New Years Resolutions Anyone?

Rank Top 10 New Years resolutions for 2015

1. Lose Weight

2. Getting Organized

3. Spend Less, Save More

4. Enjoy Life to the Fullest

5. Staying Fit and Healthy

6. Learn Something Exciting

7. Quit Smoking

8. Help Others in Their Dreams

9. Fall in Love

10. Spend More Time with Family

News Years Resolution StatisticsNews Years Resolution StatisticsNews Years Resolution StatisticsNews Years Resolution Statistics

1. Percent of Americans who usually make New Year's

Resolutions 45 %

2. Percent of Americans who infrequently make New Year's

Resolutions17 %

3. Percent of Americans who absolutely never make New Year's

Resolutions 38 %Resolutions 38 %

4. Percent of people who are successful in achieving their

resolution 8 %

5. Percent who have infrequent success 49 %

6. Percent who never succeed and fail on their resolution each

year 24 %

7. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more

likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly

make resolutions

Type of ResolutionsType of ResolutionsType of ResolutionsType of Resolutions (Percent above

100% because of multiple resolutions)

1. Self Improvement or education related

resolutions 47 %

2. Weight related resolutions 38 %

3. Money related resolutions 34 %3. Money related resolutions 34 %

4. Relationship related resolutions 31 %

Age Success RatesAge Success RatesAge Success RatesAge Success Rates

1. Percent of people in their

twenties who achieve their

resolution each year 39 %resolution each year 39 %

2.Percent of people over 50 who

achieve their resolution each

year 14 %

Length of ResolutionsLength of ResolutionsLength of ResolutionsLength of Resolutions

1.Resolution maintained

through first week 75 %

2.Past two weeks 71 % 2.Past two weeks 71 %

3.Past one month 64 %

4.Past six months 46 %

“KODA’s” New Years Resolution’s

New Years Resolution’s by Koda

• I will not bark each time I see my reflection in the entertainment

center.

• I will not steal shoes belonging to my owners and then dance

all over the house with them.

• I will not chew red crayons or pens, because my master will

think that I am hemorrhaging.think that I am hemorrhaging.

• I will not roll my toys behind and underneath the furniture.

• I must shake the rainwater out of my coat BEFORE I enter the

house.

• I will not bring my bowl of water into the living room to show

everyone how much water is left in my bowl.

• I will quite mistaking people’s hands and feet as chew toys.

A New Year and a New Chapter

THE BEATITUDES

Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)

New International Version

Are You Ready For 2017?

The BeatitudesThe BeatitudesThe BeatitudesThe BeatitudesIntroduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went

up on a mountainside and sat down. His

disciples came to him, 2 and he began to disciples came to him, and he began to

teach them.”

This sermon was a collection of truths

designed to prepare His followers for His

kingdom, which involved a lifestyle radically

different from the world’s.

Matthew 5:33“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

• What does this mean?

• Simply this: “We must be humble in our spirits. If you put the

word “humble” in place of the word “poor,” you will understand

what He meant.” what He meant.”

• “In other words, when we come to God, we must realize our

own sin and our spiritual emptiness and poverty. We must not

be self-satisfied or proud in our hearts, thinking we don’t really

need God. If we are, God cannot bless us. The Bible says, “God

opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”

(James 4:6).” (Rev. Billy Graham)

Matthew 5:4

4 “Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.”

• What Does This Mean?

• "If you cry, it will get better" is the meaning of this second Beatitude,

says Brittany, age 6. Brittany is right, if you cry for the right reasons,

you will indeed get better because God will comfort you.you will indeed get better because God will comfort you.

• In the Bible, blessed usually means "happy." But in the context

of Matthew 5, blessed most likely indicates "an enviable state.“

• The term mourn means “to experience deep grief.” In keeping with His

theme of spiritual blessedness, Jesus seems to indicate that this

mourning is due to grief over sin. The people who agree with God

about the evil of their own hearts can attain an "enviable state of

blessedness," due to the comfort they receive from communion with

the Holy Spirit. (This is why we take Holy Communion)

Matthew 5:5

5 “Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.”

• We must understand what “meek” means. The Greek

word translated “meek” is praeis (PRAYUS) and

refers to mildness, gentleness of spirit, or humility.refers to mildness, gentleness of spirit, or humility.

• Meekness is humility toward God and toward others.

It is having the right or the power to do something

but refraining for the benefit of someone else.

Matthew 5:6

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.”

• Understanding the fourth beatitude turns on understanding

what Jesus meant by righteousness. In ancient Judaism,

righteousness meant “to acquit, vindicate, restore to a right righteousness meant “to acquit, vindicate, restore to a right

relationship. The righteous are those who maintain right

relationships—with God and with the people around them. On

the basis of right relationships, and because of Jesus, those

who commit infractions are acquitted of guilt. In other words, if

I am a “forgiven person” then I must be a “forgiving person”.

Matthew 5:7

7 “Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.”

To be merciful is to show forgiveness and compassion to those

in need. Jesus frequently spoke of this trait. In the Lord’s

Prayer, He says, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have

forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). In Matthew 9:13 Jesus forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). In Matthew 9:13 Jesus

instructs the Pharisees, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I

desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the

righteous, but sinners.”

We are blessed if we are merciful because mercy is something

God Himself displays.

Matthew 5:8

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.”

• The Greek word for “pure” in Matthew 5:8 is katharos (Kath air

us) . It means to be “clean, blameless, unstained from guilt.”

Interestingly, the word can refer specifically to that which is

purified by fire or by pruning. The Greek word for “heart” purified by fire or by pruning. The Greek word for “heart”

in Matthew 5:8 is kardeeah. (Car Dia)

• This can be applied to the physical heart. But it also refers to

the spiritual center of life. It is where thoughts, desires, sense

of purpose, will, understanding, and character reside. So, to be

pure in heart means to be blameless in who we actually are.

• The only way we can be truly pure in heart is to give our lives to

Jesus and ask Him to do the cleansing work.

Matthew 5:9

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.”

• The Greek word translated "peacemaker" is used in only one

other place in the New Testament, in a slightly different

form. Colossians 1:20 says, "For it was the Father’s good

pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to

reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the

blood of His cross."

• Jesus laid down His life to make peace between God and

sinners, and when we can carry that message of peace to

others, we are peacemakers.

• Only children of God can bring the peace of knowing God to

others. A person must have a real relationship with God before

he or she can help someone else know God.

Matthew 5:10

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of

righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

• The eighth and final beatitude may strike us as negative. Up to

this point, the beatitudes have focused on humility, meekness,

right relationships, mercy, purity of heart, and peacemaking—

all positive qualities. But Jesus includes the possibility of all positive qualities. But Jesus includes the possibility of

“persecution for righteousness’ sake.” This arises from the

previous seven, because the forces that oppose God’s ways

still hold great power in the world.

• Even the best organizations and most admirable people are still

tainted by the Fall. None are perfect. The eighth beatitude

serves as a reminder to us that working in a fallen world

requires courage.

Matthew 5:11-12

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.”

“IN THE FACE of persecution, Jesus' followers have two “IN THE FACE of persecution, Jesus' followers have two

reasons to rejoice and be glad. First, they know that God

rewards those who suffer for their faith, and that their reward

will indeed be great in heaven. L The second reason Jesus'

followers can rejoice in tribulation is that they stand in good

company: In the same way they persecuted the prophets who

were before you, Jesus says.”

Richard B. Gardner, Matthew

Matthew Summary

If we were to summarize the

Sermon on the Mount in a single

sentence, it would be something

like this: How to live a life that is like this: How to live a life that is

dedicated to and pleasing to God,

free from hypocrisy, full of love

and grace, full of wisdom and

discernment.