God purifies us as we follow Him. He works in our lives to remove the things that contaminate us and then refines us with what He gives us. Through His refining work in our lives, we start to see Him—just as Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8). Watch our study as we continue to work through the Sermon on the Mount.

Mercy is a core component of ministry. Being kind, even and especially to your enemies, is essential. Jesus gives us a whole new way to be merciful to enemies who would mistreat us. 

In the last chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses the collection of offerings, his plans for traveling, and some final instructions to the church in Corinth.

From the mountain, Jesus delivered a sermon to His disciples. He taught them what their attitudes must be like if they were to continue to be His disciples. He wanted to give them (and us) as much disclosure as possible to know what ministry would be like. And this is true with the fourth beatitude, as the Holy Spirit draws those who continue to follow Jesus into an even deeper level of humility.

The Corinthian church was compromising on the core issue of the resurrection of Jesus. In his letter to them, Paul addressed this matter with clarity and reminded them that through Christ's resurrection, death has been defeated—and will one day be destroyed!

We will not survive long if we think we are capable of what God has called us to because of our resume or spiritual skill set. It is only by His mercy that any of us are in ministry. This is especially important to be aware of as we consider the third beatitude—“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5). What does it mean to be meek and why is this an attitude important to have if we are to survive and thrive in ministry?

The resurrection of Jesus is central to the gospel. Without it, the message & our hope is meaningless. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people the most pitiable. But because Jesus Christ is risen and alive, we have a living Lord and a living hope!

As we recognize our own spiritual poverty (Matthew 5:3), we become increasingly aware of our own sin—and mourn over it as we realize just how unworthy we really are. And once we recognize that, we see that it is only by His mercy that we have any ministry at all.