Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-10-09
Friday 9 October 2020
Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
Yesterday I walked 12 times around Westside Park. Counterclockwise. It was a lovely day and I was visiting with another local pastor, a very healthy pastor with strong legs. We talked about the future of the church, of Christendom, of denominationalism. You know about those conversations. You’ve had them before. If you’re not careful, you’ll talk yourself into a nervous breakdown. What is it about the future that makes us anxious?
We ended by reminding ourselves that God still is sovereign. We can trust God with the future. Don’t worry, said Paul. Have no anxiety about anything. Whew—that is always good news.
Our church is thinking about “stewardship” for the next month. How are you going to “spend” your life to God’s glory? I think it’s a great question. I’ve been asking it my whole adult life. But it’s never been just an intellectual exercise; it’s one rooted in praxis.
My love for God and neighbor can’t devolve into just a warm gushy feeling. That love needs to be borne out in action: checks written, handshakes (pre Covid) made, stories swapped, cups of cool water served, concerns shared, miles walked in somebody else’s shoes.
Stewardship. The sty warden taking care of the pig sty, suggests the Old English. It’s a lot to think about. And we have a lot to give thanks for.
See you on Sunday, okay?
Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you. (It’s there.)
Be amazed.
Tell somebody.
PEACE,
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
* * *
The PHOTO Challenge will resume next week…stay tuned!
* * *
News
Saturdays French Prayer Service 6 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
* * *
Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
Yesterday I walked 12 times around Westside Park. Counterclockwise. It was a lovely day and I was visiting with another local pastor, a very healthy pastor with strong legs. We talked about the future of the church, of Christendom, of denominationalism. You know about those conversations. You’ve had them before. If you’re not careful, you’ll talk yourself into a nervous breakdown. What is it about the future that makes us anxious?
We ended by reminding ourselves that God still is sovereign. We can trust God with the future. Don’t worry, said Paul. Have no anxiety about anything. Whew—that is always good news.
Our church is thinking about “stewardship” for the next month. How are you going to “spend” your life to God’s glory? I think it’s a great question. I’ve been asking it my whole adult life. But it’s never been just an intellectual exercise; it’s one rooted in praxis.
My love for God and neighbor can’t devolve into just a warm gushy feeling. That love needs to be borne out in action: checks written, handshakes (pre Covid) made, stories swapped, cups of cool water served, concerns shared, miles walked in somebody else’s shoes.
Stewardship. The sty warden taking care of the pig sty, suggests the Old English. It’s a lot to think about. And we have a lot to give thanks for.
See you on Sunday, okay?
Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you. (It’s there.)
Be amazed.
Tell somebody.
PEACE,
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
* * *
The PHOTO Challenge will resume next week…stay tuned!
* * *
News
Saturdays French Prayer Service 6 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
* * *
Michael Hedges channels Jimi Hendrix…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
A song for the fall…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Abraham Lincoln’s pep talk (w/ Leonard Berstein)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
