Pastor's Ponderings: Monday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 1:1-5 (July 7, 2025)

July 7, 2025:  Monday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 1:1-5

Good morning my dear friends in Christ. I pray that your national holiday weekend went well and found you enjoying your travels, or your stay at home, or your family time. We had a really great time at home. We traveled out to park the van and watched the Kino Ball Park fireworks, and off in the distance we could see the A Mountain displays taking place at the same time. After grilling out for our evening meal we turned on KUAT channel 6 and watched the Capitol party and fireworks too. After that we just tried to get our Yorkie to calm down as the neighborhood went nuts with explosions and displays. At church on Sunday, we did Gospel Music Worship followed by the Great American Picnic carry-in. The worship was great, and as always, the food was great too.

If you were not with us at worship yesterday, know that Little Gypsy who was bitten by a rattle snake, is healed and back to running around and being playful at home. Thank you all so much for your prayers of support for Teri during this tough time with her dog. Please continue to pray for Kandice and Lisa in Hawaii. Kandice has had some near pain free days over the past several weeks, which certainly makes it much easier for Lisa to be her care giver. Lisa has tests and possible surgery coming up soon as well. If you would like to make a gift contribution for them, as their rent is jumping $200 in July, you can do so through the church. I know that our worship space is warm this time of the year. Our coolers are running, but the higher humidity makes them less efficient, so please dress in light clothing, and pick up a fan at the Narthex doors when you come for worship.

Today we begin our study of the Acts of the Apostle's. We are in chapter 1, verses 1-5.

As we read today's text, we discover that this is really Luke's second major letter to Theophilus. The first is one of our favorite Gospels because of it compassion for those who are downtrodden in their society, woman, orphans, the poor, and those who are infirm for any reason. We also love Luke's first letter to Theophilus because it holds in its earliest chapters, the Christmas Eve birth Narrative in its second chapter. Of course, this book is the Gospel of Luke. Now we come to the second letter of Luke to Theophilus, the book of Acts (The Acts of the Apostles). Perhaps the best way for us to begin is to realize that Jesus, through his perfect life, for his faithfulness to His Father and His Call to serve the whole of God's creation, through His willing sacrifice and death on the cross, and greatest of all for us, in His Resurrection, Christ attained in His Immortality: 1. Influence in the world of faithful people, and beyond due to the faith of all who believe.  2. His forever Presence and Power in the face of brokenness and sin, of illness and frailty, and now, 2000 years after Christ's life in the midst of God's children, He is the greatest influence ever known in earth's recorded history. Jesus is the One who was, the One who is, and the One who will be present eternally in the midst of God's creation and with all who believe in Him. This is the story of Acts. Even in its infancy, the early church was held together as it moved forward by Christ's Influence, Presence, and Power, so that filled with Christ's Grace, Truth, and Spirit, the Apostle's, perhaps most especially Paul, moved courageously into the world of multiple gods, fear of persecution, and moving from community to community with only that which they could carry, and the heart stories they knew so well from being with the Savior.  Yet, their ministries were meant to move forward with the Spirit's help, so the disciples are directed to only move out into the world when they have received the Holy Spirit. (The Pentecost Event). Today we continue to see the power of Christ's Spirit guiding those who have come to answer His call on their lives. His call is to all who are Baptized and Communing in His Church, carrying the Gospel out with His Love and Compassion for God's children. Today, as with the very first disciples, it is Word, deeds, and love of Christ in each person who shares the Gospel Truth which is the Living Christ in the world today. My closing word for all of us today, is that in this busy, information overload world, it is important and imperative that we take the time to receive and be fed by the Holy Spirit in this journey we are taking as Christ's modern-day disciples.  The Church, which these acts of the disciples will help form, will continue to be fed by the inspiration of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Starting tomorrow we will look at how this all worked those many years ago, and hopefully we will find clues for our journey today!

With Love in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, Pastor Kim