The Guest List Study Guide

The Guest List Study Guide is the companion volume to Rock Pifer’s The Guest List, a ten-lesson journey through the Beatitudes built for small groups meeting around a table. Where most studies treat the Beatitudes as eight separate sentiments, this one follows them as Jesus laid them out - a single pathway of eight steps, in order, each preparing the believer for the next.The journey moves from recognizing spiritual poverty, through mourning over sin, yielding to Christ, hungering for righteousness, giving mercy, pursuing purity, making peace, and standing firm under persecution. It arrives where Jesus went next: 'You are the salt of the earth' and 'You are the light of the world.'Each lesson includes a word study in the original Greek, examining what makarios actually means and why 'blessed' barely covers it. Scripture is set out plainly rather than buried in paragraphs. Discussion questions are written to be answered honestly, with room to write. A weekly assignment carries the lesson into the days between meetings, and dedicated space for notes and reflection closes each session.The guide is designed for the room a group actually meets in. It works weekly or every other week, requires no seminary training to lead, and group members can participate without having read The Guest List, since every story they need is summarized within. It also includes a closing session, a communion observance at the end of Lesson Four, a prayer for anyone who has never taken the first step, and a section at the back written for leaders covering preparation, what to watch for, and how to handle the two lessons most likely to surface something painful.Written for small groups, Sunday school classes, church leadership teams, and individual study. Suitable for ages twelve and up.