Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 21, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

We made it. Happy anniversary, Cornerstone! Ten years ago, Cornerstone was received as a member church in the Presbyterian Church in America. Over the last ten years, we’ve seen God do amazing things, and I’m thrilled for the special opportunity today in worship to remember God’s faithfulness and rejoice in God’s grace as together we renew our commitment to God’s call.

Knowing we were preparing for today’s anniversary, a friend asked me this week, “What’s one truth that stands out to you after ten years of pastoring Cornerstone?” Like a reflex of soul, I quickly responded, “How much we all need Jesus.” Then, after a short pause, I added, “And how much we all need the church.”

The claim that we all need Jesus is a given. Who would disagree with that? But the claim that we all need the church? Well, that’s a different story. I’m remembering just now a conversation I shared with a young lady some years ago. She was questioning the importance of the church, and I was making a defense for its necessity. After reflecting with her on several key Scriptural images for the church, I quoted John Calvin, who was channeling the early church father Cyprian when he said that a person can “...no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.” That’s Calvin’s way of saying you can’t have one (salvation) without the other (the church). They are a packaged deal.

Every Sunday in worship we confess to believe in “one holy catholic church.” When we do that, we are claiming that our faith in Christ can’t be extricated from other Christians. That Jesus didn’t just die for persons individually; he died to make us a people. When we are saved, we are saved into a community. Our faith in Christ is personal, but it’s never private. In summary, we need the church, because we are the church.

When we bring together the realization of how much we need Jesus with how much we need the church, we’re brought to the realization of how important it is to offer praise and thanksgiving to God. In preparation for today, I took time to think back on the ten years of Cornerstone’s existence. As I did so, I had a hard time finding the words to express the depth of my gratitude.

The love and patience you’ve shown to me and my family over the years simply blows me away. The care and generosity you’ve displayed toward one another has been nothing short of exemplary. The impact you’ve made in Franklin and beyond is striking. As one pastor recently told me, “When it comes to witness, Cornerstone punches above its weight.” He’s absolutely right, and to God be the glory!

Truly, it’s a privilege to simply be numbered among you. That’s to say nothing of being your pastor! An honor I do not deserve, but one I most deeply cherish. It’s true, my friends, the lines have fallen in pleasant places for us. God has been faithful beyond our wildest imaginings. So, let’s do what we came here to do! Let’s enter His gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise today. Let’s be whole- hearted and full-throated in our worship, acknowledging first the goodness of our God toward us in Christ and, secondly, in the gift of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. Let’s worship God!

Grace & Peace,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 14, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

As we continue our month-long celebration, praising the Lord for the 10 years of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, we have the privilege this morning to welcome a very special guest to the pulpit. Dr. Sandy Willson is Interim Senior Pastor at Grace Presbyterian in Peoria, Illinois. He was named Pastor Emeritus at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, after serving as senior minister for twenty-two years. He also pastored Memorial Presbyterian Church in Elizabethton, Tennessee and Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee and recently served as interim Senior Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL. Sandy received a B.S. from the University of Virginia, an MDiv. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a D.D. from Capital Seminary & Graduate School. Sandy and his wife, Allison, are deeply grateful for their five children, three daughters-in-law, son-in-law, and thirteen grandchildren.

I’ve sat at Sandy’s feet from a distance for many years. I’ve learned much from watching him lead with conviction and generosity. In addition, I’ve deeply benefited from listening to him preach the Word with boldness and care. I’m humbled by his willingness to travel to Franklin and open the Word of God to us. Pay close attention to the message the Lord has laid on his heart.

Now, just a reminder, we’re one week away from our 10-year anniversary celebration! Next Sunday we will gather for ONE worship service at 10 a.m. in Liberty Hall at The Factory in Franklin. Then, we will return to The Factory that evening at 5:30 p.m. to enjoy a catered dinner, a concert, and a special time of sharing. If you haven’t yet RSVP’d for the evening celebration, rectify that soon! You can find our registration form on the home page of our website or on the Cornerstone app. If you need help or have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the office. We would be more than happy to help!

Finally, last Sunday I encouraged you to take to heart three words as we prepare for the 10th anniversary. Do you remember them? They were remember, rejoice, and renew. In this special time, we want to remember God’s faithfulness, rejoice in God’s grace, and renew our commitment to God’s call. Keep those words in mind as we worship today and prepare to celebrate next week!

Grace & Peace,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 7, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

To help us celebrate our ten-year anniversary and renew our love and commitment to God and the work of the church, we have two guest preachers in November coming in to serve us the Word. This morning we have the treat of hearing from a brother whom I greatly respect and who has become a very dear friend of my family, Dr. Sean Lucas.

Dr. Lucas was born in Stratford, New Jersey, but moved up and down the eastern seaboard as a child. He graduated from Bob Jones University (BA, 1993; MA, 1994) and Westminster Theological Seminary (PhD, 2002). He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 2003, then served on the pastoral staffs of Community Presbyterian Church (PCA), Louisville, Kentucky, and Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) St. Louis, Missouri. In 2009, he became Senior Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he served until accepting the Senior Pastor position at Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN, in 2017.

Sean has taught at two theological seminaries. He is presently the Chancellor’s Professor of Church History at Reformed Theological Seminary, where he has been teaching since 2011. Prior to that, he was chief academic officer and associate professor of church history at Covenant Theological Seminary from 2004-09.

Sean has also written many books, including On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices and Stories (2006); God’s Grand Design: The Theological Vision of Jonathan Edwards (2011); J. Gresham Machen (2015) and For a Continuing Church: The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America (2015). He and his wife, Sara, have four children: Samuel, Elizabeth, Andrew, and Benjamin.

Please pay close attention to the message Sean has come to bring us.

 

P.S. Next week we’ll have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Sandy Willson, Interim Senior Pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL. In addition to preaching for us, Dr. Willson will join me in an all-adults Sunday School hour in the chapel where we’ll tackle a wide array of key topics related to our witness in the world. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this conversation with Dr. Willson!

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 31, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Today we reach the end of the gospel of Mark…or do we? If you have your Bible with you (and I hope you do), take a quick look at Mark 16. Are you there? Good. Now, depending on your Bible, you likely see a bracketed comment after v. 8 that says something to the effect, “Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9-20.” Then, if you look at vs. 9-20, you’ll probably see a double bracket around them or maybe the whole section will be italicized to indicate it may not be (probably isn’t) a part of the original gospel.

If you were to do a survey of scholarship–conservative or liberal–in the last hundred and fifty years or so, you’d be hard pressed to find one commentator argue that Mark 16:9-20 is original. I actually tried to find one this week and struck out. Clearly, it’s become almost universally accepted that the longer ending was a later addition and not present in Mark’s manuscript.

Even a quick read of Mark 16:9-20 will raise eyebrows. There is an unusual focus on supernatural signs including handling snakes and drinking poison that simply do not ring true with the aim and theological emphases of Mark’s gospel. Further, when you read some of the roiling theological debates in the early church around signs and the supernatural, it’s possible that one side’s emphases were written in at the end of Mark as a means of adding authority to a certain position. But we can’t say for sure.

One of the more plausible theories suggests that the abrupt ending to the gospel in v. 8 leaves the reader in tension. The tomb is empty, and the angel shares the good news that Jesus is risen, but the person of Jesus is nowhere to be found. We’re told he’s going to meet the disciples in v. 7, but we’re not given a report about that meeting. Could it be that the longer ending was added to relieve this tension? Again, we can’t say for sure.

Now, this raises a host of important questions—questions like how the Bible came to be, how were the books of the Bible determined to be Scripture, and can we trust that everything in the Bible is God’s Word. As you might imagine, I do not have space or time to address all these big questions, but I’m grateful to say there are strong, solid answers to every one of them. In due time, I look forward to tackling them with you. For now, I’d encourage you to gain comfort from the conclusion Dr. Elijah Hixson draws about this matter.

“Uncertainty here makes us uncomfortable, but we lose nothing of our faith if Mark ends at 16:8, and God often calls us to trust him in the face of uncertainty. Without faith it’s impossible to please him, after all. Since faith is the assurance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1) and seen hope is not real hope (Romans 8:24), it wouldn’t be walking by faith if God answered all of our questions. That would be walking by sight. With or without Mark 16:9-20, the tomb is empty, Jesus has purchased our pardon, and we can be certain of that.”

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 24, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

When God speaks of Israel in the Old Testament, He often employs the language of treasure (see Exodus 19:5, Psalm 135:4). Similarly, in the New Testament, the church is referred to as God’s “holy people” and His “treasured possession” (I Peter 2:9; Titus 2:14). Astonishingly, when God considers you, His church, the word that comes to His mind is treasure.

That said, I’m in regular conversation with Christians that struggle to believe God treasures them. They are so deeply aware of the ugliness of their sin and deficiency of their character that they find it almost impossible to believe God treasures them. “It sounds too good to be true,” they say.

To help them believe it’s true, I’ll often ask, “How do you know how much something is worth?” They respond, “By how much I’m willing to pay for it.” Exactly! We reveal how much we treasure something by how much treasure we’re willing to give up to acquire it! The same is true when it comes to God treasuring us.

The Scripture tells us that God loved us so much that He bought us (1 Corinthians 7:23). And get this: we weren’t cheap! He paid an incredibly high price to make us His own. He gave His only son for us (John 3:16). He purchased us with His blood (Galatians 3:13-15). We are to Him a treasure!

When the reality of this life-laying-down-love truly breaks in upon the heart of the Christian, we can’t help but respond by treasuring God in return. One of the main ways this is expressed is by pursuing heavenly treasure over earthly treasure (Luke 12:21). That is, we’re less tempted to waste our time, energy, and resources on the fleeting matters of temporal life, and we’re more and more inclined to investing in what lasts–eternal matters. We know this is happening in our life when we learn to lovingly release our earthly treasure for eternal gain. When God is truly our one, true, and lasting treasure, we will easily trade our earthly wealth for heavenly dividends.

As we closed out the first quarter of our 2021-2022 budget year, it is clear to me that you, the faithful givers of Cornerstone, are investing in eternity. Through your generous giving, Cornerstone’s fiscal health continues to strengthen while our ministry expands. Let’s rejoice over God’s provision for Cornerstone as together we continue to pursue heavenly treasure!

Cornerstone Presbyterian Church 1st Quarter Financial Report 2021-22

1st Quarter 2021/2022 2021-22 Full Year Budget

Actual Budget Difference Budget

Giving $313,992 $242,350 $71,642 $1,053,000

Expense $228,287 $249,300 -$21,013 $1,053,000

Deficit/Surplus. $85,705 -$6950 $92,655 $0

Your servant,