Tag Archives: holiness

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes….

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At our church, we’ve just passed the one year marker of a change — a change to Today’s Worship. As I was speaking through Ephesians, I noted that the words Paul said to the saints in Ephesus were applicable to our church, Curwensville Alliance.

One of the Worship Team members, Rusty, agreed to paraphrase Paul’s words. They follow.

Dear Curwensville Alliance Church family,

Ever since I heard about your church’s leap of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your love for all your fellow saints, I have not stopped giving thanks and praying for your continued success.

Constantly, I ask God to give you the wisdom to find the best way to praise and know Him better.

I have also prayed that everyone’s heart may be enlightened to know God’s place for them, the impact it will have on other’s understanding of His grace, and his amazing love and strength that flows through all of His people.

Let God’s strength surge through the church as it did for Christ who saved the world by his death and resurrection in order that His praises may continue to be sung today as well as the future.

God put all of us where we are to help His church grow so that the whole world will know, love and praise Him.

Congratulations on your efforts and may the Lord continue to shine His love on all of you.

Always in love,

Paul

God’s done amazing things at Curwensville Alliance. This podcast, taken from the early, traditional service, speaks of his work in today’s Church. If you’re interested to hear the kinds of changes God loves, take a listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Gap Between who you THINK you are and who you REALLY are…

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Each of us faces a gap at different times in our life. It’s just part of being human.

I remember when I used to be able to walk any hill around and never get winded. I’m not saying I am older and out of shape. I am just saying that I am finally old enough to see the importance of taking a good long rest at the end of a big hill-climb.  And maybe a couple rests in the middle of such climbs. There’s a gap between how I see myself — 25 years of age, and how I really am — nearly twice that.

There’s another place you often see a gap. It’s the gap between how you see yourself in terms of morality and how you really are, morally. I think that often, those who are caught in a sexual compromise are people who saw themselves as being above temptation. Then when the chance came along, they learned of the gap between who they thought they were and who they were.

Everyone who is a Christian has seen the gap. We’ve seen that we are not good, moral people who are better than others. And coming to terms with that reality, we’ve repented of our pride and other sins. And we’ve turned to Jesus, asking him to forgive us. That’s the most basic way there is to mind the gap: To admit you’re not, ethically speaking, who you need to be. And to see that Jesus died to forgive you and transform you into who you need to become.

This gap between who we think we are, morally, and who we really are, morally is the gap Jesus speaks of in the passage this sermon springs from.

You can listen to it below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download