January 21 Care Group

We discussed Sunday's message about being pure in heart.  Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
-What is the heart?  thoughts, desires, emotions, inner workings
-Gen 6:5 paints a dismal picture of men's hearts.  It is only God's grace that can pull us out of that state.
-God created us to give Him glory.  As we walk with Him He shows us the real "junk" that's inside our hearts that we may not be aware of - but it's not hopeless, it just makes us need Him and love Him more.
-God sees everything about us and patiently loves us anyway.
-Ezek 36 says that now we have been given a new heart!  He motivates us to do His will and His pleasure.
-The fact that we care about our motives is a sign that God is at work in our hearts.
-Matt 5:27 - Do we open the gate and entertain the sinful thoughts and temptations that come our way?  We should instead cry out immediately for help.
-Praying for those who have sinned against us is a real key to staying in forgiveness and not letting bitterness creep in.
-This is part of our good fight of faith.
-Some of us have daily battles to get through the constant challenges that life brings our way.  We need to go to His word, call out for strength and wisdom all the time.
-Ps 119:9-11 - How do we keep our way pure?  By keeping His word in our hearts!
-This world is wearisome, yet God builds us up.  We know that His grace and His word are more than sufficient.

January 7 Care Group

We discussed the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.  Here is a summary:
-Being "poor in spirit" means that we trust God and do not feel pressured to make sure our lives go "our way."
-It also reminds us of our tremendous need of God and His power and presence in our lives.
-It's not ok to be self-dependent.  God is making us more and more humble.  We need Him more and more as we grow in Him.
-It pushes us to pray and seek God for all life situations, knowing our need.
-Success is not the issue it was when we were younger.  We want to finish well, not just chase after some worldly level of achievement.
-It makes us realize how valuable God's truth is and how many lies are fed to us by the world.
-The Beatitudes are filled with ways that we can grow, character we can achieve by God's grace.  They are relevant to our lives today.
-They are opposite of the world's values.
-This world tells our kids "You can be anything you want if you put your mind to it."  It's a lie!  What we really want is children who walk with God and love Jesus more than anything, putting His values and kingdom first in their lives.
-There is no room for arrogance, self-centeredness, and conceit in our lives.
-"Mourning" refers to times of suffering and we know that those times can leave scars on our souls.  Those scars remind us of bad times as they push us to God over and over to receive His comfort and a sense of His presence.
-"His grace is sufficient" takes on very real significance for those who mourn either their sin or a trial.
-We praise Him during times of blessing as well as times of suffering.