Life Attitudes: A Five-session Course on the Beatitudes for Lent

By Robert Warren

A five part course for small groups encouraging Christians to examine their lifestyle in the light of Jesus’ radical teaching in the Beatitudes and to live out these kingdom values – now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Church House Publishing
• Release date: Dec 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9780715146644

Robert Warren

Robert Warren (b. April 1951) became a Christian in 1972 after reading a Gideon’s Bible in the YMCA (Montreal Canada). He was later to graduate from Faith Bible College (New Zealand) and served on short term mission trips into Tonga and Fiji.He is the Founder of National Forgiveness Week (NFW), an annual week of teaching forgiveness throughout nations. NFW has been practised in Fiji, Vanuatu and in Arnhem Land (Northern Australia), and is to be rolled out to broader Australia as i4Give Week.Rob’s professional career as a chemist has spanned the ethical pharmaceutical and natural product industries, where he has been involved in technical management, marine research, quality assurance, consulting and government.Rob has authored numerous scientific and technical papers including a co-authored book with the CSIRO entitled Eucalyptus Leaf Oils. He worked briefly as a researcher with the Australian Geographic magazine where he wrote short scientific news articles. Rob also wrote regularly for Alive magazine, Australia’s premier Christian publication.He has authored five Christian books ... Summer Showers & Cactus Flowers [Christian poetry and song], Floodgates of Glory (formerly entitled When Angry Hearts Forgive) [the wonder off heartfelt forgiveness], From Here to Kingdom Come [a book for every Christian who has sighed and said, ‘There must be more’], Our Maker's Master Plan [science and scripture meet as they answer puzzling questions about Creation] and Satan's Final Days [new thoughts on the Last Days].

Book preview

>> Acknowledgements

The authors and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce copyright material in this book. Every effort has been made to trace and contact copyright holders. If there are any inadvertent omissions we apologize to those concerned and will ensure that a suitable acknowledgement is made in all future editions.

This course has been adapted, with the permission of the authors, from material in Emmaus Growth: Your Kingdom Come, copyright © Stephen Cottrell, Steven Croft, John Finney, Felicity Lawson and Robert Warren 1998 (The National Society/Church House Publishing, 1998). Other material has been drawn from Robert Warren’s book, Living Well (HarperCollins, 1998).

Extract from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Extracts from The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized Edition (NRSV): copyright © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Collect for Weekdays after Pentecost, adapted from the Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for the Second Sunday of Epiphany, adapted from An Anglican Prayer Book, the Prayer of Preparation and the Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Lent are from Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England: copyright © 2000, The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England.

‘The Beatitudes of Man’ is from When God Was Man by J. B. Phillips, Lutterworth Press, 1954, and is reproduced by permission.

The prayer beginning ‘May the love of the Lord Jesus/Draw us to himself’ by William Temple is from Readings in St John’s Gospel, Macmillan, 1960, and is reproduced by permission.

The prayers ‘We come to you in brokenness’, ‘Help us to find the true strength’, ‘God of the cross’, ‘The silence of your love embraces me’ and ‘Disturb me O Lord’ are copyright © Lynne Chitty 2003 and reproduced by permission.

Extract from Tides and Seasons by David Adam, copyright © 1989. Used by permission of SPCK Triangle. All rights reserved.

>>Contents

Title

Acknowledgements

The Beatitudes

Introduction

Section 1 Living Well/Beforehand

Introducing the Beatitudes (Matthew 5.3-10)

Living Well/The Session

Introducing the Beatitudes (Matthew 5.3-10)

Section 2 Living Openly/Beforehand

(Matthew 5.3-4)

Living Openly/The Session

(Matthew 5.3-4)

Section 3 Living Purposefully/Beforehand

(Matthew 5.5-6)

Living Purposefully/The Session

(Matthew 5.5-6)

Section 4 Living Lovingly/Beforehand

(Matthew 5.7-8)

Living Lovingly/The Session

(Matthew 5.7-8)

Section 5 Living Differently/Beforehand

(Matthew 5.9-10)

Living Differently/The Session

(Matthew 5.9-10)

Bibliography and Further Resources

Copyright

>>The Beatitudes

Matthew 5.3-10

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

>>Introduction

The aim of this course is to explore and grapple with the Beatitudes – or beautiful attitudes – described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. These eight radical sayings from Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 5.3-10) contain both values for living and promises of blessing.

Christianity is essentially a ‘lifestyle’ religion. It is as much about what and who we are as about what we say or believe. The Scriptures are not primarily books of doctrine, but rather stories of how the revelation of God has made an impact on and shaped the lives of those who have heard its message.

We live in a rapidly changing world. Increasingly, ours is a culture where people are less interested in religious activity than in ‘spirituality’, and more interested in ‘resources for living’ than in doctrines or creeds. In a climate where lifestyle and well-being are major preoccupations and where values and codes are judged by whether they work, the challenge for the Church is twofold: to equip its members more wholly to live their faith; and to demonstrate to those outside the Church that