Curwensville Alliance

February 2010

The Alliance Responds in Haiti

The C&MA has long had a presence in Haiti, with almost 150 related churches. Information concerning how you can help with the crisis in Haiti is at the Alliance Web Site. Sunday you may also give a special gift in the offering Sunday at the worship service. As of February 1, $423,846.42 had come in to CAMA for relief and development among the Haitian people. Thank you.

Alliance Women

The Alliance Women will be meeting in the kitchen on February 9 at 10 am.  We will be learning more about Creative Access Countries and how you can help our Alliance missionaries there.

Board of Ministries

There will be a Board of Ministries meeting on February 10 at 5:45.

Fellowship Dinner

There will be a potluck fellowship dinner after the morning Worship Hour on February 14 hosted by Bettie Rummings.  If you can help her set up please speak to her today.  Families are asked to bring a dish to share as we enjoy the noon meal together.

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I’ve enjoyed watching the TV series, Heroes. But those people are not heroes – at least not most of them. Heroes are people who care for others — the others that God’s placed in their sphere of influence.

As I speak of heroes, I am not talking about being a hero to your family. That’s twentieth century thinking. We’ve been taught that you need to be a hero to your family. To your wife. To your kids. To your husband. You do. But I have come to see that if I am only a hero to my family, I am a pretty selfish person. God’s given you more people to look out for than your family.

Can you think of others God has given you to influence? To care for? What about the people you work with? Do they need a heroic influence in their lives? I would say they desperately need a real hero. If you, as a Christian, are not influencing them, who is? There’s a need for heroes in the workplace. What about the people in your church?  The people you go to school with. The people you hunt with. The people you hang out with. Can you be a hero to them?

As we consider this concept of heroes, I want to look to my favorite hero. I have a lot of heroes. Jack Lambert was a hero. Few men played linebacker like Lambert. He’d be banned from the game of football today. Tony Dungy is a hero. Tony is one of the strongest men I’ve ever encountered. The way he faced the suicide of his son was life-changing for those who looked on.

But the most heroic person in my life is Jesus. You knew I’d say that, right? In the message, we look at Jesus as a model of heroism as we prepare for the Lord’s Supper.

Presented January 31, 2010

The other morning, Tim Smay and I are having breakfast at a local eatery when the proprietor, learning that I was a preacher, said something like, “I imagine you’re always asking for money!”

I said, “Not really – I speak on it when I come to a passage in the Bible that does.” Then, right in front of the guy, I asked Tim, “Tim – you’ve been coming a few years. How often do I talk about money?”

Tim smiled, because I know he’d like to tease me any way he could, and then, for the sake of the gospel, he told the truth and said, “Maybe once or twice.”

I looked at the other guy and said, “May I tell you what the Bible says about money – may I give you a verse?”

He gave me the OK and I said…

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) ⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

He seemed pretty pleased with that verse.  I think he felt like it let him off the hook.

It does…

…and it doesn’t.

What that verse says is that how you treat your money is up to you.

But what it doesn’t say, but what it true, is that God is very interested in how you treat your money.

In fact, if you look at the context of that verse, it reads like this…

2 Corinthians 9 (NIV) ⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Then it goes on to say…

⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

We live in a world of sparing sowers. A world where people keep their grain – or their money – to spend on themselves and their families.

This sermon teaches us why God cares about our money. It’s because he cares about our hearts.

Presented January 24, 2010 in the Evening

As we work to have a good understanding of who God is, try out this quiz. The answers are covered in the audio below, presented on Sunday Evening.

Quiz 1: The Word of God – See how you score.

1. We can use the phrase “The Word of God” in five legitimate senses. List them and give biblical examples.

2. What is the primary purpose of revelation? What is it that God desires to communication through his word?

3. What is the definition of the word “canon”? Is the canon “determined” or “recognized” by the church? Why is it important?

4. What is the earliest collection of the written words of God?

5. Why is the Apocrypha not included in Protestant Bibles?

6. What consistent characteristics do those who penned the New Testament share?

7. List two places that New Testament books reveal that the authors considered other New Testament books to be inspired/authoritative Scripture.

8. The earliest complete list of canonical New Testament books shows up in which century?

9. List at least two Scripture passages that indicate that there can be no more books added to the Bible.

10. How do we know that the Gnostic writings, referenced by Time Life publishers and more recently Dan Brown, are not Scriptural?

Terms to Know:

Apocrypha, Apostle, Canon, Canonical, God-breathed, “The History of Redemption”

If you’re interested in a copy of the handout presented during the message, speak to Pastor Steve.

Presented January 24, 2010

Some of those who attend Curwensville Alliance Church remember Russ Miller. He was Ellis and Lois Miller’s father. Russ was a good guy. He could tell great stories about the olden days. He told me stories of him taking a team of oxen to Brookville and back. Stories about him working on the covered bridge in Curwensville. Stories about his old cars and old jobs.

But there are people who remember Russ Miller for something they would say was even better. My daughter is one of those. She – and perhaps dozens of others – remember Russ Miller for giving her Life Savers. He brought pocketfuls of Life Savers to church each week just to give to kids. He never wanted anything back. He just wanted the kids to be happy.

Even though Russ was in his seventies, children were a priority to him. They couldn’t really give him anything. But he liked making them smile. Russ loved children. In that sense, Russ reminds me of Jesus, in the passage referenced in this sermon.