Catch up on how things have been since the last time your Impact Group met. Allow anyone new to introduce themselves. Then ask group members:
Ask for a volunteer to read Matthew 5:1-12 to the group, praying a short prayer that however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d get to know him better because of your time together.
Watch Video One
Download this video to watch offline or read the transcript here.
Jesus is describing the blessed people who belong to his subversive kingdom: ‘the kingdom of heaven’. The word translated as ‘blessed’ is hard to define – it carries the sense of happiness, fortune, and flourishing.
Give people one minute to write their ideas on a piece of paper to the question above, collect them in, and then read them out.
The first 3 beatitudes say that you’re blessed if you know that you’re helpless to change your situation.
The kingdom of heaven is a central theme of Matthew’s Gospel.
God’s people had been waiting and longing for a new king who would bring about a new kingdom. Their prophets had spoken about a figure who would come and lead them to freedom.
In verse one, Jesus ‘sees the crowds’; he sees the way that earthly kingdoms operate. Then, he retreats with his followers and begins to teach them another way. He says that he is the long-awaited king. He is bringing about a new kingdom: ‘the kingdom of God’.
However, this kingdom will be different to what people might have anticipated. It flips everything on its head. Jesus says the kingdom he’s building is one in which the weak and needy will find blessing. If people want to know what kind of kingdom he is establishing, then they are to look for signs of it among the poor and the vulnerable.
And it’s also a kingdom where Jesus will bring about peace, freedom and justice. And as we read the rest of Matthew’s gospel, we’ll see that he draws his followers into this vision. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they can be part of bringing about the reality of Jesus’ kingdom today.
The kingdom of heaven is growing today, through Jesus’ people. And, one day, it will come in its fullness when Jesus returns and restores all things.
At the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is speaking about those who will be the ‘blessed’ people of his kingdom. Whilst we might expect ‘blessed’ people to be gifted, important and powerful, Jesus' says his kingdom is for the “poor in spirit”.
In other words, Jesus’ kingdom is for those who know they need help. Being ‘poor in spirit’ can involve physical, emotional, and spiritual neediness. Those who are poor in spirit know that they cannot do life by themselves. But that’s the beauty of Jesus’ kingdom: his kingdom is the kind of place where people like that can find help and hope.
That’s why the ‘poor in spirit’ are ‘blessed’. Not because their poverty is a good thing, but because in Jesus’ kingdom they will find the help they need.
And what does this help look like? As we read the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, we’ll see that it looks like many things. Ultimately, it’s the forgiveness that Jesus wins for us in our spiritual poverty before God. But then, as we live life in his kingdom, we find him continuing to help us. Our lives won’t always look or feel impressive, but through the care of our Father, and the help of other people in the kingdom, we’ll find that we’re helped physically and emotionally too.
Watch Video Two
Download this video to watch offline or read the transcript here.
Jesus says that the blessed people of his kingdom live for his kingdom today.
The promise of ‘blessing’ in Jesus’ kingdom can best be described as ‘now and not yet’. We experience much of the blessing of being in his kingdom now: today we can know comfort, satisfaction, mercy, and the presence and love of God.
However, we don’t know these things fully. Not yet. We’ll only know them fully when Jesus returns and brings about his kingdom fully and finally. That means that when we strive to live for Jesus’ kingdom today, we can do so with hope. Even though we might experience persecution (verse 10) and disappointment, we can know that one day it will be shown to have been worth it. One day, Jesus’ kingdom will win out.
Jesus is the one who is merciful and hungers for righteousness. As he hung on the cross, he acted as a peacemaker between us and God. His perfect life is given so that we can receive forgiveness.
When we look at Jesus, we realise how far we fall short. It might make us want to hide how messed up and weak we are. But Jesus invites us to do the opposite. He says that his kingdom belongs to "the poor in Spirit”. And as we join him in his kingdom, he wants to transform us from the inside out.
You may wish to pray the prayer below as a group. Alternatively, you could use it to open or close your time of prayer:
Father, we come before you now as those who are needy.
In need of your help and provision.
Thank you that Jesus welcomes people like us
and secures our forgiveness at the cross.
Help us to come to you more quickly for the strength we need for each day.
Cause us to rejoice in you and your ways.
Help us to drink deeply from your love, mercy and peace
so that we might walk as those
who belong to your kingdom today.
Amen
As we embrace our weakness and live for his kingdom, Jesus is clear that it will be costly. It will feel like living with a different set of rules to the world around you.
End your time praying for one another.
Thank You – Thank everyone for coming, and ask someone to thank God for your time together in prayer.
Ask – Ask those who are new to reading the Bible if they’d like to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in Mark’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate one of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life alongside one of you.
Church and CU – What does the CU have planned ahead? And what help would group members value in finding a local church?
Others – Who else could you invite to join your CU Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
See You Soon – Tell the group where and when you’ll meet next week, and arrange who will bring snacks. (You might like to alternate healthy and less healthy weeks!). See if anyone would be up for sharing a meal or just hanging out in the meantime!
Can we set cookies? We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We’d also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. More about cookies.
By clicking the Accept button below you are giving your consent for us to set cookies.