Beatitudes

 So Today starts my quest in getting us to dive into the word of God a little deeper, not necessarily for meaning, because that should come to you based on what you see and hear, but on knowledge of God's word itself.  Being the Church Of The Brethren, Im going to start with what is one of the most fundamental pieces that the Brethren go to for insight and to base our beliefs on. The Sermon on the Mount, specifically, the Beatitudes. The scripture is from Matthew Chapter 5 Verses 1 – 12.

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them, saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

From here, I just want to talk. What do you get out of reading this? What words stick out in your minds? Is there something that piques your interest? Something you think is weird or doesn't sound right? If you're reading this before class, think about some questions or some points about it. If you read it after class, go out to a website like Bible.cc and read a different Translation, this one is the NIV. What sounds different? What sounds the same?