Month: April 2024

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The Difference Is In The Details

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 04/28/24 by Pastor Steve Shields.

Listen as Pastor Steve speaks on Micah 6:8.

Justice is tending to the details. It is desiring the lives of others be full. Abundant living happens when you receive the good things in life as gifts received from God. Seeing to it that others are treated with respect. Making sure others have what they need to survive. Treating people with fairness.

How do we live out attending to the details? Defend the weak – love them. Help those without help. Protect the vulnerable.

Where do you start? Begin by looking at the details. Take a look at yourself. Become more aware.

It is true – you probably can’t change the world, BUT you might be able to change someone else’s world.

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The Power of Forgiveness – The Power of The Cross

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 04/21/24 by Pastor Steve Shields.

The cross of Jesus offers us power to forgive those who have sinned against us.

Forgiveness is powerful. Forgiveness is a strategy for improved mental health. Both forgiving and receiving forgiveness improves mental health.

What does forgiveness mean? Forgiving is releasing someone from bondage. Forgiving another is the most God-like thing you can do! Choosing to forgive will cost you.

There is value in forgiveness. There is unrivaled relief in forgiveness. When you forgive another, it demonstrates to your own heart that the encounter you have with Jesus is real.

The pathway toward forgiveness is difficult.

Forgiveness acknowledges the reality of the debt. The act of forgiveness proclaims the significance of the loss. Admit the impact of the debt, but don’t overdramatize or under-dramatize the offense. Remember that forgiveness is not forgetting. Consider the forgiveness you have received from God as you walk the pathway toward forgiving. Trust God for the greater reward. Give it to God – it is His to repay.

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Standing Against The Darkness :: KINGDOM FOCUS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 04/14/24 by Pastor Steve Shields.

People Fall. It doesn’t matter who you are, you will fall. Christian leaders fall. Ordinary Christians fall. People who don’t call themselves Christians fall.

Falling can come at unexpected times, even on the heels of triumph.

People who stand well in the faith stand clear of ungodly influences. They prioritize engagement in the Kingdom. They stand back up when they fall.

How do you stand in confidence in the Kingdom? Do what you do faithfully. Do what you do filled with faith. Do what you do consistently.

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The Significance Of The Ordinary :: KINGDOM FOCUS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 04/07/24 by Pastor Steve Shields.

There is great significance in the ordinary. You do not have to shake the world to have value. Ordinary people living ordinary lives have an extraordinary impact. The Kingdom is made of the ordinary.

God gives the ordinary significance.

What are you doing here? I am living here. I am working here. I am praying here. I am singing here. I am keeping watch here. The people in Nehemiah were doing ordinary things, and God put their names on the pages of the Bible.

In order to see significance in the ordinary we need to use perspective. God defines significance. You need to use humility. You cannot be significant apart from God. You need to trust that God won’t forget you. To see the significance of the ordinary in the kingdom you need to be in the pages of the Bible.

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The Empty Tomb: Something Is Missing

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 3/31/24 by Pastor Steve Shields.

When the women went to the tomb, they expected Jesus’ lifeless body. But it was missing. They thought that their hero had fallen. They thought that their dream was dying, They thought that their hope was extinguished.

What was in that tomb?

Our guilt. Our hopelessness. Our separation. Our dysfunction. Our unfulfilled longings. Our insecurity. Our doubts.

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