You're Blessed

In many areas of life, expectations make a huge difference. Your perspective on whether a movie or restaurant is any good is skewed by what you've heard about it from others and what you expected. When your tax return refund is far less than you expected, it's hard to be grateful for what you receive. In professional sports, almost everything is about expectation. As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, I'm thrilled when they sniff a winning record and ecstatic when they make the playoffs, since they've been awful for so long. As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I'm irritated when they aren't competing for the Super Bowl, since they've been so good for so long. Expectations often cause us to take blessings for granted and to complain at the slightest discomfort. Somehow, this has happened on a widespread scale in the western Church. Life has been so comfortable that we aren't even thankful for the blessings, and it's a crisis anytime we face hardship. This week at Friendship, we're beginning our new series called "Jesus Says", which is based on His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. And this week, we will cover what Jesus has in mind when He tells us, "You're Blessed". It's not about our circumstances; Jesus has in mind a happiness that goes far beyond those. Join us to hear about what it means to be truly blessed as one who bears the name of our Lord!