If you think of "lost" in terms of future damnation, you will understand salvation one way. If you think of it as a present-tense condition, you will understand the movement of the Holy Spirit in a different way.
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Lost in the Woods 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.
StatCounter
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Pretty Balloons
An old friend of mine is studying Buddhism. He told me of a fascinating conversation he had with his teacher, begun when he asked, "If attaining enlightenment is the goal of living, isn't that pursuit an attachment which can only block the path forward?"
His teacher thought a moment and replied, "There is a difference between attachment and focus." It made me think of the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in this week's Gospel passage from Luke. Listen in and see if I have a screw loose, or if I stumbled on to something.
Oh, and prepare yourself. I forgot myself and began singing a Leonard Cohen song during the benediction. There were howls of outrage from musicians everywhere.
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Pretty Balloons 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.
His teacher thought a moment and replied, "There is a difference between attachment and focus." It made me think of the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in this week's Gospel passage from Luke. Listen in and see if I have a screw loose, or if I stumbled on to something.
Oh, and prepare yourself. I forgot myself and began singing a Leonard Cohen song during the benediction. There were howls of outrage from musicians everywhere.
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Pretty Balloons 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.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Gunsmoke
The world of the western, in which many of us grew up, presented only a limited number of possible outcomes. Primary among them was that the bad guy had to get shot to death on main street, for only violence can effectively counter evil. That is the "real world" of the western.
In today's world, we see many argue that in our "real world" a man of sufficiently great celebrity can assault women without consequence. It doesn't matter if he has done so or not. The argument is that this is the "real world" in which we live. Is God's creation truly that foul?
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. and see how the preacher got schooled on Facebook in this week's sermon, Gunsmoke 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.
In today's world, we see many argue that in our "real world" a man of sufficiently great celebrity can assault women without consequence. It doesn't matter if he has done so or not. The argument is that this is the "real world" in which we live. Is God's creation truly that foul?
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. and see how the preacher got schooled on Facebook in this week's sermon, Gunsmoke 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.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Our Way
I'm afraid I am a little focused on our political landscape, and I am disturbed by it. I can't tell if we are electing a leader for our future, or nominating an enemy to oppose. There is too much negativity. We're leprous, like Naaman. The question is: are we as wise as Naaman in finding a way to be healed, or are we so addicted to our drug of choice, redemptive violence, that we cannot see how we distort ourselves?
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Our 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.
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Our 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.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Sail On!
One of the most attractive ways to picture our relationship with God is something on the order of "Do good now, get better later". It's attractive because it means that all of God's blessings reflect your faithful adherence to God's commands. Would you be surprised to learn that this is entirely backwards, that you cannot earn God's favor? Bet your life you would! We poke around in everybody's least favorite parable, The Worthless Slave, from Luke to clarify our understanding.
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Sail On! 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.
Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Ky. for this week's sermon, Sail On! 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)