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.