Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 17, 2017

Over the years, my dear and patient wife has witnessed my steady increase in love for and accumulation of books. When we were dating, she thought it was cute. She even told me once that she couldn’t wait till we get married, so she could read my books. I thought to myself, “This is the woman for me!” But now that we’re 16 years into marriage, she’s less enamored with my love affair for ink and paper. She’s more convinced I have a problem—maybe a pathological issue. Just because I sleep with a book under my pillow and wake up first thing in the morning to run my fingers through the pages and sniff the ink, doesn’t mean I have a problem, right?

For the two or three of you out there that are actually interested in what I’ve read and benefited from this year, I thought I’d join the “Best Books of 2017” trend and post my own list. Quick qualification: not all these books were published this year though some were. These are simply books I’ve read this year and feel comfortable recommending to you. With that said, in no particular order, here we go…

Pilgrim in the Ruins: A Life of Walker Percy by Jay Tolson – When I read The Moviegoer by Walker Percy in college, I was immediately hooked. I started systematically, at least a book of year, working through his writing (mostly novels), which were right up my alley—deeply southern in orientation, existential in nature, and spiritually searching in spirit. Being captivated by his work for many years now, I’ve long wanted to know more about the man behind the books. Tolson’s magisterial and authoritative biography has set on my shelf for several years and finally this year I picked it up, and then couldn’t put it down. I found the work meddlesomely personal in research, culturally keen about southern life, while being meanderingly precocious about matters of the heart. More than a biography, I often sensed I was learning about me as I was learning about Percy. Truly, one of the best literary biographies I’ve ever read.

How to Think by Alan Jacobs – I’ve long been a fan of Alan Jacobs. His work, The Narnian (Harper Collins, 2008), is still my favorite biography of C.S. Lewis. And his books of essays, particularly Shaming the Devil (Eerdmans, 2004) and Visit to Vanity Fair (Brazos, 2001) have been works I’ve returned to time and again for their observations, profundity, and wit. When I saw that he was working on a book on thinking, I preordered it. The day it arrived I began reading, thinking (no pun intended) I’d survey it quickly and give it a deeper read later. That never happened. From page one, I went into a deep dive and didn’t come up for air until I read the last page. Anyone who is interested in how impatience impairs thought, or how technology aids herd mentalities, or how like-minded is not the same has like-hearted should read this book. It’s a gem.

The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher – A few years back I began to occasionally read Dreher’s blog at the American Conservative. I found his cultural analysis and prescriptions stretching in directions that were compelling and almost never comfortable. So, I kept reading. In March of this year, The Benedict Option hit the market and the blogosphere caught fire. People loved it. People hated it. But everyone had an opinion on it. I let the buzz die down and read it a few months later. And what I found, for the most part, was a challenging but inviting introduction to historic Christianity. Using the monastery as a model for cultural engagement, Dreher attempts to plunder the riches of the Benedictine rule for the recovery (or survival) of Christianity in the West. New York Times columnist David Brooks says that The Benedict Option is “…the most important religious book of the decade.” Giving room for literary hyperbole, Brooks is onto something.

I’m out of space here, but you can continue reading more about the books I read this year on my blog at www.nateshurden.wordpress.com.

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 10, 2017

Tonight is the night, and I can hardly wait.

One of the staples of the Christmas season at Cornerstone is our annual Service of Lessons & Carols. For those new to our midst or unfamiliar with the history behind this glorious service, the service began in 1918 at King’s College Cambridge led by Eric Milner-White, who was Dean of King’s College at the time. The opening service was received with such great acclaim that it became an annual tradition at King’s College and is today one of the most beloved Christmas services throughout the world.

Throughout the years, the service has, for the most part, remained the same. Minor revisions were made in 1919 involving rearrangements of the lessons. And every year there are adaptations of music and carols, though the service has always opened with one of my favorite hymns, “Once in Royal David’s City.”

The BBC first broadcasted the service in 1928 and, with the exception of 1930; the service has been broadcasted every year since. The broadcast extended overseas in the mid 1930’s and it’s popularity quickly spread worldwide. It was even broadcasted during World War II when the stain glass windows of the cathedral and the heat source were removed from the building for security reasons. During those dark and tumultuous days for the world, the service of Lessons of Carols provided a gospel reminder of hope and peace.  

As the popularity of the service grew, churches around the globe began to adapt the service for their own corporate use. If you’ve never attended a Lessons & Carols service before, the power is in the main theme of the Scriptural lessons and carols. What Dean Milner-White called, “the development of the loving purposes of God through the windows and words of the Bible.” 

A few weeks back I eavesdropped on the choir as they practiced for this year's Lessons & Carols service. Trust me friends; we are in for a treat! Speaking of treats, I should note that we will have members from our sister congregation, All Saint’s Presbyterian Church (PCA), joining us for tonight’s worship service. I am particularly thrilled to have All Saint’s pastor and my dear friend, Rev. Matt Bradley, participating as one of our readers tonight. Be sure to welcome Rev. Bradley and other All Saint’s members as you have an opportunity tonight.

On that note, it’s not too late to invite friends and family to join you for tonight’s service. Any and all are welcome to take the grand journey with us—a journey through the Scriptures, from the beginning of time to the fullness of time, from the Garden of Eden to the little town of Bethlehem. In a word, it is the journey of the gospel of grace, the good news of great joy that is for all people (Luke 2:10).

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 3, 2017

You’ve probably noticed the work going on just to the right of the chapel—the dirt work, the pipes, and the slab of concrete. In case you were wondering if the colorful, submarine-looking pipes are going to remain exposed, they’re not. A steel box is going to be placed over the pipes sometime fairly soon, which will ensure safety and, hopefully, ease the look of things. The truth is that sometimes you have to mess things up in order to make things better! In other words, that “mess” you see is actually a sign of progress.

If you’re new with us, you might be wondering, “What exactly are we progressing toward?” Well, about a year ago now, the antebellum home next door, Lillie Belles, was purchased by an investor and leased to the owners of the very successful Nashville restaurant, Biscuit Love. As a part of the renovation process, Biscuit Love is putting in a sprinkler system as required by Franklin Fire Marshall’s office. As most of you know, the Fire Marshall is requiring us to do the same thing. Very graciously, our new neighbors offered to pay for the underground utility work for the project and are allowing us to tap into the new sprinkler water line. That gesture of kindness saved us thousands of dollars!

Now that all the underground work is complete, the same contractor who did Biscuit Love’s work has added us to their active project list. We are currently revisiting initial estimates for the project. Once that work is done we will meet again with the Fire Marshal to begin the approval process, and the permitting process with the Franklin Codes Department will follow. If there are no setbacks along the way, our sprinkler system project should begin late winter or early spring. We are hopeful that this new sprinkler system will ensure the safety of our congregation as well as preserving our building in the unlikely event of a fire.

Speaking of safety, I mentioned three weeks ago that a team of Cornerstone officers and volunteers were working on making several significant advances to our onsite security plan. Two weeks ago the Cornerstone leadership met and approved a full security assessment with Agape Tactical, a faith-based organization that provides comprehensive and actionable security plans for churches in order to protect persons, facilities, and information. During our regularly scheduled worship services this last week, representatives from Agape Tactical conducted a full security assessment of the church. Our security team met this week to review their recommendations and to prioritize next steps.

If you’d like to learn more or even volunteer to serve on our security team, please reach out to Jim Robinson at jc2robinson@comcast.net. If you are interested in learning more about the sprinkler upgrade, please contact Jim Smith at jims@svmic.com. These brothers would be delighted to answer any questions you might have about either project.

Please continue to pray with us as together we strive, with the Lord’s help, to make Cornerstone a better and safer place to gather, fellowship, learn, and worship. 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 26, 2017

As is our custom at Cornerstone, we are taking time in the four weeks leading up to Christmas—traditionally called Advent—to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming. This year I’ve entitled our Advent Series, “The Lord Is In Your Midst.” To help you prepare for worship each week, I’ve posted the Scripture readings and titles for each Sunday of Advent below.

·      December 3— “Hope In The Lord” (Psalm 146) 

·      December 10— “The Lord is Mighty To Save” (Zephaniah 3:14-20)

·      December 17— “Come and See the Salvation Of The Lord” (Isaiah 52:7-10)

·      December 24— “We Have Seen A Great Light” (Isaiah 9:2-7) 

As we move from Old Testament promise to New Testament fulfillment, my prayer is that we will learn the godly discipline of eagerly waiting for the long-time-in-coming Savior. For by looking back and remembering His first advent, we also prepare for His second advent. Therefore, let us not to slumber nor sleep in our waiting, but instead trim our lamps, stay awake, and be ready for whenever the Bridegroom returns (Matthew 25).

Speaking of preparation let me encourage you to read well this Advent. You will find some excellent (and very reasonably priced!) titles at “The Bookshelf” on the second floor landing. So many good ones but let me briefly recommend two for now:

The One True Gift: Daily Readings for Advent to Encourage and Inspire – This work by British writer, Tim Chester, is a great addition to the growing collection of Advent devotional books. In Twenty-four bite size readings, Tim slowly peels back the layers of the beautiful Christ hymn, Philippians 2:5-11. With ideas for reflection, prayer, and applications these daily readings can be enjoyed individually or for the whole family. A must read this Christmas!

Come Let Us Adore Him – This work by pastor and best selling author Paul David Tripp is designed to freshen your sense of wonder and awe of Christmas. Each devotional begins with a foundational truth of the gospel that is then explained, expanded, and applied in the following meditation. Listing Scriptures for further study, key words, and guided instruction for parents and children, this devotional assists everyone in doing what matters most this Christmas—adoring our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 19, 2017

What are you doing to ready your heart for Thanksgiving? Regardless of the kind of year you’ve had, Scripture teaches us to see all circumstances—good and bad—as an opportunity to give thanks (I Thessalonians 5:18). That’s easier said than done, however. How are we to spot these good and perfect gifts that have come down to us from the Father of Lights (James 1:16-18)? 

Below are three simple instructions for preparing your heart to give thanks this Thanksgiving:

1. Take time to remember the experiences of this past year. Pay attention to what God’s providence has brought into your life. Review each month slowly and gain a sense for the narrative flow of the year. Take special note of the watershed moments and the smaller formative times where emotional memory is stored—times of great joy or sadness. Commit these moments to writing and add any on-the-spot reflections you may have. 

2. Take time to trace these remembrances to the purposes of God. Since God is sovereignly directing all things according to His purposes (Romans 8:28-30), nothing in your life this year is without meaning. Therefore, take time to consider how the glory of God is being expressed in what you’ve experienced this year. Though you will be tempted to neglect the hard or difficult memories from this past year, please don’t. Prayerfully ask God for the eyes to see and heart to interpret each experience—good or bad—according to the redemptive purposes of God (Philippians 2:13).   

3. Take time to share what you see with others. After you’ve remembered and begun tracing these experiences to God’s purposes, share what you’ve learned with others. Take time over Thanksgiving Dinner with the family or set aside a few moments at a quieter time with a few close friends to share how God has been at work. Whatever the context, be intentional in your sharing and make much of God.  

“Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, Make known His deeds among the peoples, Proclaim that His name is exalted.”

—Isaiah 12:3b