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Baptism

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 7/16/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

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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Freedom: That Thing You Keep Forgetting to Value

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 7/2/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

It is easy to take freedom for granted. Americans do it. Christians do it. It is human nature to take for granted anything that has been granted.

Christ gives us freedom. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from Shame. Freedom from meaninglessness. God can bring redemption from everything that happens and in the redemption, we can find meaning. Freedom from death and hell. Freedom from the power of sin.

What does it look like to live free? Living a life of love (Galatians 5:14). Walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Honoring the freedom you have received (Galatians 5:13).

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Got Questions? Find Answers

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 6/25/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Do you have questions about life? Listen as Pastor Steve goes through Psalm 119:9-16 to show how the Bible has answers to those life questions.

We all face common problems in life. Too often we make life altering decisions that we later regret. We feel empty inside. The very fact that we feel like life is not all it’s cracked up to be tells us that there really is something more. We have a tendency to give up. We fail to embrace the joy that God offers us in life.

What does the Bible provide for these life problems? It protects you from regret. The Bible is the fulfillment of our longing because it points us to the One who can fill us. The Bible provides us with a life of joy.

How do we read the Bible? First, pick it up! Expect guidance to come from the text. Dig into the text. Cherish God’s word.

Got questions? Find answers. The spiritual climate of our world is at a place perhaps like never before, where you need to read and study the Bible.

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Christ Followers with Intentionality :: COLOSSIANS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 6/18/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Colossians 4:2-18 tells us to be intentional in our living for Christ. Are you intentional in your prayers? An intentional prayer is watchful regarding the kingdom. An intentional prayer is bigger than ourselves, and is focused on kingdom things, and the advancement of the gospel.

Are you intentional in your relationships? Intentional relationships show people God’s nature. Intentional relationships demonstrate wisdom. Intentional relationships act with grace.

Are you living with intentionality in the kingdom? Intentionality is simply doing kingdom work intentionally. Intentionality is simply prioritizing the advancement of the kingdom of God.

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Something Wrong? Maybe the Problem Centers on Thankfulness :: COLOSSIANS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 6/11/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

As we look in Colossians 3, we see three desirable instructions. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Let the message of Christ dwell among you. Let the supremacy of Christ oversee your life.

The key ingredient for these three instructions is thankfulness.

The peace of Christ rules in thankful hearts. The message of Christ dwells in thankful fellowships. The supremacy of Christ reigns in our lives when we give thanks.

How do you have thankfulness? You need to cultivate thankfulness in all of your life. Thankfulness enriches your worship experience. Thankfulness brings grace to your home life. Thankfulness influences every imaginable interaction.

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Clearing Rocks From The Field :: COLOSSIANS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 6/4/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Just as rocks litter the farmer’s field, rocks litter the fields of our lives. The rocks in our lives need to be removed and put to death. They provoke God to anger. They are not just boulders, but also include ordinary struggles. Everyone has them, but they need to go.

How do you get rid of the rocks from your life? Take off the old self. Being a Christian means seeing you’re on the wrong path and turning to the right. That’s repentance — turning your heart to trust Christ.

After you take off the old self, you need to put on the new self. Identifying as a Christian isn’t a matter of wearing a special shirt or cap. Rather, it is a matter of clearing the stones from your field.

A field fit for the kingdom is a field that knows who it belongs to. Chosen by God, extraordinary and extra-loved.

A field fit for the kingdom is a field that relates well with others. A field filled with compassion and kindness as well as humility. A field containing gentleness and patience, forgiveness and love.

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Memorials

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/28/23 by Reverend Bernie Knefley.

Listen as Reverend Knefley speaks on memorials.

A memorial is something that keeps an event or a persons memory alive.

We have personal memorials to commemorate events in our personal lives. It could be a trophy buck hanging on the wall, or a hole in one golf ball sitting on the mantle. Family pictures even serve as memorials.

If you are not sure what your memorials are look at your mantle or what is hanging on your wall.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:21 that “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

If you forget where you came from, you are doomed to repeat it.

We see memorials throughout the Bible. The Last Supper is a memorial that continues through today.

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Obsession :: COLOSSIANS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/21/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

What is the nature of obsession?

Sometimes it is like an addictive drug, and is intoxicating. It is obsession when we can’t let it go.

Sometimes obsession is helpful, but not often.

Sometimes the problem with obsession is not the object, but the obsessor.

Trusting Christ frees you from obsession. The basis of your freedom is the transformation that came with Christ. The outcome of this transformation is effective change.

Live your new identity in Christ. It is safe to do this because your transformation is secured by Christ. A glorious transition is coming. You are capable of doing this.

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Accept No Substitutes :: COLOSSIANS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/14/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Jesus is the real thing. He is God. He is able to transform you! He destroyed your condemnation. He is irreplaceable. There is NO substitute!

How can you experience what Christ has for you?

Trust Him as God. Trust in His power and love. Ask Him to transform you. Live with confidence in His grace. Cherish Him with all your heart.

Accept no substitute!

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Embracing the Path of Maturity :: COLOSSIANS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/07/23 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Listen as Pastor Steve discusses Embracing the Path of Maturity.

To embrace the path of maturity, you must first put childish ways behind you. God commissions people to help us mature. Maturity is a God-given objective for you and me. Spiritual growth is a gift for you and me.

God wants to lead you on the path of maturity so that you will live well, and find joy in who you have become, who you are, and who you are becoming.

To embrace the path of maturity, you need to look for specific people to help you travel this path. This path of maturity brings peace to your heart. Through Christ we are reconciled.

Take the gift of the pathway. Take the gift of the Gospel. Trust Christ to take you on the pathway.

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