A Job of Work

Don McLean recorded a song titled "The More You Pay, the More It's Worth". Or maybe that was just the chorus. I'm old -- I can't remember anything anymore. The idea behind the song was that we value things by what they cost, rather than what they are worth. God's grace is free, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't call for a response from us. If we don't respond to God's grace, we are in jeopardy of devaluing God's grace in our minds! Christians have a job of work to do, and this week's sermon, A Job of Work, looks at Jesus' first sermon in his home town for clues about how Christians must go about gaining credibility.

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.

Thumping Jimmy

Reading Scripture may be a lost art. More often than not, when the Bible is actually cracked open in the modern world, it's read in a scholarly fashion, or by someone looking to proof-text something they want to add authority to, or read with Enlightenment Eyes -- Eyes looking for explanations of physical events. Unless the Bible is read prayerfully, though, some very peculiar conclusions get reached. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, KY for the story of the Gospel of John in our sermon, Thumping Jimmy.

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.

Looking for Goats

I pastor a Presbyterian Church, but my home church is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). One of my congregation asked me this week how difficult it was for me to preach in a Presbyterian Church which understands the Sacraments differently than my home church. Baptism is one place where there's a big difference, and my impression of the understanding of Baptism among the laity made me think about my dad's initiation into the Order of DeMolay many years ago. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for our sermon on Baptism from Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 and Acts 8:14-17, called "Looking for Goats".

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.

Mr. Dumpty's Dilemma

If a player on a basketball team forgets his responsibilities to the team to draw attention to himself, we call him a hot dog, and the team suffers. If a cell in the body forgets its function and instead pursues its own aggrandizement, we call it cancer and the body may die. If we, perhaps overwhelmed by the conditions of life, forget that we are part of something greater, and pursue our own ends, we call that sin, and the Body of Christ suffers. Come join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, Kentucky for this week's sermon, "Mr. Dumpty's Dilemma".

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.

Little Things

In the beautiful song of Mary from Luke called the Magnificat, Mary sings that her soul "magnifies" the Lord because she is so lowly, yet great things will be done through her -- things she could not accomplish on her own. Have you ever thought that you're too small and uninformed to be of any use in your church? Well...the truth is that this is exactly who the pastor of Community Presbyterian is -- untrained and unqualified. The lowest of the low. Yet, somehow, I have been given words to speak for three years. My soul magnifies the Lord. Come join the congregation of Community Presbyterian for this week's sermon from Micah and Luke titled "Little Things".

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 Only Fan in the Stands

This time of year, all the pastors get flooded with emails about people wishing them a "Happy Holidays" instead of a "Merry Christmas". People get awfully upset about than, even though "Holiday" is a contraction of "Holy Day". What are we saying to non-Christians when we pitch a fit on this issue? Join the Congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte as we examine "The Only Fan in the Stands".

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.

Same Ol Same Ol

I met a friend I hadn't seen in some time and asked how he'd been. "Same Ol, Same Ol" he told me. Same Ol Same Ol is comfortable, but I wonder if we don't do ourselves a disservice by settling for that. And I wonder if that's what God has in mind, too. Join the Congregation of Community Presbyterian Church for our sermon, "Same Ol, Same Ol".

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.