Being a Christian is synonymous with blessing others but why is that. Christianity, or perhaps Christendom has some dark and destructive history, but when Christianity is at its best you’ll see society being cared for, enlightened and you’ll especially see the marginalised being cared for. But why is this.
Research that came out in 2018 showed that in western culture, Christians were 16% more likely to volunteer and 22% more likely to give to those in hardship. Let’s have a look at why.
Over the coming 4 weeks we will be teaching about Blessing others.

At the very start of his famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’, Jesus makes it clear that his followers are to be a blessing to the world when he talks about us being salt and light. At Citywide we want to support and encourage one another on the adventure of living our whole lives as a blessing for the world.
Bless peopleListen to the Holy Spirit Eat with peopleStudy Jesus’ way. Sent with purpose

Why Bless:
We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19)
It is God’s moral viewpoint: It’s what God cares about – fatherless, widow, foreigner, those less fortunate…

This next passage is an interesting one:

For 18 years my wife and I committed ourselves to bless a town in England. Running after-school clubs to help busy parents, and to live out Godly values with the kids. Running youth drop-ins for youth on the street. Running youth Bible Studies, Summer clubs, meals together in each others houses, … What we found though is that in aiming to bless others, we ourselves were blessed. Our children grew up in a beautiful, caring and integrated community. Two verses that stand out here are,
In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus gives his disciples a riddle.

Bless, full stop. Then the blessing comes.

However, also heed this warning of mixed motives and seeking acknowledgement from your blessing:

An image Ann shared with me this week was: Release generously. The posture opens your heart. It protects you from selfish ambition, envy and bitterness – If you close your heart, it will become like a dank, dark celler. Giving brings you peace.

Lets looks at a few people who have been a blessing to others:

Ruth:
Naomi, her husband Elimelek and their two sons were living through a severe famine and so needed to leave Bethlehem. They moved to Moab, however, soon after Elimelek died. The two sons got married, but after 10 years in Moab, the two sons had also died.
Naomi decided all was lost and to head back to Bethlehem. She encouraged her daughters-in-law to move back to their homes. However, Ruth then comes out with the famous phrase:

Can you imagine the cultural position Naomi would have been in as an older single woman. What a blessing Ruth would have been.
And then, as Ruth finds a new husband (a kinsman redeemer) and has children, the blessing continues to roll. I like to imagine Naomi later with grandkids on her knees and plenty of food on the table.

“There is no place for Social Pride in God’s Kingdom. God’s grace had been imparted to all. Rich or poor. Educated or unlearned. The lowest and the worst have a claim to our courtesy.”
“Whatever you do unto the least of these brethren, you do unto me.”
“Nobody is excluded from the Love of God because we are all part of God’s creation.”
At a time when many poor in England struggled with life, and for whom church was inaccessible, John shared that God’s grace was for all and all were of value.
At the time of his death, the Methodists (mostly working within the Church of England) had over 130,000 members.
Wesley was deeply convicted that God is concerned about our earthly life as well as our heavenly one. Wesley challenged the doctors of the time as they were more conjurers, than scientific. Wesley wrote a book on health remedies that stood the test of scientific research and efficacy. Healthcare within reach of the poor was a key part of the methodists ministry.
Wesley rode 250,000 miles (10 times around the globe) often reading as he rode so as to use his time efficiently. He was convinced that it was important for him personally to spread the gospel through relationships and continue to grow closer to God in those relationships.
Wesley was attributed with the saying, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.

He called prayer “the grand means of drawing near to God” and found believing, persistent prayer to be the necessary first step to see God move. He modeled this conviction by devoting at least two hours a day to personal prayer and made fervent prayer a hallmark of the movement.

Shaftesbury’s childhood was unhappy. His parents were distant and harsh. His Christian faith was nurtured under the influence of the family’s housekeeper who read Bible verses to him and taught him prayers. Aged seven, he was sent to boarding school and from there to Harrow. He studied classics at Christ Church, Oxford.
His step-father-in-law was the future prime-minister
Shaftesbury became Conservative MP and in his first significant speech, he called for changes to the care of mentally ill people. At the time, they were shut away in lunatic asylums in filthy, degrading conditions. Shaftesbury visited one in London to find the occupants all but naked, badly fed and spending long periods in chains. He became chairman of the Lunacy Commissioners and continued to press for reform. By 1845 he had pushed through legislation which treated the mentally ill as people needing care, rather than social outcasts.
Championing reforms in factories and mines

In the early 1830s there was growing unrest about the treatment of workers, particularly children, in mills and factories. Shaftesbury’s interest in this began after reading a report about child labour which left him ‘astonished and disgusted’. He later said he took up the cause after meditation and prayer. By 1833 he was leading the factory reform movement in parliament, pushing to have the working day in textile mills cut to 10 hours for women and children. Restrictions were put in place on children’s hours but there was strong opposition to reform among MPs and further progress was slow. Critics also accused Shaftesbury of ignorance about the real state of factories.

The Ten Hours Act finally became law in 1847, restricting the working time of women and adolescents. But on the ground, change did not always come and Shaftesbury kept up the pressure. In 1863 he produced a report showing that children as young as four were still working in factories from 6am to 10pm
Shaftesbury had quicker success in bringing about reform in the mines. In 1840 he helped set up the Children’s Employment Commission. Its first report on mines and collieries shocked society – most people were unaware that women and children worked underground. Shaftesbury had discovered that boys as young as four and five were being used. Shaftesbury’s Mines Act of 1842 banned all women, girls and boys under 10 from working underground.

He also campaigned against the use of small boys as chimney sweeps, becoming chairman of the Climbing Boys Society. A complete ban took decades of pressure but by 1875 he had helped introduce laws to regulate the trade.
Education, housing and other reforms

Shaftesbury was out of parliament for 18 months in 1846-47. During that time, he visited London’s slums and became more convinced that the working classes needed better homes and their children needed schooling. For nearly 40 years Shaftesbury chaired the Ragged Schools Union, which provided free education for working class and destitute children. Over his time in post, it is estimated that the Union helped about 300,000 children.


“Prejudice is a mist, which in our journey through the world often dims the brightest and obscures the best of all the good and glorious objects that meet us on our way.”

We can look to many of the ‘world changes’ who significantly blessed others, inspiration by God. However, I also want to note the significance of others. Shaftesbury’s family house-keeper blessed Shaftesbury by introducing him to a living faith and trust in God. Wesley’s mother (she had 19 children with only 10 making it to adulthood) invested heavily into the organised and methodical faith that John and Charles grew in.