Jesus says merciful people are blessed because they will be shown mercy.
What is mercy? How can we have a merciful home? God desires mercy, and we will be blessed if mercy fills our home.

Bless This Home 3: Merciful Home – Redemption Church Plano from Redemption Church on Vimeo.
Bless this Home 3: Merciful Home
Sermon notes by Marshal Blessing
Redemption Church Plano Tx
Welcome back to our Bless This Home series
We all want a blessed home, but a blessed home doesn’t just happen
In the Beatitudes Jesus describes people who are blessed; we are applying these to our home
Week1 – Blessed are homes that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Week 2 – Blessed are homes that keep their hearts pure
MATTHEW 5:7 NIV Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Verse 7 is arguably the easiest to memorize – most straightforward link between descriptor and blessing
Let’s do a quiz: I’ll describe the person, you tell me the blessing they will receive

* Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness à they will be satisfied
* The pure in heart à they will see God
* The meek à they shall inherit the earth
* The poor in spirit à theirs is the kingdom of heaven
* Those who mourn à they shall be comforted
* The peacemakers à they shall be called children of God

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
MERCY
What is mercy? It is an important concept. It is often related to grace.
Grace – unmerited favor – getting good things you don’t deserve
Mercy – not getting bad things you do deserve
“Bad” here is important. We’re good at not giving people good things they deserve: time, attention, appreciation, benefit of the doubt, love, etc. – That’s not mercy.
Mercy – compassion or forgiveness toward someone whom it is within your power to punish or harm.
Mercy is tied to forgiveness.
FORGIVENESS
Forgive – 1) to stop feeling angry or resentful     2) to cancel a debt
Forgiveness is a concept that is central to our Christian faith. Who here knows forgiveness is important?
Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is instructing his followers how to pray.
MATTHEW 6:12 NIV And forgive us our debts (sins), as we also have forgiven our debtors.
We pray for forgiveness. We are called to forgive. And those two things are related.
But MERCY goes farther than forgiveness. Forgiveness is a subset of mercy.
If someone steals $20 from you, you can forgive them. You can stop being angry about it, but still require that they give the $20 back. You’ve still shown mercy by forgiving them.
Or, you could let them keep the $20 but not forgive the person. You’re still angry about it, but in a way you have shown them some mercy.
Or, you could forgive them AND let them keep the $20. This is being merciful. Your reaction is full of mercy.
Again, mercy is not getting bad things (punishment, harm) that we do deserve.
What We Deserve
Dave Ramsey: “Better than I deserve.” That’s true for all of us. What do we deserve?
I can tell you, I have received mercy. I have not received all the punishment and harm that I deserve.
God is merciful!
LAMENTATIONS 3:22 ESV The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
LAMENTATIONS 3:23 ESV they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Do you realize God is merciful to us every day? His mercies are renewed every morning.
God has been merciful to you today.
The wages of sin is death. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The fact that we’re alive is a testament to his mercy toward us.
Examples from the Bible:
Garden of Eden, Mount Sinai, Nineveh
But we often take mercy for granted.