Pastoral Notes for Sunday, February 3, 2019

I felt like a kid in the candy store this week when one of the professors of Biblical Theology at New College Franklin asked me to step in and teach on Jesus’s statement, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). It’s been argued that no word picture in the whole Scripture better encapsulates God’s redemptive mission than that of shepherd. Let me show you why.

Remember Abel in Genesis 4? He is the first shepherd mentioned in the Scripture. We don’t know much about him, but we know what’s important: he was the first person recorded in the Bible to bring a pleasing sacrifice to God (Genesis 4:4). A shepherd that brings a pleasing sacrifice to God, does that sound familiar?

In Exodus, we’re introduced to another shepherd, Moses. He was tending Jethro’s flock on mount Horeb when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush, calling him to shepherd God’s people out of bondage in Egypt (Exodus 3). A shepherd who leads God’s people out of bondage, does that sound familiar?

Later, God sends Samuel to Jesse’s home to anoint the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16). Jesse’s sons come before Samuel, and one by one they are rejected. Finally, Samuel asks, “Is this all your sons?” Jesse responds, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping sheep.” Well, by now you know—he’s the one! The shepherd boy, David, becomes the next and the greatest king of Israel. A shepherd king who loves and leads God’s people, does that sound familiar?

As great as these shepherds were, this is not the whole story. In significant ways, both Moses and David failed in their shepherding of God’s people.

You will likely remember that God chose the shepherd staff of Moses as a powerful instrument for the leading of God’s people out of Egypt. With that staff, the greatest miracles in the Old Testament were performed—the changing of the staff into a serpent, turning the Nile into blood, parting the Red Sea to name a few. But it was also with that staff that Moses would sin against God. God tells Moses to speak to the rock in Numbers 20, so that the thirsty, grumbling Israelites might have water to drink. Instead, Moses strikes the rock with the staff twice and forfeits the opportunity to lead Israel into the Promised Land.

Likewise, after David committed adultery with Bathsheba and masterminded the murder of her husband, Uriah, the prophet Nathan confronted David’s sin with a story about a rich man stealing a poor man’s sheep. That’s right, it’s a shepherding story! In no uncertain terms, Nathan tells David that he’s not shepherded the sheep, the people of Israel, as he ought. Instead of sacrificing for the good of the people, he exploited them and used them for his own selfish ends.  

All this background and more leads us to Jesus’s statement in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd.” What does this mean? It means this:

·      Like Abel, but better than Abel, Jesus offers up himself as a pleasing sacrifice to God on our behalf.

·      Like Moses, but better than Moses, Jesus leads us out of the bondage of sin and into the freedom of salvation.

·      Like David, but better than David, Jesus rules over us with truth and grace and secures us a home with Him in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

When that day comes, I can’t wait to see what John saw in Revelation 7:17, “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to the springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”Truly, Jesus is our good shepherd.

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 27, 2019

I was gutted this week when I heard that the New York State Senate passed the Reproductive Health Act, giving women the right to abortion up to the point of birth. I welled up with grief imagining the thousands of boys and girls who will be killed as a consequence of this expanded abortion law.

Why am I experiencing such grief over this? The answer is simple. I believe in the sanctity of human life. I believe that human life is carefully fashioned by God as a reflection of Himself (Genesis 1:26-28) and is to be treated with dignity and respect—and that dignity and respect extends to the baby in the womb.    

The historic Christian perspective of life beginning at conception has been the position of the church throughout the centuries. Why has the church believed this? Because the Bible teaches it. No place is this more clear than in the Psalm 139. David writes, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16).

Notice how David speaks of his preborn self as being personally and intimately formed by God Himself. Before he was born, God was intimately acquainted with all his ways and days. Even when he was an “unformed substance” (i.e. embryo), he speaks with the personal pronoun “me.”

The prophet Jeremiah uses similar language. Jeremiah writes, “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:4-5). Remarkably, before he was formed in the womb, Jeremiah was known by God and set apart as a prophet. His life and calling as a mouthpiece for God were in place before Jeremiah took his first breath.

These words from Jeremiah remind me of that wonder filled moment in Luke 1 when Mary visits Elizabeth. In utero, John the Baptist leaps at the presence of Jesus Christ, who is also in utero. It’s as if preborn John is already fulfilling his prophetic mission by preparing the way of the Lord with that leap inside Elizabeth (see Luke 1:39-43).

Behind David’s words, Jeremiah’s call, and John the Baptist’s leap is this settled biblical conviction: life and personhood exist before birth. And since that’s the case, every child in the womb deserves the respect and dignity of being treated like a human being made in the image of God.

Before I close, something needs to be said. I realize that for some readers, the topic of abortion is no mere morality issue or a piece of legislation. It’s a very personal part of your story. If that’s true for you, please don’t think I am condemning you for having an abortion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let’s remember that the Apostle Paul was once named Saul. He was a persecutor of the church and responsible for Stephen’s murder in Acts 7. He wrote these words: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). No matter what you’ve done, if you are in Christ, those words are true of you. Walk in the freedom of knowing that your abortion is no match for the atonement won for you in Christ’s blood. Rejoice in knowing that your sin has been nailed to the cross, and you bear it no more. And let’s together praise the Lord.

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 13, 2019

At the Cornerstone Family Meeting last Sunday, we gave several mission critical church updates. There is at least one update that I want to make sure you’re all up to speed on as we enter 2019. It concerns a staff change in our elementary education ministry area.

Eighteen months ago, we hired Mrs. Martha Brooks as our Elementary Education Director. In the past year and a half, Martha has taken our children’s ministry to a whole new level. From a full curriculum review and new curriculum implementation, to researching and writing a new child protection policy, Martha has done more than anyone to ensure that we disciple and care for the children of Cornerstone in a way that pleases our Lord.

As some of you know, in addition to her work at the church, Martha became the librarian at New Hope Academy this past year. Originally, she hoped to manage both the workload of both positions, but as the fall weighed in, she realized it was too much and decided to step down from her position as Elementary Education Director. We’re so sad to see Martha leave this post, but we’re consoled by the fact that the Brooks aren’t going anywhere. They will still be in their normal pew on Sunday morning in the early service and will be actively involved in the life of Cornerstone. We love you, Martha, and we thank God for all you’ve done to advance our children’s ministry and make Cornerstone a better place!

As we say goodbye to Martha, we say hello to our new Elementary Education Director, Meredith Suits. Many of you know and love Meredith already, but for those of you that don’t know her, I asked Meredith to tell us a little bit about herself. Here’s what she wrote:

My husband Matt and I moved to Middle Tennessee shortly after college over 8 years ago so that I could pursue a graduate degree in education. After living in Nashville for several years, we moved to Franklin and became members at Cornerstone two years ago. We have two (mostly) sweet children, Sam (3) and Charlotte (7 months), and in addition to learning how to be a parent, I’ve spent the last five years teaching English to high school students. Teaching is my calling, and while I’ve taken a break from the classroom for now, God has given me the opportunity at Cornerstone to use some of my gifts to serve the church as the Elementary Education Director. With two little ones of my own, I have a more ardent interest in the ministries that equip children to serve the Lord than I ever have before. I’m looking forward to continuing the fabulous work Martha Brooks has done and working with parents and the leaders of our church to teach our children the wondrous love of Christ.

If you’re a parent with elementary age students, please take time to get to know Meredith personally in the weeks ahead. Drop her a line or catch her at the information desk on Sunday morning. She would love to see and hear from you!

Finally, please pray for her. She is tasked with overseeing the care and discipleship of our covenant children. That’s a big job! She needs our prayers and support as she learns the ropes and leads us into the next season of children’s ministry at Cornerstone.