It’s downright embarrassing — how long it’s been since I updated this blog. One would think I had nothing to write about. One would be very mistaken.

God’s been doing wonderfully amazing things at Curwensville Alliance in the recent months. Young adult ministry has been thriving. Small groups have been growing. And lives are being changed.

I spent the greater part of this day on some serious administrative planning concerning small groups at Curwensville Alliance. As I worked through this, I realized that we have about a dozen small groups — groups whose focus is upon biblically centered discipleship for the group — in our church.

Stay tuned for more information concerning small groups, namely a new section of the web site that will describe each of them.

~Pastor Steve

Last night, in prayer meeting, we talked about Jesus’ words in John 14:13 where he said he answers prayer that the Father might be glorified. As we gave thought to Jesus’ life and to his work in our lives, we asked the question, do we pray that the Father might receive glory? Naturally, our hearts pray so that we might receive blessing, but how much richer our lives in Christ would be if we would pray that the Father would receive glory as we ask for his blessing.

Of course, one can’t conjure the desire that the Father be glorified when one goes to prayer. It’s not something you can tack onto the beginning or ending of a prayer and feel it’s real. Instead, in our very lives, we must emulate Christ who did all to the glory of the Father. When we do this, our prayer life changes and desiring his glory in our prayers is as natural as desiring his glory in our jobs, our recreation, and our relationships.

As you look for God to receive glory in your prayers, please take a moment and pray for Jeanine. The latest on her is that she needs to regain some strength before they can schedule her surgery. Also, please pray for Ed who was taken to the hospital last night and admitted so they can adjust some of his medications.

Because of privacy concerns, it’s my practice not to place last names on this blog, so if you don’t know who these people are, give me a call or shoot me an email. If you are part of the family at Curwensville Alliance, I’ll be glad to share the appropriate information with you.

Thanks for praying to the glory of the Father!

~Pastor Steve

Yesterday was an unusual Sunday, to say the least. Throughout the week, I had been working on a sermon on the return of Christ. One of the things that bugs me most about many sermons on that subject is that they are generally — ugh, how do I say this? — trivial. That is not to say anything about eschatology is trivial, but there is something about the return of Christ that makes people want to build charts, create glossaries, and connect dots that often turn out to be unconnectable (My spell-check says that’s not a word. It should be).  In the end, the recipient of the sermon is left feeling like they have learned a lot, but have nothing practical to do with what they have learned. However, I felt the sermon I had written was one that avoided these pitfalls and offered genuinely applicable information concerning Christ’s return, so I was excited to preach it.

Then, Sunday morning, everything seemed to fall apart. It began when gravity had its way with the expansion tank in the boiler room of the church. The weight of the water and sludge that had built up in the tank overwhelmed the plumber strapping that held it aloft and when it fell, it broke pipes and sent water cascading throughout the furnace room. Thankfully, Perry was there with Sue and they called me at the house. Vern and some other men took care of getting things under control, but the sanctuary remained at a cool temperature all morning.

As if a cold sanctuary wasn’t enough to distract us, about 10 minutes after I arrived at church, Tim called. He and Laurel had been getting into the car to head to church when Laurel’s shoulder spontaneously dislocated itself. Tim was on the way to the hospital with his mom. OK — Looks like I won’t be preaching that sermon this morning, huh?

Well, after setting up the PowerPoint and realizing there were good people ready to care for the service if I was absent, I headed to the hospital. The ER doc was excellent. He listened to Laurel and me and then relocated (is that the right word?) her shoulder. Seeing she was doing well, I headed to church and preached the sermon. As I preached, and afterward, it was very apparent that this is what I was supposed to do.

The Apostle Paul says our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against, among other things, “spiritual forces of evil.” (Ephesians 6:12) I am not saying that “spiritual forces of evil” caused that strapping to break in the furnace room. Nor am I suggesting that an evil spirit caused Laurel’s upper arm to dislodge from its socket in her shoulder. But I do believe, at least, that the enemy would have used those very things to prevent that sermon from being presented, had he been able to.

Laurel is on the mend. Tim is back at school. The sermon has been preached and placed on the church website. And I am ready to begin this new week.

Thanks for the many offers to help out as Laurel heals. Thanks for remembering her in prayer. And thanks for your consistent prayers throughout the week as we work together To Know God and Make Him Known.