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The Fires of Insecurity :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 3/27/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

What role does security and insecurity play in our lives?

Insecurity is volatile. It is the kindling for fires of evil. Insecurity can make you turn against others.

Trust extinguishes the burn of insecurity. We are secure when we trust God, and we trust God because of love.

What fire are you facing, and what is the fire doing to you? Are you scheming? Are you burning? Are you fearfully conniving or manipulating perhaps?

You can prepare for the fire by looking to the cross, recalling God’s call in your life and recounting God’s deliverance from the fires of the past.

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It’s Not About Us

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 3/20/22 by Reverend Bernie Knefley.

Only thinking about ourselves is an old issue. We can look back to Adam and Eve and see that Eve was only thinking about herself, and not the consequences that would still be in effect today.

What you choose to do effects others. Doing the things of God are not necessarily easy to do. We can look to Esther to see that her decision put her in harms way. John the Baptist lost his head for speaking out about God.

Joseph understood that the choices of others were actually fulfilling the plan of God. So rather than enacting judgement against his brothers, he blessed them.

As odd as it may seem, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. Maybe the troubles are happening in your life so you can show Jesus to others.

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It’s Not About You!!

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 3/13/22 by Reverend Bernie Knefley.

The world tells us that it is all about you, but God says to pursue His kingdom.

The Lord told Abram to leave and go. Was the command about Abraham or God?

When we look at how our life is laid out, we see it is laid out for our purpose, and we fail to see that our life is for God’s purpose.

I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. Proverbs 1:24

Life can be so busy seeking fame, fortune, significance, worth, and value, but do we seek God’s call? God wants our willingness to serve Him.

What would happen if the church lived the way God called them to live? What is that suppose to look like in daily life?

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Jonah :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 3/6/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

God wants to confront Nineveh’s evil, and He wants to use Jonah to do it. But Jonah wants nothing to do with the mission, and tries to run away. That results in him being swallowed by a great fish, and causes Jonah to change his mind. Jonah delivers the message to Nineveh, and they turn from their wicked ways. This should have pleased Jonah, but instead it made him angry.

Anger is a problem! God pursues us when we are angry just as he pursued Jonah in his anger.

It is hard to let go of our anger, and we look for ways to justify our anger.

God seems to do His best work when we are at our worst! God turned Jonah’s attention toward his own heart.

God lifts Jonah’s head to help him see a world in need.

God directs Jonah to trust Him!

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David and Bathsheba :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 2/27/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

The story of David and Bathsheba is not primarily about lust. Although we do need to guard our eyes, that isn’t the point of this Bible story.

The story of David and Bathsheba is not primarily about modesty. Although the Bible does speak of covering yourself, that isn’t the point of this Bible story. It isn’t Bathsheba’s fault.

The story of David and Bathsheba is about arrogance.

Arrogance takes whatever it wants, just as David took what he wanted. Arrogance seldom looks at its own heart, just as David didn’t look at his own heart.

Arrogance can become so natural that sometimes you need to be shocked out of it. Just as Nathan shocked David. Arrogance doesn’t appreciate blessings, just as David didn’t appreciate all he had. He had to have what wasn’t his.

Arrogance makes itself the authority, just as David made himself the authority. Arrogance behaves shamefully, just as David behaved shamefully. Arrogance has consequences. We see the consequences David paid for his arrogance.

How can you remove the arrogance from your own heart? You can look to the cross. You can adjust the way you view yourself. You can adjust the way you view God. You can adjust the way you view others.

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David and Goliath :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 2/20/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Have you ever faced a giant like David did with Goliath?

Some of the giants you may have experienced include finances, relationships or addictions.

Goliath was a giant to the Israelites, and they faced him with defeat. They were dismayed, afraid and disgraced. But David faced Goliath in a different way!

David faced Goliath knowing who he was spiritually. He knew that he faced Goliath not on his own but with the army of the Lord! You can face your giants knowing who you are in Christ.

David faced Goliath with humility. You can face your giants being confident in Christ. You need to look at the motivation in defeating the giant.

You can trust in God’s love for you. If Jesus loved you enough you die for you, if God loved you enough to call you, if the Spirit loved you enough to speak to you, then He loves you enough to help you with your giant.

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Samson :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 2/13/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Pastor Steve takes us through the story of Samson, and show us that God had a plan for Samson.

Samson was born in hard times. He was given a specific role and a specific identity. God blessed Samson.

When we look at the life of Samson we see he pursues a Philistine wife, kills a lion, makes a wager, uses the jawbone of a donkey to kill a thousand Philistines, and falls in love with Delilah.

What important life lessons can we learn from the life of Samson?

We should hold onto hope. When Samson was blind from the Philistines gouging out his eyes, he held onto hope.

We should turn our heart to God. When Samson was held captive by the Philistines, he turned his heart back to God.

We should find honor in our redemption and live for God.

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Elijah on Mount Carmel :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 2/6/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

We live in a world of two kingdoms. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The same was true in the days of Elijah.

Listen as Pastor Steve speaks of living in the kingdom and how faithfulness may look different for different situations in life.

There will be times for hidden faithfulness, times for clear confrontation and times for intentional perseverance.

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Preparing For The Next Thing :: BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 1/30/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Since life is always changing, how can we be prepared for the next thing in life?

We can choose to belong to God.

When we are in the midst of change, we can remember God’s work in our past. He is always faithful.

We can choose to trust God.

We can choose to worship God. This means God in enthroned in all we do, not just part of our lives on Sunday.

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The Ten Commandments Conclusion :: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS – BIBLE STORIES

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 1/16/22 by Pastor Steve Shields.

The Ten Commandments were given by God as a guidebook on life to the Israelites. As we look back at the Ten Commandments that we discussed in detail, we see that God wants us to make Him the priority in our life.

No other gods before Me – your Father knows what you need before you even ask!
Put away idols – destroy them (if you can). Reprioritize your life!
Honor God’s Name – watch how you live as you bear His name.
Remember the Sabbath – make “sabbathing” a verb.
Honor your father and mother – show them their value.
Do not murder – choose love!
Honoring marriage commitments – marriage is designed to show the love, the purity, the faithfulness, and the holiness of God – of Christ and His church.
You shall not steal – it is a matter of trusting God and setting aside greed.
No false testimony – no worthless words. Be a person who values truth.
You shall not covet – be joyful when others are blessed.

God gives us these commandments because He loves us. You can live without these commandments, but you can’t live your best life without them.

The Ten Commandments point to the cross. We cannot keep these commands without Him. They show us we have a need for God.

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