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 .


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