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SOUL TREKKING
WITH 

PASTOR STEVE

bierly1

Truths about God and life can be found everywhere, even in non-traditional places.

 Check out my Pop Culture Soul Trekking Pages to see what truths you can learn from movies, comic books, golden oldies, and TV shows. 

Even if you have little interest in spiritual things, but are a FAN of any of the above, I think you'll have fun checking out the pages.
 

Truths about God and life can also be found in Traditional sources.  And they are not as boring as you might think they are.

 My Traditional Soul Trekking Pages have Bible Studies, book listings, pastor's columns, and an explanation of my Christian beliefs using easy to understand language. 


  

WHAT'S NEW?
Last updated 06-04-09

 

 

 

COMING SOON!!!

 

(In final stage of production - June 2009)

bierly1

STRONGER  THAN SPINACH: THE SECRET APPEAL

OF THE FAMOUS STUDIOS POPEYE CARTOONS

By Steve R. Bierly

 

soon to be published by:

BEAR MANOR MEDIA

 

Pre-release comments include:

 

   “an interesting read”

 

    “lots of fun”

 

    “sexy, nostalgic, funny, and even shocking at times”

 

    “reminds me of the days when Popeye cartoons were beamed

into our living rooms as we were growing up and the ways they

used to make us feel”

 

 

 

 

POP CULTURE SOUL TREKKING

Your favorite entertainment choices may be good for your soul!

REVIEWS!!!  ESSAYS!!!  PICTURES!!!

 


 
 

TRADITIONAL SOUL TREKKING

As a pastor, I also Soul Trek following more "regular" channels and I help others do the same.


Click on the links below to find out more:

BOOKS BY ME

Help for the Small Church Pastor
and
How to Thrive as a Small Church Pastor


Studying With Steve

bible

Studies in The Book Of Job - Why is everybody always pickin' on me?

question

What I Believe

Easy-to-read Questions and Answers about the Christian Faith

 

Pastor's Corner

Seed Thoughts - short devotionals on various subjects

AMERICAN REFORMED CHURCH
 

 

My current "home" church

Book Reviews 

My Comments on 
Christian
Nonfiction

 


 
 
 
 

Pastor's Corner

 

SEED THOUGHTS

Thoughts and questions about God based on Bible verses.

I hope and pray that God will use these in your life.

 

God’s Ways are Different

 

Read Matthew 5:1-12 - In the Beatitudes, Jesus makes some incredible statements.  He essentially says, "Happy are you when you are sad, frustrated, marginalized, and picked on!"  Why?  Because God will take care of you as you live for him in spite of the sorrow.

 

Read Matthew 5:43-48 - Jesus wants us to be perfect, just as God is perfect?!?!?  How can we do this?  What does it mean?  Jesus wants us to act toward others with love, just as God does, even with his enemies.

 

Read Matthew 6:9-13 - When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we are affirming that we believe that we have a God who cares about us, provides for us and directs us.

 

Read Matthew 6:25-27 - Jesus gives us two good reasons not to worry in today's passage.  First, worrying accomplishes absolutely nothing.  Second, our Heavenly Father cares for his creatures, including you.

 

Read Matthew 6:28-34 - Here's another reason not to worry: Worrying is what pagans do who don't have a Heavenly Father they can trust.  Not worrying is one way you can witness to your faith in God.

 

Read Psalm 23 and 1 Peter 2:18-25.

 

 

Who are we? Why are we here?

 

Read Genesis 12:1-7 - God called Abraham, made a covenant with him, and blessed him so that he would be a blessing to the whole world.  These verses were fundamental for the Israelites’ identity, just as they are for ours.

 

Read Exodus 19:1-6 - The author of 1 Peter may very well have had these verses in mind as he was writing.  What did these words from God mean for the Israelites - and how is that similar/different to what they mean for us?

 

Read Deuteronomy 7:1-9 - On what basis did the LORD God choose the people of Israel?  It’s not because they were powerful or famous…in fact, “Israel” didn’t even exist until God called his children out of Egypt and formed them into a nation.

 

Read Hosea 11:1-11 - Note the strange and interesting way God talks about himself - because of Israel’s disobedience, his compassion (not his anger) is aroused.  He promises not to destroy his people precisely because he is God and not just a human being.

 

Read Isaiah 43:14-21 (and through 44:5 if you have time) - No matter what his people do, no matter what their enemies do, God is the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.  He acts - always - to save his people and enable them to serve him.

 

Read Acts 6:8 - 7:60 (the story of Stephen) and 1 Peter 2:9-12.

Click to see more SEED THOUGHTS


 
 
 
 
 
 

On Being Alone

 

In his classic book, "Life Together," Dietrich Bonhoeffer says that Christians must learn how to be alone and also how to live in a community of faith.

 

If we can't be alone - that is, if we can't live and think as believers when we are by ourselves and can't find fellowship with God to help us ward off loneliness - then those times when we are with other believers are only distractions to make us forget our essential aloneness.  Bonhoeffer says that we cover up our problems when we are with other believers with feelings that are crowd generated and with high-sounding words.  Were Bonhoeffer writing today, he might include lively music as one of the vehicles we sometimes use for our cover-ups.  Not that these things are wrong or are unspiritual in and of themselves, but the person who has never learned to stand before God alone is tempted to use them in wrong ways.

 

But Bonhoeffer also says that if we can't live in community and believe that we can serve and love God totally on our own, and find being with other Christians a drain and a bore, then we run risks of becoming vain, self-absorbed, infatuated with our thoughts while believing we are hearing from God, and filled with despair during those inevitable times when we are unable to lift ourselves up by our own spiritual bootstraps. 

 

He sums things up this way, "Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.  Let him who is in community beware of being alone."

 

I have no studies or surveys to back up this next thought, but it seems to me that most Christians, myself included, continually have to struggle to avoid two errors.  We err in either being too willing to be alone or in being always too anxious to meet with others.  There are believers who ignore the assembling together of other Christians because they say they can serve and love God on their own without "church."  But there are also believers who are fine Christians when they are with likeminded people, but their faith disappears when they go out into the world.  There are believers who are so busy working for the church that they never have time to contemplate God in their hearts.  And there are believers who would paraphrase Linus from the old Peanuts comic strip, "I love God, it's people I can't stand!" 

 

St. Augustine used to get so discouraged when members of his parish in need would interrupt what he considered to be his ministry - praying, writing, wrestling with his sins, meeting God.  It took him a while to realize that other people were part of his ministry.

 

Are you currently balancing being a Christian alone and also being a Christian along with others in a community of faith?  If so, then be careful to maintain that balance. 

 

If you lean more toward practicing your faith alone or toward having to be with groups to find meaning as a Christian, then ask God to help you get balanced again.  And move toward the other side of the scales.

- Pastor Steve -


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

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This page was created using Corel Word Perfect Suite 8 and Netscape Navigator Composer. All characters and images are legal properties of their respective companies and are used here without permission for entertainment, review, and informational purposes only. All other material is copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 by Steve R. Bierly.