Pastoral Notes for Sunday, September 12, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

I was delighted this week to receive a prerelease copy of Dr. Guy Richard’s new book, Persistent Prayer. Guy has been a dear friend for many years, and I’ve always benefited from his writing ministry. This new work is no exception! It’s filled with rich teaching on the purpose of prayer and wise instruction on the practice of prayer. As soon as it’s available for purchase, look for it on The Bookshelf at Cornerstone!

Speaking of prayer, I recently gave a talk on prayer, leaning heavily on John Calvin’s magisterial work, Institutes of the Christian Religion. The rules of prayer Calvin sets forward have done much to revive and grow my own prayer life over the years.

The first rule in prayer for Calvin is the fear of God. All true prayer must sense the seriousness and magnitude of what prayer is—speaking with Almighty God. Contrary to the way it sounds, Calvin is not suggesting we should be scared of God. No, instead, the fear Calvin has in mind is holy reverence and awe, recognizing we are speaking with God Himself when we pray. If we do not experience a holy tremble in the soul as we approach the God of the universe in prayer, then we’re not alive to who God is or the reality of prayer.

The second rule of prayer for Calvin is spiritual humility. As holy fear captures the soul, this second reality comes home—our neediness and dependence on God. Simply stated, Calvin says we should come to God aware that our only hope is in his grace and forgiveness. That is, we come broken and contrite, honest about our doubts, fears, and insufficiencies. We come, as Martin Luther liked to say, “as a beggar begging bread.” By implication, this means we must shed all pretense and phoniness, entering God’s presence “naked in soul,” (C.S. Lewis) for that is who we really are.

The third rule and fourth rule can be paired together, for they are essentially two sides of the same coin. The third rule is submissive trust, and the fourth is confident hope. By submissive trust, Calvin means that we pray with a heart that willingly says, “Thy will be done.” This does not mean we do not ask for what we desire. Instead, it means that when we ask for what we desire, we believe God knows best and will give us what we need. The submissive heart gladly receives whatever God ordains. The more this submissive, trusting heart is formed within us, the more confident hope will become the reality of our prayer life. For in the act of praying, the Spirit aligns our wills with God’s will (Matthew 7:7-8). As that happens, we experience hope that our prayer will be answered, for our prayer is for God’s will to be done.

As you can see, these instructions are less about the content of prayer and more about the heart with which we are to pray. That is because the greatest work of God in prayer is often done inside of us. As we meet with God in prayer, we are conformed more into Christ’s image. As we are conformed more into Christ’s image, we are enabled more and more to rest in God and His will. Let’s pray that godly fear, spiritual humility, submissive trust, and confident hope mark our prayers increasingly in the days ahead!

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, September 5, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

I got a phone call from an old friend this week, reminding me of the time I helped him navigate a relationship he was trying to develop with a young lady. He had been discouraged by the last couple of encounters. The conversation was surfacy and the friendliness contrived. He really wanted to break through the casual and get to know her heart.

Now, before I go on, some of you are thinking, “Why, pray tell, did this young man come to you for advice on love?” If that’s you, we clearly need to get to know each other better. This may come as a shock, but in a previous life, I was something of a romance repairman. At the time, I had a girlfriend of six months (she became my wife!), so I was the resident expert on all things related to romance. Ignorant, love-struck friends would seek me out for wisdom on the ways of women. I’d offer commonsense strategies—free of charge, mind you—for jumpstarting your love life.

(You’ll find it a relief to know I’ve long since retired from this profession. Back to the story...)

On the phone, my friend started relaying my advice back to me as I braced for impact. According to him, I said something like, “You’ve got to relax and let her talk. Listen to her words, every one of them. But I don’t want you to get hung up on her words. I want you to hear and respond to her heart. True intimacy happens when we hear and respond to the heart.” Well, even a broke clock is right twice a day. That wasn’t as bad as I feared. Truthfully, that’s pretty good. It’s advice I could probably heed more often myself.

Romance aside, this silly recollection got me thinking about words. Specifically, it got me thinking about my words. What do my words say about my heart? What is my speech revealing about the kind of person I am (see Matthew 15:18; Luke 6:45)? As I asked myself those questions this week, I was invited into an opportunity to be honest with the Lord. To speak to the Lord true words about the darker parts of my heart and receive from Him truer words about His love and forgiveness. “For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20).

Today, you will take the Word of God into your mouth in worship. As you do this, it’s an opportunity to hear God speaking to you. It’s also an opportunity for you to be honest with the Lord, to come clean in His presence. What good will worship be today if all you do is honor the Lord with your lips, but your heart is a million miles away (Matthew 5:7-8)? Let’s disregard hypocritical ways and tell the Lord the truth. Moreover, let’s listen to the Word (John 1:1) tell us the truth about who He is, what He’s called us to do, and how much He loves us.

Your servant,

 



Pastoral Notes for Sunday, August 29, 2021

I asked Martha Brooks, our Women’s Ministry Director, to talk about the past year of ministry and to give us a look ahead as to what is planned for the coming year. In anticipation of these opportunities for fellowship and time in the Word, here is what Martha had to say:

What a year we’ve had in Women’s Ministry! We began with a dinner last August, fellowshipping and feasting after quarantine. We held our first “Seasons of Life” in October with women sharing from the heart around a table heavy with desserts and coffee. Christmas saw Covid cases rise, and we weren’t able to gather again until February, when we heard from three more ladies in our own congregation, encouraging us to love well in all circumstances. April saw us in the Chapel, laughing and crying along with several of our own dear sisters about the unexpected seasons the Lord brings. The advent of summer brought the much-anticipated return of our large group Bible study, with two fellowship suppers thrown in there just to give us a chance to catch up. And while all that was going on, small group Bible studies took place in person throughout the year.

Whew.

This ministry year promises to be full as well. And I have a confession to make: sometimes I look at our family calendar and all the different colored dots and all the maneuvering it takes to get five people everywhere they need to be and think, “I just want to sit on my couch! Don’t other people want to sit on their couches? Are their couches not comfortable? I really like my couch! Do I have to put ‘sit on couch’ on the calendar just to make sure I can sit on my couch?”

If you feel like that, too, please know we are not scheduling things for the women of the church just to fill our calendars. When we are making plans as a Women’s Ministry Team, we ask ourselves this: How can we serve? Our goal is not to get every woman to participate in Women’s Ministry, but for the Women’s Ministry to serve and encourage every woman in the church (taken from Women’s Ministry in the Local Church, Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt).

In 2021-22, the Cornerstone Women’s Ministry is aiming to serve through small group Bible studies that see women studying the Word together, (Romans 15:4), the relaunch of a Young Mom’s Encouragement Group where some of our more seasoned mothers will train the newer ones (Titus 2:3-5), quarterly fellowships that facilitate a time to deepen our friendships (1 Samuel 18:1), a retreat (Hebrews 10:24-25), and all the way back around to large group summer Bible study for part two of our study of Revelation (Psalm 119:11-12).

These plans are purposeful, and we believe all these things help us fulfill our vision, which simply states:

Cornerstone’s vision for Women’s Ministry is grounded in God’s Word where

women grow in the context of God’s people, always aiming for the glory of Christ.

I would love to chat with you and answer any questions you have, so don’t hesitate to reach out. My door is always open. (Well, I don’t have a door, but I can meet you in my “office” at Merridee’s.) Please watch for upcoming dates, jump in where your calendar allows (while keeping a little couch time!) and let the Women’s Ministry serve you in Christ Jesus for His glory.

Grace,

Martha Brooks

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,