Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 15, 2020


Dear Cornerstone Family,

Several times a year, we pause on a Sunday morning to focus on the missionary call of God to His people and to highlight the many mission supports of Cornerstone. Today is one such Sunday, but, in a unique way, today is more than a focus on mission. It is a beautiful demonstration of God’s mission being fulfilled through New College Franklin and Cornerstone.

We welcome to the pulpit today Mr. Christian Brewer. Christian is a graduate one of our most deeply supported and beloved mission supports, New College Franklin. While in college, he was a member at Cornerstone and served as a Pastoral Intern and Youth Director on staff for two years before transitioning to Charlotte, NC, with his lovely wife, Courtney, to pursue a Master of Divinity degree at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS). Christian is presently an intern at Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church in Charlotte where my former New Testament Professor, Rev. Dr. Bill Barclay, is now pastor. Christian is nearing the end of his time at seminary. Lord willing, he will graduate in May 2021.

While in seminary, Christian and Courtney have faithfully maintained their connection with Cornerstone. Several times a year they return to the area and worship with us. Needless to say, it’s always a delight to renew our bonds of fellowship. It’s been an honor to see Christian and Courtney’s love for Christ and His church mature over the years and to support them in a variety of ways as they pursue the Lord’s call to ministry.

Finally, you’ll notice in the pew racks this morning our newly updated Cornerstone Mission Support bookmark. On the front, you’ll see a brief statement from our founding documents on our belief and commitment to missions. On the back, you’ll find a listing of our current mission supports as a church. Please take one—no, two—bookmarks! Keep one in your Bible and stick one on your refrigerator or somewhere where you’ll see it often. Commit to pray for our supported church plants, campus ministers, missionaries, and organizations as together we strive to fulfill our vision, “To glorify God in the gospel as disciples who make disciples!”

Your servant,

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Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 8, 2020


Dear Cornerstone Family,

As I write these pastoral notes, the election of our next president is still up for grabs. Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Nevada are lightened shades of either red or blue. The percentage points of separation between Biden and Trump are miniscule at best. Regardless of how things ultimately shake out, there will not be a decisive victory for either candidate. Whoever wins will do so by the slimmest of margins, which tells us something we already knew. Our country is divided.

In a time like ours, there are many good biblical instructions to be offered. We should remember that God calls us to honor and submit to governing authorities (Romans 13), to render to Caesar the things that are Caesars (Mark 12), to labor for the public good and welfare of one’s city and nation (Jeremiah 29). These and many other teachings we should heed and take to heart.

Today, however, I want to briefly encourage us in the simplest and, arguably, the most important of our Christian civic duties—prayer. Paul writes to Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Three quick observations from this text:

1. We are commanded to pray for our governing officials no matter who they are. When Paul wrote these words, he was contending with godless rulers who hated the church—who would mercilessly persecute Christians for centuries. Still, Paul tells us to pray for them. No matter who our president ends up being, let’s storm the gates of heaven for him, asking God to protect him, uphold him, and turn his heart toward the things of God (Prov. 21:1; Micah 6:8).

2. A prayer for governing officials is a prayer for the peace of the church. Notice how Paul ties a particular hope to this prayer. Pray so that “...we [the church] may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” Paul’s prayer for governing officials is directed toward a future of peacefulness, quietness, godliness, and dignity for the church. If we want to see religious freedom protected and the church protected from governmental intrusion, let’s hit our knees and boldly ask our Father for what we know he loves to give (Matt. 7:7-8).

3. A prayer for our governing officials is a prayer for the accomplishment of the great commission. In verse 4, Paul notes that when the church is given freedom by governing authorities to live out their faith in peace and preach the gospel openly, then more people hear the good news and come to a saving knowledge of the truth. If we want to see the tide of wickedness and division stemmed in our country, with more people coming to know Jesus Christ, let’s give the Lord no rest until he establishes the church and makes her the praise of all the earth (Isaiah 62:7; Rev. 21:1-4).

While we await the final word on our president, let’s start praying to the King of Kings for him. For whoever sits in the Oval Office needs Him who sits on the throne above more than anything else.

Your servant,

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Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 1, 2020


Dear Cornerstone Family,

Today is the one Sunday a year set aside to remember the legacy of the Protestant Reformation and give thanks for the dead in Christ on whose shoulders we stand. By way of preparation, I spent time this week giving thanks for my spiritual relatives—those with whom I share the same Heavenly Father, and the same elder brother. We are not family by blood. We are family because we are blood-bought.

I have the privilege of being blood-bought kin with many of my blood kin. One of those was my grandfather, Grover Mann. I can see why the name Grover has fallen out of fashion, though he took pride in being named after the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. “The only President to serve two non-consecutive terms,” as I was sometimes reminded. Be that as it may, he was Papaw to me.

Papaw grew up dirt poor as we’d say. Which is why his education was cut short. As best as we can tell, the 4th grade was the pinnacle of his educational achievement. At 9 or 10, he joined the work force, spending most of his days picking cotton, doing his part to bring home the bacon.

Papaw never learned to read. I remember him asking me to read a label for him. He said the writing was too small for his bad eyes, but I was old enough to know better. He tried to overcome it later in life; mainly because he wanted to read the Bible. His daughter, my Mom, taught him to read a little after he retired. Can’t say how much he learned, but I have a vivid memory of he and Mom crouched over a Bible at the dining room table sounding out words.

Papaw was blown up in a jeep in WW2. He was laid up for months in a German hospital. He received a purple heart. He rarely ever talked about it, but the reality of it lurked in his subconscious. He’d relive the battle scenes in his dreams, often springing from bed in the middle of the night to jump in a fox hole. He loved his country. The red, white, and blue always waved from his front porch.

I took over mowing his grass after his knee replacement. Whenever I’d finish, I’d come in and sit a spell with him as he watched wrestling on TV. There we’d sit, quiet before the glow of the TV screen watching Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage go at it. Papaw loved wrestling. I never will understand that.

In high school, we’d meet up on Saturday mornings at Hardee’s. Before I headed off to baseball practice or work, he’d buy me breakfast. We’d sit together with the old timers. I’d listen as they talked about the news, weather, and how things aren’t what they used to be. Before I’d leave, he’d find a way to brag on me to them. It was part of how I know he loved me.

Papaw wasn’t often vocal about his faith. Men of his generation kept such matters close to the vest. But he loved Jesus; he assured me of this from time to time. As my penchant for theology developed, he occasionally asked me questions about the Bible, most often about the end times. After he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he queried about heaven. It was one of the last conversations we ever shared. Though his voice was reduced to a raspy whisper by then, he choked out the words, “I’m ready to go. I’m not afraid. I know where I am going.”

Today, I give thanks to God for Papaw, and for all those in the faith who have arrived at where they were going and have showed the way to us who remain. Until we meet again.

Your servant,

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Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 25, 2020


For the pastoral notes this week, I asked Ben Griffith to write about our Home Fellowship Group ministry.

Dear Cornerstone Family,

God made us to live and thrive in community. We have all discovered this to be true in new and fresh ways over the last few months. God made us in his image, which means that we were made for relationship. The need and desire to know and be known in community is not a weakness to be overcome—it’s something God himself stamped onto our identities as image bearers. We were made for fellowship! Fellowship with God, and fellowship with one another.

One of the ways we pursue this calling to live in community here at Cornerstone is through our Home Fellowship Group ministry. Simply put, HFGs are small groups within the church that meet regularly for fellowship, prayer, and discussion. Our aim is for these groups to be environments of grace where lives can intersect, relationships can grow, and gospel community can be lived and practiced together.

If you’re not currently connected to a Home Fellowship Group, now is the perfect time to join! Our hope is to form several new groups that will begin meeting in the spring of next year. Towards that end, we are beginning a sign-up process this week that will extend into November. Starting this Wednesday, you’ll find a link in our mid-week email, on our website, and on our app that will allow you to add your name to a growing list of folks who are already interested in forming new groups. If you are not already a part of a Home Fellowship Group, we would love for you to join one!

Now, you may be asking yourself, “what exactly would I be getting myself into if I join a Home Fellowship Group?” Good question. Typically, groups meet once or twice a month in someone’s home, usually around a meal or coffee. Most groups meet on Sunday afternoons or evenings, though some meet throughout the week. Groups are facilitated by approved leaders, and our “sweet spot” group size is 10 to 15 people, though this can vary.

One final word: our Home Fellowship Groups are as perfect as the people that form them—you won’t find a perfect group, but we believe you will find a community of brothers and sisters who can encourage one another as we stumble towards Heaven together. And that is worth pursuing! We hope that you’ll consider this invitation and join a Home Fellowship Group. If you have any questions, I would love to speak with you.

Ben



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 18, 2020


Dear Cornerstone Family,

Frustrated with the false teaching and corruption in the church of his day, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther took matters into his own hands when he nailed the now famous 95 Theses (or grievances) to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. In God’s good providence, that simple action sparked one of the greatest gospel renewal and church reform movements the world has ever seen.

Fascinatingly, it all began on Halloween. Wait, what? Yes, you read that right. The launch of what would come to be known as the Protestant Reformation began on October 31, 1517, the one night a year where ghosts and goblins rule the streets. Believe it or not, Luther’s decision to nail the theses on that particular day was no coincidence.

Halloween is short for All Hallows’ Eve. The word “hallow” means to honor something or someone as “holy.” You know this because you say it every week in worship when we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). Historically speaking, All Hallows’ Eve was the name given to the night before the Christian feast of All Saints’ Day—the annual remembrance of those who have died in Christ and gone before us into heaven—celebrated on November 1st.

It’s been suggested that Martin Luther chose to nail his 95 Theses on the night before All Saints’ Day because he was calling the Roman Catholic Church to return to “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). Luther believed that the only way forward for the church in the 16th century was to return to the foundations of the apostles and prophets and the faithful Christian witness of previous generations.

For almost fifteen hundred years, it’s been the practice of the historic Christian church to pause during this season and remember with thanksgiving those who have died in Christ, passing down the legacy of truth and faith to the next generation. As a way of honoring the Lord’s work through the lives of the faithful men and women who have gone before us to glory, we will take time on Reformation and All Saints’ Sunday (November 1st) to name, remember, and give thanks for “the great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) upon whose shoulders we stand in faith.

Between now and November 1st, take a moment or two and call to mind anyone in glory who made a spiritual impact in your life. Let the memory of their life and ministry fill your mind and heart with gratefulness. Then, pause in prayer and thank God for them, anticipating the day when you’ll be reunited with them in glory before the face of Jesus. As the old hymn writer put it, “...what a day of rejoicing that will be!” I can hardly wait.

Your servant,

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