About Steve's approach...

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Steve Mahoney tells the Gospel of John from memory, from the heart, and in a storytelling fashion. He tries to follow the text of God's word as close as reasonably possible. He, of course, will forget a word or two here and there, a sentence or two from time to time, and even change a few words of necessity to keep the "gist" or spirit of the text alive, especially depending on the audience that he is speaking to (for example, young children and youth). But overall Steve tries to let the text of the written word of God tell the story; he is at heart not attempting to add or take away from God's word. The Holy Spirit of God is quite capable of using His own Word to bring people to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ for the gift of everlasting life, and into a joyful life of Christ's resurrection power for daily living. Our living Christ paid the price for our sin on Calvary's cross, was buried, and raised to life three days later as a testimony to God the Father's approval of that gracious life-giving work of Christ His Son on our behalf. And in light of that, Steve's voice, tone of voice, gestures, facial expressions, are merely feeble attempts to bring God's word into focus for such times as we live in. We as a culture more and more depend upon videos and video-streaming for gathering our information (less relying upon the written word, but more on the oral spoken word). So, it is not unreasonable to take it one step further, for in Steve's presentations he seeks to have a living, "face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball, voice-to-ear" telling of God's word, where people can sit and enjoy a live interaction with a story-telling of God's word, coupled with a listening crowd hearing and experiencing the same thing, and enjoying in community. Steve's desire is that each listener, may not only experience the truths that the Gospel of John has in store for them, but as Paul the Apostle says in Ephesians 3:18-19, that you "may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Scholars suggest that close to 85-90% of people in Jesus' day could not read or write, so this is an example of how people of the first century might have heard the Gospel of John told. Whether they heard it in the marketplace, next to a riverbank, along the road, or in someone's home, the experience of those first hearers of the Gospel of John is what Steve is hoping to allow God to duplicate.  Proverbs, Chapter 20, verse 12 states: "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both." And as Jesus also so aptly said, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Mark 4:23)

 

Steve has been married to Diane for 45 years, has two grown, married sons, and loves to tell the stories of Jesus. Reach out to Steve on the "Contact" tab to request more information. He will make presentations for all kinds of audiences in just about any kind of venue; it could be in a back yard, a home, a church, or in a street fair. Be creative!