Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 2:1-13 (July 29, 2025)

July 29, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 2:1-13

Blessings and Peace be with you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Good morning.

It has been a quiet week for prayer requests, but that never means that there are not plenty of folks we know who need prayers regularly, and we always have reason to offer prayers of thanksgiving to God for His many blessings. So today, lets pray with thanksgiving for the Universal Church of Christ, designated by using a Capital C at its beginning, pray too for our local congregation, we are small but mighty in the paths of the Gospel, and pray also for the leaders who serve the Gospel in our midst, pastors, council members, staff, and others who serve the Gospel quietly in word and deed.  American is really an extraordinary congregation, filled with love, hope in our Savior, and the power of the Spirit's presence in what we do. Pray for God's forgiveness for the times when we, as members of the Body of Christ, fail to be the bearers of the Gospel Truth in the lives of everyone we meet, most especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. The "more" that we always must do is to be the Love of Christ in everyone's life. This is a good place to move to our study of the second chapter of Acts.

In our reading for today from the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles we find the Apostles doing what Christ had told them to do. They are waiting in that upper room, waiting for the coming gift of the Spirit of Christ to empower them for the ministries that lie ahead for them in their lives. I can only imagine that they had failed to realize the power of the Pentecost Event that was about to take place. I certainly have many "a ha" times in my life, especially when it comes to sharing the powerful message of the Gospels in my preaching. When I sit at my desk working on meaningful sermon titles based on the texts for coming Sundays, or am working through hymns at the piano, I am frequently overcome by the beauty of Christ's presence, and that is truly the presence of the Spirit.  However, I have never heard any wind blowing through the sanctuary, other than some creaks and moans of our building, and as for tongues of flame, certainly not that I am aware of, but the Spirit's fire still comes to me in other ways, just as She did for the Disciples after that powerful first day.  The list of nations and geographic names which is in this reading is the nightmare of every lector on Pentecost Sunday. They are names that are unfamiliar to us in modern times. But what is most significant here is that not only did the Spirit empower the disciples, but She also moved in the lives of those who heard the message of our Savior in the languages with which they were familiar. We are not told that this ever happens again, except when a person of faith receives the gift of tongues, which I have come to understand as the language of the angels. It is a very personal gift… one that is not meant to be used with others unless there is a person there who has been given the gift of interpretation. If there is no one who has that gift, then the gift of speaking in tongues should be held in private for the edification of the one who has that gift. Evidently, on this amazing day, the entire gathered community is given the gift of interpretation, and they hear it in their own languages. Apparently, there were some in the group who did not understand, who had not received the gift of the Spirit, and they made an interesting, almost silly, accusation about the Disciples, that they were drunk with new wine. How many times have people tried to explain some wonderful spiritual experience in common human terms? The joy that the Disciples now knew overcame them in every part of who they were. Sometimes others don't get it! This fullness and joy prepared them for what lay ahead in their lives, both the good and the truly difficult things that would come to them as they served the Gospel in Jerusalem, and for those who headed out and headed into Asia Minor carrying this Spirit-joy to sustain them.

With Joy and Hope and Love in Christ, Pastor Kim