Conway Alliance Church

Today we worshiped at Conway Alliance Church, 1100 Highland Avenue, Conway, PA 15027, 724.869.4500, www.conwayalliance.org, Rev. Rich Grassel, Pastor.

Scripture –

John 15:1-8, 16:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

Galatians 5:16-25:

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

But if you are led by the Sprit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Bob’s thoughts:

It is always interesting to me how our morning evolves and we learn to which church we are headed. Today my daughter was without a car, so we put the car seats in my truck and took her to church. I think it was one of the first times we have had grandchildren ride in my truck. I had the joy of my granddaughter falling asleep in my arms during worship.

I was impressed with the prayer time, how many joys and concerns are lifted by these believers.

The sermon, from what I could catch, wove around the vine and the branches, the oneness and need of completeness in being grafted in. I did notice how attentive the congregation was during the sermon.

We were welcomed by a number of people including some who welcomed us back, important to a guest.

I was asked to stand as a veteran and we were thanked for our service. I am always grateful for this humbling experience.

Jan’s thoughts:

Although we had worshiped here recently, today we went along to help with our grandtwins.

The moment we walked in I was extremely grateful for the air conditioning. Lots of people spoke with us and with the little cuties with us (and who can blame them? J).

I enjoyed hearing the praise band again as they have a great sound, although I was familiar with only one of the songs.

The pastor took a moment during the service to acknowledge and thank the veterans present for their service, a moment I deeply appreciated.

The message introduced an upcoming series on the Fruit of the Spirit, which I found appropriate for Pentecost Sunday.

He began with an excellent question: “Why doesn’t the Good News sound like good news anymore?” (The answer came later: Because believers fail to take God’s warnings seriously, so we look too much like the world. Ouch.)

The part of the message that really caught my attention was when he pointed out that it is our most difficult challenges that inevitably produce the most fruit if we will embrace these painful experiences redemptively. However, remaining in the vine is vital to the production of fruit, and the production of fruit is evidence of having remained in the vine.

We need to ask ourselves: “How do I want to finish my life?” (Refer to the Galatians passage above.) The question at this point was, “Which list (in Galatians) would describe us?” Our answer would be an indicator of how we might anticipate finishing our lives…no fruit = no presence of the Spirit. A chilling thought.

I appreciated the message for its perspective and focus on remaining in the vine in order to see fruit produced in our lives. There is a particular area of my life wherein I am hoping to see fruit, and I suspect God brought us here so I could receive His guidance and reminders.

Our prayer for this church:

Father, We pray that this congregation continues to grow in service to You. We ask Your blessing on the leaders as they discern Your direction for this church. May they experience the joy of serving as You direct. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Conway Alliance Church

Today we worshiped at Conway Alliance Church, 1100 Highland Avenue, Conway, PA 15027, 724.869.4500, www.conwayalliance.org, Rev. Rich Grassel, Pastor.

Bob’s thoughts:

When I was praying about where to worship it was clear that we would know when it was time, so I was very comfortable waiting till our daughter called. We went to worship with our daughter today with the excuse to help with her children…or to help ourselves to her children. Either way I got to hold my grandson through the service, so it worked out well.

What we saw of the building was modern construction. At one end of the sanctuary was a stained glass panel, perhaps saved from an earlier building. The service was set up crosswise and worked well. I meant crosswise as in directional, but it is an apt description as there was more than one cross in addition to a large wooden one. There are two large monitors and two screens, so everyone can see what is projected.

I didn’t notice any directional signage, but my daughter had worshiped here before and knew where the nursery was and I found the rest room without difficulty. We got to church just in time for the service, so there was little time for greetings, although the pastor stopped to introduce himself. I was impressed with those who came by after the service since when you are greeted afterward it is on their time and they are saying hello when they would perhaps like to hurry home instead.

The sermon wove around the parallels between Moses and Jesus, how they both interceded as mediators for the people. The message was well-developed with plenty of Scriptural references throughout.

I sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit in worship and appreciated that the pastor let himself be used by Christ.

I was grateful to take Communion, though the elements were presented silently.

I was encouraged that the church is moving to be more missional. Mission giving is dear to my heart, so I am pleased that Christ is leading the church in this direction.

Jan’s thoughts:

We had a time this morning trying to hear God’s direction as far as where to worship, and when we finally became quiet, He let us know. Unfortunately our son-in-law stayed home due to illness, so we had the joy of helping our daughter with the grandtwins.

This church is tucked back off of a side road near us, and in the four years we’ve lived here I was unaware of it before today. It has a terrific parking lot, and is pleasantly decorated inside. We did not have an opportunity to look around much, but I did not notice signage.

The sanctuary is longer than it is deep with comfortably-spaced chairs and pretty stained glass. It has a modern feel to it, probably because of screens at either side and flat screen TVs facing front and back. At the same time, all the wood trim and the beautiful wooden cross give it a homier feel. The chancel is inviting, and everything definitely works.

We arrived just prior to the start of worship and were greeted by the pastor, and then afterward by more than a few parishioners, so it was a friendly experience.

I was pleasantly surprised to worship with contemporary music, effectively presented with a guitar and drums. And I was glad for the opportunity to participate in Communion.

The message was powerful and thought-provoking, with lessons I needed and mental images that spoke to me. With few written materials, I am unsure of the exact title of the Lenten sermon series or of this message, but it was a search for Jesus in the Book of Exodus and a parallel between the Red Sea and the red blood of Christ.

He pointed out that the Red Sea and the red blood both represented freedom from bondage, that the Red Sea separated the Egyptians and the Israelites and Christ’s blood separates us from sin, Satan, and death.

He spoke of the ways in which Moses and Jesus were both mediators, that Moses was a type of Jesus as a mediator, especially when he prayed that if God would not forgive His people for the golden calf episode that He would block Moses out of His Book. Moses was willing to give up his everlasting destiny for the people.

The part of this message that got my attention had to do with Jesus as mediator between man and Satan. When Jesus told Peter that Satan had “demanded him to sift him as wheat,” the pastor explained that the word translated as “demanded” means that Satan was begging for Peter for the purpose of torture or punishment, and the term “sift” means “by inward agitation.” Boy, do I know that feeling.

And Satan has the same desire for us.

I now have this mental image of Satan, in all his horrendous ugliness, drooling and wringing his hands while begging Christ to let him torture and punish Peter…and me.

But Jesus, in His role as mediator, has plucked me from the fire and protected me and every other believer. I am accused and I am guilty, the punishment would be entirely deserved, but Jesus will not let Satan inflict the punishment on me because He has already paid the price and given His life to protect me.

I don’t mind saying that today’s reminder of this truth has increased my faith in the midst of a difficult situation, so all I can say is, “Praise God!”