Ultimate Over Immediate

This is a message where Jesus describes what happy people do…this is how happy people behave. Jesus gives us extraordinary insight into happiness and His logic is going to be hard to argue with. So…blessed (happy) are The Dependent, those who Mourn, the Self-Aware, the Righteous, the Relationally Generous, the Morally Pure, the Peacemakers…even the Persecuted.

Peace

Pour Out

Compare the result of living selfish lives vs. selfless lives. Our lives are better when we're consistently pouring out... other's lives are better when we pour out. Our community and world are made better... and happier... when we serve one another.

Break Free

Generally speaking it’s the pursuit of happiness in the form of pleasure which leads to imprisonment. Pleasure frequently becomes a prison from which escape is a massive challenge. Every time any of us gives into sin we run the risk of becoming enslaved to that sin, and sin always comes with death…some kind of death. Paul says (Jesus says), “Offer yourselves to sin which leads to death, or offer yourselves to obedience which leads to righteousness…life…” Saying ‘yes’ to pleasure (not all pleasure is sin!), to sinful pleasure will ultimately undermine happiness. Saying ‘yes’ to obedience will make life better…it’s not instant…it’s not a quick fix, but it’s sowing and ultimately reaping the kind of life we all want.

Contentment

There IS a connection between money and happiness…it’s not that money doesn’t make us happy, of course money can make us happy. Our problem is – MORE money doesn’t necessarily make us more happy. It’s not the amount of money that tends to create happiness – it’s how we manage it that’s key to our happiness.
From the Sermon on the Mount we take some of Jesus’ most famous words about money to heart. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 
The chief competitor for our devotion to God isn’t Satan…it’s probably not even sin. The chief competitor for our hearts is stuff…or desire for stuff. So Jesus questions our devotions, telling us that if we’re devoted to stuff, happiness is in peril. Consider inviting our Heavenly Father to be our Master when it comes to our money (our stuff).