Redeemer Lutheran and St. Theodore
On Sunday, Feb. 18, the congregations of Redeemer Lutheran Church and St. Theodore of Canterbury Episcopal Church will celebrate the first Sunday of Lent. Bishop Murray Finck willpreside as the new interim pastor. The Sunday worship service begins at 10:30 a.m. at 13564 St. Andrews Drive. All are welcome. Kay Pushman is this week’s reader and prayer leader.
The churches continue to collect canned and boxed food donations for the hungry. Redeemer Lutheran and St. Theodore’s Episcopal Churches will hold a Wednesday Lenten reflection and soup suppers at 4 p.m. from Feb. 21-March 20.
The first Sunday of Lent is a condensed version of Jesus’s baptism, 40 days in the desert being tempted, and the beginning of his ministry. The first part of the Gospel is a reminder that Jesus is claimed by the Father. The second part is a statement of Jesus’s temptation by Satan. Jesus faced the same temptations believers do: the temptation to have more; to challenge God; and worship things other than God for worldly power. In the final part of the lesson, Jesus begins with the statement: the kingdom of God has come near and then calls people to repentance and belief.
The call to repentance is simply deep sorrow or regret for a past sin or action and changing ways. Lent is a time for believers to re-examine their lives, strengthen their faith and believe in the good news.
The good news is that all people were created by a loving God who wants his creation to love him and others. It is that Jesus loved the world enough to come and show people the way God through his living example. Jesus died for all to open heaven through his resurrection.
