Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalms 3 (December 19, 2024)

December 19, 2024:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalms 3

Blessings and Peace dear friends. This morning, I am using my new computer, so I am getting a late start. It is trying, and I assume will eventually succeed, to get all of that put back into place so that I am able to work quite a bit more quickly.

Please offer prayers of thanksgiving for the success of Kandice getting five liters of liquid removed from her body. It sounds like the doctors may well need to remove at least five more, so pray that can be done in the very near future. Della will soon be moving to memory care at the Cascades, but I am hopeful that once she gets that higher level of care, she will be able to return for worship on some Sundays. Pray for the family who will have Mom, and her two children Baptized on the 4th of January. Pray that they will consider becoming a part of our worshiping community. Pray for Jesse and myself, as we spend some time in the next two weeks getting ready for our trip back to Michigan for my brother's celebration of life. I am also asking members to bring angels from their homes that can be placed on, and around, the altar on Christmas Eve. Please bring them this Sunday, and then we will have two more Sundays on which to celebrate the Christmas Season. Please remember that Christmas Eve worship starts at 7PM. I hope we will see you there as we celebrate the greatest gift in the history of our world, the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem.

Today we move on to Psalm 3, and we find out that not all Psalms are about gentleness and loving kindness. This Psalm may well be a Psalm of David, and if so, it would have been written around the time that David's son, Absalom, is threatening David's kingship. We do realize early on this Psalm that David places a great deal of trust in the LORD for keeping him safe from the hands of his enemies. At the same time, he has written this Psalm as an appeal to the LORD to keep him out of the hands of those who are a threat to his life, and his place as the king of Israel. (see 2 Samuel 15) Of course, many of the kings of Israel found themselves in the very same kind of place in their rule over the country. Even Saul, who was initially a pretty good king, found himself paranoid about the role that David might play in Saul's demise. It was so invasive in Saul's thinking that he could no longer help himself to find his way out of that feeling of being betrayed. It is certainly true that even in the time of the judges, those selected to lead found themselves in trouble with the people, or those who thought that they should be removed. Scripture itself shares story after story about God's deliverance for those of faith, when it looks like there is no chance to overcome the enemy. Just as an aside, you and I face an enemy too. That enemy is death. We know that we cannot defeat death on our own, but with the gift of Jesus Christ, we are able to come to that time when we know it is not far off. with a sense of calm. We appeal to God, seeking His intervention, that we might have eternal life, and the LORD has given us the answer in Christ's Resurrection from the dead, the sure and certain promise that, like Christ, when we live in faith, we too shall share in the Resurrection to eternal life.

So, how do we keep going when faced with what seems to be insurmountable odds? The people of God have always turned to the LORD for the answers to the plights of our lives. The first thing that we must do is to face the LORD with the truths, or facts of our situation. If we hope to be held on to by God, we must bring into the midst of our relationship with Him the difficult truths of what is going on. Second, when we are stressed by what is going on, or when we are confident of the overwhelming danger that we will face, we must not forget our relationship with God. Our God, David's God, is no small, puny, garden-variety god. Our God wields the greatest power we will ever know, His passion for His people! And here is the kicker, what God has done before, He will do again for His children, so rest well, knowing the one who is our defender in all the hard things of this world. God has always and will always choose to be our deliverer in all things.

Please remember that there will not be Bible Studies for a while. Studies will resume on Monday, January 20th. When I am away from doing these three studies each week, please be sure to take the time to read ahead in the Psalms, and also be sure to get a copy of the Daily Devotional at church. God Bless you and keep you safe from all harm in the month ahead.

With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 2:11-14 (December 17, 2024)

December 17, 2024:  Tuesday Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 2:11-14

Good morning my dear friends in Christ. It was a very frustrating morning today. My current computer has decided to become intermittent in the reception of the internet, so Jesse and I worked on it for an hour trying to get it to open and to receive our Cox internet. After that frustrating time, Jesse brought out his computer, new in June, and I could hardly believe how fast it was. So, I have pulled out a new computer which we had at home, and we are in the process of loading it with all of my data, information, emails, security programs, passwords, etc. It will probably have to update for a long time to get up to date.  Please pray today for the families of the child and teacher who were shot and killed at their Christian School in Madison, WI. Also pray for the families of the 12 vacationers who lost their lives to carbon monoxide poisoning.  Pray for our drummer Jeff who is home very ill today from his work. I thank God for the power of the prayers you all offer on behalf of circumstances of illness, tragedy, and war around the world.

Today we continue in chapter two of Paul's Letter to the Galatians church verses 1-14. If there is any word that describes this reading, and it will take Paul a bit longer to theologically unpack what surrounds it, is the word hypocrite, or as the text I am using, in more modern English, is "Play-Acting. In our modern culture in the Church to use such a work is a real "slam" against a person who is doing it. Here, I think that Paul is pretty angry, perhaps most especially because he has already been to Jerusalem, after waiting 14 years, to convey the understanding between himself and Peter and James that they are really working in two different areas of ministry, Paul with those who are gentile and uncircumcised, Peter and James with Jews, all of whom are circumcised.  In their separation it became more than that primary identity way of identifying two differing communities. It would appear that the Peter and James have, when in their home ministry areas, fostered the idea that there is a greater social division too.  However, when Peter is 300 miles north of Jerusalem in a community of those who have never been circumcised, and during the time that he is with this community of people, he acts (as a hypocrite) in the way that would indicate that all over in Peter's ministry he has taught and represented himself to be a person who believes in the unity of the people in the church, regardless of where they are from or what physical action has been taken for them to identify as the people of Paul.  That takes us to another issue that Paul ultimately faces, about the validity of Baptisms, no matter who did them.  But this topic is for another time, and in reality, is really much the same as the one Paul is facing with Peter in this reading. We should all be familiar with segregation in the south of our nation prohibiting Blacks from sharing eating establishments, lodgings, swimming pools, and any number of things that we no longer see as issues thanks to the driving ministry of the Baptist church in the South of which Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor.  Today we are shocked when somehow a person is seen as less than American because of the color of their skin, or their national heritage, or their sexual identity. As the Church has grown more mature in its Christology of inclusion we have watched as some of our brothers and sisters have chosen to form new churches because they just can live with the inclusivity of Christ, needing instead to divide and separate from those who have chosen to live into the truth of Christ's life, ministry, death and Resurrection which is for ALL PEOPLE!

At American we are really good about sharing Christian Fellowship through meals and gatherings around the important times of life, and just because Lutherans really know how to do food! Though our worship is a corporate experience, it really is also, in many ways, individual. Here is one of the problems for Peter. When more conservative Christianized Jews arrive at the meal, Peter attempts to withdraw from sharing food and fellowship with those people of Antioch, trying to avoid a conflict with those who believed that it was wrong for Peter to be eating and sharing fellowship with those "uncircumcised" people. Paul accuses Peter of being a hypocrite for his actions around this issue. It might help us to know that Antioch was really at the heart and center of the Christian movement in Asia Minor. I have to think that Peter felt that he was doing a good thing by breaking bread at table as a sign of the unity that already existed, but to pull back away from this sharing good fellowship really instead indicated that his heart was only in this for show.  Let's face it, many Christians live hypocritical lives, confessing their faith on Sunday morning, and rejoicing in Christ's gift of faith, but during the rest of the week, they live their lives as if they don't even know their Savior, because it would be a difficult time for them in their everyday lives as they relate to those who have no relationship with our Savior.  We need to have those relationships too by the way, praying for the Spirit's intervention to help us with words, thoughts, and confidence to be the very same person we are when we are in the Community of Believers together. I know this sounds like it ought to be easy, but so often we are afraid to try, or we close off Christ's love as the model we will live in every day. I think Peter must have been very embarrassed when Paul raised this issue before the present witnesses. When Paul gets into his Pharisee mode, he is a really forceful representative for Christ. We will have to wait to see if this is Paul burning bridges with Peter and the Jerusalem Christians. We need to know that the mission in Jerusalem will struggle, and only survives because of Paul's drive to move the whole of the Church to understand that the only necessary force for unity is Jesus Christ.

Next Week there will be no Bible Studies through New Year’s, and January will be Bible Study light because I will be away for my brother's celebration of life in Michigan.

With the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 2:6-10 (December 16, 2024)

December 16, 2024:  Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 2:6-10

May the perfection of our LORD Jesus Christ stand before you so that your life may be filled with opportunities to bring joy to the hosts of heaven. We are only now just one Sunday left in Advent. Christmas Eve Service is scheduled for Tuesday evening at 7 PM next week. I hope that you will set aside the time to join our congregation for this festival worship opportunity. This coming Sunday at 8:30AM we will be showing a wonderful Christmas movie about the Biblical account of the journey of Mary and Joseph and their burro to Bethlehem and all of the intrigue in human evil which attempts to prevent the coming of the Christ Child. This story is a wonderful, for all ages, animation gift for all of us. I hope that you can join us for this special movie showing. Please continue to pray for my family on the death of my brother Rick last week. I will be traveling to be in western Michigan for his funeral on January 11. So, prayers for God's speed for both Jesse and Me, as well as family and friends who will be coming for Rick's celebration of life. Prayers too for Kandice and her father. Kandice's cancer numbers are climbing rapidly now, and her father has fallen and broken his hip on a different Hawaiian Island. All of these changes are going to make their Christmas celebrations much more difficult. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving that, in spite of her Dr. ordered limitations, and the hip socket issues, Teri has been able to get back to church.  Thank you, God! Please keep the Backers in your prayers as they now travel to California to be with their family for Christmas and remember Pastor Ron and Becky too as they get ready to head down to Tucson from Minnesota.

Today we are in Chapter two of Galatians verses 6-10. I don't know about you, but it really seems like Paul is exhibiting his sense of superiority in his mission and spread the Gospel in Asia Minor.  That really should not surprise us, after all Paul is a person of extra special learning that has led him to be one of the most knowledgeable Pharisees there has ever been. I would think that he would naturally be filled with himself and his ability. It should not surprise us then that he seems to be a little Haughty when he speaks of others. Twice, when Paul speaks about those whose reputations are already out there in the world, in verse 6 Paul lets the reader know that they really may not be all that special, or they may be really special, but whatever the situation, Paul says that it does not affect him.  It is obvious that the disciples have a kind of natural seniority, which Paul cannot match, no matter how he tries. But Paul has come to meet with the disciples so that they may get all of this sorted out for the sake of the UNITY in the new church. Both circumcised and uncircumcised men must be able to work in unity for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As you can see here, it was uncommon for women to hold positions of authority and power in the new church. Not everyone was a Lydia.  So, in this meeting with the disciples three things happen that make it possible for many Christians to move forward in their faith with confidence that no matter how many errors the church's new people make, the Church will work because God will bring them all together, providing His Mighty Gift of Faith to all of their Gospel work.

1. The Jerusalem disciples add nothing to Paul. His faith and his work can stand solidly on their own.

2. The disciples were happy to agree that a division that serves all communities would be best.

3. Paul is reminded by the disciples to remember the poor.  A little later in Paul's ministry, he will undertake to collect the necessary monies to keep the disciples' ministry in Jerusalem running.

Neither Paul nor the Disciples would have ever been able to do this work if the hand of God had not been with them. It is not easy to explain and convey to others the strange, intimate, and powerful work of the One True God. I know how the ministry for the Gospel feels to me in my life but explaining it to someone else is not easy. I feel consumed by it! Even at nearly 75 years of age, I know how much more there is that needs to be done, and how much more I have to share about this consuming presence of God's truth in my life all of the time.  It's just like trying to talk about God's Grace on Sunday in a way that we might all understand, but I sure know when it is in, with, and around me all of the time.  I can think of anything that could possibly fill my life in the same way, and though my Love for my family is nearly equal, the presence of the LORD fills me, and compels me to take whatever future steps in my service God challenges me to take.

God bless you. In the Name of Jesus, and with His love, Pastor Kim