Every sermon should have an...
Illustration
Every sermon should have an introduction and Jesus, ever the masterful homiletician, gave us a gripping preface to the Sermon on the Mount. That introduction is traditionally called the beatitudes, or the blessings. I like to think of them as the blessed attitudes.
These nine, or eight depending on how you look at them, declarative statements are not requirements for entry into the Christian life or objectives of the Christian life but, rather, characteristics of it. These are attitudes Christians have, by virtue of their relationship to Jesus Christ.
In other words, Christians have good attitudes. They are living proof an attitude is an outward expression of an inward feeling. Christians feel blessed and happy and that experience expedites expression.
And Christians realize the power of a positive and creative attitude. They know that, in most anything they wish to accomplish, they're only an attitude away. They are aware the battle is won before it is begun because its victory comes from one's mental and emotional stance.
Christians approach projects encouraged by their inner relationship with the Lord and an attitude that looks into the eyes of every objective and says, "I can hardly wait!"
--Barnhart
These nine, or eight depending on how you look at them, declarative statements are not requirements for entry into the Christian life or objectives of the Christian life but, rather, characteristics of it. These are attitudes Christians have, by virtue of their relationship to Jesus Christ.
In other words, Christians have good attitudes. They are living proof an attitude is an outward expression of an inward feeling. Christians feel blessed and happy and that experience expedites expression.
And Christians realize the power of a positive and creative attitude. They know that, in most anything they wish to accomplish, they're only an attitude away. They are aware the battle is won before it is begun because its victory comes from one's mental and emotional stance.
Christians approach projects encouraged by their inner relationship with the Lord and an attitude that looks into the eyes of every objective and says, "I can hardly wait!"
--Barnhart
