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

Is this Counseling or Discipleship?

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Today’s been a very productive day.

It began with some catching up on mail, email and news. Then I did some premarital counseling at the office where we covered, among other topics, the basis of a good marriage.

Since I believe in and need accountability, I had lunch with another pastor. We talked about some of the challenges we have faced and are facing. It was good to share some prayer requests with one another.

About the same time as the rain started, I began to mow the lawn. Mowing the lawn is one of my least-favorite activities, but I’ve found a way to make it more rewarding — I bought some headphones for my ipod and listened to two lectures on Systematic Theology from Dr. Douglas F. Kelly.

After the lawn was finished, another pastor and I spent a couple of hours with a young man who is going through some tough times. We counseled him on how to react to some of the struggles he is facing and how to proactively change his life. Most importantly, we spoke to him about his relationship with God — explaining how he can find forgiveness of sin and a new start to life through Christ. Please pray for this young man — that he will respond to Jesus.

In the evening, I spent time on the telephone with a gentleman who had a few biblical questions. After about 30 minutes, we addressed some needs he has to forgive some folks in his life. Pray that God will give him victory in this area.

Finally, before settling in at 9 p.m. to write this blog entry, Laurel and I stopped over to visit someone who is recovering from surgery. It is always good to connect with folks as they are on the mend.

Here’s hoping tomorrow will afford time to write a sermon or two! 🙂

~Pastor Steve

Hospitals and Stuff

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Today I went to see Mildred, one of our shut-ins, who had been taken to the Clearfield Hospital. We visited for a few moments, and then I read a passage of Scripture and had prayer with her. She is fighting an infection and looked quite tired, but found obvious encouragement in our visit.

Afterward, I did some nursing home visitation. It was great seeing Glen. He was explaining the mechanics of his arm-rest to the aide attending him (she was a little mechanically challenged). We talked and laughed for a while before we read Psalm 100 and prayed together.

I talked with several people on the telephone, researching some items for tonight’s Board of Ministries Meeting and organizing some storage at the church.

During lunch, I did some technical work and added a “Subscribe by Email” field to this prayer blog so that those interested can easily subscribe and not have to come to the site daily.

For the rest of the day I will be preparing tonight’s agenda and working on sermons and Bible studies, leading the Board of Ministries Meeting, leading prayer meeting, and then … watching the Penguins!

Thanks for your continued prayer.

~Steve