How easy it is to tear down.
How Christlike to build up.
Author Archives: Pastor Steve
“I love it here!”
While many of the songs we sing at SuperVBS are not new to Curwensville Alliance — Jesus, Messiah, Beautiful One, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, My All in All — they are new to many of the children present.
Last evening, at VBS, Linda spoke to me and said, “Pastor Steve, I have to tell you this story.”
She went on to speak about a little girl in her tribe of 17 kids who kept asking, “When are we going to sing? I want to go up and sing!” Linda told her it was coming soon. Finally, when they went up to sing, as the music was being queued, the little girl looked up at Linda and said with a sort of sigh in her voice, “I love it here.”
For some kids, VBS can be life-changing immediately. I read on Diane’s facebook today that she came to know Christ at a VBS. On the other hand, sometimes VBS is doing the work of giving children a pleasant experience so that when they are seeking something more in life, they come back to that memory.
In both cases, it’s a wonderful thing to see children loving the music as they worship God. Please pray for these kids — that through the work of this ministry, they would find Jesus.
If you’re interested in learning more about SuperVBS, go to www.supervbs.org.
If you’re interested in Curwensville Alliance Church, go to www.curwensvillealliance.org.
~Pastor Steve
GRACE: Positive Energy…
I read today about the essentiality — yeah, that’s a word — of optimism in leadership. Corporations headed by pessimists, whether they be churches or tech giants, seldom overcome obstacles necessary to grow. I need to be optimistic. What’s frustrating is how easy it is to be negative. It’s easier to say, “Nazareth?! Can anything good come from there,” than it is to say, “We have found the Christ,” (John 1). And it’s easy to be swayed by negative energy. It has a power to stifle both productivity and creativity.
Today I was feeling anything but positive about what God was doing in my life… until the UPS man came to my door. No, he didn’t drop off that 65 inch television I’ve been dreaming about. Instead, he dropped off the cross that we ordered to replace the one Anna bought in memory of her husband. You may recall the original cross had been stolen. Immediately, Laurel and I hopped into the car and headed up to see Anna. As we drove, I shared my negative feelings with Laurel and my struggle to be optimistic.
Then we arrived at Anna’s home. She showed us in and we talked about her health, the church, her home, and her family. I showed her the new cross and told her the story of how God had provided a larger cross for the same price as the smaller one with which we’d all been dissatisfied. We rejoiced together. We then prayed together, taking time to pray that the person who had stolen the original cross would turn to Jesus and find forgiveness. That was a great visit, but probably not for the reasons you would expect. It wasn’t because of the prayer. It wasn’t because of the new cross. It was because Anna epitomizes grace. Grace toward the thief. Grace toward her brothers and sisters in Christ. And grace toward people who crank out negative energy. She was so gracious and positive I left feeling like a completely different person. I said to Laurel, “Every now and then, God surprises you with a person who brings incredible joy.” Such people are people of grace.
As you go to God in prayer, may I suggest praying three ways:
- Pray that you can be a person of grace, for people of grace are anything but negative.
- Pray that God would use you to be a gracious influence on people around you so that when they leave they feel like life is a good thing.
- Pray for those who struggle with negativity — that God will so bless them they can’t help but see him in the world around them.
Oh — and pray for me, that I might have the optimism essential to ministry and life.
Let your conversation be always full of grace… (Colossians 4)
~Pastor Steve
What’s Going on in the Alliance?
Are you getting your news from facebook?
In a world that’s more connected than it’s ever been, it’s sometimes easy to feel disconnected. While the internet doesn’t give us a true sense of intimacy, it’s great at giving us information. 
Unfortunately, sometimes with all the trivial information it gives us, like the number of bunnies in my yard, we lose touch with vital news.
With that in mind, I want to remind you, or even perhaps inform you about a great resource on what’s happening in the Christian and Missionary Alliance. It’s called Alliance Life and it’s available as a magazine you receive in the mail or online.
Surf on over to alliancelife.org and click around.
It won’t have information as fascinating as my facebook status, but it will give you information you need in order to be in tune with what’s happening in the C&MA.
~Pastor Steve
Some Real Prayer Request…
Last night as we concluded our study on the Holy Spirit in prayer meeting, instead of simply sharing requests and then praying for them, I asked this question: What would you do if you found an Aladdin’s Lamp? You clean it off, and as you rub it, a genie appears and offers three wishes. What would you wish for? This got us thinking of James words when he says we have not because we ask not. Then James immediately remarks that we often ask for selfish motives. As the evening progressed, the small group gathered there moved from talking about genies and talked about what we would really ask God for since we can.
Here’s some items from the list:
- That marriages would be healthy and families healed
- That we could accept people who are different than us
- That people who have been hurt would find healing in Jesus
- That we could be better examples of Jesus
- That grace would abound in our midst
What a great list of prayer request for our congregation. Join us as we pray for these kinds of things.
~Pastor Steve