Month: May 2022

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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