The Royal Official’s Son :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 6/5/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Why would Jesus make this point in John 4:48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”?

None of them are coming to Him, and it is an “outsider” who comes to Jesus. Jesus wants us to bring Him our needs. Because when we bring Him our needs, we bring our hearts.

Pastor Steve discusses a Biblical understanding of belief. Belief is not something I manufacture. It is not something I psych up in myself. It is not a leap of faith. It is not just nodding my head.

Instead, Biblical belief is a choice to trust Jesus!

Jesus invites you to trust Him. He invites you because He wants your heart. He invites you because it is the only way to really live.

You respond to His invitation by genuinely desiring His help, and genuinely desiring HIM!

The Woman At The Well :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/29/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

When I am without Jesus I may look like the Samaritan woman at the well. I may seem like a loner, someone to avoid, cynical, pragmatic, clueless, insignificant or worthless. My life may seem hopeless to others.

But just like the woman at the well, the answer to my problems is Jesus.

Jesus tells His followers that people are thirsty. We need to open our eyes to those around us who are thirsty.

Giving Water to the thirsty must be our priority. We must make giving Jesus to others a priority, which will mean tending to something besides our own agenda.

We need to examine our commitment of giving Water to the thirsty.

You Must Be Born Again :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/22/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Nicodemus came to Jesus with a humble spirit. He was respectful towards Jesus, and sensed that Jesus had what he needed. He saw to the burial of Jesus.

Jesus spoke with Nicodemus about the Kingdom. Kingdom participation requires personal transformation. The Kingdom of God is organic or living. It is otherworldly. We enter the Kingdom by trusting God. The Kingdom is here if you want it.

Knowing this leads to questions we can ask ourselves. What is MY faith like? What do I need to do to be reborn? How do I maintain this new life? Listen to Pastor Steve as he guides us to the answers through Scripture.

Turning Water Into Wine :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/15/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

When we are going through the Bible stories we want to ask ourselves what is this here for or what is the point? Hermeneutics is the science of making sense of the Bible or understanding what it is saying. We do not want to have bad hermeneutics.

Knowing that, we can ask why did Jesus do this miracle? Or, why did John include this miracle? John states in John 21:25 that Jesus did many things, but not all are written down.

Jesus turning water into wine shows that Jesus is the God you can believe in. He is the God who enters your life. Just as he entered the lives of the wedding couple. It is about relationship.

Jesus is the God who responds to our needs as He responded to the need at the wedding.

Jesus is the God you can trust to do right. Jesus is the God who gives extravagantly.

You can trust Jesus because He is trustworthy. Trusting Him enhances all of life.

The Temptation Of Jesus :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/8/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Pastor Steve will walk us through the temptation of Jesus and show us how His response to temptation can help us resist temptation.

Temptation can be God ordained as was the case with Jesus. God does not tempt as it states in James 1:13. However, God does allow temptation, and He has not set us up for failure.

Temptation is not a sin. What you do with the temptation can be a sin or not.

Desires are not temptations. How you manage those temptations can be a sin or not.

Temptation is satisfying physical desires without regard for spiritual health. Temptation is also taking a shortcut that doesn’t really fulfill the call. Temptation is making a swap and cheating the system.

Jesus responds to temptation with relationship with the Father. He responds without compromise, and He responds with Scripture.

When temptation knocks at the door it falls into three categories. Lust of the flesh, which is a physical desire that are improperly prioritized. Lust of the eyes, which is a desire to have something that doesn’t belong to you. Pride of life, which is making the satisfaction of your desires your ultimate objective.

When faced with temptation, we need to respond as Jesus did. We need to walk closely with the Father. We need allow no compromise. We need to develop a working knowledge of the Scripture.

The Baptism of Jesus :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 5/01/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

John the Baptist is on a mission to tell others that Jesus is coming and to be ready.

When Jesus comes for baptism He is in the wrong line, and is the least expected person to need baptism. However, Jesus’ baptism has an important purpose.

Why is Jesus in this line? Jesus identifies with us. He is initiating His ministry. The Godhead proclaims the work of the Son.

Jesus fulfills all righteousness in His obedience. As we identify with Him, His obedience becomes our own.

So What Is About You?

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 4/24/22 by Reverend Bernie Knefley.

Listen to Reverend Bernie Knefley as he goes through what is about you.

God made us in His image. We are to reflect His image.

We are to obey the Ten Commandments. They are not merely suggestions.

The cross is what we take up.

Our witness is what we portray in our lives.

If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you????

Faith In The Resurrection

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 4/17/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Listen as Pastor Steve discusses some reasons to believe in the resurrection.

It’s unnecessary. There are many religions without a resurrection narrative. Since it is so unbelievable, the disciples would have been better off to not include the resurrection, if it were not truth. It is unavoidable. From the beginning to the end, the resurrection is in the Bible!

Belief in the resurrection changes us. The resurrection demonstrates Christ’s power. It gives us hope and confirms Christ’s atoning work.

A belief in the resurrection doesn’t look like an intellectual or mental assent. It isn’t even a faith in the event of the resurrection because even the demons believe there is one God.

Instead, belief in the resurrection looks like faith in Jesus Christ, faith in being with Christ. As well as faith in the journey of walking with Jesus.

Palm Sunday – What The Children Saw

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 4/10/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Pastor Steve guides us through what the children saw on Palm Sunday. We need to remember that children notice what we are doing.

What do children notice? They notice their parents worshipping. They notice excitement. Children notice change.

Even if you do not have children, you influence people. What do you want those you influence to see?

Show them a hunger for God. Give them knowledge of God’s Word. Show them a commitment to Christ.

How do you manage your influence? Think about the influence you have on others. Pray about your influence and trust God with it.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 4/03/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

What do we see when we look at Daniel?

Daniel was a good person to have around. He was above reproach. Even though the administrators looked for ways to destroy his reputation, they could not find anything. Daniel was “at risk”. Because of his goodness, Daniel was hated by those who were jealous of him.

Daniel was an agent of hope to those around him, and he was loved, even by King Darius. Daniel was an influencer.

You have Daniel potential. You can be a good person to be around. You can build a good reputation. You can thrive even when life is hard. You can be an agent of hope. You can live securely by trusting God. You can influence others for Christ.