NOTES: 1] God's Kingdom means God's active dynamic ongoing Rule; nothing to do with geography, earthly or heavenly. 2] God's time is always now! The first passage emphasises the blessedness of God's presence with us now; the second that we must always be prepared for God to enter into our now!

WARMING UP: Do we make any special preparations if we're invited to a celebration of some kind?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything this week?

ENTERING INTO THE STORY: a) MT 5: 1-12
1-2     Have we ever been somewhere, done something, had something happen to us that we'd describe as a 'mountain top' experience? What was so special about it? Do such experiences just fade into the past tense like other things, or do they remain very much part of us now? Does their very 'staying power' mark them out as 'mountain top'?

3-10   How much have the 'beatitudes' featured - if at all - in our religious experience? Does one or other stand out above the rest so far as we're concerned? Because of something we hope(d) for, or something that actually happened to us? How much are the beatitudes an attitude of heart & mind to live by rather than literal truth? Does it matter which they are? How much have we ourselves found any or all of them true in fact?
           Great Scottish theologian William Barclay (mid 20th C.) taught that the beatitudes are 'Congratulations!' on a life we're already living, rather than a hope of something God will do for us one day. What difference does this way of looking at them make to the way we understand them, live them out, benefit from them -  all of this now, rather than 'later'?

11-12  Why does life always have a downside as well as an up? Shouldn't we be able to love & serve God, live out the beatitudes, etc., without being bad-mouthed, persecuted, etc.? Couldn't we, & all God's saints, just be blessed anyway?

b) MT: 25:1-13
1-7      In our case, what might making sure our 'lamps' are ready involve? How much of that can wait? What are we working on now, as distinct from what we always seem to be putting on hold? Is the fact that others around us aren't making their 'lamps' ready any reason for us not getting on with ours? Do we ever 'run out of oil' in any sense?

8-10    If we work on our own lamps wisely & well enough, mightn't we then be in a position (unlike those in the story) to come to the aid of those less prepared? How much responsibility do we bear for those around us whose lives aren't ready & prepared for God? Is there just too big a gap of one kind or another for us to be able to work on our own 'lamp' & at the same time help them with theirs?

11-13  Is it part of our understanding of God that he would ever shut us out of his life - for any unpreparedness on our part?
Is it simply a matter of asking, "Who's doing the shutting out?" If God doesn't recognize us, how might that have come about? If we're made in God's image, shouldn't he always be able to recognize himself in us? Could we just go back & start the story of the bridesmaids all over again?