Bluegrass United Church of Christ

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is on rejecting racism and fighting for the powerless. Just because someone is a person of color does not mean they are without power. But there is no doubt that racism exists in our world. And we believe that racism is a sin.

MESSAGE: "One" by Kenny Bishop

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is on finding ways to show forgiveness toward others and for ourselves. It is important for us to know and be reminded that in God's image, we can forgive.

MESSAGE: "The Superpower Called Forgiveness" by Pam Lee-Miller

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:12

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. Embracing the diversity of our city and our community was a founding tenant of BUCC. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is identifying ways we can be better embracers of those who may not feel accepted or comfortable in a church setting.

MESSAGE: "Us" by Kenny Bishop

SCRIPTURE: Genesis 1: 27a

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NOTE: Much of today's message is brought via video by the beautifully inspiring Robin Wall Kimmerer. You can learn more about Robin and find her books on her website at robinwallkimmerer.com

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. Today, the day after Earth Day, we continue our spring series "Be the Church" focusing on protecting the environment. The psalmist says the earth is the Lord's, which means it is intended to belong to all of creation, which means it is not ours to abuse and consume.

MESSAGE: "The Lord's Earth" by Kenny Bishop

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 24: 1-2

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we begin our spring series "Be the Church," today we are focusing on caring for the poor and sharing our earthly and spiritual resources. It was an important part of how Jesus loved, which means it is vital to our claim to be his church.

MESSAGE: "Being the Church" by Pam Lee-Miller

We tend to think of Jesus' entry and ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as the beginning of the end for his earthy work and ministry. The events of that day will lead to his last meal with his followers, his betrayal, his execution, his burial, and his resurrection. But it seems we've forgotten the reason the people were most excited to see this peasant leader. It was because he was supposed to bring change. They believed he was coming to change the way the government and those in power were ruling over them. Today in the U.S., thousands of our children and citizens are dying senselessly because of guns. Just like those first-century citizens needed someone to step up and lead the charge, we need someone to come and make some change.

MESSAGE: "Palms of Change" by Kenny Bishop

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 21: 1-11

As a body of Christ-followers and believers, we are at our best when we work as one. We can do individual work and use the gifts we've been blessed with, but our goal and our aim is one - the be God's messengers of hope and promise, to be vessels of love and compassion. We do this best as one body because we are in it together.

Twelve years ago this week, Marsha J. Moors-Charles started a new work in Lexington, Kentucky that continues today. She envisioned a place where questions could be asked, doubts would be welcomed, and healing could take place - especially for those who'd been injured by past church experiences. We are proud of the work we are able to do, and the healing that has taken place for so many. Today, as we celebrate our anniversary, we circle around a song that was composed out of despair but encouraged a civil rights leader to march on, fight on, and never give up. Just like MLK, we continue to work for the cause of justice and freedom, and pray, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

MESSAGE: "Take My Hand" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 14: 22-32

New years bring new opportunities. We can choose to look back, or we can choose to look ahead. With those opportunities, we can resolve to use our gifts, our time, and our resources to make our world better, or at least easier, for those who are in need. If we count our opportunities as we count our days, we have a chance to make our world better 365 times this year.

MESSAGE: "365 Times" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Philippians 3: 13-14

Christmas is a special time for many. Today we are joining you from our homes and with prerecorded clips from our Advent series, "Reflecting the Sacred." Enjoy music from our own Brenda Gardiner, a special song by Timmy Smallwood, a reading by Stacy Greene, a song written and recorded by our founding pastor Marsha Moors-Charles, and a special Christmas message by Pam Lee-Miller.

MESSAGE: "The Best Christ as Pageant Ever" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Luke 2: 7-20 

Our Christmas Eve service is always a special time to settle into the story of the coming Hope. It is a hope and a promise brought to us by the child who would grow to bring a message of peace, deliverance, and love. The story of that sacred night was captured by an unlikely pair - a poet and a composer neither of whom were devoted to the Christian story but wrote one of the most beloved Christmas songs ever.

MESSAGE: "O Holy Night" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Luke 2 

The busy-ness of the holiday season can overrun the sense of the sacred. The irony is that setting apart time for connection with the sacred gets pushed aside in order to create the trappings of what is supposed to be the season of celebrating the incarnation of the Holy! We will begin our Advent journey toward Christmas by emphasizing the gift of being awake to the “now”… the gift of sacred time with God, with each other, and with those in need of hope.

MESSAGE: "Sacred Time" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Romans 13: 11-14

The pregnancy of Mary is connected to the promise of justice and joy in the readings this week. Mary’s womb becomes a sacred space for the gestation of grace that moves into, and is transforming, the world. We will ponder the spaces we inhabit at home, work, and community, asking whether they are feeding, nurturing, and reflecting the freedom and joy that is so desperately needed.

MESSAGE: "Sacred Places" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Luke 1: 46b-55

When we look through the lens of the sacred, we prepare our senses to recognize the holy in all people–to come to know them in a “steadfast and encouraging” way. Our world is crying out for harmony, and being able to see the Christ reflected in each other makes a path for this to be accomplished. We are inspired this week to see our own walk upon this earth as part of the call to be sacred people who usher in the presence of love.  
*We apologize for the audio issues.

MESSAGE: "Drawing In the Dirt" by Silas House
SCRIPTURE: Romans 15: 4-13

The busy-ness of the holiday season can overrun the sense of the sacred. The irony is that setting apart time for connection with the sacred gets pushed aside in order to create the trappings of what is supposed to be the season of celebrating the incarnation of the Holy! We will begin our Advent journey toward Christmas by emphasizing the gift of being awake to the “now”… the gift of sacred time with God, with each other, and with those in need of hope.

MESSAGE: "Sacred Time" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Romans 13: 11-14

NOTE: Because of technical issues during recording, the audio quality of this episode is not up to our usual standard.
All of us are gifted differently, which means we all are able to give differently. This week, Pam talks with us about the joy of being able to help others with our varied and abundant blessings. 

MESSAGE: "Abundantly Blessed" by Pam Lee-Miller

November is Native American Heritage Month, and our special guest today is Landra Lewis (Cherokee). Landra shares with us some of her own stories of growing up in a community and a culture that realized both the earth's strengths and fragilities. She helps us better understand some of the misconceptions and mistruths that have been culturally accepted about the Indigenous people of North America.

MESSAGE: "The Spiritual Matrix" by Landra Lewis

Today we honor our saints - those who have walked ahead of us, made paths for us, created spaces for us. We thank them for their faithfulness and their example, and we encourage one another with the messages of hope and promise they left for us. We pray for the courage to live by the faith we feel because of them... in our bones.

MESSAGE: "The Faith in Our Bones" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 12: 1

Before there was religion, a church, or even the bible, there was the earth and nature. The very first words ever known of, according to the Christian tradition, were uttered by the creating God. Those words spoke nature into being, set the planet into motion, and immediately set humanity up with the perfect sanctuary. We haven't respected it much or treated it well, but when we find ourselves in it, we find the perfect place to worship God naturally.

MESSAGE: "Naturally" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 24: 1-2

There once was a farmer who went out to scatter seed. He was either really sloppy about it or just didn't mind that a lot of it was going places it could never survive. As a matter of fact, most of the seed was landing on unfriendly ground - only about a quarter of it made it to healthy ground. However, that does not mean that all the other ground was not holy. God's presence can be found even in the inhospitable ground.

MESSAGE: "Holy Ground" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 13: 1-9  

Some people are likable, but some folks take a little more effort. Then there are those who are just near impossible to hold any likable regard for. Today we talk about two great examples of how to be likable and to be someone who looks beyond the unlikable person's worst parts - Jesus and Mr. Rogers.
NOTE: This episode contains audio from the 1991 Television Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

MESSAGE: "It's You I Like" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: John 13: 1-2, 3-4

The world changed on the morning of September 11, 2001. In New York, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, PA, hijacked planes were used as instruments of mass destruction, but at an unassuming airport in a small town in far eastern Canada, dozens of planes bound for the U.S. were forced to land. When they did, they found a community that would come together and take on the largest challenge imaginable. Almost 7,000 people from all over the world found themselves stranded in Gander, and the story of how the town's people loved them and served them is both beautiful and inspiring.

MESSAGE: "Remember Gander?" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 25: 34-39

We believe in angels. They don't necessarily look like the traditional version most of us have heard about. As a matter of fact, we rub shoulders with strangers most every day, people we don't know with stories we don't know, and origins we don't know. Could those people really be angels sent to help and protect us?

MESSAGE: "Who Was That Masked Spirit?" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 13: 1-2

Just like many of the people in the scriptures that God called into the good work of ministry, we sometimes find reasons to say "no" to that call. We feel inadequate, unprepared, and ill-equipped to take on the challenge of being God's voice, hands, and feet in the world. We often say something like, "God, I'd be happy to do my part, but I"m just a _______." God knows who we are, and God knows what we can accomplish when we really try.

MESSAGE: "Just a..." by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 1: 4-10

You never know who God may use to teach you about yourself. Several years ago Kenny met a young lady on a flight to Minneapolis who changed his life. It wasn't until sometime later that he realized just how impactful that chance encounter had been on his attitude and his spirit. Relating his story to one Jesus taught to the preachers of his day, Kenny was reminded that God often chooses those we sometimes view as less-than to lead the way to spiritual enlightenment.

MESSAGE: "I pick Destiny" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 21: 36b

Life isn't fair. Do we honestly want it to be? Do we want to reap the results of our sowing when we know we've sown some pretty bad seed? Thinking further, do we want God to be fair with us, or do we want God to be merciful to us?

MESSAGE: "It isn't fair... thank God!" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 15: 21-28

Jesus Saves! Many of us who've grown up in church, especially the more fundamentalist evangelical ones, have heard that phrase. To us, it simply meant that Jesus died so we could go to heaven - for many of us, the goal was more about avoiding hell. But have we missed the true meaning of those words? Is there more to them? According to Jesus himself, there is.

MESSAGE: "Jesus Saves!" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Mark 10: 17-22

Woke is a term we seem to hear a lot lately. What does it mean? What does it mean especially in the context of our faith as followers of Christ? For us, it means we can be aware of our own relationship with God and how that holy relationship can impact others close to us. Our wokeness means we can be caring people who love and carry joy to the world.

MESSAGE: "Woke" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Luke 24: 31

We are a singing church. Music and melody have been a part of who we are since our founding by singer/songwriter and preacher Marsha Jean Moors-Charles began this work over a decade ago. It's no wonder we enjoy music so much because apparently, God does too! As a matter of fact, when God sings, it's because of you. You make God sing!

MESSAGE: "God is Singing" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Zephania 3: 17

It's Easter Sunday. During the season of Lent, and this last week in Holy Week, we focused on growing gardens, tending the life that is right in front of us, rather than constantly climbing ladders of what this world defines as success. We have been embracing “good enough” lives and “good enough” selves that are worthy of love, no matter what. We have been acknowledging the suffering that is a natural part of life, and we have practiced compassion as we deal with the realities and limitations that invite us to let go of perfectionism and the incessant drive toward something other than our own real, holy, and “blessed-regardless” lives. And now we encounter Easter. It is a day we proclaim that while death is a part of life–even little “deaths” along the way of dreams, of love, of the way we thought life would go–even though this is a part of life, we are part of a faith that invites us to consider that the Good Gardener is always tending us, abiding with us, beyond any kind of death that faces us.

MESSAGE: "Saturday" by Kenny Bishop

SCRIPTURE: John 20: 1-8

This is the sixth Sunday of Lent. It is Palm Sunday. We stand at the precipice of Lent and Holy Week. This day moves from shouting and praising to a time of crying and lament. The drama of the story of Jesus’ last week reads like the book of our lives. Feeling hopeful one moment, we plummet the next as we deal with disappointment, danger, and grief. God’s incarnation on earth was not immune from this roller-coaster we call life. One thing we know, when the going gets rough, the last thing on our minds is climbing the ladder of self-improvement. We just want to survive, to be comforted, to have our pain known and embraced. And so we turn from the isolation of perfection and turn toward deep love. It is never too late to nurture the garden of relationships, for we are all a group project.  

MESSAGE: "Standing Together: We are a group project." by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Luke 19: 28-40

This is the fifth Sunday of Lent. The story of Jesus includes many moments around tables, as this was part of his ritual of relationship even to the last. In this fifth week of the Lent season, we will hear a story of love and devotion from the disciple Mary, directed at Jesus at the table. As we will see, Jesus tries to prepare his beloved companions for his death. Talk of death is like a gut-punch to many of us; we would rather believe we and our loved ones are invincible, are able to will ourselves into being strong. We all know that isn’t always how the story goes. We are fragile. Our lives, like the plants in the gardens we tend, are susceptible to elemental dangers and a life-cycle of letting go in order to live.

MESSAGE: "This Table." by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: John 12: 1-8

This is the fourth Sunday of Lent. Each week of this Lent season, we are focusing on ways that we can practice a counter-cultural theology that emphasizes the beauty and grace of the reality of life-right-now rather than waiting with increasing judgment to reach some vision of a perfected existence. Our ladder-climbing efforts sometimes end up taking us down a rung or two as things don’t work out just right. And so let us continue to turn ladders into gardens, nurturing our souls and embracing our holy, “good enough,” lives.

MESSAGE: "Loved the Same" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32

This is the third Sunday of Lent. As we continue our look at what it means to release oppressive expectations about perfection in our lives and in our faith, this week we turn to a harmful idea that the prescription for our fear of failure is to simply work harder. As the book Good Enough reminds us, “We might feel we are climbing an ‘endless staircase’ of achievement, for high grades or success...[in] caregiving, work, or social pressure.” This Lent, we are taking some time to stop climbing ladders and staircases, to tend our souls slowly and lovingly, tilling the soil and fertilizer, and embracing our holy, “good enough,” lives.

MESSAGE: "I am a tree-hugger." by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Luke 13: 1-9  

This is the second Sunday of Lent. We continue our movement through the Lent season this week with another kind of “letting go.” This week we lament that so much in life is out of our control. This is frustrating to us and so sometimes we have been tempted to believe the sayings that tell us if we just “think positively,” we can turn it all around. Yet our experience tells us that this doesn’t always work. Let us turn ladder-climbing toward the expectation of a perfect life into garden-tending, nurturing “what is” and embracing our holy, good enough, lives.

MESSAGE: "So much is out of our control" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Luke 13: 31-35

Lent has begun, and this is the first Sunday. We find ourselves hungry for many things that we believe will bring us satisfaction. In today’s Gospel, the devil lays a bet that Jesus will jump at the chance for glory, fame, and the quick fix. Who wouldn’t? But Jesus keeps up the pithy one-liners long enough that the Tempster just has to slink away. What are the temptations that catch your ear, singing out promises that your life should be more special than it is? What if ordinary life is already holy–as is?

MESSAGE: "Ordinary lives can be holy" by Kenny Bishop
SCRIPTURE: Luke 4: 1-13

It's the Sunday before Lent. The days leading to Ash Wednesday are filled with indulgence and joy. At BUCC, we gathered around tables and had a big country breakfast. We enjoyed the fellowship, the food, and the opportunity to worship alongside the meal. It was morning worship in a different way, but it was worship. And the talk around the table made for some inspiring breakfast talk conversation.

MESSAGE: "Breakfast Talk" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: John 21: 12  SONGS:

Sometimes the branches of different trees touch each other, often they do not. In our view, they look like separate beings doing separate work, surviving on their own. What we don't see are the many roots below the earth that are reaching out, different roots of different trees, intertwined, supporting each other, nourishing each other. They may not look like it, but they are planted together.

MESSAGE: "Planted Together" by Pam Lee-Miller
SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 17: 7-8

Church attendance in the U.S. and around the world is in a rapid decline. The exodus has been underway for several years, but the pace is faster now than most experts have ever seen. What should we do when the church becomes irrelevant? Whose fault is it? Why are people tuning out and turning off religion? It's probably because they don't trust us, and we have given them good cause. Let's talk about it.

MESSAGE:
"Blah, blah, blah..." by Kenny Bishop

SCRIPTURE:
James 1: 22-24

What are your thoughts about social media? For most folks, it usually depends on what they saw last, who posted it, and what they were trying to say. One of the dangers of social media is that it causes us to compare our lives and worlds with everyone else's. It's an unfair comparison because most of us share the best parts of our lives. So the question we should ask ourselves is, what are we comparing ourselves to?

MESSAGE:
"Compared to What?" by Kenny Bishop

SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 4: 1-8

First Testament scripture declares in the book of Jeremiah, "“Before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart;” From the beginning, you were known. God formed you and knew you and made you in the image of the Holy. Today, Pam reminds us of our unique beauty and specialness.

MESSAGE:
"Known" by Pam Lee-Miller

SCRIPTURE:
Jeremiah 1: 4-9