LOCATION
Messiah Lutheran Church is conveniently located at 8300 Providence Rd. just south of the Arboretum and Hwy 51 (Pineville-Matthews Rd). Map
Parking is located on both the north and south sides of the
sanctuary. Handicapped parking has been designated at the south
entrance, although both entries are wheelchair accessible.
April Memory Verse
1
Corinthians 15:3-4
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I
also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the Scriptures . .
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Pastor's September 2010 Message |
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PARABLE OF THE SOWER “A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13. “What kind of ‘soil’ are you?” Now that would be a good question to ask ourselves whenever we are in a position to hear or read the Word of God. The reality is that we are, at one time or the other, all four types: 1) Sometimes hard as rock and nothing said or read sinks in. 2) Sometimes receptive, even enthusiastic about Gods’ word, but it goes in one ear and out the next. We are moved for the moment but it’s short-term and therefore has no depth. Whatever was heard or read gets lost and forgotten when we get scorched by the problem of life and we are not able to apply what we have only heard and not learned. 3) Sometimes we are too caught up in the things of life, the cares and concerns, the concrete ‘business of living’ so that the seed of the Word, though planted and rooted, whatever would come from it gets choked out. 4) And sometimes, we hear and receive the Word, we learn, mark and inwardly digest that Word, we give it space in our lives and the priority of mental and emotional time, and it yields a harvest. Yes, we are all four types of soil at one time or the other. We want to be the fourth type, receptive and productive. But the problem is - SOIL CAN’T CHANGE ITSELF. Rocky soil cannot make itself fertile and soil that is weedy can’t expel the weeds by simply wanting them to go away. We need the help of the farmer, the Sower. He can change the soil: break it up, add minerals to it, weed it, and water it. The very soil that seeks the seed provided by the gracious Sower first needs the Hand of the Sower to prepare it to receive that seed. An application of this would be that we begin praying for God’s Spirit to work on our hearts already on Saturday night as we anticipate receiving His Word on Sunday, or spending a quiet moment in prayer before personal devotions or before a Bible Study with others. Now that we are prepared soil receiving the good seed of the Word, now that we are ready to be productive, what will that produce look like? What is the harvest that God is looking for in your life? Great Question! Here are some possible answers. 1) Is there someone you need to forgive, some reconciliation that needs to take place? 2) Is there some sin that you need to acknowledge to God and ask for both His forgiveness and His renewal? 3) Is there some ministry that you have heard about, that God is nudging you to serve in? 4) Is there someone that God has placed in your life that needs you to share His word with? 5) Is there some area in your life that needs to reprioritized or even eliminated while something else needs more attention? Sometime today, God is throwing seed your way. How will you receive it? Have you asked the Sower to prepare your heart as you began this day? And what is God seeking to grow in you and reap from you? Now that is something to think about, meditate over and join with that meditation, fervent prayer.
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