Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2021-03-12
Friday, March 12th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Friends,
Hear ye, hear ye: Rachel and I invite you to meet up in the parking lot of Jarling’s Custard Cup on Kirby Road between 6:00 and 6:45 on this coming Tuesday, March 16th. Roll down your window. We’ll give you a free coupon for a free dessert for everyone in your car. Order at the drive-in window, tell them you have a coupon, and then present the coupon at the pick-up window. Rachel and I will pick up the tab at the end of the night.
If it’s a warm, kindly night, you’re welcome to park and stand around with us as we welcome others in. At 7:00 that same night, bring your dessert to our Tuesday Night Zoom Dessert! That link will appear in mailers next week. See you Tuesday, rain or shine.
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This Sunday we host a great guest preacher: Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson is the PCUSA director of the Self Development of People. He’ll be tackling what many of us call one of our favorite passages from the New Testament, Matthew 25. See you Sunday, rain or shine.
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Much, much love to you all.
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
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CYF will be hosting a Spirituality Center in the church chapel for the season of Lent. Open House hours will be Sundays 11am-2:30pm. Come for some quiet reflection time by walking the labyrinth, contemplating scripture, and creating at your own pace. One household will be admitted at a time. Check in and temperature recordings will be necessary as well as face masks while in the building and chapel. Sanitizing wipes will be at each station for further protection between visitors. We hope you will find it a blessing for this season of inward contemplation and examination.
Sunday school continues. Follow this link for a virtual version of the Lenten Spirituality Center Lenten Spirituality Center
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Dig this: Matthew 25:35-46
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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A song for Friday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Here’s the Lenten Devotional from Presbyterian Outlook. May it be a blessing to/for you and those you love.
Friday, MARCH 12, 2021
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11
This passage at the heart of Philippians has been described as Paul’s “master story” of God and the world. As such, note how the text presents God’s movement toward us — a movement of decidedly “downward mobility” in which God’s own self is emptied in Christ in order to transform, redeem and liberate the world. This divine movement of love toward the world, in the world, with the world, and for the world is the very power of God.
Practice: Prayerfully read this text several times, noting the images that
shine for you.
Journal: Write in you journal of movement toward God or away from
God that you discern.
Saturday, MARCH 13, 2021
MARK 1:4-11
The story of Jesus’ baptism in the wilderness is an occasion on which to remember our own baptisms — even if we were infants at the time and were scarcely aware of what was happening. Mark tells us that when Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were “ripped apart” — they did not simply “open,” because something that opens can close. The heavens were ripped apart, which is to say that reality was irreparably altered as a fissure in the heavens appeared — a permanent elimination of the
boundary between heaven and earth. God’s Spirit, in other words, is loose in the world and in our lives.
Practice: Pray this Scripture with special attention to the powerful
images in this text, and as you ponder Jesus’ baptism, also remember
your own. Imagine God’s voice identifying and claiming you as a beloved
child of God and the vision of the heavens ripped apart. Reflect on the
significance of these revelatory events for Jesus’ life, your own life and
the life of the world.
Journal: Note in your journal what emerges in your prayerful reflection
on Jesus’ baptism and your own.
Week 4
MARCH 14-20, 2021
Freedom for the captives by Roger Gench
HYMN OF THE WEEK: “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
PRAYER FOCUS: Thanksgiving — What blessings have I received
from God? How can I put into words what Jesus has done for me
and for my loved ones?
ACTION: Give thanks to someone for their work each day. Write
an email to a colleague. Send a thank you letter to a public servant
or frontline worker in your community. Express gratitude to those
you encounter in customer service. Tell your pastor or a church
volunteer what you appreciate about their service.
Sunday, MARCH 14, 2021
LUKE 4:1-13
On the heels of his baptism, Jesus faces diabolic temptation in the wilderness that tests his mettle for the ministry before him. None of the temptations the devil sets before him have ignoble ends in view —
daily bread, the good of nations and victory over death all are worthy goals. But each temptation entails selfish manipulation rather than service to the glory of God. Jesus models service to others, refusing to give in to the diabolic temptation to serve himself.
Practice: Pray this Scripture slowly and imagine that you are present in this scene, observing the devil’s tempting of Jesus. Consider his responses to them, and how you might frame your own.
Journal: Record in your journal any questions, thoughts or emotions that
emerge as you pray with this Scripture, noting your sense of whether they move you toward God or away from God.
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