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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The God Who Came to Proclaim :: Advent

Presented by at Curwensville Alliance on 12/15/2019 by Pastor Steve Shields

If I said to you, “God came to love,” you’d know what I mean.

If I said to you, “God came to reach,” you’d probably know what I mean.

But if I said to you, “God came to proclaim,” what would you think I meant?

That’s what this Advent Podcast explains today.

The God Who Came to Love :: Advent

Presented at Curwensville Alliance Church on 12/8/2019 by Pastor Steve Shields — the Second Sunday of Advent

If Christmas speaks of anything, it should speak of love.

But what is love?

While our world spends a lot of time talking, singing, and writing about love, it often misses the mark that God establishes.

In this Advent podcast, Pastor Steve looks at Mary’s fiance, Joseph and uncovers the love of God in this carpenter.

The God Who Came to Reach :: Advent

Presented by Pastor Steve Shields at Curwensville Alliance on 12/1/2019 – the First Sunday of Advent

One of the most important concepts in Christian faith is that God wants us to know him — personally.

That’s a key reason that he came in the flesh. So that he could be one of us. So we could know him and he us.

This podcast explains how he knows us and how we can know him more deeply.