Welcome to a long in progress sermon on Matthew 5:1–12, focusing on the first three verses and the first Beatitude. We see the Beatitudes are not separate “lines” or ethical ideals but links in the chain of salvation, and that the Sermon’s demands, when heard without cultural haze, expose and condemn human motives as impossible (“be perfect”). The sermon is not a self-help checklist but requires supernatural transformation described in the Beatitudes; “blessed” means favored/fortunate—“congratulations”—for the spiritually bankrupt. Using the rich young ruler and Peter it contrasts self-sufficiency with poverty of spirit, then concludes that Jesus himself fulfills the Beatitudes by becoming poor, mourning, meek, thirsty, and pure so believers receive mercy, peace, and the kingdom.