Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 13:13 (February 24, 2026)

February 24, 2026:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 13:13

Good morning.

I am hopeful that you find this somewhat overly warm weather a pleasant surprise considering the cold and rainy weather we had just a few weeks ago. In our prayers for today I ask that we all pray for the unknown people around us who need prayers for their health, economy, safety, and more. I did announce on Sunday that the Church Council action to order whistles for anyone who would like to be carrying one has been completed. These very loud whistles are available for you in the Narthex if you would like to carry one. When we lived in Chicago for three years most women carried whistles for safety when they were walking around on the South Side of the city. Of course, today, you may choose to have one available for other reasons. You may pick one up in the Narthex at Church.

This week we are heading out to Cheesecake Factory at Tucson Mall for our Faith Foodies group at 11:30 on Friday. Next month we will be going to one of the last Village Inns in Tucson. It is on 22nd Street, just beyond Harrison on the right side of the street. Great Pies! If you're into that kind of thing!

Please continue prayers for Joyce and Larry as they have decided that for their own health and well-being, they will not fight the foreclosure on their new home. This has been a very difficult road for them both, and they truly need our prayer support as they seek greater financial stability in their lives after suffering from identity theft. I will tell you that my cousin who is a few years older than me, living in northeast Georgia, almost became the victim of a scam after the death of her husband. Thankfully, she did not proceed with the bitcoin purchase that she had been targeted to send. Please always be careful. There are many such scams out in the world ready to make people their victims.

This morning you may already have noted that there is only one verse in our study! I know that it hardly seems like enough for a full day’s commentary on the passage. But this is an important passage as several things are revealed in it. You may have noted in your study that Barnabas has seemed to be the leader in this first mission trip for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the first time it appears that now Paul is the new primary person as he, Barnabas, and John Mark have traveled together. Perhaps a more difficult thing is that John Mark departs from them, I suppose we might say that he deserts this mission, and heads back to Jerusalem. This John Mark may well be the writer of the Gospel. At the time he leaves Paul and Barnabas, he is indeed a young man, whose mother seems to be the home and host for the new Christians in Jerusalem. Apparently, Mark has been involved with this movement for a while with his mother in her home. Remember that this first mission for the Gospel has taken about 3 years to happen, and before it, Paul has continued to be known as Saul. I would suspect then that Mark has a reason to depart from them. Let’s think about this for a couple of minutes. Perhaps Mark left because he was angry about Paul replacing Barnabas as the mission leader. Perhaps Mark was frightened of the journey to Pamphylia by a route that was known to be the most dangerous of any other way one might choose to go. As Mark was so young, maybe he just needed to get back to his family in Jerusalem, or he found the preaching to the gentiles too offensive considering his former Jewish faith. Whatever the reason, Paul had a very difficult time forgiving Mark for having done this. It would not be until quite a bit later, perhaps as much as 20 years, that Paul would find Mark had redeemed himself by his faithfulness in the establishment of the Church in Egypt. It is only then that Paul can recommend Mark's positive reception in other parts of the new Church. There are always reasons for leaving or staying. Pastors know this all too well in their lives as ordained servants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I departed from my first call because the Sacramental practices there seemed less than appropriate, and they were not going to change. This was a place where I held new member classes two or three times a year bringing in 40 to 50 new members each time. I had a great youth ministry and education program there too. However, too much emphasis for those who might serve as laity in that congregation had to do with seniority. Newer members never had an opportunity to assist at Communion, or in other places in worship either. But it just wasn't my choice, the Spirit had placed it on my heart to make a change, so I filed mobility papers and headed toward Arizona because my internship mentor and teacher had become involved with the Grand Canyon Synod through the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. When I received the call to serve at American 35 years ago, a whole new means of serving the Gospel opened for me, from serving on Synod Council, to being elected to the National Church Council in Chicago, to serving as the Spiritual Director of more than 7 lay renewal weekends, taking our youth to national youth gathering around the country, and more, and one year our evangelism work resulted in more than 40 new members joining our church family.  Now I preach, teach, develop Bible studies each week, direct and play for worship, the Gospel Group, the Bell Choir, while celebrating the joy in Christ that our congregation continues to display and share, American's heart of generosity, compassion, love, concern for other's well-being, and most of all, our love of our LORD Jesus Christ, allowing ourselves to be constantly challenged to grow beyond who we are now, to become who the Lord is shaping us to be in the future.  My 35 years at American seem just like a beginning for what is to come in the final years of my ministry and life for our Savior. Though sometimes there are struggles, these years have been filled with God's Grace. To have been at American for fewer years, and with several years left to serve, I am honored to serve the Gospel in your midst, and any fewer years would have made my ministry for Christ less filled with joy, with work incomplete.

Yes, Paul was angry with Mark for leaving too soon, and it took many years for Paul to forgive Mark for his departure so early in the mission and ministry for the Gospel. Paul tended to be overcome with frustration, sometimes anger, but that did not stop him and Barnabas from continuing their work for Christ, and what Paul did, he did for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Thanks for being with me today. Just one verse huh? God's Word is always filled with His love and Hope for us all.

In Christ's love, Pastor Kim