Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 28, 2018

Our youngest son, Luke, recently saw Christy and me crunching numbers and making adjustments to our family budget. The sight of us with dollar bills in hand and numbers on pages must have provoked a memory. For with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen, he told me he put 50 cents in the offering box this last Sunday.

A little context—we’ve recently been teaching our children about the priority of giving to the Lord before anything else. So, this smiley faced little boy knew I’d be pleased, and his announcement was certainly intended to gain His Father’s approval. And that it did. But what really touched me was how happy he was about giving. In fact, it was convicting to see him so happy. There we were in the midst of the joy-killing tedium of budget planning! Our focus certainly wasn’t on giving but on surviving. And yet our full-of-joy little boy was sent by God on a divine errand to remind us of what’s most important about money, even more, about life itself.

The great missionary to China, Hudson Taylor, made an observation that has stuck with me. After years of being on the mission field, Taylor wrote, “The less I spent on myself and the more I gave to others, the fuller of happiness and blessing did my soul become.” We don’t naturally think this way, do we? When I examine the default settings of my heart, I far too often think that happiness will come as a result of getting what I want. But when I pause and consider the times when I’ve experienced the deepest and most satisfying forms of happiness, it comes on the heels of great sacrifice.

This makes perfect sense in the gospel. We follow a Savior who went to the cross out of love for you and me. What we sometimes forget is that His sacrifice was motivated by joy. The writer of Hebrews says, “…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Jesus saw the joy coming. Through the pain, He saw the resurrection and exaltation. Through the suffering, He saw the redemption of His people. He sacrificed in the present for the joy that would most assuredly come later.

When we give financially to the church, when we volunteer to teach Sunday School, when we bear a casserole for someone in need, help someone move, or sit at the bedside of a shut-in, it often feels like a cross. But if you can see by faith that the joy of the Lord is set before you in the midst of the work, then you can endure it. You might even find that the cross isn’t as bad as you thought. For in the midst of the work, Jesus faithfully meets us and lightens our load. He gives us His yoke and teaches us His gentle and humble way. In Him, we truly find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29).

Have you had a tough week? You’re not alone. All the people around you are bearing heavy loads, too. That’s why we’re all here. Don’t keep trying to be strong. Today is the Sabbath. Just lay your cares at the feet of Jesus right now, and let His grace restore you and give to you the rest you so desperately need.

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 21, 2018

As we close out 2017 and begin 2018, it’s appropriate that we take a moment to give a quick financial update. In case you’re new with us, our church budget year runs from July 1 to June 30, so we’ve just closed out the second quarter of the budget year.

Below you will find a breakdown of where things stand financially at present. Praise be to God, it is another encouraging report! Thankfully, many of you have faithfully and generously given to the work of ministry at Cornerstone this past quarter, and so we’re moving into 2018 slightly ahead of budget. Through you, God is providing what we need as a congregation, and we are so very grateful.

Please take time to review the financial summary below. If you have any particular questions about our finances, feel free to e-mail our Office Administrator, Susan Bumpus, at office@cstonepres.org.

 

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Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 14, 2018

Last year was the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. For theology nerds and Reformation history junkies, it was the event of a lifetime. Hundreds of Reformational conferences were hosted and dozens of new books were written. It was tantamount to a religious Super Bowl for Protestants.

Like many churches across the world, we memorialized the occasion in a variety of ways, including a special sermon series, a midweek lecture series, and even a Reformational concert. In all the many remembrances, you could always bank on one thing—that the great German reformer, Martin Luther, would be talked about. It’s right, of course, that Luther would be given such prominence, for it’s difficult to imagine how the Protestant Reformation could have made such a wide-reaching and lasting impact without his strength of passion and steely resolve leading the charge.

The same could be said of another Martin Luther, who led a different reformation, standing for a different kind of protestantism. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 with the name Michael King, but his father changed it to Martin Luther when he was five out of respect for the founder of the Protestant Reformation.

Though Dr. King’s theology didn’t square with his German Reformer namesake in every way, they certainly agreed on gospel essentials—all men are created in the image of God, and the love of God in Jesus Christ extends to all men. King understood that these simple but profound truths necessarily implied that all men should be treated equally with dignity and respect regardless of kindred, tribe, tongue, nation, and yes—color.

The problem was that in America at the time equality, dignity and respect between blacks and whites was missing. Schools, restaurants, hotels, and buses were segregated by color. Blacks were systematically marginalized with the enforcement of Jim Crow laws. Violence toward blacks was often swept under the rug by authorities. Seeing the systemic social, ethnic, and economic prejudice all around him, King determined to give life for the cause of civil rights.

In his now famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail, King references Martin Luther’s bold statement at the Diet of Worms when he was asked to recant of his beliefs, “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” It’s clear that Dr. King felt himself to be in the same position when it came to the injustice and prejudice toward blacks in his day. He couldn’t recant or remain indifferent or lukewarm. The time for action was now.

Over the years of protesting for this new reformation, King won significant victories and experienced painful defeats. He was a hero to many, and a villain to others. Threats on his life and on the lives of his wife and children became commonplace. Those threats escalated as the civil rights battles grew fiercer. Ultimately, King’s commitment to public righteousness cost him his very life. Fifty years ago this year, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed outside room 306 at the historic Lorraine hotel in Memphis, TN. President Ronald Reagan signed into law Martin Luther King Day as a federal holiday on the third Monday of January, which means tomorrow we have the opportunity to pause and give thanks to God for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, remembering – and joining – his protest until everything is exactly as it ought to be (Revelation 21:1-4).  

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 7, 2018

This past Monday (New Year’s Day) I wrote an email to the Cornerstone leaders, reflecting on the worship service last Sunday and encouraging them in prayer as we look toward 2018. It struck me after writing the message that you—the congregation—might also receive benefit from what was written, if for no other reason than to know that you’re loved and prayed for regularly by the leadership. 

Brothers, 

There is no better way to close out 2017 and open up 2018 than in the house of the Lord. What a special grace we enjoyed yesterday, remembering that “God has been our dwelling place in all generations” (Psalm 90), and that in the same way he’s been “...our help in ages past” He is also “our hope for years to come” (O God Our Help, Isaac Watts). What solid ground we have to stand on as we venture into the year ahead. 

Reading Psalm 1 this morning, I lifted each you up by name, praying that as you delight and meditate on the law of the Lord this year, you would become like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in season, whose leaf doesn't wither, and that you'd prosper in all that you do. As I prayed that prayer for you, I prayed it for me, too. For there is nothing I desire more in 2018 than to be like the wise man of Psalm 1 even Christ the Lord. 

One of my favorite Puritan prayers in the The Valley of Vision collection is the “Prayer for the New Year.” You’ll find it below. If you would, take a moment today at some point and pray these petitions with Cornerstone in mind, anticipating that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Captain, will lead us ever onward and upward in the year ahead. Love you brothers.

Your servant,

Nate

 

“O Lord, 

Length of days does not profit us, 

except the days are passed in thy presence, 

in thy service, to thy glory. 

Give us the grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,

that we may not be one moment apart from thee. 

May we rely upon on thy Spirit to supply every thought, speak in every word, direct every step,

prosper every work, build up every mote of faith. 

Give us a desire to show forth thy praise; testify thy love, advance thy kingdom.

We launch our bark on the unknown waters of this year, 

with Thee, O Father, as our harbor

with Thee, O Son, at our helm,

with Thee, O Holy Spirit, filling our sails. 

Guide us to heaven with our loins girt, our lamp burning,

our ear open to thy calls, our heart full of love, our soul free. 

Give us thy grace to sanctify, thy comforts to cheer, thy wisdom to teach, thy right hand to guide,

thy counsel to instruct, thy law to judge, thy presence to stabilize. 

May thy fear be our awe, thy triumphs our joy. Amen.”

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 31, 2017

“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”—1 Thessalonians 5:24

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”—Philippians 1:6

For the first five months of 2018, we’re going to work verse by verse through Genesis 1-11 in a series entitled, “New Beginnings.” I’ve titled the series “New Beginnings” for two reasons primarily.

First and most obviously is the fact that this series will begin next Sunday, which is the first Sunday of the new year, January 7, 2018 (Epiphany). But, the second reason is that Genesis, as the title indicates, is a book of beginnings.

Most famously, Genesis retells the story of the beginning of time, space, and history. Only in Genesis do we find a systematic retelling of the creation narrative. But as the story of the beginning unfolds, we find that creation’s beginning is only the first among many “new beginnings” in the book. For Israel, the original audience, Genesis served as the foundation of the Law (also known as the Torah). Given through Moses to the post-Exodus Israelites, Genesis revealed the origin and backstory of God’s covenant love for his people. A love that runs like a red thread through the pages of the Old Testament, culminating in the New Testament with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Not all the beginnings in Genesis are good, however. Sin makes its first appearance on earth in Genesis 3. In Genesis 4, we witness the first murder. In Genesis 7, we witness the one-and-only worldwide flood. Yet with each of these “new beginnings” an opportunity is presented—an opportunity for repentance, redemption, and recreation. That is to say that the narrative of Genesis is shot through with grace, which is the only real and enduring foundation for all new beginnings. 

As we look ahead to 2018, with all its expectations and fears, Genesis teaches us to trust the gracious Creator God who was there at the beginning. For He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Which means that no matter what starts and stops, fits and spurts this year brings, one thing is certain: we can trust this God to carry us all the way.