July 26, 2026

I hope you have been enjoying the summer series on The Beatitudes. My goal has been to preach on these 8 “blessed” statements and get us to reflect on

“What does it mean to be blessed?”

Jesus in his beatitudes turns the attitudes of the world upside down and states that those who are blessed, those who flourish, those who rejoice are kingdom people who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who hunger a thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, who pursue honesty and an integrity of heart before God and others.

This week we take a look at “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the children of God.”

In a world of conflict, division and war we might wonder ‘Is peacemaking is even attainable? What about our families? Our relationships? Our work places? Does peace have a chance?’.

Perhaps we tend to think of peace as a quiet summer afternoon, a calm feeling, or an absence of conflict.

But Jesus’s idea of peace is much deeper than we might think. It is not just the absence of violence and conflict, or even a personal peace but a deep harmony throughout all creation.

A deep harmony between ourselves and God.

A deep harmony with others.

Hebrew the word for peace is “shalom” and in my message on Sunday we will examine the Bible’s view of peace and our call to be in harmony in all aspects of life.

“As the song goes, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.””

Jesus did not say being a peacemaker would be easy…but peacemakers are blessed, and by God’s grace we can be “shalom-makers” with the promise that we will be called the children of God.

Thank you to the Mission and Outreach Team who hosted our Chicken BBQ. It was delicious and we were able to raise a generous amount of money, which will be directed toward Glenbrook’s mission program.

Thank you to everyone who came and supported this event.

The Christianity Explored course is here at Glenbrook on Wednesday nights. The next study will be July 31st. @ 7 pm. It is a course that explores the basic beliefs of the Christian faith.

Who is Jesus?

What are the basic doctrines of Christianity?

What is a Christian?

and much more.

If you are interested please contact the office and I will be glad to welcome you to “Christianity Explored.”

Blessings,

Pastor Ian