You’re Not Alone :: PODCAST

So, there’s this guy – we’ll call him Willis – and he has a problem. It’s between him and his wife, Wilma. They’re not getting along well.

And he doesn’t know who to talk to.

Even though he has good friends at work, he’s not telling them. He knows that, at times, his workplace seems like a gossip processing house.

Even though he has a good relationship with his pastor, he won’t talk to him. He doesn’t want to because, frankly, he’s too embarrassed.

He’s afraid to tell his family. If his parents found out, they would immediately take his side, and that would injure their relationship with his wife, Wilma.

Willis feels helpless. And he is helpless. He’s helpless because he’s believing a lie:
A lie that tells him he is alone.

This concept of feeling aloneness is pretty universal.

It’s more than just being alone. It’s more than occasional loneliness. It’s a feeling of aloneness — like you have been abandoned or you are isolated from anyone who can help you.

If you’ve never felt it… well, I don’t know what to say to someone whose never felt it. We all feel it.

This podcast speaks of aloneness, and how Christians should respond to these feelings.

Leaving Behind the Past

From a message presented at Curwensville Alliance Church on 12/31/2017

I tend to be a bit of a nostalgist. By that, I mean, I love to think about the past. There are a lot of sweet memories in my past.

And there are memories that are not so sweet. Bitter ones.

How do you leave those memories behind — the bitter ones, while retaining the sweet ones? That’s what this podcast addresses.

Thanks for listening, and as always, you’re welcome at Curwensville Alliance. There are plenty more podcasts there.

Got Trust Issues?

PRESENTED AT CURWENSVILLE ALLIANCE ON 5/15/2016 BY PASTOR STEVE SHIELDS

You’ve heard people say it, right? “I have trust issues. Sure you have. And if you’re like me, you sympathize, but a part of you wants to reply, “And… you think that makes you different than…who?” Struggling to trust is not unique to the few.

Almost everyone I know has trust issues. We’d like to think it’s because of the day in which we live. How can we not struggle to trust when we see so much evil around us. But it’s no more unique to our era than the concept is unique to you or me.

It’s said that the most often repeated command in Scripture is Fear not. Do you ever wonder why? Sure, there are the everyday reasons. Fear leads us backwards. Fear doesn’t accomplish anything extraordinary. Fear stifles. But perhaps there is a more basic reason. Maybe fear is the opposite of trust. Maybe the commonness of the command, Fear not, serves to remind us of the commonness of trust issues.

sheep

Part of Jesus’ mission was to show us the glory of God — filled with grace and truth. And in His statement, I am the good shepherd, Jesus gives us good reason to trust God. He helps us with our trust issues.

This podcast addresses this in ways I hope you find helpful.
~Steve