Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 5, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

What a wonderful Reformation Sunday we enjoyed last week! From “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” to “A Mighty Fortress is our God” to exalting in the sola Christus theme from Acts 4, 1 Timothy 2, and many other New Testament texts—it was a rich morning of worship.

And boy oh boy, we were packed. We had over 60 people in overflow in the first service alone! Thanks to those of you who gave up seats and squeezed in tight to make sure everyone could worship. This “good problem” of growth is real at Cornerstone! It makes me eager for that greatly expanded and improved overflow room that is being constructed on the first floor.

Speaking of first-floor construction, things are moving along! Each week a bit more progress is being made. We did run into a little snag two weeks ago with the duct work, which has delayed getting air conditioning and heat to the second and third floors (not the Chapel) back up and running. If you’ve wondered why it’s been a little chillier or warmer on the second and third floors the last couple of weeks for Sunday School, that is why! Lord willing, the new duct work will be put in this week, and the air conditioning and heat will be back up and running. Apart from that hiccup, everything else has gone according to plan and is on time. We’re still aiming to be in the new space by the end of the year or the first of next year. Please continue to pray to that end.

In addition to the first-floor renovation, there are a number of smaller but significant projects that remain in process including the finishing work in the Chapel, projects at The Corner House, and audio and visual needs for in-person and livestream. I want to personally thank you for bearing with us as we are running down a number of different paths project-wise right now. The advances being made will help meet the challenges of our growing ministry, but the patience needed for remodeling and expansion are real :) Over the next three months, these projects will draw to a close, and we will start enjoying the fruit of these labors (Lord willing).

Before I go, I want to share about an opportunity we have to reach the children and, through children, the families of our community with the gospel. Next week in worship we will be highlighting the wonderful ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). Your Missions Committee in relationship with Suzanne Farris, a member at Cornerstone, have been prayerfully considering partnering with CEF for starting a Good News Club. We haven’t committed to doing this yet. The last thing we want to do is make plans and then later ask God to bless them! No, we’ve just been thinking, talking, and praying, but we believe it’s time to “go public,” share about this opportunity, and see if the Lord sparks an interest in you to serve the children and families of our community through sharing the good news of the gospel. So, come back next week and learn more. In the meantime, pray that God would be pleased to use us—whether through CEF or some other means—as a gospel witness to the least of these (Matthew 19:14, 25:40).

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 29, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

On October 31, 1517, an Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther took a hammer and nail and posted his now famous 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door in Germany. That courageous action sparked one of the greatest movements of God’s Spirit in human history. And it all began on... Halloween? That’s right. The launch of what would become known as the Protestant Reformation began on the one night of the year where ghosts and goblins rule the streets. If you think that’s merely a coincidence, you’re likely mistaken.

Halloween is short for All Hallows Eve. The word “hallow” is the word for “holy.” You know this because you say it every week in worship when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). All Hallows’ Eve was the name given to the night before the Christian feast, All Saint’s Day, which was celebrated on November 1. All Saint’s Day is the annual remembrance of those who have died in Christ and gone before us into heaven.

Now, it has been suggested that Martin Luther chose to nail his 95 Theses on All Hallows Eve in anticipation of All Saints Day, because his protest sought to expose the corruption of the church in his day and call it back to the faith once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 1:3). Luther believed the late medieval church was, in many ways, held captive by a “doctrine of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1), and that the time had come for a return to the historic orthodox belief and practice held by the church throughout the ages. To borrow another phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, Luther wanted to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven.

Rehearsing the legacy of faith passed down through the generations is a critical Christian discipline (Hebrews 12:1). Though often neglected today, it was common historically for the church to pause during this season and remember those who have passed into glory, giving thanks to God for their lives.

As a way of stepping into that discipline, next Sunday, November 5, we’re going take time to hear testimonies from Cornerstone members regarding those who have died in Christ Jesus. In preparation for next week’s service, please take few minutes to remember a person or two––a grandmother, a coach, a teacher, a missionary, a historical figure, a writer––who died in Christ and offer thanksgiving for their life.

As a precursor to next week’s service, today we recognize and rejoice in a particular movement of God in church history, the Protestant Reformation. Or, properly speaking, we recognize and rejoice in the recovery of the gospel of Jesus Christ that took place during the Protestant Reformation. On that note, look for themes related to the gospel and the precious doctrine of justification by faith as we offer to God worship with reverence and awe.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 22, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Two weeks ago, I mentioned my intention to write several brief articles on the complexities and mysteries behind Malachi 1:2-3, “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated.” I want to pick up that thread with you today by zeroing in on the biblical doctrine of the love of God. I italicized the words “biblical doctrine” because the love of God is often thought of in one dimensional or sentimentalized ways in our time.

When we hear, “God is love,” it is often assumed we mean that God is an old softy, a grandfather in the sky. He keeps candy in his pocket in case he passes children on the sidewalk and just loves and accepts everyone and everything no matter what. The problem with this notion is it doesn’t faithfully represent––you guessed it––the biblical doctrine of the love of God.

In the year 2000, the long-time professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, D.A. Carson, was writing a book on the love of God. After giving himself to the subject for several months, he landed on this title for his book: The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. Carson is onto something with that title. When we take the Bible’s teaching on the love of God seriously, we’re immediately confronted with a multifaceted and complex doctrine.

In Carson’s work, he identifies five ways the Bible speaks of God’s love. Today, I want to look at two of them with you.

First, there is the love that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have shared for one another from all eternity. Before anything was made, God enjoyed within himself perfect love and communion (John 3:35, 5:20, 14:31). It is this love that is the source from which every other dimension of the love of God flows. The rich love and communion of the Godhead overflows into the work of creation and providence.

Second, there is God’s providential love for everything he made. In and from the love that God enjoys within himself, he created the heavens and the earth. He declared what he made was “good” (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Why is creation good? Because it is the fruit of a loving Triune Creator. This is why God cares for every part of creation, even the parts that seem insignificant like lilies of the field and birds of the air (Matthew 6:26-29). When we speak of God’s care, we are speaking of his providence. You see the word provide in the word providence for a reason!

Question 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism beautifully expresses God’s providential love in this way: “The almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were, by his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth, with all creatures, and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.”

I’ll pick up this thread again either next week or sometime in early November and consider with you the other three ways the Bible speaks of God’s love. Stay tuned!

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 15, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,
Today’s Pastoral Note is written by Mr. Ethan Vroom, Pastoral Assistant at Cornerstone.

Members of Cornerstone often ask me what my job entails: “What do you do?” It’s both humorous and encouraging. Humorous because I have to stop think, “Yea, what am I doing?” But it’s also very encouraging because it shows the church cares about me.

My work at Cornerstone ranges from serving with our youth ministry, doing yard maintenance, assisting Pastor Nate, and organizing our retirement ministry at Morning Pointe. For all that is asked of me in my work at Cornerstone, I am grateful for the opportunity, and I thank the Lord for the experience and training I am receiving.

Part of organizing Morning Pointe means that I occasionally lead and preach there. And this stretches me! What does a 24- year-old young man have to teach and preach to those who have lived so much longer than I have? Instead of trying to come up with something new, I try not to complicate it and stick with the basics.

In preaching at Morning Pointe several months ago, I was led to the passage where Jesus welcomes the little children in Matthew 19:13-15. Jesus tells his disciples, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” As I pondered this passage in preparation, the beauty of the gospel became clearer and was a much-needed reminder in my own life.

In ancient Rome, which is the backdrop for this passage, children were of little value. They only mattered if they were the oldest son, because they would uphold the family line. Most other children had no dignity. They were often sold for money. If not wanted, children were sometimes left to die on the street and thrown out like trash. This is why what Jesus does in this story is so radical. Jesus calls those who are weak and helpless, rejected by the world, into his presence and promises to them eternal life.

In the previous chapter, Matthew 18, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is teaching that receiving eternal life is dependent upon us becoming like children. What does this mean?

Recently, my younger brother had his first precious covenant daughter. Because she is just an infant, she is weak and dependent. She cannot feed or protect herself. Instead, she is dependent upon her parents to feed and protect her. She brings nothing to the relationship with her parents, and, yet, my brother and sister-in-law love and care for her deeply.

Christ’s call is to become like a child. We must become like children. We must realize that we are weak and dependent upon the Lord for all things. All we bring to our relationship with the Lord is our sin and our need for a savior. And yet, God, in His grace, has given us every good gift. And he delights in us when we acknowledge our need for Jesus as weak and dependent children.

So, if you look at your life and all its complexities and there are areas where you desperately need help, bring that to the Lord; he delights in it. Come to him, weak and dependent upon him for everything—for when you do, to you belongs the kingdom of heaven.

Grace & Peace,

Ethan

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 8, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

In our opening sermon in Malachi last week, we heard Israel’s rebellious retort to God, “How have you loved us?” Then, we considered the Lord’s bewildering response, “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? ...Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.” As confusing as that statement is initially, it’s clear the Lord intends to draw us into reflection on the story of Jacob and Esau. In reflecting on that story, we clearly see that neither of these twin boys are deserving of God’s love. In fact, when you read the story, you’re particularly struck by the craftiness, manipulation, and deceit of Jacob! Clearly, God didn’t choose Jacob because he was better than Esau. And yet––God chose Jacob. He could just as easily have chosen Esau over Jacob. He was, after all, the older of the two. But God, in his sovereignty, set his love on Jacob and not Esau (Romans 9:6-13).

The Lord tells us this to highlight the wonder of God’s love! None of us deserve God’s love. Truth be told, we are no different than Jacob, are we? We sin in thought, word, and deed every day. Malachi wants Israel, and the Lord wants all of us to be led into humble astonishment, “Why me, O Lord? Why did you set your love on me? I am so underserving!” Indeed, that is true. The answer to the “why” of God’s election is a grand mystery. It is locked up in the hidden council of God (Deuteronomy 29:29). We must simply receive it by faith with the humble astonishment it deserves––that we, chiefs of sinners, would be the objects of his love.

At the same time, we have important biblical questions that need an answer. For instance, what does it mean, “... but Esau I have hated?” Does God really hate certain people? He certainly hates the wicked (see Psalm 5:5, 11:5; Revelation 2:6). But how do we reconcile God hating with 1 John 4:6 where we’re told “God is love?” Does not God tell us that he loves the world (John 3:16)? Is it really true that some people have no chance to be saved? How can that be when the Lord says he “...desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4)?

These are very important biblical questions. To give them the kind of treatment they deserve will take far more space than I have today. In the weeks ahead, however, I will take time to unpack the language of love and hate as it relates to God and his creation. Please stay tuned as together we consider the rich complexities of the Bible’s teaching on God’s love.

As I conclude, take time to review the first quarter financial statement below provided by your Finance Committee. On behalf of the elders and deacons, we want to thank you for consistently giving to the work of the Lord at Cornerstone. God is expressing his generosity through you month after month as you give cheerfully and sacrificially to the work of ministry. If you have any questions regarding the quarterly financial report or would like more detail, please contact Robin Spychalski in the church office at office@cstonepres.org.

Your servant,