Message from the Pastors (Page 8)

For a musician, the term “sitting in” refers to playing on stage with a group of musicians you don’t usually play with. Depending on your mind’s focus the experience can be very rewarding or very stressful.  As we shelter in place, it wouldn’t be a far stretch to say that we all have been “sitting in” with new situations. The familiar people we normally spend most of our day with has changed, some more drastic than others.  This was never more apparent for…

“Replace what you don’t know about the future, with what you do know about God.” I realized I don’t know anything about the future. I never have. I just trick myself into thinking I do. Now, I know for sure, I know nothing about what may happen today, let alone tomorrow. So, what do I do? How do I settle my anxious, worried heart? How do I stay calm in this turbulent sea? I remember God. God is my refuge…

I’m a visual person.  I visualize certain places or things to help me engage with God.  Scripture gives us many images of God.  These days I find comfort in Him as my Great Shepherd, leading me through these uncertain times.  I also think of Him as my Solid Rock, like a super tall granite mountain, the kind where I have to tilt my head and even then, can barely see the top.  Nothing can move that mountain, it’s unshakeable.  That’s how I think of God.  When I’m…

During this time of Shelter-in-Place we feel the physical absence of family, friends and work colleagues. Modern technology allows us to stay connected, but we miss physical presence. Presence and absence were poignant realities for Paul. He longed to visit his beloved brothers and sisters in Thessalonica, to be present in person, but was hindered from doing so. So he did the next best thing: he sent Timothy to represent his presence and to see how they were doing. The report…

“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” I was planning on writing something completely different today, but I have been absolutely delighted by the response to the need for masks that I expressed yesterday while hosting (just so you know, the need has been met for now). It reminds me of the church in Acts: “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had” (2:44, NLT). Maybe the hardest part…

I don’t know about you but this whole situation is quite surreal, in fact sometimes I think I should pinch myself to see if I’ll wake up! I’ve never experienced anything like this before and while on one level, it is unsettling and fear inducing to have this threat hanging over our heads, on another level, at least right now, it’s just downright inconvenient. Unless of course, you were hoping to spend a couple of months indoors, in which case,…

What God is doing. That is what I am trying to focus on. God is always doing something, and even though we are unsure, afraid, overwhelmed, our God is doing something while we wait.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  Matthew. 11:28-30 Most of us are familiar with the hymn, “It is Well with My Soul.”  Last Sunday morning James mentioned he realized after pondering the question, “How is it with your soul?” that his…

In this time of crisis whom do we trust? Some leaders exude empathy and act for the common good; others seek sympathy and act out of self-interest. Amid charges of fake media, left and right seem isolated in echo chambers, watching CNN and Fox News. Clickbait misleads to sites pursuing eyeballs and profits not truth. In Thessalonica the opponents of the fledgling church were attacking Paul’s integrity and motives. Paul writes a self-defense of his behavior. Like a babe, he was…

“Shelter in place” is becoming our survival mode and the new normal, but to king David it became an opportunity to take refuge in God. From the moment David had been anointed king by the prophet Samuel, he had been on the run from Saul. Finding no safe place to settle he was forced to find his home hiding in caves at the edge of the wilderness. Driven to homelessness with little evidence that he was God’s anointed “son,” his…

Greetings PBCC Church Family! We pray that you were encouraged by the livestream services the past two Sundays and hope to provide more words of encouragement during the week. To this end, we will have different pastors share daily in this space. Let’s navigate these unprecedented circumstances together as a family. “He loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). This is one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. As I have been reflecting on the amount of…