Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 47 (February 12, 2026)

February 12, 2026:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 47

For all of us who are blessed by God's Love for us and all people in His creation, we will be together on Ash Wednesday this coming week as we begin the season of Lent in the Trinitarian congregations of Christ's Church. We will have services at Noon and 7PM next Wednesday which will include imposition of ashes and Holy Communion. This is a very special opportunity for us to find focus in our faith lives as we enter into the Church Year Season of Lent, preparing to celebrate with great joy, the Resurrection of our Savior on Easter Morning. You will receive this study on late Wednesday this week because our van has been giving us some trouble starting, and today it wouldn't! So, it is at the Ford Garage getting looked at for a couple of days. Two weeks ago, the battery tested as great. Today it was dead. The van is 11 years old with 165,000 miles on it, it runs like a new truck, but its age does show from time to time. So, tomorrow morning I will be the driver for school, eye appointments, and job interviews for one of the boys. Then, I will get into the office, but early morning will be consumed with all of that driving. Please keep the Olympians in your prayers this week and the next. Pray for our Church Council as they meet on Sunday after worship. Oh yes, I want to make sure that you who are adults are considering coming to our Saturday free movie at Church at 1PM. It is wonderful, and will give you laughter and excitement, and fill you with joy. Don't miss it. Live action with computer generated dragons, OF COURSE! It is a wonderful opportunity to gather with your sisters and brothers in Christ for fellowship and fun.

Today we are studying Psalm 47. As we begin, I would like to remind you and myself that every Sunday as we begin worship with our confession and absolution from our sin, that we are making an outrageous claim that we believe and trust in Jesus at all times and in all ways. Just stop and think about what goes on around us every day, week, and month, and beyond. Nine people lost their lives in a home and school shooting in Canada this week. Pedestrians lose their lives in our city more times every week than I want to see. Sometimes it is a reckless driver, and other times it is the pedestrian who is careless or impaired. Tens of thousands of immigrants, adults and children, who are not criminals with violent records, who have lived in our nation, just like my immigrant family did in 1860s  to today, working hard, trying to improve their life circumstances, and even some who are citizens of our country are in internment camps which are apparently inhumane.  This week I met a former foster child of our congregation on a downtown street as he prepared to see his parole officer, with a broken hand that he did not reveal to his employer to not lose his workplace. Our system of aging out of foster care with NO SUPPORT or RESOURCES is left to loving foster families who may not be in an economic situation to offer much support and encouragement. Believe me, we know in our family that raising our four sons has been difficult financially, but when we adopted them, we knew that we would always be their family, not by their age, but by our love! Finding work and covering living expenses, housing, food, and transportation (thankfully our bus system is free in Pima County for the time being), has made it tough for our children, high school or college, to even find work to make ends meet. For the first time in many years, our children who are in their 20s and 30s may never be able to afford the American Dream, a house of their own. Let's face it, it is tough in the world. The obscene war in the Ukraine continues to rage on, the tension between nations, former allies, and those who were never allies is creating economic upheaval worldwide. Personally, I started working at age 14, did 21 years of education, taught school for 9 years, and have served Christ's Gospel for 40+ years on December 30th of this year. I am blessed, because I truly love every minute of Bible Studies, preparing music, directing bells and the Gospel group, and having the privilege of speaking God's Truth every week on Sunday morning. In all our lives we are constantly faced with sin and brokenness, our own, and that of other people. Our Psalm today is filled with praise of God in the face of all those difficult times. The Guthrie family has given all of us a kickstart for our faith through prayer and the hope of God's inbreaking answers for solving the kidnapping of their mother. They are a witness to all of us about courage and faith. The Hebrews were the same in the early years of King David in Jerusalem, faced with an onslaught of difficult relationships with the nations around them who coveted their land and wanted to enslave their people, the Psalmist makes it clear that God is to be trusted in the face of all of this because He is the creator  of all things and is in charge of them all of the time.  You and I sometimes forget this very important uncomplicated fact. God is God. He loves us. He is always near us. He constantly intervenes through the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and encourage us. His miracles surround us all the time. Read this Psalm again, an in it you will find the confession of extreme confidence in God. They knew they would make it, even when they turned aside and suffered the consequences of losing God's way in their nation, and in their personal lives. Rejoice, give thanks, worship with the loud sounds of God's praise, and because there is NO OTHER GOD beside Him!!!!  The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of our Savior Jesus Christ will NEVER leave His children destitute in this world, and your and I at American are definitely His. When I have questioned and prayed, God answers when I am willing to listen.

With Love for you all in Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles Acts 12:1-11 (February 10, 2026)

February 10, 2026:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 12:1-11

Good morning, dear friends in Christ Jesus. I hope that you will continue to offer your prayers for the requests which I asked for prayers for yesterday, and if you have not already started to pray for the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, please do include her and her family in your prayers every day. I wonder regularly about how people in our modern world think that war, interring large numbers of non-criminal immigrants, kidnapping of a senior citizen, driving without regard for the safety of the people around you, is just a natural part of the world's society and people. And perhaps it is today. Even the Church is laden with the erroneous thinking that the Church should be the power, wealth, and authority in our own nation. Over the centuries of the Church, people have all too often proven themselves to be unable to get beyond their human nature to truly be Godly in the face of all the temptations which we know are already faced by those who have been elected to serve as our leaders. The Church is meant to be the conscience of Government. To continue to live up to what is right and good and just in the eyes of our God. To that end, after our celebration of Easter we will begin a six-week series on the new social statement of the ELCA on faith and civic life during our 9AM Sunday School Hour. The exact dates will be listed in the April Journeys newsletter. This will be a time for both presentation and discussion of the relationship between these two intertwined realities in our lives.

Today in our reading from the 12th chapter of Acts, verses 1-11, we discover what can happen when the multi-generational royal family of kings in Israel continues over many years to attack and persecute those who have come to accept the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ, as their Lord, and the head of the new Church.  So, let’s take some time this morning to understand the impact of this line of kings in the lives of faithful people, both Jews and Christians before, during, and after our Savior.

1. Herod the Great - the first of the family of Herod’s from 41BCE to circa 1BCE. He is the Herod during the time of the birth of Jesus, and responsible for the horrific murder of young children in an attempt to kill the Newborn King! He was married 10 times! Now we will list the family members who had an influential presence in Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem.

   1. Herod Philip the First - He was the husband of Herodias. Both were responsible for the death of John the Baptist. He is mentioned as Philip in Matthew 14:3, Mark 6:17, Luke 3:19.

   2. Herod Antipas - He was the ruler of Galilee and Peraea, and the second husband of Herodias. This Herod consented to the death of John the Baptist. He is also the king to whom Pilate sent Jesus for trial. Luke 23:7ff (ff means and following verses)

   3. Archelaus - ruler of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. He was so bad that he was            deposed and banished. Matthew 2:22

   4. Herod Philip the Second - He was ruler of Ituraea and Trachonitis. He founded the city Caesarea Philippi. He too is mentioned as Philip in Luke 3:1

   5. Aristobulus - Another son of Herod the Great. Murdered by his own father. His mother was Mariamne, a princess of the Maccabean heroes.

   6. Herod Agrippa. He is the Herod mentioned in today's passage from Acts 12:1-11 who was determined to persecute the new Church, and who was responsible for the death of Jesus' brother James, and for the imprisonment of Peter.

In all of this it really seems that the Herod’s held a generational grudge against the Christians for claiming that Jesus was the new king of Israel, born to bring God's justice to His elect people, and beyond to the gentiles. I don't think that this family's married relationship with the Maccabees is insignificant. The Maccabees claimed to be the family of the Messiah and revolted against the Romans as part of this claim to rightful kingship in Israel and more! The beginning of this passage took place during the celebration of Passover. It is Ironic that is this the very same time frame as the crucifixion of Jesus, just several years earlier. This all takes us about halfway through this passage for today. What is even more important was the circumstance of Peter, arrested, imprisoned like a superhero, with guards immediately next to him at all times. It was the failure of Herod to understand that I am, I will be who I will be, is not restricted by the actions of people. The power of God's messenger to undo what Herod had done was miraculous. Peter's chains fell away at the request of this angel, doors unlocked and opened spontaneously, and Peter was guided to flee into the night. It is very likely that Peter would also have been killed, but this was not his time. Peter would go to Rome to be crucified. Yesterday we talked about a kind of God miracles that often include our own action, but in this reading, we see the power of God to undo what people in the wrong have attempted to do in opposition to God. It is God's desire for Peter to be free to do the work that is still before him. Peter has already seen the Resurrection of his Master. Once awake he realized that God had acted on his behalf.

In our lives I believe that God still intervenes to make what seems impossible become reality. We shouldn't be surprised! We know what God has done through His Son, and we are witnesses through Scripture to the mighty actions of our God who loves us so much, and we are frequently the recipients of those Holy miracles, even when we fail to see them up close and personal. I can speak personally about this happening in my own life. Last week I was nearly pushed into a concrete wall under the Alvernon bridge which crosses over the link between Golf Links and Aviation Barraza Highway. At my age I should never have been able to avoid hitting the wall, but somehow my response time was quick and appropriate to avoid the car that hadn't bothered to see me alongside of them. I have said more than one prayer of thanks to God for His presence in this miracle of safety. Though I ended up just inches from the wall, I was safe, and cars behind me slowed down to allow me to get back on the road. We need to remember that no matter how long some injustice seems to last, God has not gone away from us. He will shower us with His Love and Just Help. We need to always remain faithful in every circumstance.

With Love in Jesus Christ. Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Monday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 11:27-30 (February 9, 2026)

February 9, 2026:  Monday Bible Study on Acts 11:27-30

Good morning, and blessings for you and yours on this wonderful warm desert morning here in Tucson. It has been an exciting weekend with the UA men's basketball team continuing their undefeated record, and, of course, all the excitement of the Winter Olympics in Italy. Of course, we are in the midst of the world's largest gem show too, and coming soon will be the largest non-mechanized parade in the U.S.A. with rodeo at the end of the month. It feels like community activities are coming at us just one after another, and the Church Year is no different. Next week we will begin the Church Season of Lent with Ash Wednesday services at American on the 18th with imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion at Noon and 7PM. I hope that I will see you there as we begin our journey in Lent which brings us through the darkness of sin and brokenness in the world, and in our own lives, to the joy and celebration of the Resurrection of our Savior on Easter morning. In our prayers this week, please pray for Sharyn Burt and her family on the death of her sister Sonia in the Phoenix area, and pray for Letitia as she works to get her car repaired, and as she recovers from an injury to her ankle. Prayers too for the Prasek’s as they finish more medical testing and prepare to head to Tucson for the rest of the winter season.

Today's reading is not long, but it contains a truth of the nature of the Church as it became necessary for supportive actions to begin between communities of the faithful, to provide for their lives in the time of a prophesized famine. This would appear to be the earliest of these kinds of actions in the early Church, with the main one being Paul's offering collection in Asia Minor and Greece, to support the mission of the disciples in Jerusalem which was unable to sustain their own ministry without outside help. These kinds of answers to prayers offered to God for help often appear in our lives as miracles, which indeed they are! I can speak personally about this in my own life at the very beginning of my ministry. Our family had just come back from 14 months in Des Moines, IA at St. John’s Lutheran Church, a congregation of 3000 members. There our rent had been paid with a small monthly stipend, but we had to move our home back to Chicago for one final semester of classes at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Neither Melody nor I were working, and we had to pay rent, pay for tuition and books, and family expenses. At that point, our student loans and credit cards after four years of graduate school were pretty much tapped out. We could not pay our rent and owed more than $1,000 dollars. I would not be allowed to receive a call until that Seminary Bill was paid in full. Out of nowhere, well that's not exactly true, out of prayer, and the LORD'S answer to those prayers, a congregation where we had never been in southern Michigan, had been looking for a way to help someone preparing for ordained ministry. In a wonderful gift, our bills at the seminary for the last semester were covered in full, and I was able to accept the call to Trinity Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In our lives and work for the Gospel, there have certainly been other such wonderful miracles as well. Lest you think that these things just don't happen anymore. At the end of this last year at American we were faced with deficits that we knew would make it difficult to enter the next year's work and ministry for the Gospel of our Lord. I guess some things never change, do they? 20,000 years ago in Jerusalem, or a famine in Judah, or too tight finances in our congregation. And that lack was not due to our lack of heart for stewardship, it was only because of the demands for insurance on our building, and that $25,000.00 dollar roof deductible, and the ever growing costs of caring for our building, and the scam which cost us a lot of money over the fraudulent solar work that we had done, and then had to remove, but continue to pay for.  People are often victims through no fault of their own, and that includes the church even when the best efforts are being made to protect the gifts that the congregation receives. Into the midst of all this concern came some large, unexpected gifts of giving, enabling us to cover our costs, meet the budget, and move into the new year with a sigh of relief, even though we understood that similar money struggles were still out there ahead of us. All of us should always be praying for God's reconciling Love to meet both our spiritual needs and our worldly needs as a congregation. Of course, that means that we have to be involved and continuing to do the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our congregation and in our personal lives. But answers do come! God hears our petitions for his inbreaking help. My family has received it, our congregation has also received it, and the Lord is always ready to uphold and provide for His faithful children. Such miracles are not usually going to just fall around us in our time of need, but that does happen too. You and I, along with those whose hearts have been called to be those miracles in the Church have God's richest love surrounding us every day through the Spirit, and through our Savior. All I can say, Trust God with all that you are every day, and let Him move you to receive His miracles, and to be His miracles, just like the disciples who moved to make certain that the faithful in Judea would be cared for in a time of famine, a time when the disciple's commitment and love for their sisters and brothers in Christ would be God's miracles of Love!

By the way… Happy Valentines Day on Saturday this week. We are all God's valentine in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord!

With Love in Christ Jesus, Pastor Kim