Tools for Resilience | Using the Tools

Presented by Pastor Steve Shields at Curwensville Alliance Church on 7/8/2018

I have a lot of tools. And I’ve used a lot of them. But I have tools that I have never used.

I have a gear-pulling kit. Never used it.

I have a hedge-trimmer. Never used it.

I have a 20 Amp 12 volt power supply. Never used it.

What’s that about?

Sometimes that’s how we are with the tools of grace that God gives us. 

We sit in a service, listen to a sermon, hear about what God gives us, put that teaching into our pocket, and walk away — never to implement what we’ve learned.

Over the past several podcasts, we’ve unfolded a number of tools that God has given us to make us resilient. Are you using them?

This podcast gives you good reasons to use the tools of resilience that God’s given you.

 

Tools for Resilience | Corporate Worship

Presented on 6/10/2018 at Curwensville Alliance by Pastor Steve Shields

When I was a kid, I took guitar lessons every Thursday night. Mrs. Crate required I discipline myself to practice – every day.

And that’s all I could see. The drudgery of practice.

The songs she taught me didn’t help. Go Tell Aunt Rhody, On Top of Old Smoky, Red River Valley…. Drudgery.

And the lesson time wasn’t a real treat. Lectures on better fingering and callous development. Drudgery.

Learning guitar required discipline on my part.

Discipline without direction is drudgery.

When I went to college, something happened. I had a roommate who played the guitar. I mentioned that I always wanted to play, and he said, “I’ll teach you.”

I said, “That will be drudgery.”

He said, “No, it won’t. I’ll teach you well enough that you can make a tape and send it to Laurel.”

Suddenly, I saw purpose in the discipline. I had a direction: Learn to play well enough to play for your girlfriend!

And I learned to play.

Seeing myself playing the guitar on the back porch for Laurel – that was a direction I wanted to head.

My roommate gave me a direction that took away the drudgery.

I wish I could do that for you, in terms of corporate worship. I wish I could help you see yourself after a decade of prioritizing corporate worship.

I can’t do that, but you can.

Look at Christians whose faith you admire. You can have that.

Look at that man of prayer you wish you were like. You can be that guy.

Look at that person who walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death without fear. You can do that.

Look at that woman whose children respect and admire her. You can be her.

Part of making that happen is prioritizing corporate worship. 

This podcast talks about how we can do this.

Tools for Resilience | Processing Grief

Presented at Curwensville Alliance Church on 5/27/2018 by Pastor Steve Shields

Through the years I’ve heard people say, “There’s no right way or wrong way to grieve.”

I get why people say that; we don’t want to add guilt to someone who is already hurting by telling them they are grieving poorly.

But is it true that there is no wrong way to grieve?

Are there better ways to grieve? Worse ways?

This podcast looks at Jesus, as he grieves at Calvary, and considers how we might do so in more healthy ways that we already do.

Tools for Resilience | Personal Responsibility

Presented by Pastor Steve Shields at Curwensville Alliance on May 20, 2018

God gives you lots of tools for living. He gives you spiritual mentors. He gives you brothers and sisters. He gives you Himself.

He also gives you the ability to choose — to choose wisely.

Have you ever thought of your ability to take responsibility for your life as a tool for resilience?

Pastor Steve helps us consider this in today’s podcast.

Tools for Resilience | Spiritual Mentors

Presented at Curwensville Alliance by Pastor Steve Shields on May 13, 2018

Who taught you to walk? To count to ten? To sing the ABC song?

It was probably your parents. Your mom. Your dad.

They were acting as mentors then — and throughout your childhood. Perhaps they continue to mentor you.

Mentoring happens throughout our society. 

  • You get mentored in sports.
  • You find mentors in the workplace.
  • You find mentors in finances.
  • And you can find mentors as you walk with Christ.

Do you have any spiritual mentors?

God has some for you. And they are great tools to help you walk with resilience.

This podcast helps to clarify how mentors can help you and where to find them.

Tools for Resilience | Spiritual Companionship

Presented on 4/29/2018 at Curwensville Alliance by Pastor Steve Shields

Resilience is a personal trait that is undeniably necessary in a world that often seems to push people down.

God knows this, and so he provides his people with tools that facilitate resilience. One such tool is that of Spiritual Companionship.

This podcast looks at two spiritual companions, Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, and encourages us to develop the same kinds of relationships so that we can be resilient.

Tools for Resilience | Your Tool Pouch

Presented at Curwensville Alliance by Pastor Steve Shields on 4/22/2018

Do you bounce back or do you fall back?

We’ve all noticed how when some face adversity they seem to bounce back, while others facing the same situation seem to fall back.

What makes the difference?

Part of the answer is resilience.

This podcast serves as an overview to a new series at Curwensville Alliance — Tools for Resilience.