Pastor's Ponderings: Monday & Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 21:17-36 (August 10 & 11, 2026)

August 10, 2026:  Monday Bible Study on Acts 21:17-26

It is good to be with you this morning. 

Please remember the congregational special member meeting after worship this Sunday.

We will share a pizza lunch, a gift from Dominos on 22nd Street at Tucson Blvd, we will have conversation about the business before us and then vote for the options that we have the strongest feelings about, you should already have those options with Q&A via email, or by picking the document up at worship.  Only members present may vote. The qualifications are having communed or contributed in the past year, and at least 18 years of age.  I know that we have had several people (members) who are away for one reason or another, who have wondered if they could vote in absentia.  Our constitution does not allow for absent voting on the issues of this special meeting.

If you have not signed up at church on the list for those who are coming, then please call the office at 520-623-3661 to let us know you will be with us for lunch.  Thank you so much.  I am praying for the Spirit's guidance for us as we support the vote for which we feel guided by the Spirit.  It was offered at church council that we all take time to look back on our lives at the times when the Spirit guided us, and the outcomes of those times in our lives.  I am constantly thankful to God for the work of the Gospel that has taken place because of your hearts for Christ!

Today's study in the Acts of the Apostles 21:17-26 begins by telling us that things are good between Paul and the leaders of the Christian movement in Jerusalem.  But it doesn't take long to get an uneasy feeling about what is really happening in the relationship between Paul the church in Jerusalem.  After he has recounted the many positive actions of the Spirit throughout Greece and Asia Minor, the real issue comes to a head.  There are doubts about Paul's teaching about keeping the Jewish law for those converts who have lived as Jews, but have, in their newfound faith in Christ, discovered a freedom from the requirements of Jewish law.  Obviously in the new church in Jerusalem this has been a huge issue.  So, to get their point across, they ask Paul to pay for the costs involved in a Jewish tradition of expense and purification for four men, and that Paul himself should be a part of this ritual purifying.

I want you to know, that for Paul, none of this is any kind of requirement for becoming a Christian out of a person's Jewish faith.  However, to keep the peace between himself and the leaders in Jerusalem, Paul says that he will willingly take on these expenses and participate himself in these rites.  Nazarite purification involves the following: (only a few wealthy men would be able to do this)

The action in this rite comes out of a person's thanksgiving to God for some good they have received in their lives. Having acknowledged this, there is a list of things that must be accomplished.

1.       These men and Paul must neither eat meat, nor drink wine for the next 30 days.

2.     They must allow their hair to grow uncut during this 30-day period.

3.     The last 7 days must be spent IN the temple.

4.     At the end of these last 7 days each man must:

a.     Provide an unblemished year-old lamb for a sin-offering.

b.     A basket of unleavened bread mixed with oil.

c.     A ram for an offering of peace

d.     At the end of this each man must have their head shaven bald.

This whole process was difficult to carry off because these men were out of work for the 30 days of the Nazarite tradition.  Paul agreed to participate, and to pay all the expenses of this undertaking.  Remember Paul has not been working either.  He has been traveling cross-country by boat and by land for quite a while.  We are not told how he can afford this, but somehow, he comes up with the expense of helping these men complete this time of thanksgiving to God.  We need to know that all of this was probably offensive to Paul.  So why did he choose to do it?  There are times in the lives of the faithful in Christ that what others see as weakness, is really a great strength.  Offering compromise when others think that certain things in the church need to be done only in their way, brings about unity and opportunity for learning, teaching, and discovering when a leader or a lay person is willing to move to the center of thinking about an issue.  It takes real courage to do that in our lives of faith.  Paul passed test one.  This is all very interesting because Paul was a Pharisee, and one who knew the law inside out.  Yet now, when he has gone through an intense conversion by Christ himself, he must still be tested to prove his orthodoxy.

Thanks for being with me today. 

With love in Christ, Pastor Kim

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August 11, 2026:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 21:27-36

Good morning, dear friends in Christ.  I am asking you to pray today for Regina who has a detached retina.  She will have surgery tomorrow to correct the problem.  Pray too for Camille as she awaits treatment for lung cancer and faces yet another uncertainty as she has developed lower spinal pain.

I thank God for your prayers for me, and for others who are in need of being surrounded by faith and love in such a difficult time.

In our reading from Acts today we discover an age-old truth.  Do something that is right, and good, and just, and very often someone will tear it down.  It was no different for Paul than it had been for Jesus.  Yesterday we discovered that Paul was undergoing the purification rite, along with four other men.  It was a costly choice for Paul.  On one side it meant that he would have to do something which he no longer thought of as necessary in any way once a person had been Baptized. Of course, when those Jews started rumors about Paul having brought a gentile into the Temple where they were forbidden to be., it threw the whole of Jerusalem into a riot.  At the outset Paul was doing something which he knew would be questionable for any good Jew.  However, there were still other issues about the death of a prophet at the hands of the Jews and Romans, and if anything was true, the Roman counsel would, in an instant, take action to control this upheaval in the city.  His response had to be firm and heavy handed. And that is what he did, taking Paul, under arrest, and out of the hands of that unruly mob who wanted to kill him.  We need to remember the prophet who told Paul that no good would come out of his journey to Jerusalem.  The arresting officer of the Roman occupation listened to the mob, but at the time of the arrest, his only interest was to get Paul out of the way.  Of course, Paul knew what was coming, but he never hesitated to continue his proclamation of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, who had come to earth so that people could see their God in a new light   Paul could have done his entry into Jerusalem in the night, or during some festival with lots of confusions from the great crowds who assembled for such important Jewish festivals.  It was the Romans who saved Christ's life because of their impartial practice of justice in this conquered land.   Even though Paul is free from all the requirements of the law, he chose a much more difficult path to bring the mission of the Gospel to Jesus own people once again.  However, doing the right thing, as we know, can get a person into a great deal of difficulty.

This coming Sunday it will be my Gospel work which must hold me, and hopefully you, in our strong faith in Jesus Christ.  We must trust that His Holy Spirit is our guide though the decision that you will help make for the future of American Lutheran Church.  I have been in prayer over this, and on too many nights, unable to sleep more than 3 hours.  But like Paul, I believe that the Spirit has guided my thinking, and it may not be any easier than Paul's journey into Jerusalem either.  Our congregation has been a treasure in my heart for many years, and I know that your decision on these issues will be at the guidance of the Spirit.

REMEMBER: This Sunday, worship at 10AM, followed by a pizza luncheon, time for discussion, and a vote on the church council's ballot options.  God bless us all as we listen, learn, and see God's truth for our congregation's life in Christ.

I am humbled by your constant love for me, and your thanksgiving to God for the ministries we share in Christ's name.  

I am a servant of the Gospel in your midst.

With love in Christ, Pastor Kim