The Applause of Heaven - Max Lucado [51]
4. Read Romans 3:10-31. What do this passage and Matthew 23:27-28 tell us about trying to be righteous in our own right, boasting about our righteousness, or assuming we are righteous because we "keep all the rules"? How are these attitudes different from "hungering and thirsting" for righteousness?
5. According to chapters 9 and IO and Romans 3:21-3I, what is the only way our "hunger and thirst for righteousness" can be "satisfied"?
6. According to chapter 9, what is the ultimate reason that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled?
7. What does "hungering and thirsting after righteousness" have to do with "holding earthly possessions in open palms" and being dependent on Jesus for joy (chapter 10)?
8. Chapter IO intimates that our fullest experience of "being filled" will be in heaven. But do we ever experience such satisfaction here on earth? If so, how?
9. Look back over the first three beatitudes.What do they have in common? How is this fourth beatitude like them? How is it different?
Session 6 • Chapter 11
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
1. According to chapter 11, what is the opposite of mercy?
2. Read Matthew 6:12 and 7:I-2. What light do these passages from later in the Sermon on the Mount throw on the idea of the merciful receiving mercy?
3. Is mercy synonymous with forgiveness? Why or why not?
4. Why is it so hard to give up resentments? What does mercy cost us?
5. In what ways does resentment harm us? List three specific negative effects.
6. According to chapter 12, what makes it possible for us to be merciful and forgiving?
7. Write one to five things to do in the next week either to make restitution for hurts you have caused or to reach out in forgiveness to those who have hurt you. (Be honest with yourself. If you cannot bring yourself yet to forgive those who have hurt you or to accept God's forgiveness for hurts you have caused, simply write down that you will pray for the ability to do these things.)
Session 7 • Chapters 12 & 13
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
I. Does the fact that "what comes out of us" makes us good or evil mean that what goes in doesn't matter much? Why or why not?
2. Look up I Kings 18:26-28 and Acts 22:3. Is purity the same as sincerity or good intentions? Can a person be both pure and wrong?
3. Look up I Peter 1:22, I Timothy 1:5-8, and John 8:31-32. What principles determine purity of heart?
4. Now back up and read Matthew 22:34. What, according to this passage, is the key to achieving purity of heart?
5. Must we always wait until our "insides are clean" before we start to act right-and before we see God? Why or why not?
6. Look up John 14:5-14. What does John have to say about how we come to `see God'? What different perspective does that give to the idea of being pure in heart?
7. According to chapter 13, what is the difference between "temple builders" and "Savior seekers"?
8. Give an example of a time you, or someone you know, got so caught up in a project you forgot the whole point of it. Have you ever been so involved in church or reli gious activities that you got out of touch with God?
9. At what time in your life have you been most aware of "seeing God"? At what times have you been able to "see" him only in retrospect? What is the difference between "temple building" and the "dry times" every Christian experiences?
10. If "Savior seekers" often must find Jesus "in spite of" the temple, what is the purpose of the organized church? What can we do better in community that we cannot do as individual seekers?
Session 8 • Chapters 14 & 15
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
1. How would you define peace as it is portrayed in chapter 14? How does this concept of peace differ from more common ideas about peace?
2. Commentator Dale Bruner writes, "We can almost translate the key word here, `peacemakers,' with the word `wholemakers.' ... Biblical shalom conveys the picture