ThruTheBible: What Was the Strange Fire?

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Presented at Curwensville Alliance Church on 2/23/2014

At Curwensville Alliance we are reading through the Bible. This past week we’ve spent some time in Leviticus, a difficult book for most of us to relate to. This is likely the case with Nadab and Abihu.

In Leviticus 10, two sons of Aaron, Israel’s high priest, are killed by God for offering what the King James calls Strange Fire. That’s one catchy phrase, isn’t it? Strange Fire. Maybe that’s why the term has been so often capitalized upon by people wanting to put down anything different from what they have experienced or what they believe in.

But what is the strange fire?

This podcast attempts to answer the question in ways that speak to our hearts.

PS: I hope you’re listening to the morning services from Curwensville Alliance Church. They can be found by clicking here.

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ThruTheBible: Lessons from the Life of Job

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Presented in the evening at Curwensville Alliance Church on 1/26/2014

The book of Job is respected by scholars throughout the world. It’s considered one of the oldest stories known to man, probably because it addresses one of the oldest problems known to man — what to do with suffering.

In this podcast, I select a few lessons from the book of Job and apply them to our own lives.

If you’re reading through the Bible with us, keep up the good work. We’re already nearing the one month mark!

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ThruTheBible: Cain & Abel, the hidden story

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Podcast presented the evening of January 5, 2013 at Curwensville Alliance Church

In 2014, many people at Curwensville Alliance are going through the Bible — reading through it. Matt McCracken is doing a Q&A time with the material in Sunday School and Pastor Steve is preaching a sermon from the past week’s reading material on Sunday evenings.

This week we read the opening chapters of Genesis, John 1, and a Psalm. The message was from Genesis 4.

Genesis 4 begins with the story of Cain and Abel and their sacrifices. Many have questioned why God rejected what Cain brought. After all, it was what he had. And shouldn’t God accept what we have?

The answer can only be found if you dig a little below the surface and find the hidden story.

I thought about putting these on the main church website, but since they are teaching material more than sermons, I felt they might go well here on the Pastor’s Blog.

Enjoy the podcast. 

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Reading through the Bible in 2014…

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Today is the first day of 2014 and the first day of our Bible reading plan at Curwensville Alliance. Here’s how to get started.

Using a Device or the PC:

If you’re planning to read through the Bible with us using the Bible App, you will find the plan we are using here:

Using a Plan on Paper

If you forgot to pick up a paper-version of the plan in the church lobby, you can find one here:

Using an Abbreviated Plan

If you’re feeling like reading an abbreviated plan is better for you, you can find the paper version here:

Using a Bible with an Integrated Plan

If you’d like to purchase the book with the plan in it, you can find it here:
No matter how you do it, I hope you’ll join us as we read through the Bible in 2014.
Some other notes:
  • Matt’s first class begins this Sunday.
  • I’ll be speaking Sunday night on a select passage from this week’s reading as well.
May you have a blessed new year!
~Pastor Steve

The God I Believe In…

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Over the past couple of decades, I’ve come to see how much the thinking of our society has invaded the church. I remember when one long-timer at Curwensville, someone who is no longer with us, talked about ghosts being in her home. Ghosts? OK — I enjoy a ghost story as much as the next guy, but I also enjoy stories about Santa Claus. That doesn’t mean I believe there’s a guy in a red suit being dragged through the sky on a sled by flying reindeer. And I don’t believe in ghosts.

My perspective on ghosts is not a denial of the supernatural. I believe in the supernatural. I’ve experienced supernatural events. So how can I say I don’t believe in ghosts? Because the God I believe in tells me what happens when we die — and haunting the living isn’t part of the program.

“The God I believe in…” Is that one of the goofiest things we could ever say or what? Yet whenever you hear someone say something that is in opposition to the teaching of Scripture, that’s what they are saying. They are saying that their version of god is different than the Bible’s version of God. And, make no mistake about it, they are saying that the god they believe in is superior to the God of the Bible. Wow — Is that arrogance or folly? Maybe both.

You don’t pick and choose what God says or does. He’s a person, distinct from you and me. We can’t tell him who he is any more than we can tell gravity how to behave. I addressed this on Sunday in the sermon: Real God. If you haven’t listened to it, it’s online at the church website. It’s an important concept. In fact, if you wish to be part of what’s happening at Curwensville Alliance you must grasp and appreciate the concept of Real God.

Did you read that last sentence? If you wish to be part of what’s happening at Curwensville Alliance you must grasp and appreciate the concept of Real God.

If you have questions about ghosts, then check what the God of the Bible says about them. Maybe I’ll do a Halloween sermon in late October to “lay that issue to rest”. But for now, let’s agree on this: The place we go for a clear understanding of God has to be the Bible. And when the god I believe in contradicts the God of the Bible, the God of the Bible wins.