Graybeards

We tend to re-write the Christmas story to better agree with the Creche on the mantle piece portraying Mary as a mature woman and the shepherds as graybeards of the church. That's just wrong. Mary and the shepherds would have been children, for only a child can receive such a message. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, KY for our sermon, "Graybeards" 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 Wheelhouse

"We're all in the same boat together", we used to say, and we were wiser than we knew, for we all ARE in the same boat together. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, KY for our sermon, "The Wheelhouse", 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.

Hot Shoes

Suppose we were all on a cruise ship. We all have interior cabins, so we can't see outside. The ship is very luxurious, containing everything we could need.Everybody is having a high old time at the buffet, when some few get a glimpse outside. Immediately, they see that they are on a boat, supported by the great sea, and they also note that they, and everyone else on the boat, are on a journey directed by an unseen hand in the wheelhouse. Suppose that those few, who have been granted this glimpse of the reality behind their existence, try to explain what they have seen to the other passengers. The most likely response will be, "Oh...I don't think about those things. It's not important to me, anyway. Try the shrimp."

Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, KY for this week's sermon from John 1:6-8, 19-28, "Hot Shoes" 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.

Satyagraha

Mahatma Gandhi taught us that the truth has power to make itself manifest. He coined the word "Satyagraha", loosely translated as "force of truth" or "insistence of truth" to express this vital principle. So it is with those who believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We similarly believe that this truth has power to manifest itself though the forces of the world are arrayed against it. This year, Year B in the Revised Common Lectionary, we take up the Gospel of Mark. Mark has no Advent stories, no birth narratives, no Wise Men, Stars, or Santa Claus. Just the simple statement, "The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God". In its earliest form, Mark didn't even have an account of the resurrection. What are we to understand about a Gospel with no Christmas and no Easter, but only the simple statement, "The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God"? Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, KY for this week's sermon from Mark 1:1-8, "Satyagraha" 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.

To Be Announced

We saw a lot of interest in predictions of the end of the world this year. Didn't happen, but there was a lot of interest. Speculation about the end of the world seems to be endlessly fascinating to some folks, but I think it's an unnecessary distraction. Jesus was quite clear that even he did not know, so I take those who think they are smarter than Jesus with a grain of salt. Join the congregation of Community Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, KY for our sermon, To Be Announced by clicking HERE for audio or HERE for a printed version.

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.

Vitamin C

If all babies are born children of God, and all the inmates of our prisons started out as babies, what goes wrong between bassinet and mug shot? Why do some of God's children turn out so bad? Is naming them children of Satan the best we can do? What the heck does that mean, anyway? Join us for this week's sermon, Vitamin C, 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.

Active Voice

Whatever you may think about the Occupy Wall Street protests, they are confronting actively what they see as an economic system which has been twisted to benefit the rich at the expense of the poor. You may think they are right or wrong, but this sort of protest is exactly what Jesus was involved in at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple had blessed the powers that be, even when the powers that be were acting contrary to Torah. That's not uncommon. the church, rightly or wrongly, often is used to bless the status quo. Come join us on this last Sunday before Christ the King for our sermon from Matthew 25:14-30, "Active Voice" 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.