Women's Bible Study - September 18th, 2024 - Let Go and Trust God

In one paragraph

Deborah walked First B Jackson's women's Bible study through the Beatitudes from Matthew 5, treating them not as a checklist for salvation but as a description of how life with Jesus actually works after you come to Him. She used the image of a ladder to show how each beatitude builds on the one before it, and she drew heavily on the recent death of her close friend Jane to show what these truths...

Read together

1. James 4:8 draw close to the Lord and He will draw close to you
2. Matthew 5-7 the Sermon on the Mount covered in the study chapter
3. Matthew 5:3 blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
4. Genesis 28 Jacob's dream of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending
5. Genesis 11 the Tower of Babel, mankind saying they did not need God
6. Matthew 5:4 blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted
7. Matthew 11:28 come to me if you are weary and burdened and I will give you rest
8. Matthew 5:5 blessed are the humble or meek for they shall inherit the earth
9. Isaiah 55:8-9 as high as the heavens are above the earth so high are God's ways and thoughts over ours
10. Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, referenced in context of telling Jane to say help and thank you
11. Matthew 5:6 blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled
12. Matthew 5:7 blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy
13. Matthew 5:8 blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God
14. Psalm 119 David asks how to stay pure and answers by hiding God's word in his heart
15. James 1:8 loyalty divided between God and the world makes a person unstable in everything
16. Matthew 5:9 blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God
17. Matthew 5:10 blessed are those persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
18. Ecclesiastes God has placed eternity in everybody's heart
19. Galatians 3:28 it does not matter what color you are or language you speak or country you are from, in Christ you are blessed

Talk about it

1. Deborah described the beatitudes as steps on a ladder, with the first step being willing to say 'I need you, Jesus.' What makes that first step so hard to take, and what tends to get in the way of taking it?
2. Deborah said that Jesus promises a blessing, a deep sense of well-being, when we bring our mourning and grief to Him rather than burying it. Has there been a time when you took something painful to the Lord and experienced that comfort? What did that look like for you?
3. Deborah defined humility as having a right perspective about who God is, who we are, and who others are, and she connected it to taking our thoughts captive rather than letting our emotions run the show. Where do you find that hardest to do in your own life right now?
4. Deborah talked about mercy having a purifying effect on our hearts, and she shared the story of calling Sandy and asking for forgiveness even when she felt she had done nothing wrong. Is there a relationship in your life where the Holy Spirit might be nudging you toward a similar move, and what is holding you back?
5. Deborah closed by asking everyone to fill in the blank: 'Blessed is your name because...' and to consider whether that answer lines up with what Jesus says blessing actually looks like. How would you fill in that blank honestly, and how does your answer compare to what the beatitudes describe?