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.

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.

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.

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.