Advent

Advent

Prince of Peace

Isa 9:6 Join us on this final Sunday of Advent as we discover who is our Prince of Peace. We are often at odds with God and the world around us, even ourselves, and we need peace. More than that, we need the one who makes all things right, bringing peace into our lives both now and for all eternity.

Everlasting Father

Isa 9:6 This third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday, meaning Rejoice! Yet Advent is a season of waiting in anticipation and hope. How do we rejoice while waiting? We consider the third name given to the child that is born, the son that is given: Everlasting Father.

Mighty God

Isa 9:6 In our first week of Advent, we remembered the gift of wisdom God has given us in Jesus — He is truly our “Wonderful Counselor”! This Sunday, we’ll look at another of the names Isaiah gave to the child born to us: “Mighty God”. In Jesus, God has shown Himself mighty over our enemies. But who are our enemies? And how did Jesus fight them for us? Come hear the good news of Jesus’ victory as we look once again at Isaiah 9:6.

Wonderful Counselor

Isa 9:6 Welcome to Advent 2022 at PBCC! Our Advent sermon series this year is titled “What Child Is This?” and will focus on the four names given to the child of Isaiah 9. This week we will focus on the name Wonderful Counselor, by asking the question, where do you go to find wise counsel in your life? However you answer that question, Isaiah promises something better. He promises that a future child will know God so thoroughly and intimately, he will counsel people in God’s wonderful plans and God’s wonderful ways. Join us this Sunday as we kickoff the Advent season.

The Gospel Begins

Mark 1:1-4 For the final Sunday in our Advent Beginnings series, after exploring Matthew, John and Luke’s birth narratives, we will explore Mark’s birth narrative… but Mark doesn’t have a birth narrative! However, Mark does share good news: “Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God” (1:1). Throughout the birth narratives of the other Gospels, we see each character respond to the good news in different ways. But, all respond by changing their normal routines and reorienting their lives around Jesus. How do you respond this Christmas to the good news that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God? Join us this Sunday as we prepare for Christmas as an entire church family.

Good News that Stays NEW and GOOD!

Luke 1-2 What do you think of when you think of “good news”? Have you ever wished for the good news of a new start in life, where you could push a reset button and do a clean install? At critical times in Israel’s history, when their world grew oppressive and morally dark, God intervened to subvert the existing order and granted his people a new beginning, a fresh start. But sadly, it never lasted. Luke’s magnificent opening to his gospel (120 verses) gives us a clue that this new beginning will set the stage for the grand climax to Israel’s history and with it, the salvation of the whole world. This will be history’s last new beginning. It is good news that remains forever new and good!

Love Made from Scratch

John 1:1-18 Carl Sagan once said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” The Apostle John never met Carl Sagan – but when it comes to God’s love, he was in full agreement! God loved us “from scratch”! Come find out this second Sunday of the Advent season what that means for us and for our families as we look at the beginning of John’s Gospel together.

A New Shoot from a Dead Tree

Matthew 1-2 The four Sundays of Advent begin the church’s annual liturgical calendar. It is a season of longing and hope. We look back and remember Israel’s hope that God would come to save his people. We look forward in our own hope that Jesus will come again. During these four Sundays we will look at how the four gospels begin their story of Jesus in very different ways, beginning this Sunday with Matthew. Can the way Matthew tells the story of Jesus help us make sense of our own story?

Blessed are the Pure in Heart: Simeon and Anna

Matthew 5:8, Luke 2:22-40 This Sunday is our last Sunday of Advent, the last Sunday before Christmas!  Advent is a time of waiting, of longing, of hoping.  What do you find yourself longing for this week before Christmas?  Perhaps it is gifts?  Perhaps it is a vaccine?  Perhaps it is a return to the ordinary?  Whatever it is, we all know that waiting is difficult.  Especially in a culture expecting instant gratification, waiting is not fun.  In our text this week, we meet Simeon and Anna who are waiting, waiting for God to bring salvation and redemption.  But, more importantly, these two characters, who demonstrate a purity of heart, show us how to wait well.  Are you waiting well this Advent season?

Blessed are Those who Hunger and Thirst: The Shepherds and The Magi

Luke 2:8-20, Matthew 2: 1-12 During the Christmas season, I look forward to singing Christmas carols, giving and receiving gifts, and lots of food in a large family gathering! This year, however, Christmas will look very different for many of us. Perhaps this will cause us to re-examine what we really hunger for during this season. Christmas is, after all, a celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ, and what better time than now to focus on Him, encountering Jesus in a special way in our prayers, devotions, and activities? This Sunday, we are going to meet two groups of people that truly encountered Christ on Christmas. These people sought for Jesus purposefully and with excitement because they were hungry and thirsty for the right thing – a genuine relationship with God. They were transformed by the encounter and were filled with great joy. This Sunday, we’ll visit the story of the shepherds and the Magi on their journey of faith to meet Jesus. See you then!

Blessed are the Meek: Joseph and Mary

Luke 1:26-55; Matthew 2 This Sunday we will continue our advent series focusing on four pairs of people in the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. While our world continues to fixate our attention on the rich and powerful, the focus of God’s kingdom is upon the poor and the marginalized, who through their suffering have become humble and hopeful, waiting for the kingdom of God.     Last week Bernard spoke on Zechariah and Elizabeth, who received the news from the angel Gabriel that they would bear a son even in their old age. This week Gabriel is sent to Mary and Joseph with even more remarkable news, but it comes with a price few  would be willing to pay. Will they hesitate, waver, or ask for sign like Zechariah? Though you already know the answer, their obedience is designed to galvanize our faith and draw us into the wonder of Christ being formed in us.  

We Beheld His Glory

John 1:19-34 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory” (1:14). After writing the most astounding good news to ever be written “the Word became flesh,” why does John then say, “and we beheld his glory?” Why didn’t John say something like, “and we received the gift of eternal life?” Or, why didn’t John say something like, “and God and humanity were reconciled?” Why does John say, “and we beheld his glory?” Come Sunday as we conclude our Advent series discussing this important phrase in John’s prologue.