Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2021-05-26
Wednesday, May 25th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Friends,
This from the Washington Post: Nine fully vaccinated members of the New York Yankees — including one player and eight other staff—tested positive for the virus that causes covid-19 last week. To many, this may suggest the vaccines, which are extremely effective, don’t work as well as advertised. In fact, the Yankees outbreak is a case study showing how well the vaccines are working.
Read more here: https://www.
* * *
This from Frederick Buechner: IF THE WORLD IS sane, then Jesus is mad as a hatter and the Last Supper is the Mad Tea Party. The world says, Mind your own business, and Jesus says, There is no such thing as your own business. The world says, Follow the wisest course and be a success, and Jesus says, Follow me and be crucified. The world says, Drive carefully—the life you save may be your own—and Jesus says, Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The world says, Law and order, and Jesus says, Love. The world says, Get and Jesus says Give. In terms of the world’s sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot, and anybody who thinks he can follow him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a delusion.
News
Last week, your Session agreed that those who produce our Wednesday Night Zoom Celebration needed a break for the summer. So, this evening’s program will be our last until the fall. If you enjoyed the Wednesday Zoom and have suggestions, thoughts, or ideas, please share them as they will help us plan.
* * *
Humor (Hard times really need godly laughter):
“To write with a broken pencil is pointless.”
* * *
A Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest were good friends. At a picnic one day, the priest was eating a ham sandwich. “You know,” he said to his friend, “this ham sandwich is delicious. I know you’re not supposed to eat ham, but I don’t understand why such a good thing would be forbidden. When will you break down and try it?”
To which the rabbi replied, “At your wedding.”
* * *
Good Word
Philippians 2:5-11
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death —
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
LET US PRAY
Lord, I read that from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required . . . Compared to a billionaire, I don’t have a lot, and I’m glad less might be required of me. But compared to the rest of the world, I’m wealthy; so, more will be required of me?
More?
Less?
Forgive me for thinking my way out of discipleship.
My cup runneth over. Let everything I do be another way of saying thank you, thank you, thank you.
(Help me.)
AMEN.
* * *
Much, much love to you all.
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
