Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 18:24-28 (June 23, 2026)

June 23, 2026:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 18:24-28

Good morning, and may God bless your day with abundant love. I have two quick comments about events this Friday and Sunday. The donut and coffee hour before worship will be held in the narthex. Call church if you have not already let us know that you are coming. Of course, fruit trays and veggie trays are great too. This Friday is the day for our lunch group, the Foodies of Faith, to go to Olive Garden on Broadway for an 11:30 lunch time. Once again, call the church 520-623-3661, if we don't know that you are coming. Right now, there are 8 on our reservation sign up from the last couple of Sundays. At this time, we have arranged rides for three people who will be coming.

Paul's third missionary journey really begins on the last verse of yesterday's reading, 18:23, so we will continue to follow him as he travels again. The Clif Notes version is as follows: Paul tours in Galatia and Phrygia to revisit the people who have already committed to Christ. Next, he heads to Ephesus where he remained for nearly three years. From that site, Paul goes to Macedonia and then sails to Troas, and then on to Miletus, Tyre, and Caesarea and finally back to Jerusalem. I still have questions about why Luke chose to offer us so little information about Paul's time in Jerusalem before his third missionary journey. What was going on in the conversations with the disciples, and what was the success, or failure in finances, that Paul spoke to the disciples about?

At any rate, we are now on to Paul's third missionary journey, and his meeting with Apollos, a man from Alexandria. In Apollos Paul found a man of faith who had already been instructed in the Way of the Lord! He was able to use Scripture to spread the word about Jesus, but his knowledge stopped at Christ's baptism by John in the Jordan River, and he knew little more about the "rest of the story". This lack of knowledge left Apollos at a great disadvantage when he taught in the synagogues. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak, they took him aside and spent time with Apollos teaching him about God's way, grace, and salvation through Jesus. Apollos' enthusiasm for the work and mission of the Church guided his choice to head to Achaea, where he would meet with the already established community of the faithful. He was sent on by Priscilla and Aquila with letters of introduction so that he would be welcomed into that community of believers. Apollos was gifted at speaking, so he debated and refuted the teaching of the Jews, and many people came to believe in Jesus because of Apollos' ministry.

Alexandria was a community which had one million Jews and was a center for scholarly teaching and learning. There, Old Testament scholars believed that everything about the Bible was true, and each story was meant to guide the reader to a special relationship with YHWH. It was in this setting the Apollos acquired his "chops" in debate and knowledge. With more complete knowledge about Christ, he became a great defender of the faith, teaching many the ways in which Jesus was foretold, and how the Old Testament guided the believer right to the Savior and God's purpose in sending Him to die for the forgiveness of sin. Though extraordinarily gifted, Apollos lacked the fullness of knowledge which would bring him to the service of Christ in his life. I have seen very often, the new convert to Christianity filled with joy and wonder at the stories and words of the New Testament, but these newest Christian's need to continue to grow immersed in God's grace and love, that they might have hearts for proclaiming their love for Christ and for all people.  We all need to be about this same thing in our own lives too! In the faith community we must do more than feel like we know what is important. Our faith life in Christ must result in our living as His children throughout our lives. We, like Christ, must live to be the presence of God's grace, with lives that are filled with belief, hope, and abundant love. It was when Apollos' learning was completed by Paul's followers and teachers, that he became a truly effective force in the face of Jewish denial and courage to stand for the Savior.

I will be with you next week on Monday and Tuesday. See you in church this week.

With love in Christ, Pastor Kim