Redeemer Lutheran and St. Theodore
On Sunday, March 9, the congregations of Redeemer Lutheran Church and St. Theodore of Canterbury Episcopal Church will celebrate the First Sunday in Lent. The Rev. Murray D. Finck, Bishop Emeritus will preside with a sermon titled “Our Wilderness Journey.”
The Communion and worship service gathers at 13564 St. Andrews Drive beginning at 10:30 a.m. Fellowship will continue afterwards in the Fellowship Hall with coffee, tea, cookies and snacks. All are welcome to attend.
The congregations continue to collect donations of canned and boxed foods for the hungry.
The congregations gathered for the Ash Wednesday service on March 5 to receive holy Communion with the Imposition of Ashes.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. This year, the congregations will hold Lenten reflections and suppers each Wednesday of Lent March 12, 19 and 26, and April 2, and 9. The theme of this series is “CrossWays.” It is an exploration of the meaning of the cross from the writings of Martin Luther and will include time of discussion and sharing.
The Gospel Lesson for the March 9 service is from Luke 4:1-13.
The second Sunday of March is the First Sunday in Lent, and it begins in Luke 4:2 “[Jesus] was led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days. During that time, he ate nothing, and at the end of it he was hungry.” One may think, Jesus is God therefore if he follows the Holy Spirit nothing could go wrong. Not quite.
Jesus goes into the desert to prepare for his ministry and there meets the devil who then proceeds to tempt him. The temptations that Jesus faces are the same general ones that every human faces: material comforts being at the forefront of life; to achieve power and influence; being independent and prideful in self-sufficiency.
This week’s gospel lesson brings into direct view those ideas and wants that are in direct opposition to the actions that believers are called to do on Ash Wednesday. It is a good guideline for what to do (righteous deeds, give alms, spend time in prayer, fast, build treasures in heaven) and what not to do (seek material comforts, power, and influence, be prideful) as believers journey through Lent.
