David Bahn - Reflections

I was privileged to preach at Angaza Igoma Lutheran Church in Mwanza, Tanzania. I pray this was edifying to them and to you as well. I will be uploading photos from our trip to my Smugmug site. https://fbgpbd.smugmug.com/Tanzania-Teaching-Trip

Sometimes our hearts need to be broken before the sweetness of Jesus' love finds its way there. God used Peter's sermon that Pentecost Sunday to do just that. Luke reports that, "Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, 'Brothers, what should we do?'” Repent and be baptized Peter says. And you will be saved. That calling remains true...

Keeping our hearts and habits open to the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit is a must if we are to follow Jesus. It may mean some very different things happen around and in us. But I’ll quote the Jesus character in the incredibly impactful series  The Chosen.  When one of the disciples says, “This is different.” The Jesus character says, “Get used to different.” Amen. Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten the...

Some say that they can worship by themselves on the golf course, at the beach, in the woods, or the mountains. Indeed you can. But surely we who believe will want to gather regularly for corporate worship. As the writer of Hebrews says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:...

We cannot believe in Jesus or come to him by our own reason or strength. But the Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel and enlightened us with his gifts. And that same Holy Spirit has inspired believers down through the ages to share the Gospel message. And we are the recipients of his work. The gale-force wind of the Spirit is still blowing. And even today, as God promised through the prophet J...

I was invited to preach at The Family of Faith Lutheran Church in Houston on Pentecost 2023. Here, for your edification is the message I shared.

God already knows not only who the next pastor of a congregation will be. He also knows all your needs, your challenges, fears, hopes, hurts, and desires. Sometimes he must look past your desires (too often tainted by sin), and in his grace give us better things than we want. Because God's knowledge is inexorably connected with his love, grace, faithfulness, and power, we can be confident that...

Here is the progression of necessity: Jesus' suffering and death, secures our salvation. That mission continues through the Apostles and all believers who share the gospel message of salvation.  Then comes the ultimate celebration of joy, and the praise of God's glorious grace. Reminds me of a favorite song I've shared before, but worth sharing again... https://youtu.be/yGl2DhiMINs

God's plan will not be thwarted. Not by a betrayal of one of the 12 of Jesus' disciples. Not by the misguided actions of fearful disciples. Peter cutting off Malcus' ear, or denying Jesus, or the other disciples fleeing him when Jesus was arrested will not thwart God's plan. Self-righteous priests and conspiring Roman soldiers will not prevent God's plan for the redemption of t...

It's easy for us to distance ourselves from the kind of evil displayed in the life of Judas. But we must take this as a warning. We must not imagine that we are invulnerable. We must guard our hearts, and not give in to temptation. And if we do give in, we must repent immediately, and return to the paths of righteousness on which God leads us. May we not leave an ignominious legacy!

God is setting the table for a remarkable expansion of his kingdom. He is using these Apostles in a singularly unique manner. All this was unfolding in real time for the 11, soon to be 12. It was the same for the other 100 plus believers. The believers were living in times of defining moments. And so are we. What was guiding them should also guide our decision-making processes. Prayer, discernment...

Many times we must wait: For the birth of a child. For the return of a son or daughter. For a job promotion. For a vacation. For the results of a medical test. While we wait we might choose to stew and fret. Or we can pray. To that end, I love to pray the Lord's Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven,      hallowed be Thy name,      Thy kingdom come,      Thy will be done on earth           as i...

I have an answer for the angels' question. More important than that is the fact that Jesus is reigning at the right hand of God and interceding for us. Today is Ascension Day. Ascension Day occurs during the week rather than on Sunday. As a result, many people miss this feast and the great importance it has for the life of the believer. Remembering this day is of no apparent importance to the...

When the disciples ask Jesus if this was to be the time he would restore the kingdom to Israel, he not only didn't answer. He told them it was not for them to know. A roadmap to the future would be a hindrance, not a help to faith. Jesus would supply a different sort of roadmap. Start in Jerusalem, go on to Judea, proceed to Samaria, and go to the ends of the earth. That's not a roadmap. B...

There is a mystery here: we, like the Apostles, are to rest, wait, hope, trust, and prepare for this great work to which God is calling us. We are to engage fully as God gives us the opportunity in witnessing to Jesus' work in our lives. We are to devote ourselves fully to his work. And it is God who is at work in us to do all this. In other words we are to wait and rest in anticipation and pr...

It could be a selfish desire to have things the way we want it with little care for the lost and dying. It might be fear of people we do not know or who will be difficult to love. Perhaps we just don't understand the Great Commission and how it applies to all of us. Some of us may just be ignorant of God's heart and mission. Whatever the case, we must repent of anything that stands in the...

Jesus has moved hearts to love me, encourage us as a family, support us in mission work around the world, and center our lives on his love, grace, truth and mission.  These are just the highlights of Jesus' work in my life. There are many more. And there will be many more, for Jesus' mission is not finished. Until the Great Last Day, Jesus will work in the world and in our lives for the sa...

John (the one to whom Peter has pointed, and who may or may not die before Jesus returns at this point) has a final word for us. He has already declared his intent for writing this biography of Jesus. "These things were written," he writes, "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31) Now h...

On this occasion, Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" I believe this is because he wants Peter to think deeply about the question. This is not a throw-away question. Jesus wants to offer Peter the opportunity to consider the question from different three different angles.  Does Peter love Jesus more than he fears those who confronted him the night of Jesus' arrest? Peter...

The question at hand, in the end, isn’t about how much more we love Jesus than others do, or than the things of this world. It’s about whether or not we love Jesus. Period. To that we must answer, “Yes. But not perfectly. Not consistently. Not sufficiently. But that’s when Jesus’ love for us becomes evermore precious. And that engenders our love for him. That’s why I love Jesus. He loves me. And y...

To love Jesus is to desire his presence, guidance, mercy, grace, truth, love, favor, and blessing above all things. It means that I recognize that Jesus and all he is and all he wants from me is my highest good. It means I deeply need and joyfully acknowledge his love for me, a lost and condemned sinner apart from his mercy and salvation.  "Do you love me?" Jesus asks. Yes. Not as fully...

As Jesus' disciples enjoy this time of fellowship and food, it is also a foretaste of an eternal feast that will never end. This day will have come and gone. The meal will be remembered and even reported to us centuries later through John’s witness. This third time Jesus appears is the last John will record. But one day he will appear for all to see. And he will take us to be with him in his h...

In the case of the disciples' failure to catch any fish that night, Jesus' question seems like more of an invitation than a challenge. But it is an invitation to admit their failure and lack of resources. And it became an opportunity for Jesus to show his gracious provisional power. Who would have thought it? So now, the questions I posed more than two weeks ago seem ever so appropriate. W...

This fish-eating (or rather the recording of it) is meant to show that Jesus is not an apparition. He's not a ghost. He is real. He has a real body. Thomas can touch his hands and side. Jesus can eat fish. Jesus' resurrection, God's promises, heaven's hope, and our future joy in the life of the world to come is as real as the fish the disciples caught and Jesus enjoyed with them th...

153 fish. That is a remarkable number of fish. Maybe you have some wonderment-worthy numbers of your own. Perhaps you’ve seen Jesus show up and bring resources you had no idea of until he made himself known. That relief may come tomorrow. Who knows? And if it does, take a moment to count the fish and praise God for his gracious provision.