Pastor's Ponderings: New Bible Study on Paul’s 1st letter to the Thessalonians (March 24, 2025)

March 25, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians

Good morning my dear friends in Christ. As I write this morning, Gail is in her knee surgery. Please keep her and her doctors in your prayers for success as they work to replace and repair her knee. And please remember Teri as she awaits her appointment with a new Orthopedic surgeon on Friday. Please pray that they have good news for her about the hip replacement surgery and that the cost for this new surgery will be covered. In times of continued division in our nation, pray for peace, fairness, and kept promises that social security, low-income aid for housing and medical care, and SSI coverage will continue to provide stability in the lives of so many people in our nation. In the midst of all of this stress, anger, and frustration, pray that our center in Christ will sustain us and fill us with the hope that is ours through His powerful love for all of His children. Firebombings of car dealerships in our nation are not the action of those of us who love Christ as our Savior, but our fervent prayers are indeed the action of truly faithful people who seek fairness and justice. Christ has already made it clear that He is the only one who rightfully judges His creation and all of its children. Guided by His Spirit we shall know how to move in the face of sin and brokenness, and faithlessness. May we all begin by seeing the model for the fullness of life which the LORD desires for all of us, in the person and in the Living Word, Jesus Christ.

Today we begin our study of Thessalonians. From the beginning of this letter, we get the feeling that the people in Thessalonica must really be together. What Paul often encounters in his journeys is that there are only a few in each community which he visits who find themselves moved by the strange message of a man who died and came back to life, and that, in combination with the Jewish history and traditions.  Evidently, in this community about 200 miles north of Athens, a bustling sea port, there really only are a few who are moved by Paul's presentation of the Gospel message, but by the power of the Holy Spirit they are really moved to not only hear, but to have their lives filled with hearts and minds which are transformed in ways that few of them would have thought possible.  The power of the Spirit is immense, fully God and fully Spirit at the same time. All of this is in much the same way as we speak of the divinity and humanity of Jesus, fully divine and fully human at the same time. I have had that same experience a number of times in my life, just as Thessalonians did, and it is powerful and emotionally potent, moving me to tears of joy and wonder when the Spirit's action comes to me at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.  Yesterday, as I practiced piano at home on our Yamaha Studio piano, I happened to pull out a Spring compilation of Christian Music book in which I have spent little time in the past years. The music in it is from 2008, and I have many other books that I usually work from to prepare preludes. I began to play a piece that I played back then, and in the center is a most complicated part of the music, with full cords and difficult parts, my hands and skill fells back into place, and I was deeply moved that through the Spirit, I was able to play, hear, and respond emotionally to what, and how, my fingers and vision moved together so powerfully after all of this time.  As I ended the piece I wept and gave thanks to God for such an unusual and powerful Spirit led experience. You should know that often happens to me when I sit and page by page go through the Hymnals and other music that we use at worship, songs that I have played for years move my heart in new and special ways. When I stop playing it is not out of frustration, but instead out of joy and wonder, knowing that text writers and composers knew Christ in the same way, and I understand exactly what Paul is speaking of here in these early verses of chapter one of First Thessalonians that these newest Christians have experienced in their lives.  For me it is the same way that the Spirit is so alive in my preaching. Guided in my early reading of the Sundays Scriptures that are ahead in the coming weeks, and perhaps even a month or two in advance, l am guided to a part of the passages that sets me to focus on a particular part or verse as it relates to the themes for that particular Sunday.  At that I await the arrival of the sermon title, and from there I let the Spirit guide me to shape a message that speaks the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, and His love for us, and in all of that happening, I must trust with awe and wonder at how the Spirit shapes my experiences as all of this continues to move my heart allowing the Gospel to speak to my need and the needs of all of us in the church, and beyond, filling the hearts of all who hear with that very same powerful Spirit-presence that has first moved me, and moves my words as I preach about His Love for us all. I know that this was the experience of this new community of Christians in Thessalonica too, and it was Paul's life, transformed by the Holy Spirit, through whom Paul's message transformed those who were Spirit-moved to receive it. This made all the difference in the lives of these new Christians, and today, it happens to the new in faith, and for us long timers in our faith journeys, who can still be, and often are, moved by such loving power. The story of Paul's imprisonment before his journey to Thessalonica is told in the Acts of the Apostles 16 and 17.  But his much more powerful story happens in the greeting and joy in the new faith of these people in Thessalonica whose changed lives and faith will now continue to do the work of the Gospel no matter where they are.  Though Paul was not long in Thessalonica, having heard the Christ's message from Paul for their lives, they were called to faith, love, and hope, in all of the places in which they might be challenged, and in the places where the mutuality of their strong faith strengthened their sisters and brothers whose lives had also been moved by the Spirit.  Like Paul, I too have found the power of joy, love, and hope in the Spirit's service in which our congregation has journeyed. Do not tire of service for the sake of the Gospel in all of the good things to which the Gospel and Spirit guides us.

With Love in Christ, and joy in the work of His Spirit, Pastor Kim

I am taking next Monday and Tuesday off to take care of our taxes for last year. I will be back with you for the Psalm Study on Thursdays as scheduled.

Pastor's Ponderings: Final Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 6:11-18 (March 24, 2025)

March 24, 2025:  Monday Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 6:11-18

Good Monday Morning my dear friends in Christ. It was an interesting start this morning as I headed to the post office after dropping the boys at school. There was a serious accident on the bridge on south Kino that goes over the rail yard. One car was heavily damaged in the front lying on its side on the road. Two other cars had minor damage, and of course the police were there.  I can only wonder how it is that someone could have such a bad accident in the forty mile an hour speed zone on top of the bridge. What I know for sure is that everyone involved deserves the prayers of the passersby who saw the severe damage to that overturned car. In prayers for today, please pray for Teri Hardy who is awaiting an appointment with a new orthopedic doctor on Friday, where she hopes that the news will be good for the new procedure that can restore her mobility, for Tricia as she discovers the results of the testing for her breast cancer treatments, for Gail who will have her knee replaced on Tuesday morning, for Gail's neighbors whose premature twin died in the NICU, a brother is still there, for safe travel for Mark and Linda as they head home to Wisconsin via a visit to their son in California, for Wanda who is recovering from an aortic bleed and the subsequent surgery to do the repair.  As you pray, please begin with confession of sin, and then joyfully receive Christ's forgiveness. Next offer praise and thanksgiving to Christ for the abundance of His blessings, both seen and unseen, and then move on to petition Him for yourself, and others for whom you are praying. I missed asking for prayers for all who feel like the stability in their lives may go away as the government makes major changes to the support on which they have been living, and through which they receive their medical care.

Today we are at the end of Paul's letter to the Galatians. At its beginning we encounter a statement by Paul that makes this letter an intimate personal expression of Paul for both his love, and his concern for these new Christians. What kind of difference does it make to you when you receive a handwritten Christmas letter, rather than one that has been processed on a computer. Handwriting is becoming a lost art. Most schools do not even teach it today. When someone takes the time to express their care for us in their own hand, it really does make a difference. That is exactly what Paul tells the Galatian church, "Look at the large size of my letters."  Paul is not using some scribe to record his thoughts; no, he is writing his passion for this new community in Christ. This may move these new Christians, both gentile and Jew, that in this very personal way Paul has a deep concern for this new creation in Christ which God has begun. No longer are the acts of circumcision or non-circumcision important. The truly only important thing is what God has done for all of His creation through Jesus Christ. In this new order of all things which God has begun, the only thing that counts is faith in the Savior. Here Paul talks about the marks he wears for Christ. He is not talking about what the Jewish Law requires. Instead he is referring to the marks of sacrifice, stewardship, setting aside his own ego needs ( though they do show up from time to time), the marks of loving kindness, gentleness, hospitality, generosity, constant prayer, loving the LORD above all else, and yes even the marks of being whipped and stoned as Paul was being rejected in some communities. 

You and I must remember that the old way of keeping the law has been set aside permanently in Christ, who is the only one who can truly fulfill the law of God, and now our participation with Christ, believing in His power to save us from our sin and brokenness, bringing to us His powerful gifts of forgiveness, life with God today and always, and Salvation, are the new creation which the LORD has brought through His Son and the Spirit which are certainly bold proof of the overarching love of God for us and for His whole creation.  At the end of Paul's letter, he offers a benediction and blessing to the whole of the Galatian Community. As we complete this book of Scripture please be blessed in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Together we live in God's New Creation through our Savior Jesus Christ!

Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 11 (March 20, 2025)

March 20, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 11

Good morning to you all on this beautiful Thursday in Tucson. I pray for you that God's richest blessings will abound in your life, and more, that your faith will remain as the greatest strength of your life.

Please continue to pray for our members and friends who are battling health issues. Hold Tricia. Kandice, me, Maddison's father, Jeff, and anyone else who you may know who is battling cancer. Pray for Regina who has some complicated eye issues, and for Della who has regular care for her eyes as well. Give thanks for all of the little ones who have come into our congregation with their parents and grandparents. "Yo-yo", Oliver, Oakley and her parents, Alice's other grands, twins and a toddler of Christian's and Elody’s, Jesus tells us they are a great treasure in the Church. Pray for the disarray of job losses with the government, that the people who have lost their jobs will soon be able to find employment and good jobs that fit their skills. Pray that with this downsizing, the work of these departments will still be able to serve the citizens of our nation. Pray for Pastor Ron and Becky who are flying today to attend the funeral of a good friend and be with Mark and Linda as they prepare to begin their journey home after visiting their son. There are always enough circumstances which need our prayers, both the difficult ones, and the ones that bring joy and comfort.

Today we are in Psalm 11. This is another Psalm which is believed to have been written by David. Its themes remain similar to the ones which came before it. We must always remember that the times in which David was shepherd and king were extraordinarily difficult. There was inter-tribal conflict (war) always going on, or just on the horizon, and the nations of the East were constantly faced with nation-to-nation war too! There were certainly plenty of good reasons for David to hold the themes steady in these early Psalms. This one is no exception. For David there is the threat of many enemies, and we see his desire to be able to depend on the LORD. (This word is used instead of the attempt to verbalize God's name, YHWH, which was, and still is today, to holy to be pronounced. To do so is to claim understanding of the Holy One of the Heavens and the whole universe.) Today we use LORD instead out of respect for people of faith in the LORD who are not Christian. If there was one thing that David did not do, it was to become too familiar with God. Throughout the Psalms that we have covered so far, David tells those who will hear, or read, these song-poems that God chooses to do things in His own way, and in His own time, and sometimes David, along with us, wonders why God chooses to not respond in the way, or in the time frame, that we would like Him too.  With David we have to allow God to be God yet have faith with thanksgiving for all of the ways that the LORD has acted before, and will act again in the future, and that occasionally God will act now, in just the way that our prayers have asked. 

David speaks the truth of God in this first part of Psalm 11 that his enemies are not known, they lurk in the shadows, out of sight, and attack without warning. Perhaps you have someone in your family or "friends?" who is trying behind your back to take advantage of you in your life.  We often find these things out when it comes time for a will to be read, or a loved one’s belongings to be divided. Sometimes we encounter this reality in the church too. It often happens when a group of people who we have believed to be faithful brothers and sisters to everyone in the community begin to gossip and quietly complain about something which they have a problem over. It is probably one of the greatest reasons why a pastor chooses to leave a congregation after only a few short years.   It seems too often like Pastors leave before we really get to know them as people and understand the power of the Gospel's presence in their lives. David makes it clear that those who work against the members who follow the LORD'S path, will be destroyed by God at some point in their lives, or perhaps at their Judgement before our Savior.  According to David's song-poem 11, God will act against those who are the enemies of the faithful people, whose hearts have never really been transformed by the Spirit's work in their lives, while those who are faithful can depend on the judgement of the LORD in all things.  God is steadfast in His promise to hold all of us faithful ones in His care. We all just need to trust in His promise all of the time. Thanks for spending time with me today.

With trust in the power of the LORD'S Love for all of us in Jesus Christ, Pastor Kim