Green Bananas

Of all the things I never anticipated would happen to me, this makes the short list! I baptized my granddaughter, Vivie, today! We had a church full of friends and family. Kathy made an astonishing reception afterwards. The church, with the kindest of assistance from the Joneses, planted a tree to commemorate the event, and I even managed to play a little autoharp for the occasion. It was a day I shall never forget. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, "Green Bananas" by clicking HERE for audio or HERE for text.

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.

Extravagance

Professor Lisa Davison was professor of First Testament at LTS when I knew her. One of the things she delighted in doing was pointing out the naughty bits in the Bible. There are quite a lot of them. In addition, there are some passages that just make us uncomfortable, and Luke 16:1-13, the parable of the dishonest manager, is certainly one of those. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, "Extravagance" by clicking HERE for audio or HERE for text.

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.

Community

The President, in addressing the nation on his concerns about the Assad regime and their indefensible use of chemical weapons upon their own people, grounded his argument for the necessity for us to take military action in part on the phrase "American exceptionalism". To my mind, that is a dangerous idea. America IS exceptional. We are exceptionally wealthy, we are exceptionally powerful. And we are exceptional in another way -- this is a country founded not on historic alliance, or geography or language, but upon a commitment to an ideal.

In that sense, the President was exactly right. We are exceptional, but the idea of American exceptionalism can so easily bleed over into a belief that we represent the truth, the light and all righteousness. We don't. We are born into community and suckled by it, but we must never permit ourselves to make an idol of our culture, country or community of faith. To do so will lead us far from God and into fields tilled by a farmer you would not like at all. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, "Community" by clicking HERE for audio or HERE for text.

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.

The Elephant's Tale

One of the most common things I hear when discussing my obsession with religion with the congregation of the Chapel of St. Arbuck's is, "I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious" by which it is meant that the declarant finds the prospect of joining with others of like (or different!) faith tiresome, tedious and non-productive. Such a statement can also be a convenient way to deal with the inconvenient aspects of a personal relationship with God, an inconvenience Jesus himself described in this fashion:

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

I wonder what would happen if we preached that to all prospective members? Come see why a community of believers is necessary for this week's sermon, The Elephant's Tale by clicking HERE for audio or HERE for text.

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.

A Place At The Table

Sometimes, when you undertake to stand up on your hind legs, dressed as a proper Geneva businessman of the 16th Century, with a group of trusting people before you, you become aware of the nuts and bolts that you used to put together a sermon. You are terribly aware of where you cut corners, where you got tired, what you left unsaid. At other times, it is as if you are not speaking, but serving only as a clothes horse while the message flows through you without effort. This was one of those times. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, A Place at the Table, by clicking HERE for audio or HERE for text.

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.