Tag Archives: advent

Peace? Really? Yeah – really!

Posted on by

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 12/6/20 by Pastor Steve

In 1979, Bob Dylan wrote with a sense of frustration regarding his friends. It seemed that he felt they had changed and let him down.

Sometimes I feel so low-down and disgusted
Can’t help but wonder what’s happenin’ to my companions
Are they lost or are they found
Have they counted the cost it’ll take to bring down
All their earthly principles they’re gonna have to abandon?
There’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend

– Dylan

That feeling of disillusionment is no stranger to people today. And that mindset is sure to cause you struggle in many ways – to struggle to find peace.

In this video, We discover practical ways to regain the peace you might have lost – or to discover peace you’ve always wanted.

Finding Healing from Disappointment – Advent

Posted on by
Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 11/29/20 by Pastor Steve Sheilds

Have recent events left you disappointed?

Are you disappointed about restrictions related to commonwealth directives? Disappointed by people you know? Disappointed about the holidays and what you may have give up?

In this video, I talk about disappointment – and how to find healing from it.

It’s important to deal with disappointment before it deals with you.

Reflections at Advent

Posted on by

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Some time ago, I noted that Facebook gave me the option of seeing what my information looked like to a friend or a stranger. Since everything I post on Facebook is public, by my choice, there was virtually no difference.

However, the exercise got me to thinking about what I looked like to anyone who saw me on social media. How did others see me?

As I scrolled through my posts, imagining how a stranger would react to what I put there, I realized that what was there wasn’t what I wanted to be there. There were cynical statements, uncaring comments, and some (just a little, because I have a brain) political rhetoric thrown in.

It wasn’t who I wanted people to see me as.

So I deleted a bunch of it.

And then my social media presentation of myself was more to my liking.

But, if you’re still reading, you’re probably thinking:

Well, Steve, it seems that all you did
was to cover up who you really are
by deleting what you didn’t want others
to know about your heart.

Yeah. That’s what I did….. At first.

But then I got to thinking.

The look into the mirror that my social media accounts provided allowed me to look into my heart. And after the simple process of deleting online posts and comments, I turned my attention to the deeper process of correcting some inner attitudes — by taking them to the cross and surrendering them to the Holy Spirit.

Reflection — it’s an exercise that serves us well, if we really want to grow.

This Advent, Curwensville Alliance is going to talk about Reflections beginning this Sunday (12/2/2018).

Not reflections, as in looking at the past, but reflections as in looking in the mirror.

We’ll look at how this holiday season influences us and see what kinds of mindset we’ve allowed it to create. And then, by God’s grace, we’ll look to the Spirit of God to transition us from who the reflection says we are to who God wants us to be.

Join us.

Sundays…
At 8:00 am – Traditional Worship Service
At 10:45 am – Today’s Worship Service.

What Will Be Remembered

Posted on by

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Although FDR rightly described it as a day that would live in infamy, my mother, being 21 years of age, said to herself, “Ugh! War! Well, I will pay it no attention at all,” and set her mind to ignore it completely.

That worked for one day.glennandmarymilitarymarriage

On December 8, 1941, my father and mother met.

They fell in love and Dad was drafted to serve in the European Theater.

On December 12, 1942, just over a year later, they married.

The war Mom had resolved to ignore turned out to be the focus of her attention.

On October 16, 1944, Dad was wounded on the battlefield and had to be evacuated to England, and then returned home to the farm near Brookville, where he and mom lived a good life until he died in 2001.

It’s strange to imagine that one day people will regard these events in much the same way as I regard World War I or The War of 1812 — mere historic events, void of personal connection. It’s strange. Kind of sad. And a bit sobering.

We like to think that the memories of our loved ones will live on in the course of human history, but, as someone has rightly observed, our great-grandchildren will probably know nothing about us much beyond our names. Any knowledge beyond that will be merely trivial and quite impersonal. And choosing to ignore this reality is no more realistic than a 21-year-old choosing to ignore World War II.

But there is an event in human history that never fades and always remains personal. It’s the Advent of the Christ Child. This event — this divine life — is as personal to you and me as we want it to be. It can be as personal to us as it was to those who witnessed it firsthand, because what Jesus offers is a relationship with himself — the Risen King, the Living God.

On the wall of their home, Dad and Mom had a plaque that contained these words: Only one life; ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.

It’s good to recall days that live in infamy. It’s important to study human history. But here’s something I constantly remember — what lasts throughout eternity has Christ at the center.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.
Always work enthusiastically for the Lord,
for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT).