Between Thanksgiving just passed and the current Christmas season, with all the get together that punctuate this time of year…we’ve probably been welcomed into somebody else’s home…

Or we’ve welcomed somebody else into our home.

And more than likely both.

Have we ever thought much about how crucial a role a good welcome plays in knowing peace? As that reflects God’s righteousness?

It’s important enough that as Jesus was about to send dozens of His followers out into the mission field He tied welcome and peace together (Matthew 10:11-13).

This welcome that reaches out to the other by expanding the boundaries of welcome to all and all for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Because in the birth of Christ this is precisely what God has already done for us.

May the way we welcome and accept others be the righteous example of the peaceable Kingdom God intends.

Join us Sundays at 10AM as we seek the peace of Christ for our world. 

And we'd love to have you join us on Christmas Eve. Our service starts at 5PM and ends with signing Silent Night by candlelight about an hour later

Together We Serve,

Pastor Mike 

We took up the story of Zacchaeus recently. 

It’s a favorite for kids because as a short man (like kids are too) Zacchaeus had to climb a tree to get above the crowds in order to see Jesus as Jesus passed through Jericho.

Also, as a tax collector Zacchaeus had turned on his own people; working with the very powers that kept them overly burdened in their daily lives. He made tons of money doing this, yet he was shunned by his very own people.

Something about Jesus left Zacchaeus ...“out on a limb.”

It’s an expression we hear today. Generally understood to be when we’re in a dangerous or uncompromising position, we’re isolated or not supported by anyone else; it’s when we’re vulnerable...susceptible…exposed…open to.

With everything Zacchaeus has going for him, deep down inside he’s miserable.

Would Jesus have anything to offer him?

Zacchaeus hears about this Jesus-guy generously offering God’s loving welcome to all.

And when Jesus sees Zacchaeus out on that limb and says, “I’m coming over!” that generosity continued.

At that moment God’s love became the foundation for Zacchaeus to build his life upon.

If you’re feel like you’re “out on a limb,“ climb on down and come on in. We're  glad to help you set your life's foundation. We meet Sundays at 10AM.

Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike

We've just taken a big step forward in the future of Prineville Presbyterian Church as we've ‘commissioned’ our Future Facilities Committee. This came in response to the solid growth we’ve enjoyed over the past 5 years.



And as we took this step forward, we turned back into the history of God’s people.



We heard the words from the prophet Jeremiah who proclaimed in times of change the future still belongs to God and to God’s people. With that belief God’s people can look to the future with the “courage to be.”



This phrase comes from a man named Paul Tillich who wrote lots of rich and thought-provoking stuff about God.



Under “the courage to be” Tillich wrote: “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Have no fear of moving into the unknown.”



How we move ahead is going to require the courage to be faithful thinkers and do-ers of God’s future for us.



Join us Sundays at 10AM as ‘co-mission’ with God’s future we know in Jesus Christ.



Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike

“Now he [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.” (Luke 13:10-11).


It seems that we spend a lot time talking about ‘rules.’ In our quieter admissions we're quick to acknowledge that the rules that work in our favor are the ones we like the best.


In the above Bible citation Jesus wound up healing that woman without giving it a 2^nd thought -- to the great annoyance of the synagogue leader who called Jesus out for ‘working’ on the Sabbath.


He could have played the religious-business-as-usual card and waited until the next day to heal this woman and no one would have criticized Him.


However, not willing to limit God’s compassion He took the whole of God’s law and by His actions and through God’s word showed people the compassionate character of God as Jesus gave them a glimpse of His identity and authority as the God we know today.


In that synagogue then…in our church today…we need to make sure that we don’t love routines and systems more than we love God, nor love customs and habits more than we love each other who are also known as God’s beloved.


Join us Sundays at 10AM as we let God’s compassion guide our rules.

Together We Serve,                                                                                                         Pastor Mike

We spend a lot of time talking about what it means to be a "servant," especially as Christians who are servants of Jesus Christ.


It’s easy to let that phrase roll off the tongue, but remembering He is “the image of the invisible God… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”


The fullness of God’s love and grace and desires for all and everything.


That fullness is hard to fathom, so instead we pick out a couple of our favorite bits about Jesus…stick to only those…and fill our attention with a partial image of God.


Only then, that’s when the world’s powers have us just where they want us, tame and quiet and leaving lots of room for evil to have its way.


Tiny cracks become fragmented communities and broken systems…

…holes in the social fabric become rips and tears…

…we wind up disconnected from each other…

…we opt for confrontation rather than work for consensus…

…it leaves us outside the desires and expectations God holds for us…

…as ultimately we wind up separated from God.


Perhaps this is why as Matthew records Jesus’ life, the very last thing he records Jesus saying is to make disciples of all nations, baptize them…


…and from the Voice Bible translation:


“Then disciple them. Form them in the practices and postures that I have taught you, and show them how to follow the commands I have laid down for you. And I will be with you, day after day, to the end of the age.”


Join us Sundays at 10AM as we keep practicing and learning how to posture ourselves more like Jesus.


Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike

I was honored to address the graduating seniors recently at their baccalaureate service. It was the night before they received their diplomas.



I suggested that when they were handed their diploma, they should also get a hard hat.



We see hard hats worn on construction projects. While high school graduation is a worthy celebration, it also signals a defining moment as they begin building their adult lives. And this defining moment brings lots of opportunities.



These opportunities can include tremendous success…



…as well as teachable moments; i.e.: what’s the next right thing to do when things didn’t go the way they thought they would -- and/or were just plain wrong.



Thinking back to Pentecost Sunday when we celebrated God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the church – it makes me think maybe we should have used a hard hat for Pentecost too…



…as a reminder that as we build ourselves in Christ guided by the Spirit…



…we’re always under construction in how to be grace-filled and loving because that’s always the next right thing to do.



Join us in the ‘construction zone’ Sundays at 10AM.



Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike

“Shame is a soul eating emotion.” 

That’s from Carl Jung, one of the pioneers in psychology.


We touched on this yesterday while talking about Jesus’ teachings where a son made a lot of bad choices that brought shame to him and his dad.


In spite of it all, as the son returned home, dad raced out to meet him with a hug and a kiss. The hug stopped the son’s guilt in its tracks as the kiss filled the emptiness of the son’s soul.


A scandalous way of living is replaced with a scandalous way of being loved.


I‘m reflecting on this as PPC’s most recent RV guest (and our 2^nd vet in a row) stopped by this recently to thank us for making space available to him. He found affordable RV rental a few days ago, and his thanks came in repeated handshakes as his eyes were brimmed with tears. 


It took a while for this to happen, and through this time he was a good neighbor to the neighbors around us and helped out as he could. Talking with him over this time I heard echoes of guilt and shame.


I pray that with stable shelter his soul now will be filled to the point where he’s free to find stability in other areas his life too.


Join us Sundays at 10AM as we learn the ways that Jesus scandalously loves us – and all.


Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike

“Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault-finding or finger-pointing but because He wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things He now has in store.” ~N.T. Wright

We start the Lent with Ash Wednesday March 6. This special season continues 40 days until Easter. While different Christian traditions have various thoughts about observing Lent, our tradition considers this as a time of prayer, fasting and self-examination in preparation for celebrating the resurrection at Easter.

I think of Lent as a time learn new habits, or re-new old ones; very much like the time for discipline that we find in N.T. Wright’s quote above.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines discipline as “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.”

Too often we think of discipline only as punishment, yet when we look at discipline and disciple they both come from discipulus, the Latin word for pupil. This makes Lent about so much more than denying ourselves something just because we secretly want to lose 10 pounds - it is about shaping our Christian character.

A traditional Lenten practice is fasting; using it as a time of self-denial in order to better identify with Jesus’ 40 days in the desert and His reliance on God. Lent can also be a time of adopting a new practice; engaging in meaningful prayer, Bible study or devotion, or some other active habit that trains us and focuses us on Christ.

Regardless of the Lent activities we pursue, the questions to keep in front of us are: 

·         Are we practicing something that God calls for?

·         Is this activity anything that reminds us to love God and love neighbors as ourselves?

·         Are we focused on God’s work and Jesus’ ministry to the poor, vulnerable, oppressed, sick and lonely?

·         Are we practicing love, kindness, justice and mercy?

I hope you’ll join us in our Lent and Holy Week activities (Ash Wednesday at Prineville Presbyterian, Maundy Thursday April 18 and Good Friday April 19 at Our Savior's Lutheran Church - all start at 7PM) and use them as an invitation to deepen your relationship with Jesus as we all focus on Him and our Christian discipleship. 

Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike