4th Grade Prep Chapter 2 The Beatitudes The “Attitude” God wants us to “Be”

The Sermon on the Mount One day Jesus goes high up a mountain. Many people go with Him. They want to listen to Jesus. He will have something special to say. He will tell the people about God.

Jesus Gives The Beatitudes Jesus begins his sermon by telling his disciples how to be happy and the rewards for being happy. These lessons are known as the beatitudes. What kind of attitude should we have when life gets difficult?

The Beatitudes Tell Us How God Wants Us To “Be”! “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The first beatitude tells us we should be happy even if we feel poor or at the end or our rope, because our reward is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” The second beatitude tells us we should be happy when we feel we have lost someone or something special because God is always at hand to comfort us - whether the problem is big or small.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.” In the third beatitude, we are encouraged to be happy with ourselves, not trying to be better than we are, not bragging about what we’ve accomplished or what we own, because God has made sure we inherit everything that cannot be bought. When we are satisfied with being made in God’s image and likeness, we inherit his goodness.

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” The fourth beatitude asks us to be happy when we are willing to be hungry and thirsty for goodness. We should be careful not to want what isn’t good for us. We can’t be “junk food” Christians and expect to be satisfied. God fills us with the best feast there is!

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” The fifth beatitude tells us to stop and think about how we want to be treated and how we treat others. It’s another way of saying the Golden Rule. We need to be caring if we ever hope to be cared for. We should always be kind and then, Jesus promises, we will find kindness.

“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.” The sixth beatitude guarantees we will be happy when we have a pure heart. We need to have pure motives, no hidden plans (like when we tell our parents one thing and then doing something else instead). When we are squeaky clean inside, we get to see God at work in our lives.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God The seventh beatitude asks us to practice making peace. The word “peacemaker” in the Greek language means to practice the presence of God. If we are practicing the presence of God, then we are most assuredly the children of God. We wouldn’t want to be anything less!

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The eighth beatitude reminds us to stay happy when people say bad things about us because we put God first. Our reward for loving God and dealing with name-calling from those who don’t understand God, is having the kingdom of heaven right within us.

These beatitudes were part of the disciples’ first lessons and they are important for us to learn and live. Why? Because God love us!