This week at Sedona UMC, we will study one of the Lord’s parables—But what is a parable anyway? The best definition I’ve ever heard is simply this: “A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” I really like that definition; the Bible gives us about 40 to 50 of these short stories with deep meaning for us. This week’s parable of the “Tenants in the Vineyard will help us reflect upon our own lives from God’s point of view.
In this story Jesus is very close to the cross. Luke 20:1 tells us that Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the gospel to them. He is healing the blind and lame people who came to Him in the Temple, but when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful that things Jesus did, they were greatly offended.
This is pretty amazing when you think about it, and it helps us understand how much they despised the Lord and were threatened by Him. They had been wanting and plotting to kill Jesus for over a year now. And in this week’s Scripture those evil rulers confronted the Lord in the Temple. With this parable of the vineyard tenants Jesus is telling the story of their rebellion against God, rejection of His Son, and their eternal ruin – and these religious leaders knew it.
With this background in mind, we are invited to think about the story of our own lives and how the Lord would tell our story. I know most would want it to be the exact opposite of this story—And the good news is that it can be! Join us this week at Sedona United Methodist Church as the Rev. Fred Mast shares an inspired message entitled “Writing Our Story”.
Sunday mornings we enter the spirit of worship at 9:30am featuring meaningful and uplifting music, special times of prayer and passionate life changing messages designed to move you closer in your relationship with Jesus Christ and others. We look forward to seeing you! We also offer an amazing Spirit Filled On-Line Worship experience each week accessed at www.sedonaumc.org.
ALL ARE WELCOME and invited to our Family Movie Night (TONIGHT!) Friday, July 9th beginning at 6PM. Join us for a delicious dinner featuring sloppy joes, potato & macaroni salads, amazing desserts and of course popcorn, nachos, beverages and lots of great movie snacks so come hungry! Our featured film is “Last Ounce of Courage”—an inspirational story celebrating the God given freedoms we are blessed with. This is a FREE event open to the entire community, so invite, pick up, and bring your friends and join in the fun.
Sedona UMC offers several weekly book and bible studies: Tuesday’s @ 2PM Adult Studies at “The Gathering Place” in West Sedona; Wednesday’s Men’s Bible Study at 9am; and Thursday’s Women’s Bible Study at 9:45am. We offer so many great missions, ministries, and fellowship opportunities at Sedona UMC—Visit our website at us on www.sedonaumc.org and “Like” us on Facebook.
We would love to pray for you! —Prayer requests may be submitted online or by calling us at 928-282-1780. We are conveniently located at 110 Indian Cliffs Road off the Back O’Beyond roundabout on Route 179 in Sedona. All are welcome at Sedona UMC—We look forward to seeing you!—Come and grow with us!
