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Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
SUNDAY Schedule Sunday, March 20 • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • Communion Service - 8:30 am, Winship Chapel • The Mustard Seed Bookstore - 9:00 am - 1:00 pm • Youth Silent Auction for Jamaica - 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Fifield Hall • Worship Service - 9:00 am, Sanctuary • Cherub Choir & Worship Education - 9:30 am • Sunday School for all ages - 10:05 am • Worship Service - 11:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 12:15 pm Fifield Hall • Officer Training- 5:00 pm, Room 323 • Hillside & FPC Joint Lenten Bibe Study- 5:30 pm, Hillside
Sunday, March 27 • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • Communion Service 8:30 am, Winship Chapel • The Mustard Seed Bookstore - 9:00 am - 1:00 pm • Worship Service - 9:00 am, Sanctuary • Cherub Choir & Worship Education - 9:30 am • Sunday School for all ages - 10:05 am • Worship Service - 11:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 12:15 pm Fifield Hall • Officer Training- 5:00 pm, Room 323 • Hillside & FPC Joint Lenten Bibe Study- 5:30 pm, FPC
March 20 & 27, 2011 Christ at the Center
March 20,
March 27,
“The Beatitudes Blessed Are The Meek, For They Will Inherit The Earth”
“The Beatitudes Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst For Righteousness, For They Will Be Filled”
Dear Everybody, As we continue our sermon series during March 20 & 27 - this Lenten journey, George Wirth to preach lifting up Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes He taught those first century disciples and the crowds who gathered to hear Him beside the Sea of Galillee, we’ll focus our attention Sunday on the words “Blessed Are The Meek, For They Will Inherit The Earth” (Mathew 5:5) Our good friend from Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Dr. John Buchanan, said in a recent sermon that the late Kurt Vonnegut once declared “that if you want to discover the meaning and potential of human life, you might start with Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount and the Beatitudes. That one about the meek inheriting the earth is the best idea anyone ever had” (“Cold Turkey”, In These Times). Although I don’t think Kurt Vonnegaut spent a lot of time in church circles, he was right on target with his insight about our text for this coming Sunday morning! So please come join us for worship as we explore these radical and revolutionary words which Jesus spoke long ago, words that still speak to us today about humility, kindness and compassion that have the power to turn this world upside down, inside out and rightside up! And please invite your family and friends to come on along with you. I look forward to our worship services at 9:00 and 11:15 with great anticipation!
When Jesus let these words loose in the Sermon On The Mount, He was speaking about both physical and spiritual realities. The people who came to hear Him preach and teach beside the Galilean Sea were, most all of them, suffering from poverty and oppression under the Roman occupation of Palestine. In the parallel version of the Beatitudes found in Luke 6, our Lord said “Blessed are those who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” He was talking about physical and widespread deprivation of food which those first century people had to deal with every day of their lives, just as billions of people are suffering from hunger and starvation in the world today. And Jesus was envisioning the future when those who had more than enough food and resources would find a way to share their gifts with those who had none and help them produce these basic necessities of life and become more selfsufficient. But Jesus was also addressing the spiritual hunger and thirst of the people around Him, letting them know that if they desired and were receptive to God’s righteousness - to the gifts of peace, grace, justice and love that He offered to them - they would receive what they needed and be blessed beyond measure. My friends, that promise is still offered to all of us today! So come join us Sunday as we explore this Beatitude with open hands and with open hearts, seeking to be filled by the promises of our Lord. I look forward to seeing you in your usual pew!
Faithfully Yours,
George B. Wirth