A Dialogue

If one's worldview limits that which one can believe, our culture's worldview imposes upon us certain assumptions. One is that "reality" is revealed by our five senses. Another is that interpretation of those sensory inputs is facilitated by logic and reason. If a dialog is an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, especially a political or religious issue, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement or settlement, what, I wondered, would a dialogue between our culture and the first 18 verses of the first Chapter of John look like?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, A Dialog, 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.

Silvery Surface

We've learned greater and greater detail about less and less so that we have come to know everything there is to know about nothing and we're proud of it. We're like the water strider, a bug which lives his life on the surface of a pond, believing it to be all there is to reality until a fish pops through his reality and gobbles him up. We might need to think more deeply about what we know.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Silvery Surface 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.

Evil for Evil

The one thing seemingly everyone agrees on in these frightening times is that we can somehow shoot our way out of this mess. We can't, and we can't let things like guns distract us for they are neither the problem nor the solution. The problem is that we have divided the world into good guys and bad guys, and have convinced ourselves that we, as the good guys, are entitled to visit hell from the skies on the bad guys. Not surprisingly, the beneficiaries of our bombs feel exactly the same way. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth! Soon the whole world will be blind and toothless. There has to be a better way.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Evil for Evil 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.

Hooked Up

We live in a world which teaches that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We often take that to mean that all opinions are equally valid, since we are ENTITLED to hold them. The obvious conclusion is that there is no such thing as truth in any significant context. Someone posted a picture of Donald Trump on Facebook with the caption, “Do accuracy and truth still matter on the campaign trail?” One of my more acerbic friends replied, “No. Next question.” The Bible contains accounts of people who are hooked up to the truth. Would our world tolerate someone hooked up to the truth? I rather think not.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Hooked Up, by clicking HERE for text. (Due to technical difficulties, we have no audio this Sunday).

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.

Change

It's really odd to suggest that the "happiest time of the year" is one of conflict, but it is the truth. The conflict is between our well-loved traditions and the church's understanding of Advent as a time of repentance and reflection, preparing for the Second Coming.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Change, 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 Jesus Problem

Postmodernism doesn't really believe in the idea of "truth". We believe very strongly in the idea of "opinion" and will fight to the point of absurdity to permit everyone, no matter how loopy, to express his opinion, but "truth" implies commitment, and we're a little commitment shy. Surprisingly, 2000 years ago, Pilate lived in a world which mistrusted truth as well.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Jesus Problem 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.

It's Awful!

I weep for the people of Paris and for all of us for a shroud of evil has come over our world not seen since the time of the Nazis. How are we to respond to this newest challenge without becoming evil ourselves? People of faith are called to answer that question, and we had best be prepared by listening to the words of Scripture.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, It's Awful! 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.

Two Cents Worth

Giving someone your two cents worth means that you have given your advice on a proposed action. Do you think God ever gives us His two cents worth? Tune in for a real-life account of God doing just that last week in this week's sermon, Two Cents Worth 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.

Granny's Quilt

A friend of mine has a wonderful bumper sticker that reads:

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK

One of the things an awful lot of the people I speak with think, and thus believe, is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about heaven when you die. It is my impression that the Gospel is about restoration of the earth and the peoples upon it, removing a shroud of evil which is smothering it and them.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Granny's Quilt 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.

Your Move

Every culture everywhere has a creation story that frames how we view the world in which we live. This Sunday, I'd like to take a look at two such stories and ask an important, and impertinent, question: Do your actions mirror your beliefs? And if not, what do they mirror?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Your Move 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 Problem with Prayer

How can prayer be a problem? You'd think that is nonsense on it's face, but James and John, the sons of Zebedee, put their finger on it. Prayer is a problem when it seeks to further our own agenda, rather than God's will.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Problem With Prayer 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.

Hamm-o-Grams

Forgive me, but I changed the title at the last moment! Today, I want to talk about commitment and participation in God's work, and the best way I could think of to do that was to bring my memories of Professor Hamm's Contracts class in law school, a trial of patience if ever there was!

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Hamm-o-Grams 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 .

HARROW

Job should be required reading for all of us both when we get the idea that God has blessed us because of our specialness, and when we get the idea that someone else's misery is the result of their sins. Such a line of thought is so attractive and flattering to those of us who live comfortable lives that we rarely follow it through to its logical conclusion -- that God loves rich people and treats poor people with contempt.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon, Harrow by clicking HERE for audio or HERE for text.

Us and Them

Well, as Robert Burns would have it, “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.” We're having a technical issue this week, and unless I am able to unravel it, we'll have to make do. This week's sermon touches on our loyalty to tribe first and foremost, "My country, right or wrong, but my country". How does that play out in the horror we are seeing daily experienced by refugees from Syria? Let's look at "Us and Them" and the teachings of Christ.

Well,  maybe we have something fixed. Try clicking HERE for audio. I'll leave the text here, or click HERE for the text with the Scripture. Sorry for the trouble.

From our earliest history, we’ve organized ourselves into tribes. We still do – ask any UK fan! Tribalism is the lens through which we view the world. Sometimes, it stands us in good stead, as when the New Orleans tribe pulled together after Katrina to rebuild their city. Other times, it leads to the Iraq war and the rise of ISIS. Our commitment to tribalism is the phantom behind all our ism's – sexism, racism, classism, and even the biggie – nationalism. We are loyal to our tribe, first and foremost.

It seems to be present in our very DNA. I was at the Chapel of St. Arbuck’s this week and saw a lovely young mother with her four! children, two boys aged 11 and 9, and two girls aged 7 and 18 months. Mom was cuddling the baby in her arms when the 7 year old approached and leaned against mom. The baby extended a foot, placed it on her sister and pushed her away. It’s bred in the bone with us, church. It’s bred in the bone.

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

And it always has been a part of us.

And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!”

It is the belief that we can contain God, the arrogant assumption that God cannot pour out His blessings on the other tribe, that leads to so much grief in our world. The baby girl I spoke of fears that mom's love is limited, and wishes to own all of it. Greed and fear. Fear and greed. You and I know that mom's love is not limited by time or space, but we still have trouble imagining that God's love for His children is even greater. “God loves me better!” we shout, and we extend our little foot to push our brothers and sisters away. What nonsense!

The Presbytery of Transylvania posted a story this week about the family of Shadi and Hanadi Antakli, their 9-year-old son Hasan and 4-year-old daughter Tuqa. They arrived August 20^th in their new home in Louisville, after fleeing the violence in Aleppo, Syria. The father told the reporter:

“We're comfortable here,” said Shadi. “We do have a future, but in the back of our minds, are still our family and friends that are back in whether it's Turkey or Jordan that are unable to come here and so while we're comfortable and can see our future for ourselves, we can't see the same for our family.”¹

How can I rejoice if my family and friends, my tribe! are in jeopardy? I watched the news reports showing Hungarian police firing tear gas at families with children. I saw a little girl tentatively touching the razor wire, the families trudging down the railroad tracks for 20 miles, 40 miles, only to be herded into detainment camps and I ask how we have allowed ourselves to permit this? Walter Wink observed:

“The world is, to a degree at least, the way we imagine it. When we think it to be godless and soulless, it becomes for us precisely that. And we ourselves are then made over into the image of godless and soulless selves. If we want to be made over into the image of God—to become what God created us to be—then we need to purge our souls of materialism and of other worldviews that block us from realizing the life God so eagerly wants us to have.

The world is the way we imagine it. Imagining the world to really be divided into tribes creates a tribal world for us to live in. If we pray for the peace of those refugees from the awful violence in the middle east, but see them as not of our tribe and so do nothing to alleviate their suffering, extending instead a little foot to push them away, do we reflect the image of God? Hear these words from James.

If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?2

Or, perhaps, these from the letter we call 1 John:

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?3

The only good that I can imagine coming from the television coverage of the plight of the Syrian refugees is that by watching the news from Hungary we can see what a wall on our borders would look like. We can see our tribalism outlined in razor wire under the innocent finger of a child. We can smell the malady of our tribalism in the clouds of tear gas, experience the fear of children at the raised batons. If we want to be made over in the image of God – to become what God created us to be – then we need to purge our souls of those things that are bred in the bone so closely that they have actually come to seem to us to be righteous.

This is where the work of transformation begins – the turning from our own certainties of righteousness, our commitment to our tribe, to follow the Christ. We must keep ever before us the knowledge that Jesus did not die at the hands of muggers, rapists, or thugs, still less at the hands of illegal immigrants. He fell into the well-scrubbed hands of deeply religious people, society’s most respected members, who viewed him as a danger to their tribe.

The poison fed to us from our commitment to tribalism leads us to substitute a false ethic for the life-affirming teachings of Christ. Tribalism teaches a simple arithmetic –my country, right or wrong. That which is like my tribe is good and to be protected. That which is not like my tribe is evil and must be destroyed. The Way of Jesus teaches that there is only one tribe – the tribe of the children of God – and only one call – to be faithful to the teachings of that tribe.

AMEN

BENEDICTION

In 1903 a poem entitled The New Colossus, written twenty years earlier by American poet Emma Lazarus, was cast in bronze and installed in the lower level of the pedestal of the Statute of Liberty. It reads:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Were I to propose that we sponsor, or help to sponsor, a family fleeing from Syria, would we do it? Our Peace and Global Witness Offering will be taken October 4. Think well on the children. Think well on the families.

1http://www.wave3.com/story/30039042/newly-arrived-syrian-family-watches-migrant-crisis-from-louisville#.Vfw1Rskvb-w.facebook

2James 2:16

31 John 3:17

Uncomfortable Christianity

In light of the current controversy in Rowan County, it may be that these are the most important two sentences you will hear today:
 

The story of God, contained in these pages, revolves around a Person, not a set of principles. The closer we get to Jesus, the more we discover our true identity and purpose in life.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Uncomfortable Christianity 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.

Comfy Christianity

Archbishop Timothy Dolan warned of a Christianity "that makes no demands, calls for no sacrifice, asks for no conversion, entails no battle against sin, but only soothes and affirms." We might call that "comfy Christianity". Today's sermon is from one of the most uncomfortable passages in the New Testament, Jesus' hurtful words to the Syrophoenician woman who came to him begging for healing for her daughter. A comfy Christian avoids this passage or neuters it, but our faith demands that we include this, as well, in our notions of what it means to be Christians.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, "Comfy Christianity" 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 Law

The Revised Common Lectionary presents us a pretty problem today. The reading from Deuteronomy tells us of Moses giving the Law to the people and ordering them to strictly obey it. The reading from Mark tell us that Jesus permitted His Disciples to eat with "defiled hands", thus not following the law. What are we to make of this?!?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Law 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.

Choose This Day

Archbishop Timothy Dolan remarked:

“Maybe the greatest threat to the Church is not heresy, not dissent, not secularism, not even moral relativism, but this sanitized, feel-good, boutique, therapeutic spirituality, that makes no demands, calls for no sacrifice, asks for no conversion, entails no battle against sin, but only soothes and affirms.”

 

That sort of lazy Christianity is, and always has been, enormously popular. Who WOULDN'T like a faith that tells you that you are just fine the way you are and which doesn't require anything of you?

 

True Christianity isn't that way. It makes inconvenient demands, but to understand those demands, we must reclaim language we have tossed on the scrapheap of superstition.

 

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Choose This Day 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.

 

Too soon smart; too late wise

There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge means that you have the skills to do something potentially stupid, if not fatal. Wisdom means that you have better sense than to do that. Knowledge comes from books. Wisdom come through culture, and for millenia it has been passed from one generation to the next in the form of story. We have lost, says Joseph Campbell, the language of the spirit which has for time out of mind informed us the ways of wisdom.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Too Late Wise 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.

Deal Gently with my Son

David, king of the united Kingdom, had to fight a civil war because his son, Absolum, declared himself king. Before the final battle, David instructed his generals, "Deal gently with the young man, Absolum". Instead, Joab, one of his generals, killed the young man. The capacity of the human mind to construct good reasons to do the wrong thing is limitless. Come join us for this week's sermon, "Deal Gently with my Son" and some comments about politicians 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.

Cain's Question

After Cain killed his brother, the Bible recounts possibly the most important question in the First Testament.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don't know,” he replied. “Am I my brother's keeper?”

A very good case can be made, I think, that the remainder of the Bible, from that moment on, is commentary on Cain's question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

 Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky. for this week's sermon, "Cain's Question" 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. 

Speaking Truth To Power

As a Christian, do you feel any responsibility to assist in the reclamation of the world? That's a big question, the answer to which depends on how you understand your relationship to God.

What I hear,  too often, is of a God like the school Lunch Lady with an endless counter of food, ranging from the best through ordinary, to Spam and it's cousins and finally to a freshly deposited steaming cow pat. If you've been an inoffensive person, gone to church, and not caused too much fuss, the Lunch Lady gives you a delicious sandwich. Those who made a fuss get a sandwich of an entirely different sort. Such a view of God might teach fear of God, but it won't call forth your spirit to heal a suffering world.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Speaking Truth to Power 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.

Unintended Evil

We were proud to host Shea Wolford, missionary to Guadalajara, as our speaker today. She gave us a detailed view of her work in Mexico, both with house churches, and with an orphanage. May God speed her in this work.
That meant no sermon for those in attendance, but I did prepare one for our online visitors. It deals with the man we overlook, Herod. Herod prided himself on keeping his promises, but allowed himself to be tricked into murdering John the Baptiser, a man who he actually liked to hear speak.  Which of us hasn't found himself between the devil and the deep blue sea?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Unintended Evil 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.

Jesus Was Not A Nice Guy

Just who do you think you are, Jesus? It’s nice that you’re interested in religion, but you’re a carpenter and some of the things you are doing and saying just aren’t right. What are you playing at?
 The question for each of us is this: would those people in Nazareth have been offended by the image of Jesus you carry in your head or the Jesus of children’s books? Would the gentle Jesus of 21 st Century American churches have ruffled any feathers at all in Palestine? I’d like to suggest that he would not. Such a domesticated Jesus could do no deeds of power in his home town and I’d suggest that such a domesticated Jesus can do no deeds of power in our time, either, though we need a deed of power now more than ever.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Jesus Was Not A Nice Guy 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.

Grain of Life

All who call upon the name of the Lord look with horror at the events at Mother Emanuel Church. We search in vain for some explanation of what could have caused this young man to go so far against the grain of life. In our worst moments, we might even come to doubt that there is a grain to life, and that our Father is maintaining it.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Grain of Life 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.

It's Not What You Thought

First, a mea culpa. We had a technical failure this morning that had nothing to do with the pastor being too daft to push the "Record" button, so we have only text this week. My apologies. Now...on to more important matters.

If you mention the phrase "The Kingdom of God" to a group of people, I'm confident that the mental images appearing in each person's mind will be as divergent as are the people imagining them. Jesus teaches that the Kingdom is like a mustard seed which grows we know not how. Humility is a good place to begin in any worship experience. Maybe we could remind ourselves that our image of the Kingdom isn't the definitive one.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, It's Not What You Thought by clicking 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 Regular Way

First, an apology. This has been a trying week, with two deaths in our family. I don't know if I had a frog in my throat or if the grieving process had affected me in some way, but as I prepared today's sermon for upload, I couldn't miss the fact that I sound angry. I'm not angry, and I beg your forbearance. I don't know where that came from.

That said, here's something to think about. We all carry around an idea of right and wrong which we honor in a phrase an old friend of mine often used, "The Regular Way". Anything he perceived as unusual was not the regular way. As an example, I'm fairly sure he would not view Bruce Jenner's transformation into Caitlyn Jenner to be "the regular way". 

The problem of the regular way is that it leads us away from the teachings of the church as often as not. We tend to honor God but worship the regular way -- the way we understand the way of righteousness to be. Dietrich Bonhoeffer declared that the primal sin of humanity consists in putting the knowledge of good and evil before the knowledge of God. We yearn for the regular way, the way of our own righteousness, as a child yearns for mother’s milk. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Regular Way, 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.

Uziah, Isaiah

This is the Sunday, I think, in which I make some people mad, so I hope you'll be along for the ride. The church teaches that each person has been called by God from before all time for a task or tasks. The tasks or tasks cannot be accomplished without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is granted precisely to permit each Christian to accomplish his or her task. What is your task, and how do you approach the relationship between God and you in the Time After Pentecost?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Uziah, Isaiah 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 Sky Is Not Falling

A recent report from the Pew Research Center has lead many Christians to fear that the end is in sight for Christianity. There is no better time than Pentecost to discuss this issue.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Sky Is Not Falling 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.

God's Gardeners

This week, we killed Abu Sayyaf, a key ISIS figure. We have stepped into the same snare we have been stepping into since time out of mind.

The snare I’m speaking of is the dualistic view of God’s creation, so attractive to our sinful selves, in which we mentally divide the population of the world into “the good guys”, always identified with “us” and “the bad guys”, or “not us” then decide that it is the Divinely Ordained Task of the good guys to exterminate the bad guys. This view is so pervasive and so endlessly reflected and re-reflected in our consciousness that escaping from it is like trying to find your way out of a house of mirrors. 

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, God's Gardeners, 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. 

Who's On First?

It is well worth our time to think about how we conceive of the relationship between ourselves and God. Does God react to us, or do we react to God? In other words, Who's On First? My guess is that the most prevalent understanding is that God reacts to us, spreading His blessings on those who live fruitful, obedient lives, and scourging those who don't eternally. That's a pretty common understanding, but I'd like to offer an alternative: I'd like to suggest that God sends his rain upon the fields of the just and the unjust alike, and it is up to us to react to God's love. Jesus taught:

Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

If we abide in His love, why are there always seats for the family of the victim at executions? Why do we draw satisfaction from the suffering of others?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Who's On First? 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.

Let the Man Through!

Symbols and traditions. Traditions and symbols. They are important only so long as they help us by pointing to a truth. If they become important themselves, they will lead us astray.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Let the Man Through 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.

It's Got Legs

In the law trade, a strong argument is said to have legs. It can walk of its own power. An argument has legs if, by its nature, it accords with the listeners' common understanding of how the world works.
The story of the resurrection isn't such a story. It's outrageous, until you study closely what the nearest witnesses did in response. Then, your common understanding will tell you something very different.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, It's Got Legs! 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.

So What?

I upset some people by calling the account of the resurrection of Jesus outrageous, but it IS outrageous. If I told you my uncle Fred had been raised from the dead and dropped by to have a bite of fish, you would see just how outrageous an assertion that is. Talking about Jesus, though, we've heard it so much we no longer confront it, which means we never get to the most important question a Christian can ask, "So what?" What does the resurrection of Jesus mean in my life? For what did He give His life? Most importantly, what responsibilities are laid upon me as a Christian?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, So What? 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. 

Way? No Way!

"...the doors were locked for fear of the Jews." This passage from the Gospel of John has permitted those who would draft the good news into service of their own evil goals to pursue much cruelty. At basis, the problem is one of dualistic thinking -- an inability to see the world through the non-dualistic eyes of Christ.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Way? No Way! 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.

TIKKUN OLAM

I think that here in the mountains the most common understanding of the Resurrection and Crucifixion is some variant on the theme of "Jesus did it all" or "Jesus paid the debt we could not pay". I can't relate to that at all for reasons unimportant here, but the question I would pose is this: when Jesus returns, is "Thanks a bunch, Jesus" all that He will expect from us, or has He called us to a task -- the task of healing the world, or, in Hebrew, Tikkun Olam?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Tikkun Olam 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 Passion

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus arrives in Jerusalem to the acclaim of the crowds but leaves in quite a different way. A couple of years ago I said that preaching on Holy Week is like holding a seminar on the three little pigs -- we have heard the story so often that it takes on a gloss of "Once Upon a Time". We need to hear the story of the Passion, and I elected to read it from a paraphrase, "The Message". Listen for the word of God in this reading from Mark.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Passion 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. 

All Scripture quotations in this publication are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Father Rohr's Confessions

Lent is the time when we are called to examine our relationship with God, Jesus and the church with prayer and integrity. Father Rohr offered three confessions that I think we need heed. They are:

1. We worship Jesus instead of following Him
2. We have turned Jesus into a religion
3. We have turned ourselves into believers and belongers

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Father Rohr's Confessions 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.

God's Goad

The people who followed Moses out of Egypt had no more idea how to move into a new life than a fish has of how to ride a bicycle.  Even more telling, they didn't have any understanding that the course Moses would plot for them was the ONLY way forward and that every other path led only to death. Sound familiar? It is the contemporary certainty that we are smart enough to run our own lives.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, God's Goad 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.

Our CPS App

During Lent, the church is obligated to assess where it is currently, and where it should be headed. If the course is wrong, the church is obligated to correct it. In that spirit of correction, Fr. Richard Rohr wrote:

We worshiped Jesus instead of following Him on his same path.
We made Jesus into a mere religion instead of a journey toward union with God and everything else.
This shift made us into a religion of “belonging and believing” instead of a religion of transformation.

That is pretty damning when you think on it. 

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Our CPS App 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 Point of It All

No matter how much you love your church, no matter how big an impact it has had upon your life, it is not actually the point of the enterprise. I bet THAT got your attention!

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Point of It All 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.

Miasma

The President says that religion isn't responsible for terrorism; people are responsible for terrorism. Other voices maintain that Islam seeks to destroy Christianity. Did you ever wonder what Mohammed said about relations between Islam and Christianity? And what does Jesus teach those called to the name Christian?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Miasma 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 Cheraw Brick Works

If we take the word “repent” to mean the process of realizing we’re on the wrong path and a recognition that it is time and past time for us to commit to a change of course, we all know what a difficult message that is to swallow.

When I was a child, my family vacationed in Myrtle
Beach. Dad drove. One trip, he decided he had found a short cut. The road became more and more desolate and rocky but Dad was sure he was on the right road and refused to turn around. Mom was equally sure they’d find our bleached bones one day but Dad wouldn't give up, no matter how desolate the road became.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Cheraw Brick Works to find out where we wound up 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. 

Birds on a Wire

I have so many good friends who don't give a hoot about church or God. They are not dumb, or hard-hearted. Generally, they are compassionate people with good minds and equally kind dispositions or they wouldn't be my friends. When I scratch my head over them, I sometimes wonder why God has not called to them more strongly.

Then I think, “And what business is it of yours that God calls one and not another?” My friends, my birds on a wire, sit upon unimaginable power, but remain unaware of it because they have not connected with it. That's God's business. Our business is to bring the simple message of Jesus into the world just as He did.

“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Birds on a Wire 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.

Losing It

Everybody you meet is fighting battles you know nothing about. It sounds strange to modern ears, but one of the handiest ways to refer to those battles is the now-antique sounding phrase "unclean spirits". Surely we don't believe in such a superstitious concept. Or do we?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Losing It 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.

It's A Mess

The film “American Sniper” has generated a lot of controversy. That's good. The issues raised in the controversy are important. I'm not going to tell you what you think about that. That is your responsibility, but whatever conclusion you reach, I pray that you will examine with courage and clarity the source of the assumptions that brought you to whatever conclusion you reach.

“The ultimate weakness of violence,” observed Martin Luther King, Jr., “is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.” 

"A working definition of insanity", said Albert Einstein, "is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."Are we doing it wrong?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, "It's a Mess" 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.

Eli's Coming

We shall not perish for want of wonders but for want of wonder. We've become so taken with our abilities to puzzle out the world's wonders that we stand in peril of losing the ability to be awed. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Eli's Coming 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 Dragon of Chaos

The events in France once more focus our attention, as Christians, on our own internal narrative -- our understanding of the way the world works. It is to that internal narrative that we turn to tell us what our reaction to the horrors the news media bring us daily. What do we think a just reaction to terrorism would be?

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, The Dragon of Chaos 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 Whole World in His Hands

Best laid plans of mice and men. I spent the weekend in the hospital and I'm still not recovered. I can offer only the text of this week's sermon.

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, He's Got the Whole World in His Hands by clicking  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.