The Sermon on the Mount

Meek, Hungry, and Thirsty – a Winning Trio

/ Bob / Leave a comment

The two beatitudes for this session involve meekness and hunger for righteousness. They both include our response to the wickedness of the world around us. We are constantly bombarded with the evil actions of people around the world and in our own backyard. We see it on the news, at work, at school, in our politics, and in our churches. Our initial response might be anger, disgust, frustration, or any number of emotional reactions. However, at some point we will quite often allow our emotions to move us to taking action – or at least wanting to do so. That’s when the Holy Spirit, if He is allowed to do so in our hearts and minds, will trigger meekness. We exercise God’s strength under His control and we trust Him rather than our own power to act and assert our own will.

Similarly, these scenes of wickedness in our world – these acts of injustice – cause us to hunger for righteousness. Our justice warrior genes are activated and we are ready to go into the moral battlefield with our spiritual guns blazing. However, Jesus says we are blessed when we hunger, not when we act. We are blessed when we thirst for righteousness because it is at that point that we are most in tune with the heart of God who longs for righteousness to prevail. “Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

It all comes down to trust. Can we trust God or do we have to act? Can we trust the Hand of God or do we need to take matters into our own hands? Now and in the Day of the Lord we are more than conquerors not because of our wisdom or morality or strength but through Jesus Christ our Lord

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, August 2, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

YouTube – youtube.com/@fromthebackporch

X – FromtheBackPorch@nationalfast

TikTok – tiktok.com/@fromthebackporchintexas
Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Class Notes – Meek, Hungry and Thirsty – A Winning TrioDownload

The Happy Mourners

/ Bob / Leave a comment

We spend so much time and so much money trying to avoid physical pain.  Likewise, we spend time, money, and sorts of personal resources trying avoid or ease emotional pain.  In the Bible mourning was woven into the fabric of life.  In fact, the clothes worn were used as visible exclamations of mourning and lament as they were torn apart in the face of deep grief.  Biblical characters like David, Jacob, Job, Peter, Mary and Martha, and even Jesus Himself mourned to the point of shedding tears.  Mourning is Biblical.  There is even an entire book of the Bible called Lamentations written by Jeremiah who was known as the “Weeping Prophet” because of his laments found in the Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations.  

So what is the Christian response to mourning?  Avoidance?  Certainly not.  Dismissal, since Christians are always to be joyful? Uh, no.  We should mourn properly – first as God mourns.  God mourns over the lost condition of mankind.  God mourns over thee pain of death.  God mourns over hardness of heart.  If God mourns over these things and more, so should we.  However, God also provides a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the One Who comes along side us in our grief.  Furthermore, He gives us hope in the midst of our grief.

The Christian’s response to mourning?  First, we don’t grieve as those who don’t know Jesus.  (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)  Second, we come along side those who are grieving with the same hope that we have receive. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)  Third, we glorify God through our trust in Him when we face grief.

The difference between Christian grief and worldly grief is not the absence of tears but the presence of hope.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, July 26, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

YouTube – youtube.com/@fromthebackporch

X – FromtheBackPorch@nationalfast

TikTok – tiktok.com/@fromthebackporchintexas
Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Class Notes – The Happy Mourners – 07.26.2026Download

Beauty of the Beatitudes – The Poor in Spirit – Matthew 5:3

/ Bob

The Jewish People in the 1st Century faced daily oppression and persecution. The promised deliverer – the Messiah – was prophesied to arrive at this time in history. The hope was that he would throw off the yoke of Roman domination and usher in a new Kingdom, a new restored nation of Israel. Jesus – the Messiah – did indeed come, and He ushered in a new Kingdom. However, The Kingdom He established was far more than any earthly kingdom that the people had imagined. He established the Kingdom of Heaven. He established a spiritual realm in which spiritual realities superseded the oppression and persecution of the earthly world around them.

In the Beatitudes Jesus shows what a subject (a citizen) in that Kingdom was, is, and ever more shall be. He does not give them a list of “Thou Shalts” and “Thou Shalt Nots” as Moses gave the Israelites in the desert. He gives them a picture of who “Kingdom People” are – who they are and what they are as well as where they are and where they are going.

In Matthew 5:3 we read the first Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Augustine refers to this Beatitude as the foundation for the Kingdom subject. Only from the depths our spiritual bankruptcy can we look up to the One Who gives us all of the spiritual resources of the Kingdom. Thus the truth and beauty of the Beatitude – we are truly blessed, favored, fortunate when we are poor in spirit and realize that spiritually we are powerless and empty because then we can see that all of the Heavenly Realm is accessible. The Heavenly Bank is open for business and all of the spiritual funds you need are available now and forever.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, July 19, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

YouTube – youtube.com/@fromthebackporch

X – FromtheBackPorch@nationalfast

TikTok – tiktok.com/@fromthebackporchintexas
Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Class Notes – Beauty of the Beatitudes – 07.19.2026Download

Kingdom Living – An Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

/ Bob

Matthew’s Gospel was written in a time of distress for thee Jewish people. The prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah seemed to point to the beginning of what we know as the 1st Century AD and specifically to about 30-33 AD. Daniel’s “70 Weeks” were up and the Promised One was due to arrive at any moment. However, Rome’s grip on the land was firm and demanding.

Matthew, under the inspiration of the very Spirit of God, spoke to the people about the true Kingdom – the Kingdom of Heaven. Of the 162 times the word “kingdom” is used in the New Testament, 150 times it refers to the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, etc. 55 of those 150 are found in the Book of Matthew. Of those 55, 47 were spoken by Jesus – including 8 times in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus wanted us to fully understand what Kingdom living was all about and Matthew gives us His instructions in how to do just that.

For the next few weeks we will take a deep dive into the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5-7. The early Christians learned what it meant to live as Kingdom Citizens in a land controlled by a foreign power. We will see what Kingdom Living is and we will see what it means for us as we live in a land controlled by the prince of the air. (Ephesians 2:1-2)

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, July 12, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

YouTube – youtube.com/@fromthebackporch

X – FromtheBackPorch@nationalfast

TikTok – tiktok.com/@fromthebackporchintexas
Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Class Notes – Introduction – Kingdom Living – 07.12.2026Download