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.

Kissing the Burglar

When we've been harmed by another, why do we fancy that we will find healing in the suffering of the other? Why do we think that the sins of the other entitle us to act cruelly in return? You would never think of walking up to a random person and shooting them, but we revel in tales of homeowners doing so, and derive a good deal of pleasure in the telling of these sorts of stories. Why is justice coupled with revenge in our minds? Come, join us at Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon, Kissing the Burglar.

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.

Quick Change

Solomon had a pretty big deal event coming up. He had very nearly bankrupted the country to build the Beit haMikdash -- the First Temple, and now, it was time for him to dedicate it with a prayer. All eyes were on him, because he had told all eyes to show up and be on him. As he started his prayer, though, something happened to him. God seems to have interrupted the prayer and changed him. Has that ever happened to you? Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon, Quick Change.

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.

Mythin' Around

The notion of at-one-ment with the creator of the Universe should scare us silly, but that is what Christians are offered. I don't know how often, however, we think about what that means. Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, spent his lifetime studying the stories we tell one another as a way to view our collective wisdom. Modern people seem to have gone off without their connection to the wisdom of life while in pursuit of the Enlightenment. Campbell suggests we should reconnect with that, and I think he's right. Let's look at the Scriptures through Campbell's eyes and see what we might find in our sermon Mythin' Around.

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'll Getcha

My early religious training emphasized God's judgment. My folks kept telling me that if I didn't stop doing whatever it was that was annoying them, God would get me for that. I rather took away the message that Jesus loves me, but God has a temper. I think this view of God is crippling, and I took some time to look at David's great love for his worthless son, Absalom, to see how we stack up against Absalum. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for God'll Getcha.

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 Big, Greasy Ball

In answer to a serious kerfuffle at the Chapel of St. Starbuck (I just *love* being able to work 'kerfuffle' into a sentence) I sat myself down and tried to decide just what "the church" is. That made me think of the ways we have historically used the church for our own purposes, rolling it, patriotism and the UK Basketball program up in a big greasy ball that described who we were. The church has lost a lot of that influence in the past 40 year, and that gives us an opportunity to pry it loose from the big greasy ball and look at the definitive uniqueness of the church. Come join us at Community Presbyterian for The Big Greasy Ball.

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.