8.12.2025 PBPC Family Bulletin
PBPC Family,
Receive. Gratitude. Generosity. Rest.
These are the four postures of faith I shared on Sunday. We receive from God. We respond in gratitude to God which then flows out of us in generosity to others. And then we rest, just as God rested on the seventh day after the work of creation.
I believe these postures are embedded in the spiritual disciplines that Christians have practiced for 2,000 years. I didn't go into detail on how these postures are expressed in things like reading Scripture, communion, fasting, tithing, etc. I'll leave those as opportunities of exploration if you're so inclined.
I do want to highlight prayer because I think, more than any other discipline, all four postures are intricately connected to prayer. Prayer is a discipline we've been leaning into as a church - through practicing a daily set time of prayer, gathering for prayer before Sunday service, and our weekly time of prayer during service. Prayer is the core practice of the Christian life.
In prayer, we receive from God - a word, a vision, a sense of peace or comfort, self-awareness, even the very words we pray (Jesus said, "Pray then, in this way: Our Father in heaven... Matthew 6:9).
In prayer, we respond with gratitude. The Psalms, the prayerbook of the Church, is filled with words of gratitude to God. "O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever" (Psalm 136:1). Prayer is the context and space in which we can express to God our gratitude and thanks. When I was a chaplain at Kaiser, my supervisor once told me that every prayer should begin with gratitude to God - there is always something for which we can thank God.
In prayer, we bring others to God's attention. This is an expression of generosity. We don't just pray for ourselves, our own concerns and issues. We consider the world. We consider those in pain. We lift up those suffering, those in places of conflict, those in need of God's grace. Prayer for others is a generous act and gives birth to more generosity. When we pray for others, we are more inclined to explore ways we can be a blessing and support.
In prayer, we rest. Contemplative prayer - silence and stillness - is a form of prayer that gives rest to our souls. When we stop (and prayer is a great reason to stop) our bodies settle into our souls and we discover the rest of God that thrums beneath all things. In prayer, we come back to our own heart, and ultimately, God's heart. And in coming home to God's heart, we receive the rest we need.
The cycle repeats.
I hope you can cultivate spaces and time for prayer and, in doing, practice these 4 postures of faith.
Looking forward to worshipping with you all on Sunday!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Calvin
"The Rule of Faith"
Galatians 6:14-16
Calvin Sodestrom
Pre-Service prayer in the Cafe from 9:30-9:45
