Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 30, 2022

Dear Cornerstone Family,

The slow walk we’ve taken through Proverbs 3 this month has ministered deeply to my soul. Gauging the steady stream of feedback from you, it appears I’m not alone in that. I praise the Lord for the very obvious ways His Spirit has been speaking through the Word to us, and I hope it’s just the beginning of the work He’ll do in and through us as we submit ourselves to His Word this year.

Beginning next week, we will begin a lengthy sermon series in arguably the most important Old Testament book. Now, let me be careful. In saying that one book of the Scripture is “most important,” I am not suggesting that some parts of Scripture are more God’s Word than others, nor am I suggesting that some sections of the Scripture are unimportant. Paul tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Clearly, whether it’s Micah or Matthew, we need every word of God’s Word. Period.

At the same time, we can safely say that some books, sections, or parts of Scripture play a particularly central (important) role in the unfolding of redemptive history. A role other books simply do not play. Again, in saying that, I’m not denigrating one part of Scripture or wrongfully elevating another part; instead I’m recognizing the variety of roles and purposes different books, sections, and parts of Scripture play in the progress of redemptive history.

And if any book can be said to play a central role in redemptive history, it’s the one we’re about to enter together. What book am I speaking of? Well, some of you have already guessed it––Exodus! From a baby in a basket to the burning bush, from plagues to crossing the Red Sea, from pillars of fire to the Ten Commandments, from manna from heaven to water from the rock, from the Ark of the Covenant to the architecture of the tabernacle: Exodus has it all and then some. There are villains and heroes, signs and wonders, plot twists and a breathtaking finale. By the end of it, you’ll understand why Leland Ryken says, “Exodus is the greatest adventure story ever told.”

But more than an amazing story, Exodus introduces us to the paradigm for salvation in redemptive history. Everything that comes after Exodus in the Scripture references it in some way and echoes it, ultimately leading us to the new and better exodus that comes in and through Jesus Christ.

Please, please, please begin praying for God to use this series as yet a further exodus in our community. Pray that more people will be led out of bondage into freedom through this series, and that every one of us will be increasingly readied for the coming final exodus: when the bondage of sin and death is no more, and we cross over the Jordan one last time and make our home in the forever Promised Land, the New Heavens and the New Earth.

I can’t wait to study Exodus with you!

Grace & Peace,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 23, 2022

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Just a few short weeks ago, we were experiencing the beautiful season of Advent, filled with the anticipation of Christmas, everything full of sparkle and Bing Crosby. Then it was New Year’s and toasts, black-eyed peas and collard greens, hope for 2022 hanging in the air like confetti in Times Square. And then a blizzard to cap it all off! (I’m a middle Tennessee native – my definition of blizzard may be slightly different from yours.) Pure magic.

And then the season of the post-holiday let-down.

We are in the season of darkness, literally and figuratively, for many. And February, while technically short, looms long for those who prefer the never-ending light of summer. What is there to look forward to? Valentine’s Day? No. I’ll likely spend it on the bleachers at a basketball game (yelling at refs). My birthday? Nope. “Sweet 43” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “Sweet 16.” And no one’s gifting me a car, I feel sure.

But soon, the season will change. The light will be longer, buttercups will poke through newly thawed earth, followed by tulips and forsythia, and I will eagerly hop on our Bad Boy and mow the grass for the first time. Then the calendar page will turn, and the season will be the blistering one, with 95 degree days as far as the forecast can see, and I will be paying our daughters to take my turn on the mower, and they should probably take a turn weed-eating, too! The page will turn again, and the season will bring leaves in full color, the temperature will cool to a tolerable mercury level, and then we will be back at Advent.

The older I get (see “Sweet 43”) the more obvious it is to me that life is moving. The calendar pages are flipping at warp speed. And I don’t know that I really want time to slow down, because I know the end of this story, but I want to actually be present in these days, to think about where I am, not just on the calendar, but on the life spectrum. About the season God has me in.

At our 2022 Women’s Retreat, we will take time to reflect on just that. To spend time thinking about the seasons of our lives—from dark, painful times (winter), to fresh, new times (spring), to the days of monotony and mundanity (summer), to days of change (fall). We will be led by our guest speaker, Martie Kwasny, in reflecting on God’s goodness as we remember His faithfulness to us during each season, as well as in spending time thinking ahead, asking ourselves what our kingdom calling is during each season. We will also think practically about how we can serve one another well as we live out our calling as the body of Christ, walking together through all the seasons of life.

I sincerely hope you will come February 4 and 5 for this special time together. In addition to being a meaningful time of learning and reflection, it will also be a meaningful time of fun! We only do this every other year, so if you don’t come this time, it will be eight whole seasons before you have another chance! Join us, Sisters.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Grace,
Martha Brooks

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 9, 2022

Dear Cornerstone Family,

As a book lover, I delight in talking with others about what they’re reading. Over the last few weeks, I’ve enjoyed chatting with several of you about your favorite reads of 2021. You’ve read some very interesting things this year!

There’s a significant number of books I started and didn’t make it through, but listed below are the books I actually finished. Though I benefit in some way from most everything I read, you shouldn’t assume I agree with everything listed or would necessarily recommend them to someone else. Every year I choose a few books I’m pretty sure I’ll have considerable disagreements with, and yet the exercise of listening to and weighing opposing beliefs/arguments is always beneficial. What’s on your list for 2022?

2021 Reading List
The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
Greybeards at Play and Other Comic Verse by G.K. Chesterton
Men and Women in the Church by Kevin DeYoung
Echoes of Exodus: Tracing a Biblical Motif by Bryan D. Estelle
Interpreting the Prophetic Word by William A. VanGemeren
The Wonderful Works of God by Herman Bavinck
God’s Kingdom Through God’s Covenants by Stephen Wellum and Peter Gentry
Covenantal Baptism by Jason Helopoulos
Persistent Prayer by Guy Richard
Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart by Harold K. Senkbeil
Reformed Preaching by Joel Beeke
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices for Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren
The Way of Dragon or The Way of the Lamb by James Goggin and Kyle Strobel
Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States by Andrew Whitehead & Samuel Perry The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair Ferguson
Jesus & John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez
The Triumph of Christianity by Rodney Stark
Robert E. Lee: A Life by Allen Guelzo
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
Franklin: Tennessee’s Handsomest Town, a Bicentennial History, 1799-1999 by James Crutchfield
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Reparations: A Call for Christian Repentance and Repair by Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson
Therefore the Truth I Speak: Scottish Theology 1500-1700 by Donald Macleod
Where I Come From by Rich Bragg
Holy is the Day by Carolyn Weber
What God Has to Say about Our Bodies by Sam Allberry
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J.R.R. Tolkien
Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher
The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing our Mortality Frees us to Truly Live by Todd Billings
Word by Word: A Daily Spiritual Practice by Marilyn McEntyre
Art & Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura
Jack by Marilynne Robinson
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski

Grace & Peace,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 2, 2022

Dear Cornerstone Family,

I have the honor of sitting with people of all ages and stages during significant, even life-changing, moments. Very often, those moments include making difficult decisions–like the decision to move to another town, to take a certain job, or to turn the life support machines off. These are hard, hard decisions.

As different as the decision to take a job or turn off life support is, one thing is similar. Whenever I ask, “How can I help?” the response almost always includes the request, “Pray for wisdom.” Having lived long enough to pass through a number of life-changing moments and face a variety of difficult decisions, I get it. During such moments, no one feels they have the wisdom they need.

Except it’s not just life-changing moments. Truth be told, we feel this all day every day! What middle schooler facing the complicated dynamics of who to sit with in the lunchroom hasn’t thought, “I’m not wise enough for this!” And what parent trying to raise said middle schooler hasn’t thought, “I’m not wise enough for this!” Life’s daily responsibilities and challenges have a way of bringing us to the end of ourselves. Which is why no matter what is going on, when asked, “How can I help?” we respond, “Pray for wisdom.”

The felt need for wisdom is often more acute at the beginning of a New Year. As we imaginatively pace through the months, we see family transitions and doctor appointments, annual reviews and bank account balances, graduations and home repairs. In a word, we see challenges we’re not ready for. This is especially true for those entering 2022 with the unresolved issues of 2021 still snapping at your heels.

Listening to the variety of needs in our midst right now, I pressed pause on my original preaching plan for the start of 2022 and, instead, decided to dip into the Bible book most known for wisdom. You guessed it: Proverbs! For the month of January, we’re going to pursue the wisdom of God by taking a slow walk through the rich instruction of Proverbs 3:1-12.

Wisdom for the New Year

  • January 2—Proverbs 3:1-2 “My Son, Remember and Keep My Commands”

  • January 9—Proverbs 3:3-4 “My Son, Holdfast to Love and Faithfulness”

  • January 16—Proverbs 3:5-8, “My Son, Trust and Acknowledge Me in Everything”

  • January 23—Proverbs 3:9-10, “My Son, Honor Me with Your Wealth”

  • January 30—Proverbs 3:11-12, “My Son, Receive My Loving Discipline”

As we enter this study together, consider committing this section of Scripture to memory this month. Some of you are familiar with parts of it already. With a little effort, it might not be too difficult inscribe these words on the tablet of your heart–which, by the way, is exactly what Proverbs 3 would have you do!

Grace & Peace,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 26, 2021

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Today is the final Lord’s Day of 2021! Can you believe it? It’s a remarkable grace to weekly meet together in the presence of the Lord and feast on His Word. How faithful our God has been to commune with us this year, portioning out His grace to our gospel-needy souls.

A few months ago, a visiting worshiper, passing through town on his way back to Kansas, said to me at the door, “Boy, you guys sure love the Bible.” When he said that, I wasn’t sure if he thought that was a good thing or not, but he is absolutely right. The Bible is the foundation for all we do at Cornerstone. Every week the worship service is filled to the brim with the truth of God’s Word. Whether reading, preaching, singing, or praying we want the truth of the Scriptures to wash over us, and, by the power of the Spirit, to have a transformative impact on our heart and life (Ephesians 5:26-27).

As central and necessary our weekly Bible intake is in corporate worship, one feeding a week is simply not enough. In the same way that one meal a week cannot meet your physical needs, one meal on God’s Word a week cannot meet your spiritual needs. This is why over and over in the Bible God calls His people to daily feedings on Scripture (Psalm 1:1-2, Joshua 1:8), and why Jesus says we cannot expect to survive spiritually if we’re not regularly consuming every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

If we took an honest look at our patterns of Bible intake, many of us would likely find that our souls are suffering from spiritual malnutrition. Just as our stomach growls when we’re hungry, our soul growls for the solid food of God’s Word (Job 23:12). Sadly, instead of turning to the pure milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2), we’ll snack on the many words of the world. Some sustenance can certainly be found on Christian blogs and books and through conversations with Christian friends, but no matter how tasty the instruction, their words are only supplemental. Man’s words are never to be a meal replacement for the Word of God.

Now, many of you are already thinking about losing those five to ten pounds you’ve picked up between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As a fellow in need of some trimming, I will likely join you in that noble endeavor as soon as the calendar strikes January. But as we make plans to pursue physical health, let’s remember that godliness has value in all things, holding promise for now and eternity (1 Timothy 4:8). Sure, cut out the carbs and go easy on the sugar in January, but don’t ever push back from the table of God’s Word. Instead, let’s commit to glut ourselves with the Word of God this year.

Sometime this week commit to a Bible reading plan. Need help getting started? Crossway books put together a super helpful, one-stop-shop webpage on Bible reading plans. There’s a chronological through the Bible plan, a Psalm a day plan, a five-month New Testament plan, and many more. With a little effort, you can find the one that’s just right for you. Just follow the link and prepare to get started: https://www.crossway.org/articles/download-a-free-bible-reading-plan-for-2017/

Tolle lege!