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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Little Things

In the beautiful song of Mary from Luke called the Magnificat, Mary sings that her soul "magnifies" the Lord because she is so lowly, yet great things will be done through her -- things she could not accomplish on her own. Have you ever thought that you're too small and uninformed to be of any use in your church? Well...the truth is that this is exactly who the pastor of Community Presbyterian is -- untrained and unqualified. The lowest of the low. Yet, somehow, I have been given words to speak for three years. My soul magnifies the Lord. Come join the congregation of Community Presbyterian for this week's sermon from Micah and Luke titled "Little Things".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

The Only Fan in the Stands

This time of year, all the pastors get flooded with emails about people wishing them a "Happy Holidays" instead of a "Merry Christmas". People get awfully upset about than, even though "Holiday" is a contraction of "Holy Day". What are we saying to non-Christians when we pitch a fit on this issue? Join the Congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte as we examine "The Only Fan in the Stands".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Same Ol Same Ol

I met a friend I hadn't seen in some time and asked how he'd been. "Same Ol, Same Ol" he told me. Same Ol Same Ol is comfortable, but I wonder if we don't do ourselves a disservice by settling for that. And I wonder if that's what God has in mind, too. Join the Congregation of Community Presbyterian Church for our sermon, "Same Ol, Same Ol".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Getting Round the Grinch

The janitor at the Chapel of St. Starbuck's the Jittery asked me a good question the other day. He asked how I felt about Advent. I had to confess that the noise of the commercial aspects leaves me in a bad mood every year. When I went to the Lectionary text for this Sunday, hoping to find something sentimental, I found instead "The Little Apocalypse" from Luke going on about the end times. Very helpful. Thanks for nothing.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky to find out how I worked my way out of that in our sermon, Getting Round the Grinch.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Christ the Thing

The Bible is written in metaphor and simile familiar to people of a long-past world, a world in which shepherds and kings were commonalities. When read by people who have no emotional connection to either shepherds or kings, there is a good chance of misunderstanding. This is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday in the liturgical year. What does "King" mean, and what are we saying by calling Christ a King? We might as well call it "Christ the Thing" Sunday. We've lost our emotional connection to kings.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky for our sermon, Christ the Thing.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Raisin Bread Dough

Today's text is the story of Penninah, Elkanah and Hannah, and it's one of my favorites. Hannah is barren, but her husband asks her, "Hannah, why are you sad? Am I not more than ten sons to you?" Elkanah's love for Hannah allows him to see beyond the demands of his culture to his wife's other qualities. Hannah, however, is stuck in her culture like raisins in a loaf of unbaked raisin bread dough. She cannot feel her husband's love. Many of us are like that -- God tells us that He loves us, and we hear Groucho Marx's voice saying "Any club that would have me as a member, I want no part of. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for our sermon from Samuel and Hebrews, Raisin Bread Dough.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

White Knuckle Fliers

We put our faith in baskets full of things we don't understand at all, daily. Electricity, computers, even airplanes. We do that because we have come to trust the things that science provides for us. I think the belief is something like, "I don't understand it, but all these smart people do, and so I'll trust that they know what they're doing."

Trusting God is much more difficult because no man has seen Him. He can't be verified in a test tube. It is a very, very hard thing for some people to manage. Of course, many people don't try at all. It sounds like the sorts of folks you meet on airplanes -- frequent fliers who don't give it a thought, educated, knowledgeable people who understand and appreciate what's going on, and, of course, the white-knuckle fliers. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky as we fly with the white-knuckle fliers.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Little Match Girl

How do we think about poverty and our response to it? It seems that we ricochet between two poles: a romanticized vision of the poor, perhaps like the little match girl of Hans Christian Anderson's story, and a judgmental, "it's your own durn fault" view of poverty which locks up our wallets. The book of Ruth offers a more nuanced view, and includes within it the stubbornness of self-denying love. Come join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon from the book of Ruth, "The Little Match Girl".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cesi n'est pas une pipe

It's Reformation Sunday, and that made me think about names, relationships, and our connections to both Jesus and the church -- how they are different. It also made me think of a painting by Rene' Magritte called "Cesi n'est pas une pipe." Unfortunately, I thought everybody on planet earth knew about this painting. I'm informed by my congregation that this is decidedly NOT so, therefore, I include a photograph. Come join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church for our sermon on blind barTimeaus from the Gospel of Mark titled Cesi n'est pas une pipe.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Story of Zinc

The Book of Job ends with God finally addressing Job's complaint, and God is strangely harsh. From our perspective, Job is the one who has been harmed. Why is God all snarky? It may have something to do with zinc. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon, The Story of Zinc.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Lamed Vovniks

The Book of Job is not an easy book to love. It's not even an easy book to read, and it offends most people who take the trouble to read it. But the Book of Job squarely faces our common observation that the world contains a lot of undeserved suffering. A lot of innocent people get beat up pretty badly in this old world, and it is cold comfort for some preacher to intone, "We suffer because we are sinners and bring it on our own heads." Not what *I* want to hear when I suffer.

The Jews offer a tradition of The Lamed Vovniks -- the 36 righteous men who must exist at any one time and who bear the suffering for the world. This opens the story of Jesus to us from a new light. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky for this week's sermon, The Lamed Vovniks.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

A Side of Ribs

Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin are arguing in "Yentl!" about the interpretation of one of the creation stories in Genesis. "Side!" she says. "The word can mean 'side'!"

Streisand's character is arguing that men and women are equal in the sight of God. Patinkin's character is insisting that women were created from man's rib, and is, hence, inferior. Should we ever read Scripture to say that God lifts up one at the expense of the other? Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church for our sermon this week, A Side of Ribs.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Cluck!

First of all, my apologies to our regular listeners. I was out of town with simply the most fascinating woman I know to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary, and I could not get my laptop to post this Blog!

Esther is a most peculiar book. It never mentions God. It has to do with a secret Jew, married to a Gentile without so much as a by-your-leave. She is utterly powerless, but manages to save the Jewish people. When I look around at the world going in directions that alarm and disgust me, and feel powerless to change it, I want to sit on my porch and cluck my tongue. Esther got up and did something. See what she did as we review the Book of Esther in our Sermon, Cluck.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

We're All Bozos on this Bus

The current heated debate on health care reform seems to be more a polarizing power than a negotiating opportunity. Nobody's listening to the other side, it seems. Each side is lecturing the other. It is like the husband (that would be me) advising a wife (that would be She Who Must Be Obeyed) on how to be a better wife by reading Scripture to her. It is an unwise course to follow. See how that plays out by joining the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte for "We're all Bozos on this Bus".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Who Is This Burglar, Anyway

When Jesus announced his intention to go to Jerusalem, he was telling His Disciples that he was going on a crime spree, because to defy the law of the land in the way He intended to do was, in fact, a crime, and one punishable by death. Since Emperor Constantine, we have come to view Christians as law-abiding good citizens. It would have been impossible in Jesus' time to see Him in this way. Jesus was going to directly confront the law. In this chilling passage, we see Jesus as The Bad Guy -- the criminal who broke the law. This is the way Jesus died, as a criminal.

In thinking about this, my mind went to another criminal who was executed -- the Lutheran Pastor and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, hanged by the Nazis a month before they surrendered. Bonhoeffer gave us the phrase "cheap grace".

Has contemporary Christianity prettied itself up such that it can no longer claim the grace that God pours out freely? Come join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte Kentucky for the third part of our burglar series, Who is this burglar, anyway?

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Kissing the Burglar, Part Deaux

Last week we talked about how our ideas of what 'Justice' means differ from God's ideas about justice. This week, we follow up those ideas with some examples of what it means to act justly. I just love a sermon that's so long it takes two Sundays to deliver, don't you? It's like learning long division, but with none of the excitement. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte for "Kissing the Burglar, Part Deaux".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Kissing the Burglar

When we've been harmed by another, why do we fancy that we will find healing in the suffering of the other? Why do we think that the sins of the other entitle us to act cruelly in return? You would never think of walking up to a random person and shooting them, but we revel in tales of homeowners doing so, and derive a good deal of pleasure in the telling of these sorts of stories. Why is justice coupled with revenge in our minds? Come, join us at Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon, Kissing the Burglar.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Quick Change

Solomon had a pretty big deal event coming up. He had very nearly bankrupted the country to build the Beit haMikdash -- the First Temple, and now, it was time for him to dedicate it with a prayer. All eyes were on him, because he had told all eyes to show up and be on him. As he started his prayer, though, something happened to him. God seems to have interrupted the prayer and changed him. Has that ever happened to you? Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon, Quick Change.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Mythin' Around

The notion of at-one-ment with the creator of the Universe should scare us silly, but that is what Christians are offered. I don't know how often, however, we think about what that means. Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, spent his lifetime studying the stories we tell one another as a way to view our collective wisdom. Modern people seem to have gone off without their connection to the wisdom of life while in pursuit of the Enlightenment. Campbell suggests we should reconnect with that, and I think he's right. Let's look at the Scriptures through Campbell's eyes and see what we might find in our sermon Mythin' Around.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

God'll Getcha

My early religious training emphasized God's judgment. My folks kept telling me that if I didn't stop doing whatever it was that was annoying them, God would get me for that. I rather took away the message that Jesus loves me, but God has a temper. I think this view of God is crippling, and I took some time to look at David's great love for his worthless son, Absalom, to see how we stack up against Absalum. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for God'll Getcha.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The Big, Greasy Ball

In answer to a serious kerfuffle at the Chapel of St. Starbuck (I just *love* being able to work 'kerfuffle' into a sentence) I sat myself down and tried to decide just what "the church" is. That made me think of the ways we have historically used the church for our own purposes, rolling it, patriotism and the UK Basketball program up in a big greasy ball that described who we were. The church has lost a lot of that influence in the past 40 year, and that gives us an opportunity to pry it loose from the big greasy ball and look at the definitive uniqueness of the church. Come join us at Community Presbyterian for The Big Greasy Ball.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

And More Besides

Last week, I made the assertion that telling the story was the purpose of the church, and that it was even more important than feeding the hungry. This week, the Little Church in a Hole on the Hill looks at the power of the story that makes it so important. The church doesn't have value because it does good things; the church does good things because of its unique call to tell the story. Come join us for And More Besides.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Plowing the Right Field

The church does so much good that it's tempting to think of it as just another do-gooder institution, like the other institutions in our world that put the needs of others ahead of their own. The good work the church does needs to be celebrated, but is that really the purpose of the church? Is there something unique about the church of Jesus Christ which differentiates it from the countless other organizations that do good work? I think there is. Join us for Plowing the Right Field

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Joe and Mary's Kid

It takes a lot of faith to approach someone for healing. When Jesus was the expert from out of town, he could do mighty acts of power. When he returned to his own home, he could not. The people of Nazareth couldn't see past his identity as Joe and Mary's kid. It raises the question, "What part does faith play in our relationship with God?" Join us at Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for our sermon on Mark 6:1-13 called Joe and Mary's Kid.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Charlie's iPod

The text from Mark today has two stories of healing. Prayers of petition, in which we ask God to do something for us, are so common that we can come to think of them as the only form of prayer. We tend to want to segregate our lives into walking-around stuff and religious stuff, and we never intermix the two until something goes wrong. In our suffering, we turn to God for assistance.

What if, instead of viewing God as our butler, we viewed Him as our companion, and celebrated the day the Lord created in the same way my friend Charlie celebrates the tunes from his iPod? Wouldn't we have a more positive relationship with God? Come see what I mean, and join us for Charlie's iPod.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sweating a Pipe

It's Father's Day, and that means gifts of aftershave from the CVS store, and a time to think about the role of a father in the family. Sometimes, it seems that in our enthusiasm to support the (mostly) women who find themselves trying to raise children alone, we may have inadvertently devalued the importance of dad. We need to reclaim his importance in the family. Join us for Sweating A Pipe, at Community Presbyterian.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Saying You're Sorry

The public dialog has increasingly become polarizing and violent. With the murder of Dr. George Tiller, and the museum guard, what is the responsibility of the media for their words if those words influence others to take violent action? Why are the words of a Muslim cleric urging hatred of Israel and America "Islamic terrorism", but the words of Rev. Drake, that he is praying for the death of President Obama, or those of Bill O'Reilly demonizing Dr. Tiller as "Tiller the baby killer" not "Christian Terrorism"? Words have consequences, and the words we speak as Christians reflect upon all Christians. Join us for Saying You're Sorry, a sermon that will make many mad.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Who's In

Starting a new church, as the remaining eleven Apostles are doing in our passage from Acts today is no small thing to undertake. One of the most vexing questions, and the one bedeviling the congregants at St. Starbuck's the Jittery this week is "Who's In?" Join us at Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky for our sermon, "Who's In?"

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Who's On First?

The offices of vigils and lauds each morning at St. Starbuck's the Jittery have produced an interesting discussion: how do we imagine our relationship with God? Many people think of it as "God-active". In this model, God changes from loving father to uncompromising judge depending on our behavior. Others see the relationship as "people-active". We react to God's free gift of love, and God never changes. The French say that in every relationship, one is kissed, and the other kisses. Join us for today's sermon, Who's On First?

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Luke's World

To understand our relationship with God, we have to put it into a framework which we can relate to. The problem comes when we confuse the framework we constructed with God Himself and exclude people from God's Kingdom because they don't agree with us. Such a one was the Ethiopian Eunuch who came all the way to Jerusalem to worship, only to be turned away. I don't know who picked a story about a eunuch for Mother's Day, but we plays 'em where they lays. Join us for Luke's World at Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, the little church in a hole on a hill.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Cleaning out the Barn

Somehow, the radical, passionate teaching of Jesus of Nazareth has been transformed to the 21st Century religion of complacency. Somehow, the thought that Jesus "did it all" has come to mean that we need do nothing at all. Somehow, Jesus' command, "If any would become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me." has become code language for passively bearing the aches and pains of age. If all that is so, who is left to do the work of the kingdom? Come see, and join us for Cleaning out the Barn

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Fishing for Peter

Peter is everybody's favorite disciple because he's such an entertaining doofus. He's easy to relate to because we're all, from time to time, entertaining doofuses, and Peter is our patron Saint. Somehow, though, Peter's meeting with the risen Christ changed him into the Apostle Peter, a completely different guy. You might say he was "born again", if that phrase hadn't been so badly co-opted and loaded up with 21st Century baggage. Come join us to find out what else can be fished up out of Peter.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Gospel of Thomas

"Doubting" Thomas is the poster child for one of little faith, but when the risen Lord visited them, the other disciples were huddled in a locked room in fear of the crowds. Where was Thomas? Thomas was out among them. Who's the one of little faith now?

Thomas shows us how a rational man can relate to the resurrection, and do so powerfully. Join us for "The Gospel of Thomas".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Running from the Resurrection

In Mark's original telling of the story, the three women finding the empty tomb ran for fear and "said nothing to anyone". It is a devastating ending, and later hands added "the shorter ending of Mark" and "the longer ending of Mark". The followers of Jesus ran, not only from his crucifixion, but from his Resurrection as well.

Among 21st Century believers, it is enormously difficult to cling to something as preposterous as a dead man raised, and yet Paul, in his 54 c.e. letter to his church at Corinth, describes this one, irreducible event at a matter of "first importance". How do we hold onto the Resurrection as a fact in a modern world? Click HERE to join us for "Running from the Resurrection".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Best Part

At the crucifixion of Jesus, He was alone, abandoned by his disciples, by the crowds which had followed him, by everyone who saw Jesus only through the lens of their own needs and wishes. By doing so, they missed the best part -- the new covenant between God and His people

In the end, only a Roman Centurion got the best part. "Truly, this man was the Son of God". Click HERE to join us for "The Best Part".

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Hunkering

The economic recession has me thinking about the ideas of risk, and the ways we try to live without it. To love your neighbor means to invest yourself emotionally in his or her welfare. Yet, it seems that we are so afraid of losing what little we have left that we are hunkered down, and emotionally divorced from our neighbor. Click HERE to join us for this Sunday's sermon, Hunkering.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Bronze Serpent

The Bronze Serpent
God had hardly finished telling the people to make no graven images when He told them to make a Bronze Serpent which they could look upon to avoid death from a serpent's bite. Jesus thought it sufficiently important that he used it as an image for what must happen to him. Confused? Click HERE to join us for "The Bronze Serpent"
Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

I love you all

Rev. Stew

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Spiritual Puppy Dogs

The percentage of Americans identifying themselves as 'Christian' has decreased from 86% in 1990 to 76% currently. Mainline Protestant churches have slipped from 19% to 13%. Clearly, churches are not doing a good job of offering something meaningful to spiritual seekers. Maybe that is because we have abandoned our core teaching about sin and the crucifixion in favor of feel-good lessons on spiritual puppy dogs and unicorns. Maybe, in an effort to make church "enjoyable", we have dumbed it down to the point that it offers no challenge to serious seekers of spiritual growth.

Click HERE to join us for "Spiritual Puppy Dogs"

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The Two Crosses

The Two Crosses
Each Lent, we bring in a big, ugly oak cross that one of our congregation made for us. It sits on the floor and we bring symbols of Lent to it. It really is an ugly thing, and it contrasts with the beautiful mahogany cross on the wall behind me. Which cross is Jesus talking about in Mark 8:31-37? Click the title, or click here.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

I love you all

Rev. Stew

Sunday, March 1, 2009

A Zero-Sum Game

Mark tells us that Jesus was driven by the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by Satan. What in the world could Satan have offered? And who is Satan, anyway? Rev. Schneider draws on his extensive knowledge of UK Basketball to look at what sort of game Satan might be playing as we continue to meditate on our question for Lent, "Who is this Jesus, and how are we to understand Him?" To hear "A Zero-Sum Game", click the title, or click here.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Hinge of Mark

Lent is a time when we can review our understanding of Jesus as we walk with Him through His final days. It is a time of great introspection, and one of my favorite times of the church year. The question that Mark poses is "Who IS this Jesus, and how do we understand him?" CLICK HERE to hear our worship service for February 22, 2009 as we view Jesus's answer to his Disciples.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Join us online at http://communitypresbyterian.org/

I love you all

Rev. Stew

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Squandering the Gospel

President Kennedy famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". You might say the same thing about our relationship with God. Is it based on "what's in it for me", or is it based in service? CLICK HERE or on the title to hear our worship service for February 15, 2009.

Oh...and I've now reached the age where I can't find the word I want in TWO languages. The Hebrew for "man of God" which escaped me was "ish elo'him"...not that it matters...but still...

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

The World Whisperer

Mark tells us that Jesus could change lives just by a word. In today's text, Mark tells us that Jesus could heal illness with a mere touch. What kind of power is Mark showing us? To me, it sounds like the more familiar power of Cesar Milan over dogs on National Geographic's "The Dog Whisperer", but Jesus' power is over much more -- indeed, all of Creation. Click here to listen to this week's message.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Bill of Responsibilities

We're proud of our Bill of Rights in this country, but the document I would have liked to have seen adopted by our Founding Fathers is a Bill of Responsibilities -- a list of the responsibilities we owe to our neighbors.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Hot Pot Lid

Nobody picks up a hot pot lid then enters into a discussion about what to do with it. You drop it before you think about it. It's a reflex that doesn't even involve your brain -- it's located in your spinal chord. That's the kind of relationship with God which Christians seek -- God in our spinal chords.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Tao of Samuel

What would happen if we looked at the story of the call of Samuel through the lens of something really foreign to our usual way of thinking? Something like, say, Confucianism and Taoism?

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Ungomming the Gospels

We are blessed to have four, unique, accounts of the life of Jesus in the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Since each Gospel differs from the others, the early church looked at several "harmonizations". Ultimately, they were rejected. The church admitted only the four separate accounts into the canon. This Sunday, for year B in the Revised Common Lectionary, we'll begin to unravel the gommed up Gospel ball we have all created mentally so that we can hear Mark's account more clearly.

By the way, if you don't know what "gommed" means, you ain't from around here.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Christ the King

Why do we do the wrong thing, even when doing the right thing is in our best interest? Why do we drive 75 on a 70 mile per hour highway when we know it is unsafe? What are the limits of what we can get away with? Does God's patience have a limit?

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Prophesy, Signs and Wonders

"Prophesy" has come to mean little more than fortune telling, but the true meaning of prophesy is in God's word delivered to us now. Let's talk a bit about prophesy through the experience of Thibideaux and Boudreaux, two proud Cajun pastors.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Epiphany

Epiphany ends the "12 days of Christmas". The lords have leapt. The maids have milked. The ladies have danced and all the rings have been given. Christmas begins the season of Christmas with a celebration of the birth of Jesus. That's the story in Luke. Epiphany, January 6, ends it with the visit of the wise men in Matthew. That's when the world becomes aware that something astonishing has happened in Bethlehem.

Join us at Bayless Memorial Presbyterian Church in Grayson, Kentucky for a talk about the meaning of an Epiphany.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Clearing the Way

It's the first Sunday in 2009 and every pastor in the land is struck by the same thought -- it's time to clear away the old year, and begin anew. Every pastor in the land will preach on this, and we'd hate to be the odd one out. Here's my list of what didn't work in 2008 -- the things I need to clear out. What's on your list?

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Tying Up the Cats

What is the real meaning of worship? How do we understand the rituals used in worship in the Presbyterian Church? What of the Apostle's or Nicene Creed we recite each Sunday? What's that all about?

Join us on The Casting Floor and let's talk about what we are doing when we worship.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Tying Up Cats

What is the real meaning of worship? How do we understand the rituals used in worship in the Presbyterian Church? What of the Apostle's or Nicene Creed we recite each Sunday? What's that all about?

Join us on The Casting Floor and let's talk about what we are doing when we worship.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us. Visit us at http://communitypresbyterian.org.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Sharpening your internal ears to listen to God's voice isn't easy. It takes some concentration. And the result is almost always the contempt of the rest of the world, usually initiated with the question, "Who do you think YOU are?"

Join us on The Casting Floor and let's talk a bit about the cost of acting on God's word, and finding the courage to get past the attitudes of others.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us.

Can You Hear Me Now?

There has never been a shortage of people anxious to speak in God's behalf. The question is, "How do you discern the authentic prophetic voice?" As many times as we misunderstand each other, think of how difficult God must find it to get through to us. Let's examine what it takes to hear God's voice in the speech of His prophets.

Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky, was built on the casting floor of a 19th Century iron blast furnace. We use "The Casting Floor" as an image for the power of the Spirit to form us.