Posts

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The Lid of Arrogance :: LIDS

Presented by Pastor Steve Shields at Curwensville Alliance on 2/16/20

I was texting with my daughter-in-law the other day and she asked me my opinion on a theologian we have both been kind of checking out. The theologian, who I won’t name, is not from “our tribe”, so she asked, “What do you think about him?”

My reply — typed and sent without a second thought — went like this: He doesn’t know what he believes.

Afterward, I thought to myself, “Steve – you are so arrogant!!!”

In those moments, and countless others, I see arrogance in my own heart.

And I hate it.

And chances are, if you have a genuine sense of self-awareness, you see arrogance in your heart as well.

That arrogance can be a lid. It can hold us back from being who God wants us to be.

This podcast talks about how to remove the lid of arrogance from our lives so that we can become the person God has for us to become.

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What Will You Leave Behind :: Bernie Knefley

Presented by Pastor Bernie Knefley on 2/9/2020 at Curwensville Alliance

Even young adults find themselves asking the question: Where has the time gone?

Questions such as this cause the discerning heart to consider what will be left in our wake. What will we leave behind?

In this message, Pastor Bernie encourages us to be intentional about the impact we have — to be conscious of what we will leave behind.

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The Lid of Covetousness :: LIDS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance by Pastor Steve Shields on 1/28/2020

There’s a tendency in all of us to want what others have — and a tendency to want others to think we have what they want.

Wanting others to want what you have….and wanting what others have — is that good or is that bad?

Could this be a lid that keeps us from being who God wants us to be?

The Bible says that coveting what belongs to another is sin. It’s one of the Ten Commandments.

This podcast explains one of the reasons covetousness is bad and how to deal with it in your life.

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The Lid of Rear-Sightedness :: LIDS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 1/19/2020 by Pastor Steve Shields

Nostalgic. I tend to be nostalgic.

“They don’t make things like they used do.”

“Man – in the good old days….”

“The way we did it then was so much better than the way it’s done now.”

All of those phrases have come from my lips.

And, if you’re honest, you’ve probably said your version of the same thing. Because all of us are a bit nostalgic.

But nostalgia can take us places we don’t intend to go. If we are not careful, we can begin to care so much for the past that we disconnect with the present and disassociate with the future.

That’s not healthy in any way — especially not spiritually speaking. It can sit on us, like a lid, holding us down. It can prevent us from being who God wants us to be.

This podcast helps us see how to avoid The Lid of Rear-Sightedness.

-Pastor Steve

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The Lid of Near-Sightedness :: LIDS

Presented by Pastor Steve at Curwensville Alliance Church on 1/12/2020

Sometimes, there are things that keep you trapped — prevented from being who God has you to be.

One of those lids is the tendency to neglect looking to the future.

In this podcast, Pastor Steve discusses the reasons we need to do this and how we can do it.

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Things that Hold Us Down :: LIDS

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 1/5/2020 by Pastor Steve Shields

Most people, when they put their trust in Christ, experience recognizable transformation.

It may be big. It may be small.

But they see it and feel it and love it.

But as time goes by, for many, that growth seems to plateau.

Sometimes that’s to be expected — it’s normal.

But sometimes, it is obvious that there is something holding — pushing down as we try to grow. Something that should be removed.

That’s a lid. It holds you down, keeping you from growing to be who God wants you to be.

This is the first in a series of sermons that talk about these lids.

Listen, and see how many of them are evident in your walk with God.

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Come and See :: Christmas Eve

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 12/25/2019 by Pastor Steve Shields

Curwensville Alliance has been “traveling” a road to Christmas Eve.

A road labeled “The Season of Advent.”

As you travel this road, at the end, you find the Christ Child in the manger.

But the road goes on.

This devotional message, presented on Christmas Eve 2019, invites you to Come and See What God Has Done.

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About Heaven :: Revelation

Presented at Curwensville Alliance Church on December 29, 2019 by Pastor Steve Shields

Why we’re moving to the city.

How much do you know about the afterlife? And where do you get your data?

There is no shortage of opinion regarding the afterlife. The difficulty is that opinion won’t get you real far. My opinion and $1.99 will get me a coffee — sometimes.

If I want to know what heaven is like, then it would be sensible to look to God — the Maker of heaven and earth. He speaks extensively about eternity and about heaven.

This podcast takes a look at Revelation 22 and outlines a bit of what is waiting for us in heaven — and what is not.

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The God Who Came to Launch :: Advent

Presented at Curwensville Alliance on 12/22/2019 by Pastor Steve Shields

When you tell someone that you go to church, do you ever consider what that means to them? The answer to that question largely depends on how the view the church.

And how one views the church depends on what you think God came to launch.

In this Christmas podcast, Pastor Steve addresses what God came to launch — and what it means to you and me.

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