Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 9:32-43 (December 16, 2025)

December 16, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 9:32-43

The sounds of Advent songs in church, and the neighborhood yard and house decorations all lend to this very important season of preparation and waiting. Once again, the gathering light of God's Truth and Love for all people is shining more brightly on our home Advent Wreaths, and on the one on the altar at church on Sunday mornings. We are now just a few days away from the fullness and light of the birthday of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I hope that it shines in your hearts ever more brightly throughout the coming year. Please continue your prayers for changes that happen in every family. Sometimes they are most difficult, like the death of a much-loved family member, or economies that ebb and flow throughout our lives, but often are the cause of distress, or our lives are changed by a diagnosis of a health issue. This time of the year can be particularly stressful with the pressures of gifting and special food treats that all take time to get ready, that's when our relationship of faith in Jesus Christ enters our living, thinking, and acting. Our Savior calls us to live well lighted by His Love for us as we move through all that may be happening for us, some good and wonderful, and others that can be terrible.

In our study we have been busy discovering how it was that Saul became Paul, and how his life change was received with joy, or with anger and hostility. We left Paul on his journey to Tarsus, as he is protected by the disciples and other new Christians, and flees from the desire of his own people to murder him. Today we are starting another important part of the telling of the beginning of the new Christian communities, and how Peter played a role in all of that happening as he guided the disciples and the new church in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. This part of the story of the new church begins with Peter traveling to Lydda, where he finds a man who has had years of being bedridden. Peter commands him to get up and take care of his bedding, and this miracle of healing is witnessed by the people of Lydda. Their belief in this Jesus who Peter is confessing, becomes firm, and they turn to the Lord. Then in Joppa, some new disciples hear of Peter's deed, and appeal to him to come to Joppa to be with them as they prepare to bury Tabitha (Dorcas) who has been a gracious, hospitable, and generous person in their community. Her body has been prepared for burial, but Peter comes at the request of believers, and prays for her, commanding her to rise, and she is raised from the dead at his request and prayers. There are also many who become convicted in their faith and believe in Christ. Unlike Paul who is forced to flee from the places in which he was attempting to preach the Gospel, Peter chooses to remain in Joppa to fill the Christian mission there with new members while he stays with Simon, a tanner.

It is interesting that we see two very different receptions to the work of Paul with the Jews in Damascus and Jerusalem, while Peter reaches out to Gentiles with much greater success. The irony here is that there will be change in all of this. It will be Paul who has great successes throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and even in Rome, while Peter's mission in Jerusalem fails to even be able to support itself. That is when Paul received an offer to support Peter's and the other disciple's work there. We will have good opportunities in Acts to find out about how all of this went, but that is yet to be a part of our reading.

Note please. There will be no Acts study for the next two weeks until after Epiphany, January 6, and no Psalm study for those two weeks either. I must make homebound communion calls, and continue to work with the Gospel Group, the Bell Choir, soloists, and my own music for Christmas Eve worship, and I will be on vacation between Christmas and New Year’s. I will be present for the Sundays in between. I am praying that you choose to join me and our congregation on Christmas Eve. We will truly be celebrating the Good News of the Birthday of our King, Jesus Christ!

With love and hope and Light in Christ, Pastor Kim