Free "Mind of Christ" Talks
by Kathy Merrill 
August 2026

The Beatitudes - Part 1 

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PART 1 - "The Beatitudes"

We are walking slowly through Matthew 5, 6, and 7 —the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer and the teachings around them. Of everything Jesus taught, Mrs. Eddy sngled this out. She called it the diamond sermon, and wrote that reading it each Sunday and obeying it through the week "would be enough for Christian practice."

I am sharing that we have no picutre of what Jesus looked like—we do not know if he was tall or short, dark or light. But the Sermon on the Moun may be the truest portrait of him we have, because it is the closest we can come to what he actually thought.

Each passage gets three questions: what do these words mean in the original Greek, what did Mrs. Eddy see in them, and how do I live this today?

The Beatitudes - Part 2 

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PART 2 — "The Sermon on the Mount"

Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before he gave this sermon. Matthew tells us that "when he was set" — when he was ready, prepared — he began to teach. The mountaintop may have been a literal place. It may also be an attitude, and an altitude, of thought.

In Part 2 we go underneath the most familiar words in the Sermon, into the Greek, and they turn out to be much larger than their English lets on. A disciple — mathētēs — is not a student but a practitioner, one who puts into practice what he has been taught. Blessed — makarios — is a happiness no outward circumstance can touch. And the kingdom — basileia — is the royal dominion of the human heart.

I am sharing that the Beatitudes are really spiritual equations, a requirement on one side and a promise on the other. From there we look at the mote and the beam, and at the two Greek words for love — the one that needs an object, and the one that does not. It wasn't what Jesus looked like or his personality that made him the way shower. It was what he thought.

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If this speaks to you

These two talks are the beginning of something new — a small live study group, meeting on Zoom.

You're welcome to join us this Thursday, August 20th at 10:00 AM Central. It's free, and there's nothing to sign up for. You simply tap the link.

Welcome to the "Mind of Christ" Study Group! We are so thrilled that you are here. This has been a long-time coming idea that I have wanted to do for a very long time. Connecting to fellow Christian Scientists is increasingly inspirational since I do not go out to offer talks to the community anymore. 

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus"—Philippians 2:5

What this is:

I will prepare a small "talk" or "sharing of ideas" regarding to a specific topic (right now I'd like to focus on The Sermon on the Mount because that is how Jesus thought). 

I envision we come together in a small, live conversation about the topic that I've shared earlier that week or the week before and we discuss, ask questions about the material. Each talk includes Handouts for your personal study.

OUR NEXT GATHERING:

Thursday, August 20th, 10:00 CST

USE THIS ZOOM LINK to connect for live online groups - tap here to join us on Thursday!

WHAT THIS IS:

A study group, not a class.

For over 30 years, I have been studying the Bible and writing and sharing about it—the Greek roots, Mrs Eddy's commentary, and the long patient work of figuring out what a passage as of us on a Tuesday afternoon. Most of that has lived quietly in my notes.

This is the part though that has been missing: sitting down together and talking about it out loud. I plan to open each session with a small "recap" of the talk that we've shared a week before, and then we simply talk—ask your questions, what you've been sitting with, and hear what others want to share.

 THE MONTHLY RHYTHM

- First week — I email a talk, with handouts
- Second Thursday, 10:00 AM Central — we meet to discuss it
- Third week — a second talk, with handouts
- Fourth Thursday, 10:00 AM Central — we meet again

WHAT IT COSTS

Thursday, August 20th is free, and the two talks are free to listen. Beginning in September, the study group is $12 a month.

Questions? Write to me at kathymerrill@csbibleinsights.com — I am so looking forward to meeting you all online.

With love,
Kathy