Pastor's Ponderings: Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10 (April 7, 2025)

April 7, 2025:  Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10

Good morning after my break last week.  It is good to be back with you.  The best news is that I have a new computer, and it takes seconds to start, to move from item to item, and to open emails.  Prayers today for Sue who is having her first cataract surgery this week.  Please keep her in your prayers for good surgery, and a quick recovery.  Pray too for Annette who is having major dental work done this month.  Pray for our world, God's creation, to turn to the Risen Savior as His Church celebrates His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  I hope that you will be able to be with us for Easter on the 20th of April.  Our brunch starts at 8:30 with items brought in by our members, and our festival worship is at 10.  Our musicians are busy preparing for this special celebration.  Offer a prayer of Thanks to God for their devotion to their singing and playing and keep me in your prayers to as I prepare for this most special day. 

 Today as we move to Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonica, we discover something quite unusual.  These new Christians had become energized with the message of the Gospel in such a way that the news of their new faith, and their devotion to the Risen LORD, had spread from north to south, and east to west, all around them, and even to the north into places where it would have been unheard of for anyone to bring a message other than the multiplicity of Roman deities, who under the right conditions could be convinced to do the worshiper's bidding.  I know that sounds a little like the way in which we speak about Christ, but its reality was not similar at all.   The gods of Rome, and the somewhat different Greek gods, perhaps mostly different by the names that Greeks used for them, were petty, back biting, waring with one another, and were often malevolent toward those who worshiped them.  At least that is what the worshipers believed about what they would do.  Paul teaches them about a very different faith.  Faith in God's only begotten Son, raised from the dead on the third day, and Savior of the world, a loving, compassionate, caring Son, who died for the sins of the world, making it possible for all people to be forgiven through faith in God's Son.  So, in all of this the newly faithful in Thessalonica were so changed in their faith and action that others also found their message of Christ to be compelling because of the energy and excitement in Jesus.  Indeed, such energy and excitement get caught by many others.

In 1964 I traveled through the western United States on a six-week trip with my parents.  There were many firsts on that trip.  We went to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon.  If you remember your first trip to these spectacular national parks, then you probably also remember sharing your excitement at seeing Old Faithful erupt on the hour, or the vistas of the vastness and beauty of the Grand Canyon.  That excitement often causes others to plan a trip that includes both of these wonderful parks.  That is exactly what happened as the Thessalonians shared the Good News that had filled their lives.  As your pastor I have the privilege of sharing my excitement and faith every week as we gather for worship.   I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such a gift of speaking and working to live my life as an example of Christ's Love for everyone.  Let me explain a little further.  Another message both Melody and I share constantly as opportunity arises is how wonderful our lives have been because of our commitment to a large family.  Our children, whether biological or adopted, are a fulfillment of our desire to have a large family.  We knew that from the time that we were first married, and even before.  We were never put off by someone telling us that all of our children who were adopted would present all kinds of issues and would be extraordinarily difficult.  You all know the outcomes of these wonderful, now mostly young adults, who through our love for them, and the love of their brothers and sisters in Christ are making their way through life successfully.  Of course, our prayer has always been that others, through our witness, would consider doing foster care and adoption, allowing it to be a big part of their lives.  It is all about living our lives in Christ with the compassion that we have first learned from Him.  I hope that you can see how the Thessalonian's changed lives caused the news of their new faith to spread far and wide.  The message of their faith in Christ rocketed throughout the part of the world in which they lived.  This is especially important because Roman leaders were deemed to be a god at the time of their death, and even some living ones took that designation on as well.  The world in which these new Christians lived was full of opportunities to worship false gods, but the truth and power of Christ in His life, and in His Resurrection, filled the lives of these new Christians, and many who would come to faith in Christ after them.

I will be back with you tomorrow as we move forward with our texts.

With love in Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 13 (April 3, 2025)

April 3, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 13

Good morning my dear friends in Christ. Today we’re moving on in the Psalms to #13.

But before we begin, let's consider prayers for our members and friends once again.  Please pray for Kandice, Lisa, and Alexis in Hawaii as Kandice now needs to recertify for her disability assistance as a result of US government changes. Please pray for our members Larry and Joyce who are battling a pretty serious identity theft situation.  Please pray for Tricia, as she begins treatments after a biopsy this week. All of this is keeping her in Tucson from a planned trip to see her grandchild in Philadelphia. Pray for our Jesse as he starts a new job on Saturday at Park Place Mall. It is a temporary full-time job for a couple of weeks. Please pray for Josiah as he goes to a job fair on the 8th to apply for part time employment while he attends college.  Pray for Chris too who is looking for work that fits his skill set. Please pray for our seniors who are worried about their support for housing, medical, and social security from the federal government since all of the changes are still quite uncertain.

Now on to Psalm 13. If I were to give this Psalm a title it would simply be "How long LORD?"  Here we have David questioning the LORD'S response time to his requests for assistance with his enemies. In his pride as the king, he is also apparently a bit worried about how it all looks to those on the outside, and yet after all of his complaining, David offers words of confident faith, letting God know that he has not lost his way.  We really haven't changed much over 2500 years, have we?  When we find ourselves in really difficult times, it is the very same question as David's frustration with the LORD, that you and I think and speak as well. I can think of any number of circumstances when people would say this. For a loving couple who want to have children but have been unable to conceive, I know that this question to the LORD is on their minds if not on their lips. Why do I know this? This was Melody and my situation when we wanted a large family and could not over a 6-year period succeed in getting our family started. To say the least we were impatient over the whole situation. We were even at the point where a baby we would adopt had been born, and then we got pregnant having to give up the adoption of the child for which we had worked so long to get approval. We had one great gain in joy, and one great painful loss all at the same time. In all of this though we gave thanks for the blessing which was then coming our way. This Psalm of David makes great sense to us. As people of faith, we too live it in our lives from time to time. A wayward adult child may also have us asking this question, especially in today's world, where beginning life as a young adult is so difficult. Mom and Dad cannot always be there with every answer, so both they and their newly young adult are asking that question from their own perspectives as well. This is a short Psalm unlike some that are coming up that are literally pages long, and yet it speaks to our hearts, especially when our faith seems to falter, stumbling while we wonder if God will respond to our fervent prayers.  David shows us that even in circumstances that seem too difficult and even embarrassing, we must have confidence that the LORD of all things is with us, and sometimes that means having faith for a lifetime as we wait for God's ultimate answer through Jesus Christ. May God bless you this day and hold you in His care throughout your life.

With love in Christ, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 12 (March 29, 2025)

March 29, 2025:  Thursday (Saturday) Bible Study on Psalm 12

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ on this beautiful Saturday morning. Yes, I know that it is Saturday and not Thursday. This past week my computer has really been struggling to load and keep the internet running in a constant stream. The computer takes 20 minutes or more just to open to the point that I am able to use the internet, and then another 15 minutes to download the internet, and then the internet is intermittent at best. I am using it today, but I am not certain that it will continue to work smoothly. The internet just went off on this computer for a minute. All of this makes working really interesting. Thanks for understanding - There is a new computer on the way! Please keep everyone who is impacted by all of the changes in the Government and the benefits that our citizens depend on. Our member Kandice is having to recertify her status and illness level with the state and federal program that have been giving her disability coverage for her stage four cancer. It puts a great deal of pressure on Lisa too. Teri's news is that a new orthopedist is now seeking to do her necessary surgery, but it is entirely dependent on her insurance company paying its share, and Banner hospital's willingness to cover the now $20,000 additional cost. If approved, it will move forward, taking several months for the newly developed replacement to be custom built to fit Teri's hip.  So, please continue to hold her in your prayers every day. I know that these folks who are our sisters in Christ truly give thanks to God for your prayers on their behalf. Please keep Regina in your prayers for issues she is having with her eyes, which require special medical care. Pray too for Tricia, who is awaiting decisions about treatment options for breast cancer. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving that Gail's knee replacement surgery was successful, and that she is doing well at home.

Our Psalm today is the 12th. This text begins with the claim that there is an extreme absence of people of faith, good people, who know and do right in the land. The Psalmist tells us that people cover their true nature and are false in their devotion and faithfulness for the good of their nation and communities. These faithless people believe that their false words will cover their intent and believe that through their thinking and speaking they will have everything they need to remain in power just because they have everybody fooled. Next the Psalmist moves on to tell his readers that there are signs of the truth of this reality in his nation. The lowly are being destroyed, and the needy are crying out for someone to help them in their circumstances, and it is in the face of this unholy injustice that the LORD will choose to rise up and will take the action for which the faithful have been waiting.  Because of the Psalmist's certainly of the LORD'S action to deal with this situation, words from the writer of this Psalm, who may well be David, offer praise to God for the power of His actions on behalf of the downtrodden, but even at that, tells us that the faithless people will always be in the midst of the community, that they will never be fully defeated, and that is because of their sin and brokenness (worthlessness)  that will always be a part of people’s lives.  In this battle of good and evil, God will always remain to carry out His justice. I know that this Psalm leaves some unanswered questions for us, but ultimately, God's answer will be the coming Messiah who will judge both the faithful and the unfaithful, who will establish for the LORD a kingdom of the faithful people.  When we move to Psalm 13 next week, we will see that question HOW LONG will it be? That is the question that may have been on your mind as we moved through this Psalm of David.

Thank you so much for your patience this week. I am looking forward to a new computer soon.

With love in Christ, Pastor Kim