Pastor's Ponderings: Monday/Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 8:26-40 (November 24/25, 2025)

November 24, 2025:  Monday Bible Study

There will be no Bible Study today. After a night of no sleep due to a painful back molar, I spent the morning with the dentist. The tooth has been extracted. However, I finally have no pain in my face like last night, so I will be with you tomorrow for the Tuesday Bible Study in the morning. Thanks for your understanding.

With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim

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November 25, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 8:26-40

Blessings and peace be with you this morning. Thank you so much for your prayers for healing. This morning, minus the molar that kept me awake all night on Sunday, I mostly have pain from anesthetic in my mouth. The dental work was quick and painless, and I am doing much better now that I have had a good night's sleep. I sure hope that I am able to eat solid food on Thursday! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

This year Jesse has asked that I teach him how to prepare, stuff, and bake the turkey. I will really enjoy getting the chance to share this with him. He is going to be a special partner whenever that happens in his life.

Today we are in chapter 8:26-40 in the Acts of the Apostle's. There should be several questions that we have about this passage. This road that Philip is on travels south from Jerusalem to Gaza and is connected with the road down into Egypt which would, of course, give the Ethiopian Eunuch a fairly direct route to his own country. Gaza had been destroyed several times and isn't it interesting that it appears once again to have happened there in our lifetime. In 93 Before the Common Era Gaza was destroyed in war, and again in 57 BCE. If you have seen any pictures of Gaza today, it borders on the waters of the Mediterranean. It is beautiful there. However, its value was always that it was on the main trade route. The Eunuch was in Jerusalem to worship, all the way from Ethiopia. It appears that in the years before the coming of Christ many people in that area of the world were in search of a religion that offered them greater reliance upon faith and provided guides for living one's life that respected the relationship between their god and themselves.  Many from Africa ended up coming to Jerusalem and discovered Judaism. That is the reason that Philip and this man from outside of his country could share in a common language, though it becomes clear that the Eunuch is still learning about the prophets of his new religion. So, Philip joins the party of travelers which includes the Eunuch who is thirsty for more information, especially for information about the person Isaiah is saying in his message. The opportunity is ripe for Philip, so he witnesses to the Eunuch about the Savior who has died on the cross for the sin of the world, and who brings to faith the promises of life, forgiveness, and Salvation. It is at this point in the passage when the two men arrive at water, perhaps the Mediterranean along the south bound Gaza road, and the Eunuch is Baptized by Philip. In his Baptism the Eunuch is filled with joy and excitement, and Philip slips away in another direction to go and share his own faith with even more people. This is an early example of Baptism in the period after the Resurrection of Christ in the new Christian Church, and from what we know, it was often adults who were Baptized into this new faith community. However, we will discover later that whole families were also Baptized, which obviously included children. The great joy which the Ethiopian Eunuch experienced came because he knew that he had been united with the Christ of God, and given a new life, entering into this relationship of freedom from the burden of sin and brokenness, discovering for the very first time the joy of this Holy relationship.

In our faith tradition in the Lutheran Church, we Baptize people of all ages, from infants to old age adults, bringing them into the redeeming relationship with Christ that we who have already been Baptized have known throughout our lives. We will come to more passages about Spirit gifted faith, and Baptism as we continue through the Acts of the Apostle's texts. It is a time of joy for us all when a newly Baptized individual, regardless of age, comes into this relationship of Holy, forgiving, life giving forgiveness, which is our new life through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thanks for being with me today, and once again, I pray that you have a joyful day of giving thanks to God for the abundant blessings of our lives.

With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim

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November 27, 2025:  NO Thursday Bible Study

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!