What kind of people are Christians to be? How does a Christian (individually) and a Church (corporately) interact with or influence a culture like ours? If we want to answer these questions, we must rediscover the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-16). In the Beatitudes, Jesus describes the eight characteristics of those who are flourishing as citizens of his kingdom. But these characteristics are quite shocking because Christ’s kingdom is counterintuitive! Though we might be tempted to run from the world, blend into the world, or take up arms against this world, Jesus shows us a better way: the Beatitudes teach us to embody the character of Christ for the sake of the world. As we learn to live the Beatitudes, we display the power of God’s kingdom in our everyday lives.

Communicating the gospel to friends and neighbors has always been challenging, but we face particular challenges in today's secular West. We all want to be faithful Christian ambassadors, always prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in us and to do so with gentleness and respect (see 1 Peter 3:15). One of the goals of this class is to help you speak timeless truths in timely ways for dramatically different moments. Some of the topics we will explore together include the roles of reason and imagination, beauty and the arts, and goodness and truth, so you can better convey the beauty of the lordship of Christ in a world that leaves us searching for more. 

Sundays, 8:45 am (January 11 - March 29)  

Kids of all ages are invited to join our discipleship hour on Sunday mornings as they join their teachers in studying God’s Word.

Nursery - Three Years Old: Our Nursery is open for kids 6 months through three years old during Christian Ed.

Four Years Old - 1st Grade: Preschoolers, Kindergarteners, and 1st graders are invited to attend Kids Ed for discipleship, relationship building, and fun.

2nd - 5th Grade: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are invited to join Midtown's Kingdom Kids ministry. Our goal is to create a safe environment for fellowship, community, and spiritual growth.

The beatitudes reveal to us eight qualities that bring God's blessing: meekness and mercy, poorness in spirit and purity of heart, mourning and hunger, peacemaking and persecution. Jesus highlighted these to offer both encouragement and instruction on living distinctly as his followers in a world with values much different from God's. As we study these qualities and integrate them into our lives, we will receive the blessing Jesus promised to his followers then and now.

Men, are you living distinctively Christian lives at home, at work, out in the world? In the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) — which serve as the introduction to Jesus’s famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) — Jesus challenges us to live out his counterintuitive character in our everyday lives. He also encourages us by showing us that, when we do, we can have outsized influence as we make our way through this world. Join us as we consider how we can lead lives that display the character of Christ and the reality of God’s kingdom within our ordinary responsibilities and everyday relationships. 

We all need reminders of God’s goodness and grace—and the Old Testament is full of examples of God’s faithfulness to his people. In this retreat, we’ll study three Old Testament salvation stories—Noah and the Ark, Abraham and Isaac, and David and Goliath—to see how they each point forward to the greater salvation found in Jesus Christ.

DETAILS:

Date: Friday Feb 27 from 7-9:30 PM and Saturday Feb 28 9 AM - 3:30 PM.

Location: Midtown Church Sanctuary

Cost: $25 - includes retreat Booklet and Saturday lunch

Join us for an Ash Wednesday service February 18th at 7:00 PM to mark the beginning of Lent (a season of preparation and repentance that makes our hearts ready for Good Friday and Easter).