Pastoral Notes for Sunday, August 22, 2021

I asked Pastor Ben Griffith to give us a preview of the men’s book study this week in the Pastoral Notes.

Brothers, I hope you’ll consider jumping into our Tuesday morning men’s book study this fall, which begins on September 14th and will meet at Biscuit Love at 6:45 a.m. And if you jump in, you’ll have to hold on tight! We’re going to make our way through Carl Trueman’s latest book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to the Sexual Revolution. (If that subtitle alone doesn’t convince you that this may be one of the most relevant and timely books available right now, then maybe Pastor Nate’s naming this book his “favorite read of 2020” will!). It’s going to be a treat to process this work together over a good cup of coffee every week, and we would love for you to join us.

What we’re hoping to do in our time together is explore Trueman’s telling of how we got to where we are today, in terms of our cultural understanding of sexuality and identity. To say that the rate of acceleration and change in these areas in the last few years and decades has been dizzying is an understatement. The landscape has indeed shifted very quickly. But part of the value of Trueman’s book is the way that he locates these changes in a broader story that has been playing out for the last several hundred years. Trueman makes this long and complicated story about as short and uncomplicated as anyone possibly can. This quote from his introduction captures what he’s aiming to do throughout the book: “in short, the sexual revolution is simply one manifestation of the larger revolution of the self that has taken place in the West. And it is only as we come to understand that wider context that we can truly understand the dynamics of the sexual politics that now dominate our culture.”

Understanding this wider context that we find ourselves located in can help us live faithfully as ambassadors for Christ in this cultural moment; that’s what I’m praying our time together on Tuesday mornings will equip us to do. As Christians, we want to understand the past so we can winsomely engage the present and be prepared for the future. This book is a tremendous resource to help us do just that.

So men, please consider joining us on Tuesday mornings. It’s a great way to get to know other men in the church, and it’s great accountability to read a 400 page book in just a few weeks! There are still a few copies of the book available for sale on the book table ($20), or you can easily order online. Sign up on the Cornerstone website or app, and start reading ahead! Hope to see you on Tuesdays this fall.


Pastoral Notes for Sunday, August 15, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Every other week or so, I will hear a report about how disagreements concerning COVID-19 have seeded deep division within the leadership or membership of some church. How officers are resigning from positions and scores of members are leaving because a certain decision was made, or a certain approach was adopted of which they disagreed.

Anytime I hear of a branch of Christ’s church “by schism rent asunder,” as the hymn writer puts it, I am grieved. It’s a reminder that things are not yet as they ought to be. That the reality of “one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) that is the foundation of the church is not yet a perfected reality within the life of the church. That we still have a long way to go before our unity in Jesus Christ is brought to perfection in glory.

But when I hear reports of church division, grief is not my only emotion. Believe it or not, I am deeply thankful. Not for the divisions, of course, but for the grace of unity God has given to Cornerstone in the ten years of our existence. It has been nothing short of remarkable.

Yes, we have our family squabbles from time to time, but that’s to be expected. We wouldn’t be a family if that weren’t the case. But the measure of Christ-centered unity we’ve enjoyed over the years is astounding and rare. I pray we never take it for granted. Further, I pray we never grow slack in following Paul’s instruction, “to eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit in the body of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), for unity is easily lost.

Certainly, our unity has been tested in the past eighteen months more than any other time in our ten- year history, and God has certainly exposed areas where unity needs strengthening. Surely we can all acknowledge ways we’ve fallen short of the standard of unity God wants for His people.

As a test of this, ask yourself, when the subject of masks or vaccines comes up, are you listening only to see whether someone agrees with you? Do you find your felt sense of unity with brothers and sisters in Christ comes more from agreement about the virus, politics, or media than the gospel? Do you find yourself becoming dismissive or defensive against brothers and sisters who take a different position than you? Have you gossiped about those who, in your opinion, just don’t get it?

These are heart searching questions. They are designed to expose the way we let agreement or disagreement on worldly matters and controversies take precedence over the perfect and eternal unity that is already ours in Jesus Christ. Division can creep in subtly and quickly erode years of unity. We must be on guard against it, always remembering our heavenly kinship is what brought us together, and it alone will keep us together. Forever.

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, August 8, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

When I think back to some of the most formative spiritual moments of my childhood, I’m more times than not in a small brightly colored classroom with tiny chairs and some dear saint—like Kathy Morgan or Chuck Thompson—sharing stories and truths from God’s Word.

No, I wasn’t always listening. To be honest, I was often more excited about the snacks. But somewhere between my general distractedness and the consumption of vanilla wafers, the Lord was at work in a powerful way. In fact, as I was preparing for today’s sermon, I thought of something that one of my Sunday School teachers taught me 30+ years ago. I’m actually going to include it today’s sermon, so be listening for it!

Our fantastic Children’s Coordinator, Meredith Suits, has been hard at work getting ready for the fall term of Sunday School. I asked her if she could tell us a bit about what to expect. Here’s what she wrote:

The children’s ministry will kick off our new semester of Sunday school on August 15. We hope your kids are registered and are excited to see friends and teachers again. If you haven’t registered yet, we would love to add your kids to our rosters. Email meredithsuits@gmail.com or search our online church directory for the registration form.

Our PreK-Kindergarten class (led by Joe Marlo, Joy Marlo, and Eleanor Ware) will spend the fall learning Bible stories from Genesis, singing songs, and memorizing scripture. The 1st-2nd grade class (led by Katie Patton and Poppy Driskell) is learning a different name of God each week and what it tells us about who He is through stories in the Bible. The 3rd-4th grade class (led by Ellie Terrell and Abigail Hicks) will continue their study of Acts from the summer and learn about God’s growing church. The 5th-6th graders (led by Dave Raymond and Sabrina Brewer) will study questions 1-7 of the New City Catechism, spending about 2-3 weeks on each question and engaging in discussion of the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

We are thankful for the teachers and assistants in these classes who are sharing their time and talents with our Cornerstone kids and hope that you will join us in encouraging them and our parents as we teach our children to love God and grow in their faith.

If you have children, I encourage you—no, implore you—to make Sunday School a priority for your kids this fall. Your children need the Bible. They also need to see the body of Christ at work. By taking kids to Sunday school, both of these realities come together in a special way. In 10 or 20 years from now, what will your children look back on and say, “That’s when everything changed for me spiritually.” By God’s grace, it might just be Sunday school this fall.

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, August 1, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family:

Can you believe it? It’s already August! I guess time (summer!) flies when you’re having fun.

Just as families are busily preparing to start back to school, we are busily preparing for the launch of our fall Sunday School ministry. Next week you’ll hear from our Children’s Coordinator, Meredith Suits, about all the plans for children’s Sunday School. Today, however, I want to encourage every Cornerstone adult to attend our important opening Sunday School series of the fall term.

The series is titled, The Lay of the Land: Reflecting on the PCA and the 2021 General Assembly. This class will teach you about the foundations and story of our denomination in light of the key business of this year’s General Assembly. Special attention will be given to the study committee on sexuality and the issue of same sex attraction. You will walk away from this class with a better understanding of the issues biblically and in light of the PCA’s history and distinctive. I hope to see you in the chapel during Sunday School on August 15th!

Before I wrap up, I have some great news to share with you. We hired a new Office Administrator at Cornerstone! Her name is Laura Sessions. Yes, some of you will recognize that last name. Laura is the wife of Rev. Richie Sessions, who is the campus minister with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Vanderbilt.

Laura was born and raised in Jackson, MS. She graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a particular emphasis in management of informational systems. While at Baylor, she met Richie, and they were married in 2000. After spending a few years in Cleveland, MS, and Memphis, TN, Laura moved to Franklin in 2015 when Richie accepted a call to be the Campus Minister at Vanderbilt.

Laura has served in a variety of administrative roles over the years. Most recently, she’s been an Administrative Assistant with RUF. She’s also volunteered her skills on a number of boards, serving as president and treasurer. For the last nineteen years, however, Laura’s primary work has been at home raising their three children: Mamie (19), Griffin (17), and Margaret (14).

If you would, whisper a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the provision of Laura. We are very excited to see how the Lord will use her in our midst. Also, pray for Laura! Pray her transition on staff will be smooth, and that the Lord will use her to help us accomplish our vision, “To glorify God in the gospel as disciples who make disciples.”

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, July 25, 2021


In this week’s Pastoral Notes, I asked Pastor Ben Griffith to give us an update on the youth group’s recent trip.

Dear Cornerstone family,

Last week, our senior high students had the privilege of attending the RYM (Reformed Youth Ministries) Summer Conference in Panama City, Florida. You could probably tell who attended by noticing who was sunburned and peeling last Sunday! Our 14 students and three leaders enjoyed a week with youth groups from all over the Southeast, the majority of them coming from PCA churches. Rev. John Stone was our main speaker Many of you may know John from his years as the RUF campus minister at UT Knoxville. He spoke on the topic of unity in a divided world (a timely subject), and how the message of the Gospel equips and empowers God's people to be agents of reconciliation and peace in the fractured world into which God calls us. Our students spent every morning in different elective seminar classes taught by various PCA pastors, and we spent the afternoons playing volleyball, getting stung by jellyfish, and apparently not applying enough sunscreen.

Here are some reflections on the week from a few of our students:
“RYM taught me that we should be the ones pursuing peace and spreading the word in such a divided and difficult world. It was such a fun week, and I feel like I really connected and made relationships throughout the trip.” -Eva Brooks

“I would recommend going to RYM because you don’t only grow spiritually but also socially. I learned how to be more outgoing due to the activities and games we did. RYM was a unique and fun experience where I got to learn how to deal with problems going on in the world and back them up with Scripture."”-Katie Shurden

“RYM was a life-changing week for me, and I grew in every way. At RYM, not only did I get closer to God, but I also made friends and memories."”- Natalie Bordulis

We would like to express our deep gratitude to everyone who helped us get to RYM! So many of you gave online during our fundraising week in June and gave above and beyond at the women's Bible studies on Tuesday nights. Thank you for your generosity! You eased the financial burden on families and provided scholarships allowing students to attend who might not have otherwise. We’re deeply grateful.