Teaching from Curwensville Alliance (Pastor Steve Shields)
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Listen as Pastor Steve continues his series on Personally Incorporating the Values of Jesus.
Why is building men who love God important? Jesus did it. Our church does it. Do you do it?
Why men? Their absence in the church is noticeable. Their influence is far reaching. The Bible shows in Job that it is their call.
What is a man who loves God? Let’s look at 2 Timothy 1:1-14 to see what a an who loves God looks like. A man of relationships. A man of faith. A man ready to serve. A man of courage. A man who seeks purity. A man who finishes well.
How do we build men who love God? We pray for them. We connect them to other men who love God. We encourage them.
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The first value of Jesus that Pastor Steve will discuss in the series The Values of Jesus is bridge building.
Why do we build bridges? Relationships are fundamental to Christianity. Relationships close the gap. Relationships are powerful.
We have to be careful we do not burn bridges we have built. Bridges can be burned because of a bad reputation. Bridges can be burned when we are indifferent towards others. Bridges can be burned when we are arrogant.
How do we build bridges like Jesus built bridges? Give of your time. Pay for the bridge work. Deliver the payload.
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Pastor Steve begins a new series on The Values of Jesus. Pastor Steve will discuss seven of the values of Jesus in the next few weeks.
Jesus shows us His values when everything was on the line in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus valued connection with people. The twelve did everything together.
Jesus valued wise investment in people. He built men who love God.
Jesus valued prayer. He prayed about everything.
Jesus valued doing things right. Excellence in all things.
Jesus valued Godly influence. He was the consummate bridge builder.
Jesus valued the Bible. He knew that the Bible had the answers for all of life’s situations.
Jesus valued forward thinking. He was willing to leave behind the familiar and comfortable.
Pastor Steve will discuss each of these values of Jesus through the coming weeks.
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God puts us in places that require trust. There are times when God seems to test us. Our journey may be fraught with peril. You will encounter circumstances you cannot manage. Even when it appears you’re alone trust Jesus.
The real reason we fear is we lack understanding of who God is. We don’t see that God IS love. Our hearts are hard. We struggle to trust Jesus.
How can we overcome fear? Examine your own heart. Ask yourself these questions and be honest with yourself. Do you see any hardness toward others in your heart? Do you feel so sure of your heart’s opinion that you feel certain that God must feel the same? Our own hard hearts prevent us from seeing the deep love of Jesus for others and in turn, for ourselves.
Look for a fresh vision of God’s love. He loves you, and He can calm the raging storm inside of you. Choose to trust as you choose to love. You can move from fear to faith.
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Partners have shared experiences. Those shared experiences are often life changing experiences. They could also be a point of reference for the future.
Partners have shared values. Christians have the shared value of that which honors Christ as well as that which helps others find Christ.
Partners have shared objectives. Partnerships help us grow in love. Partnerships help us grow in purity. Partnerships help us find meaning in living.
Who are you partnering with?
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Listen as Pastor Steve discusses how the local church is a family as seen in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18.
In the New Testament you see the local church as a family again and again. The family bond comes down to two things – a shared love for Jesus and their proximity to one another.
We also see in this passage three warnings.
Beware of unproductive idleness. If you do not concern yourself with what God gives you to do, you’ll likely concern yourself with things that don’t concern you.
Beware of disruptiveness and dissension.
Beware of drift or straying from the Truth.
What are the steps we can take in order to beware of these things? Look for ways to contribute. Accept the differences. Don’t let them disrupt what the Spirit is doing. Stay the course.
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This isn’t just for students going back to a school building. This message is for everyone! Listen as Pastor Steve speaks on Luke 10:25-37.
There are 3 essentials we all need as we live our lives. Love, integrity and self control are seen in the story of the Good Samaritan.
Loving your neighbor as yourself means choosing to love whoever God puts in your path. If you chose to love whoever God puts in front of you, how would that change your heart?
Integrity is making reality conform to your words. Integrity is the opposite of hypocrisy. Integrity comes with being near Christ.
Self control gives you powerful influence. Self control gives you the ability to love. To make the rugged choice to do the right thing.
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Listen as Pastor Steve goes through 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5 and discusses the essentials for the Christian journey.
The essentials for the Christian journey are a serious commitment to the truth that transforms life, a sincere covenant that encourages your heart, a sustaining community that carries the Gospel, a spiritual concern for one another and a shared confidence that God is good.
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Listen as Pastor Steve leads us through the passage in 2 Thessalonians about the return of Christ.
Christ’s return is yet to come; so, don’t let false teachers confuse you. There will be clear indicators of the day of the Lord.
The deceivers will be in high gear. There will be rebellion with the world turning away from light to all that is dark. The man of lawlessness will come.
BUT, God is in control! Evil is subject to God’s control. It is limited by God. Evil is overthrown by God’s power. We rely on the certainty of the return of Christ. These are the reasons Christians can keep there cool.
There is God. Do you have Him?
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Listen as Pastor Steve speaks on how we can shine through suffering.
We shine more and more as we grow in Christ. We shine more and more as we press on. We shine more and more as we prove God right.
Suffering can be difficult. Suffering is unfair. God is going to make a radical adjustment.
Shining is a journey. There is something about suffering and staying the course that brings a blessing that nothing else can. Suffering is a time to shine for your own benefit. We should pray for one another. Pray that we would shine in suffering.
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