing, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand"◦ the course he teaches is meant to prepare us for that kingdom◦ the Beatitudes reveal characteristics of the abundant life--the truly "good life"• Jesus is not giving us a new list of rules◦ he isn’t telling us what we should be doing, but describing what his followers are becoming• all through this course, Jesus is working from the inside-out◦ this is obvious in the next Beatitude we’re going to probe“Blessed are the pure in heart”