Community Group Questions
Read Matthew 5:6
Getting Started
Jesus describes righteousness as something we can hunger and thirst for. What do you think he means by this kind of longing? What does it tell us about what the heart is made for?
What are some of the things you find yourself hungering and thirsting for instead of God and his righteousness? What do those desires reveal about your heart?
Other Passages to Look At
Read Psalm 42:1–2 and Psalm 63:1. What do these psalms reveal about the kind of desire God wants his people to have for him? How is this different from simply trying harder to be spiritually disciplined?
Read Philippians 3:7–9. Paul speaks about wanting to "gain Christ" and to be found in him rather than having a righteousness of his own. How does this help us understand the righteousness Jesus is speaking about?
Practical Implications
(Re)Orientation
5. How does this Beatitude change the way we think about the blessed life we are pursuing? How might our lives look different if we saw knowing Jesus and sharing in his righteousness as our deepest need, rather than simply trying to become better people?
Inspection
6. What am I looking to for satisfaction in that only Jesus can give? Where do you find yourself trying to prove that you are good enough, spiritually successful, or pleasing to God? What might that reveal about what your heart is hungry for?
Invitation
7. What is Jesus inviting us to hunger for, and what is he promising to give? What would it mean to bring your deepest longings and your failures to him, trusting that he is the one who can satisfy you?
Prayer focus: Jesus, awaken in us a deeper hunger for you and your righteousness, and teach us to receive from you what we cannot produce in ourselves.