When we desire to do God’s will, and to do it to our fullest potential, it becomes our passion, our full time goal in life. This is something that God desires for us – He wants to bless us, but He also wants to use us! God is always looking for full time employees, as Pastor Ed puts it in today’s message. We can’t be fully committed to God’s work for part of our lives – we need to allow the hunger and thirst for God to grow and take control – only then will we discover that God is the only one who will completely satisfy us!

Physical hunger and thirst is a constant thing in our lives – obviously! We’d die if we didn’t nourish ourselves. Pastor Ed poses a question to us today, however – why is it that we don’t have that same need for spiritual nourishment? God’s word, His love, His grace – all these things are ESSENTIAL to our survival in this world! We should never rely on the occasional encounter with Jesus to sustain us – we need to consistently be seeking Him in order to know His plan for our lives, and for the world around us!

As Pastor Ed continues to study the Beatitudes in today’s message, he makes a great statement: being meek doesn’t mean we are to just be a doormat! There are injustices in the world, things that sadden and anger God. Satan will always do his best to wreak havoc on innocent people! These terrible things should have an effect on us! We should be angry! We are never told to sit by and let evil win, and while we may not be able to eradicate it completely, we can use our biggest weapon available – prayer!

Pastor Ed continues to study the Beatitudes in today’s message. He begins with a reminder to us that the Beatitudes build upon each other, and really, become more difficult as they progress. First, we have recognized our weakness as humans, and that we can only be changed by God’s grace. Then, we begin to mourn the sins that have separated us from God Himself. Finally, as we will learn more about today, we become meek, humble, and ready to accept the great gift that God is also ready to hand to us!

Are we affected by the evil in the world? It can be far too easy to isolate ourselves in our peaceful little bubble, and not concern ourselves with the constant trouble the rest of the world faces on a daily basis! Pastor Ed reminds us in today’s message to look beyond our own selves, and not only see the problems in the world, but actually LET them affect us. Let them bring us sorrow. Let them cut deep into our souls. Only then will we begin to yearn for a change, for a Savior, to end the chaos!

Pastor Ed brings up an interesting point in today’s message: Kingdom people are completely reliant on God for EVERYTHING. Kingdom people do not look to themselves, or the world, to fulfill their needs and wants, but are continually focusing their attention on God’s agenda, and therefore following His path, not their own. Are we Kingdom people? How reliant are we on the Creator? God is calling us to refocus our lives on Him!

Pastor Ed begins a new series today looking in depth at the Beatitudes. Today’s focus is being poor in spirit, but what exactly does that mean? Pastor Ed gives this definition of it: being poor in spirit means we have had our eyes opened to the immense power, greatness, and love of God, and have also seen the immense lacking in our own lives. We are humbled, and awed, in the presence of our Creator, and cannot begin to attempt to compare ourselves to Him!

Many of us are familiar with the phrase “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” Whether it's more money, a bigger house, or a different job, plenty of us are guilty of being discontent. Today in our study, Pastor Ed reflects on being discontent in light of mankind's fallen state. Rather than being content in the blessings of God, we have a natural tendency to complain. This of course, as we learn from Pastor Ed, is something that each of us should strive to remove from our lives.

Learning to be content with what we have is a life long challenge. Whether it's in times of trial, need, or a time of prosperity, being content in The Lord should be our number one focus. In today's message, Pastor Ed discusses the challenges of our culture when it comes to being content. Everyday it seems as though happiness and contentment are being marketed to us moment by moment. In our study, Pastor Ed will encourage us to ignore these lies and to pursue true satisfaction in Christ our Lord.

Anxiety plagues the world, it’s true. It can work its way into our lives and overtake our thoughts! Pastor Ed makes an interesting observation though – in the middle of the word “anxiety” is the letter I – in other words, when we get wrapped up in our own lives and lose focus on Him, we are susceptible to worry! Today’s message is an encouragement from the apostle Paul though – we can refocus our attention on Jesus, putting Him at the center of our world, and live worry free knowing HE is in control!