Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 9:32-35 bible study (April 29, 2024)

April 29, 2024

Monday Morning Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 9:32-35

May the blessings of the Easter season be with you today and each day of your life. In His Resurrection Christ has broken the burden of sin and death. We no longer need to be burdened by the brokenness in our lives, nor by death at our life's end. God has answered our every concern and given to us healing and hope in all circumstances. Please continue prayers for Pastor David, Jeff, and Kandice, all who are battling cancer. Pray for their comfort, peace, and hope in Christ to sustain and keep them each day of their journeys with this difficult disease. Pray for Katie too as she begins her physical therapy to regain her strength, and to continue her healing. Continue to pray for her as she faces coming health concerns from her extreme dehydration. May our Lord be with each of these people, surrounding them with comfort and hope in these tough times in their lives.

Bible Study: exploring scripture together

Today we continue on in the 9th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, verses 32-35.  In this passage we are confronted with the lack of understanding which the disciples are carrying in their lives, even after several years of experience, and teaching from their Master. Here they argue in a most human way, which of them is the greatest. They are seeing the coming death of the Master like any great person would see it. Someone must be handed the lead position to carry on. We know that Peter is named the Rock on which the future church must be built, yet we come to understand the frailty of Peter who still has human fears for his own life, and then Christ undoes their conversation by indicating to them in their thoughts of greatness, that it will be the one who is humble of heart, and whose life is given in service to others, not because of assignment, but because such humility and a caring, compassionate heart is who they have become through the teachings of Jesus.

We can see how seriously Jesus took all of this conversation that the disciples were having. Jesus often taught the disciples on the run, so to speak. They took a walk, or moved away from the crowds in some way, as difficult as that was to do. They spoke around meals, and the disciples listened as Christ taught the masses of people who gathered around Him. However, in this passage it becomes obvious that Jesus needs to nip this conversation in the bud. He sits down, taking precious time, to confront the disciples, and to teach them immediately what true greatness is really about. The signal to the disciples that this was really important was in Christ taking the rabbinical style. He didn't need to tell them how important this was, the physical style of the space was a complete indication for them that this message was to be regarded with the strictest importance.  We must also remember where Jesus and the disciples were at this moment. They have left the relative safety of the north and are now in the places in which the detractors and enemies of Christ had power. Jesus needed to be certain that the disciples understood how important their lives were with regards to continuing Christ's ministry truly were. It is important that those who are humble of heart are able to acknowledge others in their community who are greater than they are. As the pastor of our congregation, I am constantly amazed at the many gifts of the Spirit that are shared by our members. There are those who are amazing at speaking the Truth of God, others whose gifts for discernment certainly outshine mine, some have courage and faith strength that is quietly, yet powerfully present in their lives every day, those who can teach the Gospel to a variety of age groups effectively, those whose lives shine with the hospitality of the Spirit,  and more.  Jesus knew that He must draw on these amazing gifts of the disciples, that they might be shared after His death. He just needed the disciples to know, and in what mode, their gifts would be most successful for the work of the Church. And above all, they must be used with humility, providing for God's in-breaking love for all people.

I will be with you tomorrow to offer my thoughts on Mark 9:36-37.

 In Christ's love, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study on Nehemiah 1:5-11 (April 25, 2024)

Thursday Bible Study on the Old Testament book of Nehemiah 1:5-11

Once again, I say to you, Happy Easter! We have too much to be thankful for. This week the water to the Parish Hall kitchen was finally repaired. The new custom over-the-roof water line arrived, and everything seems to be working pretty well.  As we approach the end of April, the evaporative coolers in both the parish hall and the church worship area are now working. Thanks to Robert for all of his hard work to get this all done. Our Foodies of Faith group is headed out to Cheddar's tomorrow at 11:30AM. We have 10 folks coming out with us for a great time of food and fellowship in Christ's Name.

Nehemiah Old Testament bible study

Today we are in the 1st chapter of Nehemiah, verses 5-11. I know this seems like a quick transition from Ezra, but we at once see similarities between the two OT books. They are on the scene about 100 years after the first group of Judahite exiles left Persia to return to the promised land, specifically Jerusalem and the destroyed temple.  A return to a war-torn area is never easy, and quite frankly, it is dangerous, as the people who have settled the land since the exile are now well established. The issues of intermarriage and economic blending have already been addressed, and there must be the acknowledgement of the broken relationship that existed at the time of the exile, but the zeal of both Ezra and Nehemiah for moving the Judahites forward in their confession and progress in rebuilding are evident in Nehemiah's prayer which acknowledges both his own culpability and the culpability of the first exile settlers and the current ones.  But as we should with all prayer, this prayer begins with a proclamation of the One Great God of all things, who is the Creator, the Just One of Heaven and Earth, the only Worthy God whose Truth and Commitment can always be depended on,  the Rightful Judge, the One who Loves all of His Creation, and most especially, His Jewish children.  God is the One who has the right to forgive, who continues to support and encourage them. who will protect them from their enemies. The problem is that God's children have too often forsaken Him and chased after other god's, gods that they can manipulate as they wish. So now Nehemiah implores God to restore His relationship with His children who are now in Jerusalem to rebuild if they will enter into this relationship with solid commitment.

When we offer our confession to God on Sundays at worship, and we lay claim to God's Great Love for us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then we offer our confession which includes in it our desire to live as the forgiven ought to, with a willing heart to be wholly committed to Christ's Church, and to serving the Truth of Christ's Gospel news for the sake of the world.  Receiving Absolution through the merit of our Savior means that we too must respond. This two way relationship means that in forgiveness we are ready to make changes in our level of commitment to God's desires for our life, and though we fail from time to time, It is our whole hearted trying to do better, and sometimes succeeding, that moves us forward in our relationship with God.

In Christ's Love, Pastor Kim

Pastor's Ponderings: Meandering through Mark 9:30-31 bible study (April 23, 2024)

Tuesday Morning Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 9:30-

31

In this season of Easter may Christ's Grace and Blessings surround you.

A found adult child in critical care recovery, a new baby born, a car accident whose driver was injured but is home in recovery, prayers answered, HS graduates celebrating a new time in their lives, finding summer jobs, a successful yard sale and fund raiser to assist our sisters in Christ (circa $2525 donated and made at the yard sale), successful recovery from knee replacement, all from the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the abundance of blessings from our Father in Heaven.  Thank you, God, we love Jesus, and His Spirit. so that we might know in our hearts of the in-breaking of Your Love.

New Testament Bible Study

OK, you have caught me. There are a few verses which I covered without naming them in my last Bible Study, so today we are on to Mark 9:30,31.  You and I have been busy celebrating Easter and the glory of the Lord's Resurrection, so it is a little hard for us to get back into Mark to speak about these two verses in which our Savior speaks directly to His disciples about what is now coming for Him and for them.  Typically, as we might expect in the Gospel of Mark, what seems to us to be perfectly clear about the Lord's death and Resurrection, are a confusing teaching for the disciples. After all, you and I have lived for nearly 2000 years with the knowledge of the Resurrection event, but for Christ's closest followers, this information is really new, amazing, and brings a broad lack of comprehension.  The amazing thing in this passage is that Jesus, unlike other times when He has explained His teaching in parables, now chooses to let this information He has offered sink in gradually, no direct explanation right now. Now we really see Jesus reach that turning point after his conversations with ancient prophets on the Mount of Transfiguration, and His purity which shows in the view of three disciples who have gone with Him and seen Him brighter than the sun in the sky. Yet another clue exists here. As He speaks about His coming death and rising from the dead, Jesus also says that He is being delivered into the hands of His enemies. The disciples may not have noticed this, and perhaps in a casual reading of these verses in Mark we have not picked up on it either.  There is no doubt that the disciples were prepared to go with Jesus to His death at the hands of those who should have known better, but what they don't get is that Jesus will do something that no one else has ever done.  He will rise from the dead on the third day! One commentator tells us that the disciples were like men who knew so much already that they were unable to understand this one more thing that was so crucial to coming into the fullness of God's Grace in Christ. And the life, forgiveness, and salvation which Christ's death and rising would bring for us and for all of God's creation. Did you ever not hear something which was so offensive to your senses that your mind closed it out? Perhaps this is what happened to Christ's disciples when he spoke to then of dying and rising on the third day.  This was something so new, so different, so much God's miracle for us, and for His Son, that at this time the disciples would have to wait until they actually watched it unfold before them before they could really understand it all. There are too many "Christians" today who only hear and accept what they like, and the rest of Christ's truth they set aside. God does not always, and maybe we can say never, gives us things the way we like them, (except for Christ's saving Grace, but even that takes allowing the Spirit to move our hearts and minds to believe in the Savior), but we don't always want to love our neighbors as ourselves!  Such a commandment is really hard for us to fulfill every moment of every day. You mean I have to love the ones who are willing to reject me and do me harm?!   After all, isn't that what Jesus did for the ones who moved to destroy Him?  Being fully immersed in our faith and belief in Christ is our aim. Succeeding at it some of the time is what we always need Christ's forgiveness for! Thank God for the Love of Christ for our lives.

In Christ's Love, Pastor Kim

Next Monday I will try to remember to talk about why Jesus was in the North and why that was so safe for Him.