First Pres Family,
You’ve probably had a chance to review Gov. Pritzker’s five phase plan for reopening the state. While there’s no timeline for each phase, it’s safe to say we’re in this new normal for the long haul. It’s easy to become weary and feel hopeless adjusting to our new way of life. Believe it or not, this is exactly how people felt in the crowds that followed Jesus. These people were sick, in pain, and even possessed by demons. In response, what did Jesus do? He simply preached the greatest sermon ever heard!
Tonight at 7:00 p.m., I’ll be starting a new livestream study called
Sermon on the Mount,
based on the famous teaching of Jesus. We’ll begin by exploring the
Beatitudes
, Jesus’ noteworthy sayings about being happy and blessed. In Matthew 5:3 Jesus said, “
Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs
.” Doesn’t this saying sound like an oxymoron, to be happy
and
hopeless? It’s actually a powerful expression of the truth that when we’re at our weakest, God is at his strongest.
This Sunday is
Mother’s Day
. While we may have to give virtual hugs to moms this year, we want to help make this day special. We’d love for you to take part in honoring our mothers as part of worship! We're going to make a slideshow to celebrate moms and here’s how you can participate:
- Grab a blank sheet of paper and some colorful writing utensils.
- Create a ONE WORD tribute sign (clearly readable) to honor a mom in your life.
- The word can be something you’re grateful for, what you love about her, or what she’s taught you.
- Once you’ve created your masterpiece, use your phone to snap a photo of yourself AND your tribute sign, which can be a family/group shot as well.
- Email your photos to our music and media guru Kedrick Armstrong by this Friday, May 8 at 8:00 p.m.
God bless you,
