Teaching from Curwensville Alliance (Pastor Steve Shields)
In addition to listening at your computer, selected sermons from Curwensville Alliance are available for your Apple device on iTunes and for the Android on Google Play.
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When we look at the passage in 2 Kings 6:24-33, we see that Samaria is under siege. The people are starving. They are desperate. They know the problem, but they do not know the solution.
God is the solution. The lepers find the solution. We learn from the lepers that when God blesses you, He expects you to bless others.
When we look around, we see that people are starving. They are starving for the moral compass that only Christ can calibrate. There are starving for spiritual fulfillment. We have found a banquet, and we need to share that banquet with others.
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Are you a joy sucker?
Listen as Pastor Steve shows the difference between joy pouring and joy sucking. Grace, gentleness and encouragement are joy pouring and criticism, insistence and demoralization are joy sucking.
Jesus’ heart overflows with joy. He poured out His joy at advent. He poured out His joy while teaching. He pours out joy at the end of the age.
How do we get joy to pour out? We receive, experience and apply God’s grace. We lay hold of the gentleness of Jesus. When we embrace the gentleness of Jesus it changes who we are. When we sincerely encourage others.
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Everything needs maintenance including relationships. Noises alert you when maintenance is required. Like that clicking noise in the car or the clunk in the washer.
Maintenance means paying attention. Listen for the noise, and examine the real source of the noise. This means you need to pay attention to your relationships.
The keys to healthy maintenance in your relationships are to treat one another with respect, consider others before yourself and make Christ and what He has done your focus.
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Listen as Pastor Steve goes through the passage in Romans 14:1-12. This passage is talking about disputable matters. It is not talking about clear violations of Scriptures.
Acceptance means more than just putting up with people. It means not quarrelling with one another. It means not dismissing another. It means knowing your place.
In relationships we need to value differences. Valuing differences deepens marriages, preserves friendships and enhances the kingdom!
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Listen as Pastor Steve discussed the importance of reliability in relationships.
Biblically, reliable means faithful. It means being trustworthy. It means being faithful to the task.
Timothy is a picture of reliability in the Bible. He has stick-to-itiveness. He cares about others. He has reliability grounded in and coming from relationships.
We need to look to Jesus to develop reliability. He is your role model. He is your empowerer. His Spirit gives you power.
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Good communication is essential in healthy relationships! It is essential in marriage. It is essential in casual everyday relationships. It is essential in your relationship with God.
The Bible gives us some guidelines on communication. We are to communicate intentionally. We are to communicate simply. We are to communicate deeply.
The best commination comes from people who have been to the cross. It is at the cross that we learn the importance of intentional living. It is at the cross that we see the strength of simplicity. It is at the cross that we learn to value deep intimacy – deep communication.
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Change is a key factor in forming or destroying relationships. Change can strengthen a relationship by making you appreciate others and bringing you closer.
Listen as Pastor Steve discussed how Ecclesiastes gives us an important perspective on change.
Everything has its moment, and the moment is in God’s hand. God is good. As the moments come and go, we need to trust God and His goodness.
How do you hold onto the goodness of God? You look for it in your life and in your Bible! You share His goodness with others. Remember to remind yourself of His goodness.
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Somewhere along the way, most of us learn that the most rewarding part of living is found in relationships. And somewhere along the way, most of us learn that the most difficult part of living is found in relationships.
People are in progress; so, be patient.
God places the responsibility upon the shoulders of the strong.
Bearing the failings of the weak requires sacrifice. A sacrifice of patience, repentance, requesting forgiveness, granting forgiveness, of moving on.
People are fragile; so, be gracious.
When we are ungracious, we damage people. Build people up, don’t tear them down.
People are difficult; so, be accepting.
Accepting isn’t receiving with resignation. Instead, accepting is receiving with hope.
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Listen as Pastor Steve speaks of taking the high road.
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Listen as Pastor Steve discusses baptism and your role in baptism.
Baptism represents cleansing. Baptism doesn’t make us clean. Jesus makes us clean, but baptism is a picture of our cleansing.
Jesus offers a fresh start or a reboot. Baptism is a picture of that fresh start.
As you watch a baptism, you are not a spectator. Instead you have the role of examiner. Not to examine those being baptized, but to examine your own heart to see if you are dead to sin and alive in Christ.
You also have the role of encourager. To cheer on those being baptized. Not just today, but also next week and next year and beyond. The Bible tells us we are to encourage one another.
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