A Word About the Weekend

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”Matthew 5:4

We saw last time that there are three kinds of mourning—

1. Natural mourning grieves the loss of someone you love.

2. Sinful mourning is grieving over something God never intended you to have.

But we also discovered that Jesus is referring here to:

3. Spiritual mourning is grieving over your sins against God.

Christ tells us that this kind of mourning is blessed.

Spiritual mourning is so laden with blessing that we are to go after it and get as much of it in our lives as we possibly can. The more you know of this mourning, the more joy you will experience in your life.

Spiritual mourning is the key to overcoming habitual sins. The book of Judges tells the story of God’s people over several generations. If you read the book, you will discover that there is a repeated pattern…

1. God’s people turn to idols.
2. God gives them into the hands of their enemies.
3. They cry out to God for mercy.
4. God raises up a deliverer.
5. Then God’s people turn to idols again…

The cycle continues throughout the book. If I was giving a popular title to the book of Judges, I would call it “How Not to Live the Christian Life!”

You may recognize this pattern in your own life:

1. Toying with sin.
2. Falling into sin.
3. Asking Christ for forgiveness.
4. Experiencing God’s mercy.
5. Starting to toy with sin again…

How do we avoid being the guy who sits in church every week, but remains unchanged for 10, 20 or 30 years? Deliverance from that cycle begins with taking sin more seriously, and that’s the focus of this second Beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”

Sunday, we will focus on the “How?” How can I practice spiritual mourning? How can I cultivate this godly sorrow that is laden with blessing? How can I break the cycle of habitual sin and go after true repentance?

We will explore the model of Kig David's repentance in Psalm 51 and discover the freedom and forgiveness of God! Hope you'll join us. 

Deacons will meet at 2:00 pm and our Leadership team will meet at 4:00 pm