Powell Butte Christian Church

A thought came to me this past week. Most of you have heard the 23rd Psalm read at some point – perhaps at a funeral, maybe in a sermon.  What caught my attention this past week was the phrase “He makes me lie down.” On Sunday, someone shared with me that one perspective of my injury was that it MIGHT have been God’s way of getting my attention during this pandemic, and the quarantine conditions w...

2020 – an election year. You know what that means? Promises ever intended to REALLY be fulfilled. A cynic once said the way you can tell if a politician is lying is if he is moving his lips. From the opening story, we can see that politicians aren’t the only ones who make empty promises. Satan – the enemy of God’s Kingdom – our adversary - is SKILLED at those kinds of lies.  Resurrection Sunday wi...

Associate Pastor Andy Buchanan

YOU KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE HAD A BAD DAY WHEN: You see a "Dateline” news team waiting in your driveway when you get home from work Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles You wake up and discover your waterbed broke and then realize that you don’t have a water bed. Your income tax check bounces. Your twin brother or sister forgets your birthday The bird singing outside your wi...

The year was 1988. I was in Bible College and many of my peers were all abuzz. This was supposed to be the year of Jesus’ return. There had been a book written entitled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Experts watched the signs they felt so sure of. People sold their homes, liquidated their assets and waited…  Folks - just STOP IT, would ya?? I’m thinking that MAYBE we don’t really have...

 I remember when one of our elders, Scott, showed me the news of the shut-down of the NBA. No more basketball. Frustrating. Then no March Madness. Righteous indignation! 😊  Then the shut down of large gatherings. My little sister, Talicia, is getting ready for her wedding on April 18. This is a big deal. 41 years old – never been married. TONS of people who love her coming to celebrate… not anymo...

Pretend that you are travelling alone through a vast desert and have been for a while. You are weary and weak, and your canteen is empty. When you come across the strangest sight: there is a water pump standing alone in the desert and tied to it is a handwritten sign that reads "I have buried a bottle of water right here in the sand. The purpose of the water is to prime the pump. There’s just...

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, would it make a noise? If PBCC were to close its doors this week and cease to exist as a church – would anyone notice? That’s a haunting question, isn’t it? At the heart of that question lies our purpose and identity as a church. Are we making a difference at all in our community? Is the gospel giving people hope? Are we sharing the love of Chris...

Last week we started a two-week look at church conflict. We saw from the book of Philemon how the potential for conflict in the church was there from the very beginning as the church was made up of people from all walks of life, all political persuasions, all races, all economic classes, even masters and slaves – all becoming disciples of Jesus, and having Jesus as the one thing in common. And bec...

Fights happen. Just because you’re a believer doesn’t mean you are immune to conflict in your relationships. Considering the church: comprised of all SORTS of people. In speaking of the church, Paul declares to the believers in Colossae: Colossians 3:11-15a  Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore,...

“You’re‌ ‌not‌ ‌the‌ ‌boss‌ ‌of‌ ‌me”‌ ‌“You‌ ‌can’t‌ ‌tell‌ ‌me‌ ‌what‌ ‌to‌ ‌do.”‌ ‌Especially‌ ‌in‌ ‌Western‌ ‌culture,‌ ‌where‌ ‌we‌ ‌are‌ ‌used‌ ‌to‌ ‌having‌ ‌the‌ ‌right‌ ‌to‌ ‌do‌ ‌what‌ ‌we‌ ‌want‌ ‌to‌ ‌do,‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌difficult‌ ‌to‌ ‌submit‌ ‌to‌ ‌authority.‌ ‌ But‌ ‌as‌ ‌Christians,‌ ‌the‌ ‌whole‌ ‌idea‌ ‌of‌ ‌Lordship‌ ‌involves‌ ‌submitting‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌correct‌ ‌perspective‌ ‌of‌ ‌a...

If you recall our mission statement: You’ll see that we tend to focus in on 75% of the mission a lot. -   “Greeting time” – designed to give you an initial connection (hope it deepens) -   “Newcomers gatherings” -   GO Moments, Mission Sunday -   Lots of classes to help you grow. But what about “equipping them to SERVE?

What kind of people are the elders of a church supposed to be? Are they to be stubborn and authoritative? Are they to operate under the power of their own wisdom and strength? What qualifies a person to serve as an elder in the church? It’s interesting to see the list of qualifications which the US Constitution has established for anyone who wants to be President. 35 years old, natural-born citize...

As the elders developed our mission statement, we also began to understand the role of the elders in the discipleship process at church, because ultimately discipleship is the outcome of that mission. And so it’s important to know that our elders have buy in to the mission, and to the direction of discipleship at PBCC. Next week we will be having our annual congregational meeting. It’s at these me...

Today we’re talking about debt. This one hits home. Jenny and I are on the road to sinking our debt. This means there are decisions to make: hard decisions. This is part 2 of a series we’ve entitled The Great Escape. We are trying to find GOD’S way out of the traps of consumerism and materialism and debt. Remember last week – this isn’t about the church needing money. In fact, through this congreg...

In 1347, the Black Plague was raging through Europe and thousands of people died. Many people saw it as God’s judgment; so, hoping to appease Him, the citizens of Lubeck, Germany surrounded the monastery of their city and offered the monks enormous amounts of money and such in order to protect them from God’s wrath. The monks though, fearful of contamination, barred their gates and didn’t allow th...

Missions are an important part of PBCC's ministry.  In today's message we hear how we are making a difference and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ locally and globally.

Youth Pastor Ethan Waud

LET IT GO. Perfect song for this season. Think about it…. It’s the middle of December - and has it hit you yet?   You know what I’m talking about… the Christmas RUSH. The way Jesus gets kinda pushed to the side so we can get the meals cooked and the goodies baked; we can get to all the pageants and plays we need to get to; and we take out a second mortgage just to make sure everyone gets exactly w...

Associate Pastor Andy Buchanan

I love nativity scenes.  As a kid I would rearrange the characters every other day, it seemed. I loved how the little lamb in our main porcelain nativity had a broken leg that made it always bow towards the manger. I even love how my kiddos decided a couple of years ago to ADD to the nativity scene, and – running the risk of being a bit sacrilegious – I brought a picture of the additions.  (There’...

Have you ever wondered about the ending of the book of Acts? We just finished the book of Acts last week – and many of you would have had no clue. There’s no big finish, no “and they all lived happily ever after.” Be honest: if I had begun this morning by saying, let’s all turn to Acts 29 --- how many of you would have gone to look for a chapter that isn’t there?? Or is it? In a way, there is anot...