PBPC Announcements

PBPC Family, This Saturday is our Day of Discernment from 10-4pm at PBPC (in the Cafe). I hope you can join us for some, if not all of it. Lunch will be provided if that sweetens the deal! I've been thinking about how our gathering on Saturday will be absolutely and incredibly normal! Since the church's inception, Christians have made a practice of gathering together to discern what God is doing. The first "Day of Discernment" in the life of the church is recorded in Acts 15. Some early Christians had presumed that following in the way of Jesus also meant adhering to the Mosaic law, with its customs and ritual observances. As Gentiles came to call on Jesus as Lord and received the gift of the Holy Spirit, there were some leaders in the Church who taught that they must also be circumcised, per the Mosaic Law. There were others in the Church who believed that these non-Jewish followers of Jesus were not bound by Mosaic regulations. So the Church gathered together to di...

PBPC Family, Today, the first day of November, is known as All Saints Day in the Christian Calendar. It is a day to remember the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us in the faith, stretching across the centuries and around the globe. It is a day to remember that following in the way of Jesus may be hard, but we are not alone. Who are the people in your life that modeled a life of faith? Who pointed you to Jesus? I think of my grandparents - Jean and Sode, Mac, Esther, and Marise - who followed in the way of Jesus and modeled for me a life of faith and devotion. I would not be a pastor were it not for them. On All Saints Day, we remember not just the people in our own lives, but the great cloud of witnesses that is Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church. Think of all the people who have committed their lives to Jesus, been baptized, received communion, and worshipped God in our sanctuary. Though many of their names are unknown to us, they are known by God, and their faithfulness...

PBPC Family, This Sunday, October 30, is our Commitment Sunday. As I've been preparing for this worship service, and particularly, the sermon, I came across some words by G.K. Chesterton that are especially apt. In speaking of vows, or commitments, he notes that in his day and age (written around 1904) there was a revolt against vows of any kind. Of those revolting against vows, Chesterton writes, "They have invented a phrase, a phrase that is a black and white contradiction in two words - 'free-love' - as if a lover ever had been, or ever could be, free. It is the nature of love to bind itself..." Chesterton's words have animated me as I prepare for worship on Sunday. At times, "commitment" seems like a four letter word, one to be avoided if at all possible. Is it really wise to commit ourselves to something, or even worse, someone, when we don't know what the future holds? Love responds with a resounding yes, for love is stronger than any unkn...