Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 4:5-12 (September 2, 2025)

September 2, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 4:5-12

Dear Ones, I hope that you have had a good weekend with some time to relax, or perhaps get yard work done, or spend some time with extended family. We had a quiet weekend, but on Sunday morning, the Donut and Coffee Fellowship went very well, and was well attended. I only stayed briefly but I believe there were close to 15 people who came to share early Sunday morning fellowship before the worship service. This coming Sunday is Gospel Music Sunday, which means we will have a meal after service. This meal will be a hot dog picnic. The cost is $1 per person, with a dinner size frank, buns, chili, and other condiments provided, and we are asking participants to bring a picnic style dish to share. We will have a couple of birthdays in the group, so Melody and I will provide a nice birthday cake too. Foodies of Faith had eight in attendance at the Cheesecake Factory, and that number included Rev. Kurt Fangmeier, our good friend, and Pastor of Sierra Ev. Lutheran Church in Sierra Vista. It was great to see him again, and our Jesse was with us too, having helped with getting folks in and out of our van. What a great time we all had… good food, and cheesecake too! Next month we will head back to the Bread and Butter Cafe for our outing. Please offer prayers of thanksgiving that Joanna and Kelly's dog Raya has been healed and is home recovering. Continue Prayers for Larry who continues in the hospital after back surgery with critical other health issues. His wife is Joyce. Prayers for Annette and Steve. Both are facing health issues in the coming weeks. Pray for God's healing touch to be with them both.

Today we continue in our Bible Study on the Acts of the Apostles, and we see the result of Peter's healing of the sick man on the Sabbath at the temple. Evidently the doing of good is a concern of the temple leaders, including the people who have been set up as judges over the events that have taken place there. They are powerful, and anxious to maintain the income that is gained from the controls and judgements which they make. To have something like Peter healing the sick in the temple could be a real problem for them if those who are at the temple begin to doubt their authority. So, the Sanhedrin is gathered to take action and find out exactly what has happened at the gate of the temple, an action in which Peter has been deeply involved. As we know from earlier healing that Christ did on the sabbath in synagogues, there is a great concern in such healing being a breaking of the Hebrew/Jewish laws for what is allowed on the sabbath. The other thing you and I must remember is that it is Peter who has denied Christ three times on the night of His trial. Now, here is Peter in a sticky situation. Will he stand up to the temple judges? Will he run away from what he has done? Will his faith be strong enough now to be the "Rock" on which the Church was to be built? It is here, that Peter, faced by the powerful members of the Sanhedrin, gives all the due for this healing to the power of the person who the temple leaders had killed by crucifixion just a few weeks ago. No longer was Peter afraid of speaking truth to power at this hearing. Instead, Peter's witness was steadfast, confident, and bold! However, what we see in this passage is greater than these things. Peter is filled with the courage of Christ's gift of the Spirit and Faith in his life. He has become a new man for the proclaiming of Christ. I really think that one of our shortcomings in our lives today is that we think such courage is unavailable to us. Our words and deeds of faith have the power to bring amazing healing to the world, and to the Ones to whom they are given. When we genuinely invite others to join us, to come to know the Christ of God and His Spirit, our lives, and theirs, are transformed, not by our power, but by the power of our Christ, God's Son, who is in, with, and around us always, keeping and fulfilling His promise to be with us until the end of the age.

Thanks for being with me this morning.

With the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim