Catching Up

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Because my son was graduating from Taylor University last week, Laurel and I took a couple of vacation days and went out for what was likely our final visit to Taylor University. We stayed in the Bed and Breakfast we’ve been staying in for the past few years and got to know some other Taylor parents and the new owners of the B&B.  While there, I received a call from the District Leadership requesting some paperwork I needed to complete for the LO&CC so, having my laptop in tow, I spent a great deal of time Thursday working on that and my sermons for Sunday. The time in the B&B was spiritually rewarding as Laurel and I were able to talk to the owner and pray with him. Please remember him and his wife in prayer as they transition into this new position in life.

Gloria Gaither was being awarded an honorary doctorate at the graduation ceremony at Taylor University and was the featured speaker, addressing the graduates and, in essence, telling them that There are certain things in this world God has for them to do — and they are just the right people to do them. I’ve attended numerous graduation events, several while serving in pastoral ministry at The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, and something I always note about the Christian ones is the call to serve God by serving others. That is distinctly lacking in non-Christian environs.

Sunday services at Curwensville Alliance went very well. Attendance was good and the atmosphere was wonderful. We took a moment to honor Myrtle for her ministry as a greeter. The morning sermon was about The Cross of Christ and the evening service was about God’s providence.

I’ve received a number of emails from my sister regarding my mother’s condition. Mom’s struggling with how she is perceiving what’s happened to her since she’s broken her pelvis and her arm. Please pray for her during this difficult time.

One of the elders, John, suggested that when I am too busy to write something on this blog I simply create a one-word post reading SWAMPED! That’s not a bad idea! But instead, let’s make this a rule…. If you see a few days in a row when there is nothing posted, pray that I will either enjoy my time off  — ’cause I won’t post while on vacation 🙂 — or pray that I will be able to catch up on the ministry responsibilities I am engaging.

Thanks for continuing to remember the ministry of Curwensville Alliance in prayer.

~Pastor Steve

Tuesday’s Gone

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Today began with breakfast with Vern and Ed as we tested the waters for the Retired Guys Breakfast. The three of us had a nice visit and good breakfast food at Sapp Brothers, but since it was just we three, we decided to hold off on starting a regular meeting and retesting the waters in the fall.

I checked in on Mildred at the hospital. She was heading down to get some x-rays. Please pray for her as she has been in the hospital for over a week.

The rest of the morning was spent working on some sermons and editing this past Sunday’s audio file for the church web site. The file has been placed online.  Additionally, I put an announcement on the church web site concerning the Shoot for the Crown Skeet Shoot that our church is hosting as an outreach. I visited briefly with Judy and with Dan before heading home for lunch.

The afternoon was spend working in sermon preparation and visiting with some folks on the phone and in my home.

After supper, Brennan and some others from A Day Awaits came over to talk about their ministry. They are planning a Youth Event at our church on June 18 and 19. Please pray for them as they plan this event.

Thanks for your continued prayer for the ministry of Curwensville Alliance.

~Pastor Steve

Encouraging Visit(s)

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As this day started, I began to place an order with Christian Books for the extra Genesis Bible Study guides. As I was researching the best price, my phone rang with someone asking for some advice.  I generally don’t give “advice,” but as I spoke to Scott, I realized he wanted to know how to help a friend of his who desires to get right with God. It was exciting to hear that Scott had already done a great job helping this man and was on the right path to helping him more. The bulk of the advice I gave was to “keep on keepin’ on” in ministering to this man. Pray that Scott would sense God’s leading in this relationship and that this man would find his way Home to God.

I was hardly done with this call before the second one arrived. Someone wanted some counsel regarding a personal matter. This gentleman and I got together and went for a long walk through town. An hour and a half (and three blisters later — I wore the wrong shoes for such a walk), we’d had a great visit and I was able to get back to the computer.

Soon after that, I spoke to Matt concerning some biblical ministry he wants to do in our church. It’s exciting to see the things the young adults are doing at Curwensville Alliance. Pray that Matt would have a keen sense of God’s leading and that he would see fruit in the places God leads him.

In the mean time, I ordered some Bible study software for my computer.

By then I realized that most of the morning was done, and anticipating a visit from Dr. Peter Nanfelt (retired president of The Christian and Missionary Alliance), I went to my office to catch up on any missions news he might want to discuss. Since Peter was planning to discuss the world-wide work of the Alliance, I invited Barry, our Missions Coordinator, to join us for lunch and the three of us went with Laurel to Hedges. We enjoyed a nice meal together and found great encouragement in the things he had to say. Peter was also encouraged when he heard all the good things God is doing at Curwensville Alliance. Pray that Peter would continue to encourage and be encouraged as he visits churches like ours.

While at lunch, I received a call from my brother, Dave, and learned that my mother has a broken pelvis and a broken arm. She’ll be hospitalized for a couple more days. After taking care of some of the details concerning Mom, and catching up on some of those in our church who have physical needs, I sat down and finished my order at Christan Books — just in time for supper.

Thanks for continuing to pray regarding the ministry of Curwensville Alliance.

~Pastor Steve

Wrapping up the Week

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Today began with breakfast with some great guys at church. Lloyd and his crew cooked up some French toast and we enjoyed it together. Eric presented a good devotional about trusting God even in tough times. The biblical truth he presented was underscored by the experiences he’s undergone in the past several months.

Afterward, I did some counseling with a young man, helping him with a job application, talking about how he should relate to others, and praying for him. I also did a little bit of telephone counseling. Ah — the joys of technology.

When I left the church, my motorcycle wouldn’t start. Now I know how Harley riders must feel every day! Turns out that it was out of gas. How did that happen? A quick flick of the valve and I was on my way.

With the exception of about an hour spent on the phone discussing focus and ministry with people in the church, the rest of the day was spent finishing up the sermon, creating the Power Point to go with it, making copies, and preparing tomorrow’s prayer list — all done by 4:00 p.m.

Early in the afternoon I learned that my mother had broken her shoulder. Please pray for her — that as she awaits seeing the doctor on Monday she will be comfortable.

Thanks for your continued prayers for the effective ministry of Curwensville Alliance.

~Pastor Steve

Sermonwriting – it should be a word

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Most of today was spent working with Sunday’s sermon. The passage is the one where Jesus clears the Temple. It’s a great story with a deeper meaning than most people see at first glance.

Around lunch time I spent some time visiting with Russ. He was looking well and seems to be feeling better.

Later in the afternoon I helped another pastor recover some data from his PC. He’d not made backups and found his hard drive was failing quickly. After an initial recovery attempt failed , he took the drive home and put it in the freezer for an hour in a ziploc bag. The last I heard, he was copying data off the cool drive.

Pray that as people come to church this week they will understand the real reasons Jesus cleared the Temple and will apply the concepts to their lives and we to our church.

~Pastor Steve