A disruptive and surprising journey through the Beatitudes. Most of the time, life doesn’t work out like we expect it will. We spend time and energy trying to climb some sort of spiritual ladder, oblivious to the fact that it is God who is moving toward us. We want answers to our problems, yet what is offered is presence. What if we were to become united with our brokenness rather than our victories? What if God moves closest to us in the absence, the ache, and the longing? Words from the Hill turns each beatitude on its head to see the unexpected beneath the understood—diving into the story of a woman on death row to speak about mercy, personal stories from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to talk about peace, and much more. Stu Garrard has walked with these people in their stories, and he vulnerably offers his own as he unpacks the Good News of the Beatitudes. God is on your side, and He is closer than you think.

The Beatitudes are not telling you how to become a Christian—they tell you what a true Christian looks like. Everyone wants to be blessed. We want to be blessed in life, blessed in death, and blessed in eternity. In the Beatitudes, the Son of God tells us about the life that is blessed and about the people who are blessed. But Jesus does more than just describe a blessed life, He gives us a way to actually pursue it. If you want to make strides in overcoming sin, growing in godliness, abounding in good works, and enjoying intimacy with the Lord, this book is for you. And if you have lost hope that any of these things are possible, this book is especially for you. You can make progress, starting today.

The Gospel of St. Matthew Shares with us astonishing words of Jesus: a promise of everlasting happiness, far removed from the usual recipes for gratification. Blessed are the poor in spirit! Blessed are those who mourn! Happy are the meek!... Fr. Jacques shares with us a profound clarity to the full scope of meaning behind Christ's eight beatitudes, and in turn, outlines for us a way in which we can live them in our daily lives. We learn how each beatitude gives insight into how we can situate ourselves in an honest and fulfilling relationship with God, with oneself, and with others, and how to confront head-on the difficult realities of life.

With the text of the biblical Beatitudes as an undercurrent, the story of the civil rights movement is told in lyrical text and stirring illustrations.

In this six-week Bible study through the beatitudes, author Jennifer Kennedy Dean examines the promise of blessedness in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Unlike a circumstance-driven emotion, such as happiness, blessedness is eternal and grounded in the reality of Christ in you. You are able to live in the state of blessedness that God has created for you when you discover the key to true holiness—a call to freedom and joy. We were made for holiness, and this core concept of the beatitudes is accessed through a praying life—a life lived in the present-tense power of God. It is only when we continually pursue holiness that blessedness comes, and we discover the power and fulfillment of the promise of God. An accompanying DVD and online resources are available to enhance the study experience.

"With the Master Before the Mirror of God's Word is a women's Bible Study on 1st John. The book of First John is a letter of self-examination to see if you are in the faith and living the example of the life of Christ. 1 John 2:1: ""My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1). The tone is tender in this book as the Apostle John expresses love and concern to his readers, using that phrase, ""little children"" seven times. As we look in the mirror of God's Word we are to examine our hearts closely and we will see that we need to change!"

Ellsberg offers devotional sketches on history's greatest women and gives insight into the way that women of all faiths and backgrounds have lived out the lives of sanctity, mysticism, social justice, and world reform.

The Beatitudes are "The Hope and prayer and Vision of Jesus, the blueprint for Christian discipleship, the job description of every Christian," says John Dear, whose stirring meditations are a call to action, a summons to take up the Beatitudes as a daily handbook for life. An internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence, Dear combines scriptural wisdom with practical advice from peacemakers like Gandhi (who regularly read the Beatitudes), Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and many more, all set against vivid descriptions of peace efforts in places like Afghanistan, Israel, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. In each chapter, Dear affirms that the God of peace is alive and at work among us, calling his sons and daughters into the fullness of a life of true, lasting peace. Book jacket.