Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Beatitudes, Part 42 of 50

TEXT: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9).

IDEA: Peacemakers make peace between people and God.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that they can be peacemakers.

Do you think many people love a fight? Why?

Do you think it is easy to be a peacemaker?

What kind of peace should peacemakers make?

I. Christ-followers should do all we can to make peace between people.

What is the Gospel?  What does it have to do with peace?

Is it good spiritual grammar to tell people to "make your peace with God"?

II. Christ-followers should do all we can to make peace between people:

Making peace with another Christian is more important than going to a religious ceremony (Matthew 5:23-24).

The church should be bringing people of different cultures or social groups together.

What did that look like in the New Testament churches?

What does that look like among Christians today?

III. The term "Sons of God" deals with a trait of character, rather than a relationship.

The term "child of God" apparently deals with a relationship (John 1:12).

The terms "Sons of God" or "Daughters of God" deal with a quality of character.

Barnabas was called "the son of consolation."  What do you know about him?

Judas was called "the son of perdition."

James and John were given the nickname, "sons of thunder."  What do you think that tells you about their character?

What would you expect of Sons of God who display this type of character?