PBPC Announcements

PBPC Family, It has been such a gift to hear people share on Sundays what God is doing in their lives. I know I have been richly blessed and many of you have expressed the same sentiment. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you." This injunctive comes as Peter reminds his readers that they will suffer on account of their faith. The world could be hostile to the message of Jesus, especially for Peter and his readers, and he encouraged them to be ready to make a defense of their faith in the face of persecution. When I was in college, this verse was often used as a reason to take courses on Apologetics - the discipline of defending the Christian faith through reason and argumentation (side note: I asked Kenzie out on our first date in an Apologetics course we were taking together). I know some of you enjoy apologetics and it is a fascinating area of study. But I've been thinking about ...

PBPC Family, In Sunday's service, I shared two ways that PBPC's Door Ministry Fund has been used in the community. A few weeks back, a man named Tracy stopped by in need of gas money. He's been living in his car in Alameda and needed help. We gave him a gift card to a gas station. I connected with him over the phone and he shared that his car had just broken down and he had no way to get it to a mechanic. We got his car to a local mechanic and paid for the needed repairs. He stopped by on Sunday morning to express his deep gratitude. He had felt like there was no one helping him out and our generosity really gave him hope.  We also recently connected with Miss Shelley, a Family Engagement Liaison with Edna Brewer and Oakland High School. She supports families who often fall through the cracks. We provided cup o' noodles, granola bars, gift cards to local restaurants, and Target gift cards. All of these went to kids in the foster system and other students and families wh...

PBPC Family, In Sunday's sermon, I shared a portion of a prayer by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his book Ethics. In the prayer, Bonhoeffer uses the 10 commandments as a template for confession. He confesses the many ways the church has not obeyed God's essential commands. It is a powerful, beautiful, and challenging prayer. I provided printed copies in the Narthex but for those who didn't grab a copy or would like a digital version, I'm including it below. May it convict and encourage you in equal measures. The church confesses that it has not professed openly and clearly enough its message of the one God, revealed for all times in Jesus Christ and tolerating no other gods besides. The church confesses its timidity, its deviations, its dangerous concessions. It has often disavowed its duties as sentinel and comforter. Through this it has often withheld the compassion that it owes to the despised and rejected. The church was mute when it should have cried out, because the bl...

PBPC Family, On Sunday, we finish our journey through the Gospel of John with one of the most intimate and shocking passages of Scripture - Jesus' prayer in the Garden. There is nothing like this passage in the entire Bible; we are given a glimpse into the inner workings of the Trinity. Like eavesdropping on a coffee shop conversation, we overhear the words of the Son to his Father and we may wonder, "Should we be listening to this?" Before we get to analyzing the way Jesus prays, the structure of his prayer, the content, or the do's and don'ts, we do well to marvel at the gift we are given in Jesus' prayer. Wonder and awe draw us deeper into prayer than any manual or paradigm will do. They are our guides and teachers. I find I am a much better parent when I am amazed at the little humans that run through my house and learn to walk, speak, and craft persuasive arguments for why dessert is an essential part of dinner. I also find I am a better pastor when I am ...