Pastoral Notes for Sunday, June 13, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

At our Cornerstone Family Meeting last Sunday, we reported on and rejoiced over God’s kind financial provision for the church this budget year. Though we still have several weeks yet to go (our budget year runs from July 1 – June 30), this has been the best year fiscally in our ten-year history as a church!

On the behalf of our leaders, let me say, “Thank-you!” for giving to the ministry of Cornerstone. Your generosity is a beautiful expression of the Lord’s work in our midst (see 2 Corinthians 8:9). With only a few weeks to go, please help us finish the budget year strong! Moreover, pray for wisdom as we strive to be faithful stewards of God’s resources and make bold ministry plans and projections for the coming budget year. More on this soon!

There was also a staff update in last week’s meeting. In that update, one key transition was noted. After ten years of faithful service, our dear sister, Mrs. Susan Bumpus, is leaving her post as Office Administrator. Susan is moving back home to be with her family in Ohio where she’ll be able to more readily take care of the needs of her aging father.

As many of you know, I’ve had the privilege of working side by side with Susan for the last ten years. She’s been a faithful partner in ministry every step of the way. I thank God for leading her to us a decade ago and for the countless ways she’s contributed to the life and ministry of Cornerstone.

Her time with us is quickly drawing to a close. Her final official day is June 30, but the final day she will be in-office is Friday, June 18th. Before she rides off into the sunset, please do not miss the opportunity to express your appreciation for her many years of service in our midst.

Please pray for the Personnel Committee and me as we search for a new Office Administrator. Due to the nature of the role, we are beginning the search with candidates who are outside of the membership of Cornerstone. Please pray that God would lead us to just the right person.

In closing, the Shurden family are bound for sunny Florida for a week of vacation, which is why I’m missing in action today. Though always saddened not to be worshiping with you in person, I’m grateful for the opportunity to get away and enjoy some unhurried family time at the sea. I look forward to being back with you in worship very soon.

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, June 6, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

As a child, summers were magical for me. Even today, summer smells like freshly mown grass and sunscreen. It feels like swimming holes and sand between my toes. It tastes like hotdogs and watermelon. It sounds like a choir of crickets and the whizz of a fishing rod. Summer meant so many things, but mostly, it meant time. Time to watch movies and play whiffle ball. Time to listen to music and read whatever I wanted. Summer was like a two-and-a-half-month permission slip to do what I wanted to do and not feel bad for it.

As great as my childhood summers were, there were the inevitable temptations that go along with such special times. Still today, there are certain temptations that show up during a summer vacation that I don’t experience—at least not as poignantly—the rest of the year. If I were to boil the temptation down, I’d call it this: to live for self.

True, this temptation is always present, but there are certain times—like summer vacation—that are literally designed for us, so to speak. Think about it. Why do we go on vacation? We go for our own rest and enjoyment. In fact, people actually tell you to, “Go enjoy yourself.” When we say those things, we usually mean “go have a good time,” and that’s right in so far as it goes. But it’s easy, isn’t it, for our sinful hearts to hear “enjoy yourself” and slip into “live for self” mode. Ironically, when we do this, we cut the legs out of true rest and enjoyment. Whatever pleasure we gain from living for self is shallow and fleeting. It always leaves us disappointed.

God has not designed us to enjoy ourselves by living for self. This is where we go wrong. We go on vacation, and we try to rest like the rest of the world. Truth be told, many of us rest from our Christian commitments on vacation. It’s crazy but we go on vacation to rest, and we walk away from the Lord of rest! Not surprisingly, we end up restless and irritable. We wind up needing vacations from our vacations, because we neglected the true rest our souls need.

With all this in mind, let’s commit to move through summer differently this year. By all means, keep catching those lightning bugs and sipping that sweet tea on the back porch. Enjoy the good things God designed summer for. But as you do, enjoy the Lord of the summer most of all. If you do that, you might just have the best summer yet.

“Jesus, I am resting, resting

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.”

—Jean S. Pigott

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 30, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

After last week’s sermon on marriage, divorce, and remarriage, a parent asked me for advice on speaking about sexuality with their children. I was glad to get the question! In our day, parents can’t afford to be silent on subject of sexuality. Moreover, God has entrusted parents with the responsibility to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). This includes training them in the Bible’s teaching on sexual faithfulness.

But how do we address the subject without looking like a fool? Below are four practical suggestions:

1. Plan the Talk
Settle your nerves by planning what you’re going to say. Then, spend time praying over what you planned. Jot down a few notes to keep yourself on track. The more you can prepare your heart and words, the more you’ll reduce awkwardness and stress, and the higher the likelihood you will communicate clearly, lovingly, and effectively.

2. Be Natural, Inquisitive, and Intentional
Avoid a “family meeting” communication style. Instead, just be yourself and use your regular family worship time or some planned down time. Begin by asking basic biblical questions about relationships, love, and marriage. As the conversation progresses, steer the dialogue to the matters of sexuality focusing on God’s design for men, women, and marriage.

3. Start Young and Keep the Conversation Going
Begin as early as possible. Four, five, and six-year-olds are very observant. They pick up far more than we realize. When kids are young, talk in general ways about gender, love, marriage, and family. As your child progresses through grammar school, discuss the realities of sexuality, homosexuality, and transgenderism with faithful frankness. As they grow, commit to engaging them regularly about sexuality, getting more specific. Welcome their questions! Be God’s instrument and trust the Lord to confirm the truth to their hearts as they mature.

4. Be Biblical
Let Scripture do the talking. In case you need help, here’s a simple outline you could follow:

  • Begin by talking about the creation account in Genesis 1-2 and how God created us male and female, and in His image. Emphasize that gender, marriage, and the unique roles of men and women were all a part of God’s good and wise design from the beginning.

  • Discuss the fall in Genesis 3 and how everything that God created good—even marriage and sexuality—has been affected by the fall. Use a Bible story like Noah’s infidelity or King David’s adultery to help illustrate this. As appropriate, name specifically how the world has twisted the definition of marriage and gender. Be clear about how homosexuality is a sin and not in keeping with God’s good design. Turn to Genesis 19:1-13, Romans 1:26-27 or 1 Corinthians 6:9 to show the clarity and consistency of God’s Word on the subject.

  • Then discuss how God is presently at work redeeming and restoring the world, including marriage and sexuality, through the power of the gospel. Show from Ephesians 5:16-33 how God uses the love between a man and a woman in marriage as one of the primary ways He illustrates His love for the church!

  • When age appropriate, prepare your children for the inevitable struggles they will face sexually. Let them know that sexual sin is something we all face in varying ways and degrees. This is why we must be faithful in confessing our sin and repenting of it. As appropriate, let them know you’re still learning how to seek God’s grace for forgiveness and new obedience in the area of sexuality.

  • Close with Revelation 21 and the confident hope we have that no matter how twisted marriage and sexuality becomes in our time, in the day of Jesus Christ’s return we will be free of sexual sin and perfected in holiness as a beautiful Bride ready for her Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.

    I hope these simple suggestions strengthen you in knowledge and courage as you strive to raise children who will love, cherish, and follow the truth of God’s Word for marriage and sexuality.

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 23, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

I sometimes joke about the people of Cornerstone being long suffering. How week after week you sit under my long sermons and, wonder of wonders, you come back the following week. Thankfully, the Scripture tells us that suffering produces character, endurance, and hope (Romans 5:3-4). So, take heart, these long sermons are one of God’s means for growing you up in the faith ;-)

Now, as long as my sermons are, you might be surprised by the amount of content I prepare and don’t preach. I actually wrote two sermons on last week’s passage! (Mercifully, I only delivered one—you’re welcome!) In the sermon I didn’t preach, I laid out six practical instructions for putting sin to death. After speaking with a few of you this week, I thought the little tidbit below might be helpful more generally. I hope and pray it is.

First, refuse to tolerate sin’s presence – Sin will try to desensitize your conscience, so that you might be lulled into accommodating its presence. Be aware of this and resist this tug! Let this be your settled position: to not allow sin to make a home within your heart. Take Paul at his word, “Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).

Second, become deaf to the false promises of temptation – Temptation always talks a big game, but it never delivers. It says, “This is not a big deal. One time won’t hurt anything. You know this will satisfy you.” But this is just the bait hiding the hook. Don’t be deceived by temptation’s lies: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

Third, stir up a holy hatred for sin and its consequences – In our mind’s eye, we must see “the sinfulness of sin,” to borrow a phrase from Ralph Venning. In other words, we must see sin for the horror it is and increasingly hate what it does to us, the world, and the affront it is to glory of God. In a word, we must cultivate hearts that, “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:11).

Fourth, strike temptation and sin with the sword of the Spirit – We are most vulnerable to sin when we are spiritually on our heels. The flesh is weak, so if our guard is down, we will fall. But if we resist temptation with the God- ordained weapon for this battle, the sword of the Spirit, then sin doesn’t stand a chance. Listen to the Psalmist, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

Fifth, run for refuge and strength to the Savior of sinners – Always, always, always remember the immeasurable grace available to you in Jesus Christ. This grace is two-pronged: grace to forgive and grace to sanctify! Go early and often to the throne of grace, meeting with the Savior who died to free you from sin, for he promises that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Sixth, set your hope on future glory – Take this in: Jesus has won your battle against sin. You read that right. In his death, resurrection, and ascension, the death blow to sin was levied for God’s people. It’s just a matter of time before the presence of sin is no more! When worn down with the battle of sin, pause and cast an eye to the future—when sinless you stand before the glorified Savior, “...face to face... [and you] shall know fully, even as [you] have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 16, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

As more and more people receive COVID-19 vaccines and the number of active cases in our area and across the country continues to drop, Cornerstone, like many other churches, has been scaling back towards normal. Back in March, we started increasing our capacity and ceased with designated seating. Three weeks ago, we conducted our last mask-required service as registrants for that service moved to our earlier services after vaccination. And this week we ceased requiring registration for worship. Each Sunday things are looking a bit more normal.

Another area where we want to start moving back to normal is communion. For those of you who have joined Cornerstone in the last year, a little history might be in order. Pre-COVID, the bread for communion was sliced into small pieces and placed in two silver trays on the middle communion table. As you came forward, you would stop by the middle table and partake of the bread and then move toward the side tables to partake of the cup. For health concerns, we augmented that practice and went to stackable cups with bread on the bottom and wine/juice on the top.

Starting today, we are returning the bread to the center table, but not exactly in pre-COVID form. Instead of a tray of bread, an individual piece of bread will be in a cup. As you come forward today, please stop by the middle table and partake of the bread. After receiving the bread, you’ll carry your plastic cup with you and move to the outer tables where you’ll partake of the wine/juice. You will then throw both cups away. Though not all the way back to normal, this is closer to our ordinary practice and (hopefully) a move in the right direction.

Also, for those of you who are new to Cornerstone, we did not have ushers leading us row by row to communion before COVID. Over the next few weeks, our plan is to phase out the use of ushers during communion and invite the congregation to come on their own, row by row, filling the aisle on the way to the table as was our custom previous to COVID. For this morning, however, ushers will once again be present to help us, but please note they will be moving you to communion more quickly since the need for social distance during communion has passed.

In closing, I want to thank Todd Russell, David Steffens, Martha Brooks, and the whole Reopening Team for the way they’ve served so faithfully behind the scenes this last year. From registration for worship, to socially distant seating charts, to additional cleaning measures, to communion preparation and a dozen other details; the brothers and sisters on this team have served the church tirelessly and without complaint. I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am for them. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude for their service, and I want to encourage you to make it a point to thank them personally for their loving care of us.

Your servant,