Beatitudes From The Back Side (Student/Study Guide)
$16.99
11 Sessions
Additional Info
Using his method of approaching Bible passages from an unusual angle or a unique starting point, J. Ellsworth Kalas presents new insight into the beatitudes, Jesus’ blessings from the Sermon on the Mount.
The book contains sessions and a study guide for personal use or for use in groups.
This book continues Kalas’ popular series of “Back Side” books.
The beatitudes form the introduction to what is no doubt the best-known sermon ever preached. We call it the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7), and of course it was preached by Jesus.
When we start examining the beatitudes we realize that in Jesus’ view, happiness is not something we get by pursuing it; indeed, almost the contrary. We are told that we will be happy-or blessed, if you prefer-in what appears to be the near antithesis of happiness. If we choose to live by the beatitudes, we make a declaration of dependence. We put ourselves into bondage to such things as poverty of spirit, purity of heart, and a readiness for persecution. This isn’t the sort of product they advertise on prime-time television; indeed, I’m not sure that it appears overly often in our prime-time worship services. That is because this is not a spiritual quick fix. It doesn’t come in a five-easy-lessons capsule. Instead, it is largely contrary to the way we live and to the way we think.
Before we go any further, however, let me say that over the past twenty centuries a very great many people have found in these beatitudes a depth of peace and joy beyond anything our common culture promotes and seeks. But it isn’t easy, and it isn’t obvious. There’s nothing easy or soft about this kind of dependence. Rather, it is an attitude that demands a huge store of courage. It’s the kind of dependence the trapeze artist displays when he or she lets go of the bar and with no safety net awaiting, flies off into space, trusting.
Welcome to the beatitudes. And may you be eternally happy, beginning now.
-adapted from the introduction
in stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
SKU (ISBN): 9780687650842
ISBN10: 0687650844
J. Ellsworth Kalas
Binding: Trade Paper
Published: May 2008
From The Back Side
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Print On Demand Product
Related products
-
7 Last Words
$18.99Based on his talks at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Good Friday 2015, the New York Times bestselling author and editor at large of America magazine offers a portrait of Jesus, using his last words on the cross to reveal how deeply he understood our predicaments, what it means to be fully human, and why we can turn to Christ completely, in mind, heart, and soul.
Each meditation is dedicated to one of the seven sayings:
*”Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
*”Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
*”Woman, this is your son” . . . “This is your mother.”?
*”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”?
*”I thirst.”?
*”It is finished.”?
*”Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”With the warmth, wisdom, and grace that infuse his works, Father James Martin explains why Jesus’s crucifixion and death on the cross is an important teaching moment in the Gospels. Jesus’s final statements, words that are deeply cherished by his followers, exemplify the depth of his suffering but also provide a key to his empathy and why we can connect with him so deeply.
Add to cart1 in stock
-
God For The Rest Of Us Pastors DVD Kit
$19.99The Pharisees called Jesus “a friend of sinners.” He took it as a compliment. Would you? In these resources, Pastor Vince Antonucci and his unusual church that reaches out to people on the Las Vegas Strip explore a powerful question: what if God is not just for the faithful, church-going, or holier-than-thou types – what if God is for the rest of us? This small group study expands viewpoints, overcomes stereotypes, and models how to really love people like Jesus does. The Pastor’s Kit includes everything needed to plan a six-week teaching series around the concepts presented in the Small Group Study. It includes:
Special video message for pastors
Video guide for implementing a church-wide program
Six sermon outlines
Six short video clips to accompany each week’s sermon
Six sermon bumpers (short video clips to introduce each week’s sermon)
Digital art files to use in creation of bulletins and other promo materialsAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
-
Drawing Pad : Available From Anchor
$4.99Games and Toys
Additional Info
This generously sized drawing pad provides a clean sheet for every creative whim. Premium white bond paper is ideal for pencils, crayons, markers, chalk, watercolor or poster paints.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.