Redeemer Lutheran and St. Theodore

On Sunday, July 27, the congregations of Redeemer Lutheran Church and St. Theodore of Canterbury Episcopal Church will celebrate the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Murray D. Finck will preside over the holy Communion service at 10:30 a.m. at 13564 St. Andrews Drive. Eric Nelson will be the guest organist. Residents are welcome to join.

Fellowship will continue afterward in the Fellowship Hall with coffee, tea, cookies and snacks. The congregations will celebrate July birthdays.

The congregations continue to collect donations of canned and boxed foods for the hungry. Everyone is invited to participate in this outreach. The collected food stays in Orange County and is distributed by Lutheran Social Services.

The midweek Bible study is held on Wednesdays in the Fellowship Hall from noon-1:15 p.m. The next study is on July 30. The current study is on the women of the Bible led by Rev. Finck A study guide will be distributed. People are welcome to join and bring their own lunch. There will be drinks and baked goods available. This is a great way to meet members and friends and to share an understanding of faith and the Holy Scriptures.

The gospel lesson for the week of July 27 is from Luke 11:1-13. One of the disciples asks Jesus to teach them to pray. They all should know how to pray already. Faithful Jews prayed a lot and there were set prayers they would say at different times of the day and for different reasons. Jesus’ answer something simple, direct, and focused. Hethentoldthem that they needed to be persistent in prayer. That if they asked, it would be given. If they knocked, it would be opened. If they searched, they would find.

Some people struggle with this, especially when they prayed and did not receive. Did God not listen? Or did God just not care? God does answer. Sometimes, he says no. God answers in his own time, and his own way, often unexpected but always for a person’s good.