Redeemer Lutheran Church and St. Theodore of Canterbury
On Sunday, July 12, the congregations of Redeemer Lutheran Church and St. Theodore of Canterbury Episcopal Church will celebrate the seventh Sunday after Pentecost at 10:30 a.m. at 13564 St. Andrews Drive in Leisure World. The Rev. Dean Nelson, bishop emeritus of Southwest California Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; will preside over the service.
People can stay after service for fellowship with coffee, tea, cookies and snacks. The congregations collect donations of canned food for those in need.
Beginning July 22, the Bible study will begin a series titled “The Life, Ministry, and Mission of Jesus” from all four of the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The group will augment those classes with episodes from the made-for-television series “The Chosen.”
A meeting to prepare crafts for the holiday bazaar will be held on Monday, July 20, at 10 a.m. The group will meet downstairs in the Fellowship Hall. The group will meet every first and third Mondays of the month. There will be preplanned projects with directions, guidance, and all the materials.
The Gospel lesson for this week is from Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. This passage focuses on the parable of the sower, who scatters seed indiscriminately and what becomes of each type of seed. Jesus goes on to explain what each of the seeds represent and how people take his message and live it out in their lives.
There were seeds on the path and birds ate it. This is the person that hears the message but does not understand it.
The second kind of seeds fell on rocky ground, grew fast but burnt easily because there were no deep roots. These are the people who are great followers when everything is going well but lose their way when faith is a challenge.
The next set of seeds fell in thorns that choked them. These are the people who focus on their worldly needs before their faith.
The final seeds fell on good soil and grew well and abundantly. These are the people that hear Jesus’ word, understand it, live it, and share it with others.
