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The last couple weeks we’ve noticed the first words Jesus speaks in the gospels. Today, we turn our attention to the first things Jesus does in each of the gospels and, specifically, his first action in Matthew. And what a first thing it is! Let’s take a look together.

  • What’s the first thing you remember about a defining moment in your life—the first date with your (now) spouse, or the first day on your dream job, or the first moment you laid eyes on your new baby? Why do you think it’s so vivid? What has that memory come to mean for you?

  • The first part of Jesus’ sermon is known as the Beatitudes (blessings). Which of these Beatitudes is hardest for you to accept? Which brings you the greatest comfort?

  • What do you think: Do the Beatitudes describe the ones who are now favored and their guaranteed reward or do they invite us to become what we aren’t yet and the reward that results? Both? Neither? In what ways might they describe who Jesus is?

Next Step: Pick a Beatitude (there are nine) and consciously try to live into the ‘heart-condition’ it describes. If you don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness, how can you begin to? If you lack mercy, how might you increase your capacity for it? Ask God to guide and strengthen you for this effort and see where he this you!

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