Author Archives: Pastor Steve

It’s Okay – God Knows

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They say that it’s the small things….

A few weeks ago, I looked at my desk and noticed that the battery on my old S7 had expanded to the point of opening the case, making the phone unusable. I’d replaced the phone over a year earlier, so it was not an issue.

Some people would have simply disposed of the phone, but that week, I ordered a new battery (for $20) and replaced it – “just in case I might need the phone.”

That phone is the phone we now use to record our services. It has the audio jack that my newer phone does not have.

If God can provide my brain with the information it needs to prepare for something I had no idea was coming, I think he can provide all of us with what we need as we follow him.

He knows what’s coming. He knows.

JOIN US SUNDAY AT 10:45 A.M. ON YouTube and Facebook to enjoy the morning service!

The Day with Others

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In his book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has a rather lengthy chapter titled, The Day with Others.

As he unfolds his thinking, it’s evident that he is teaching his readers how to be the Church – in whatever environment find themselves.

When I say, “how to be the church,” I am referring to experiencing God’s presence together — as friends, as a family, as a couple. It’s what we do Sundays, on Susquehanna Avenue, when we can.

Bonhoeffer is pretty straight forward in this area. He speaks of several practices that believers should enact together — as believers.

Some of those practices are…

  • Reading the Scriptures — with others
  • Singing the New Song — with others
  • The Fellowship at the Table — with others
  • Noonday and Evening — with others

This video speaks about some of those practices.

Had you given any thought as to how you might begin to do these things in your home during this unusual season of human history?

God might enable you to do things you’d otherwise never considered.

And such things might come with an unexpected blessing.

Reflections at Advent

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What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Some time ago, I noted that Facebook gave me the option of seeing what my information looked like to a friend or a stranger. Since everything I post on Facebook is public, by my choice, there was virtually no difference.

However, the exercise got me to thinking about what I looked like to anyone who saw me on social media. How did others see me?

As I scrolled through my posts, imagining how a stranger would react to what I put there, I realized that what was there wasn’t what I wanted to be there. There were cynical statements, uncaring comments, and some (just a little, because I have a brain) political rhetoric thrown in.

It wasn’t who I wanted people to see me as.

So I deleted a bunch of it.

And then my social media presentation of myself was more to my liking.

But, if you’re still reading, you’re probably thinking:

Well, Steve, it seems that all you did
was to cover up who you really are
by deleting what you didn’t want others
to know about your heart.

Yeah. That’s what I did….. At first.

But then I got to thinking.

The look into the mirror that my social media accounts provided allowed me to look into my heart. And after the simple process of deleting online posts and comments, I turned my attention to the deeper process of correcting some inner attitudes — by taking them to the cross and surrendering them to the Holy Spirit.

Reflection — it’s an exercise that serves us well, if we really want to grow.

This Advent, Curwensville Alliance is going to talk about Reflections beginning this Sunday (12/2/2018).

Not reflections, as in looking at the past, but reflections as in looking in the mirror.

We’ll look at how this holiday season influences us and see what kinds of mindset we’ve allowed it to create. And then, by God’s grace, we’ll look to the Spirit of God to transition us from who the reflection says we are to who God wants us to be.

Join us.

Sundays…
At 8:00 am – Traditional Worship Service
At 10:45 am – Today’s Worship Service.