Believing Better with Kenny Bishop

Have you ever just wanted to hear quiet? With all of the talking and yelling and beeps and honks and commercials and other noises that seem to occupy all of our space, it would feel good to be able to turn it all down and make room for something else. With all the opinions and conflicting voices, we are expected to sort through it all and try to find something that assures us that things will be okay. Sometimes we just have to remember that in truth, it's just noise. *My sermon on July 30, 2023 at ⁠⁠⁠Bluegrass United Church of Christ⁠⁠⁠ in Lexington, Kentucky. MESSAGE: "It's Just Noise" by Kenny Bishop SCRIPTURE: Luke 19: 37-39 Learn more about us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠believingbetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/kennybishop.page⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/kennybishop⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/kenny.s.bishop⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.substack.com⁠

Some of us are kinda spooked at the thought of God knowing everything about us. But it's probably because we've been warned of a god that gets some kind of strange delight out of taunting us with judgment, then punishing us for whatever kind of "sin" we've been secretly living in. But that's not the God we ever find in the bible. We can take comfort in knowing that God does in fact know us and takes great delight in loving us just the same. *My sermon on July 23, 2023 at ⁠⁠⁠Bluegrass United Church of Christ⁠⁠⁠ in Lexington, Kentucky. MESSAGE: "God Knows" by Kenny Bishop SCRIPTURE: John 4: 4-7, 9-16 Learn more about us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠believingbetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/kennybishop.page⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/kennybishop⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/kenny.s.bishop⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.substack.com⁠

June is Pride Month, and this is Pride weekend in Lexington. Since our founding, BUCC is a welcoming church that proudly affirms those who identify as LGBTQ+, and we feel especially called to speak to the discrimination and mistreatment they often face as individuals and as a community. Pride is about celebrating who they are, their history, and their worth. We invite everyone to see them as God does. Btw, we think God is pretty proud of them. *My sermon on June 25, 2023 at ⁠⁠⁠Bluegrass United Church of Christ⁠⁠⁠ in Lexington, Kentucky. MESSAGE: "My Pride" by Kenny Bishop SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 16: 18 Learn more about us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠believingbetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/kennybishop.page⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/kennybishop⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/kenny.s.bishop⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.substack.com⁠

Most of us white Americans have only recently become educated on the significance of June 19th. As Black communities have celebrated Juneteenth, a day that could rightly be seen as America's true Independence Day, too many of us who never learned about the final pronouncements of freedom to the enslaved people of Texas simply lived without the knowledge and the inspiration it brings. Most Americans are also unfamiliar with Homer Plessy and John Marshall Harlan and their contributions to eliminating some of our nation's most racist laws. So let's learn together. *My sermon on June 18, 2023 at ⁠⁠⁠Bluegrass United Church of Christ⁠⁠⁠ in Lexington, Kentucky. MESSAGE: "Harlan & Plessy" by Kenny Bishop SCRIPTURE: Galatians 4: 7 Learn more about us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠believingbetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/kennybishop.page⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/kennybishop⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/kenny.s.bishop⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.substack.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. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is on enjoying this life, its blessings, its joys, and its laughter. Some audio clips of comedian Mark Lowry are featured in this service. You can learn more about Mark at www.marklowry.com. *My sermon on May 21, 2023 at ⁠Bluegrass United Church of Christ⁠ in Lexington, Kentucky. MESSAGE: "LOL!" by Kenny Bishop SCRIPTURE: Philippians 4:4 Learn more about us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠believingbetter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠kennybishop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠facebook.com/kennybishop.page⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠twitter.com/kennybishop⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠instagram.com/kenny.s.bishop⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠kennybishop.substack.com