Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 10, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

During our Cornerstone Family Meeting last Sunday, the Finance Committee gave a report on the fiscal health of the congregation. The report was very encouraging! The Lord continues to provide abundantly for our needs through your weekly offerings, and for that we rejoice.

At the nearly halfway mark in our fiscal year, giving is ahead of projection and expenses are slightly under projection. As the year progresses, we expect expenses to increase as several significant ministry initiatives will catalyze in early 2024. That said, we are encouraged at our current position and are supremely grateful for your sacrificial giving and steady support of the church’s ministry.

Beyond ministry expenses, we will continue to incur costs associated with our renovation. These costs are being paid out over time from our surplus. As the project moves along, we continue to see our surplus diminish as expected. We are, however, committed not to let the surplus dip below $300,000 in order to maintain enough cash on hand for emergency purposes.

Finally, in March 2024 the balloon note on the chapel will come due. We owe roughly $600,000 on the chapel currently. It would be our earnest hope to pay off the chapel by March, so that we have no need to renegotiate the balloon note at a significantly higher interest rate. If each Cornerstone member committed to increase their giving by 25% to even 50% for the next three months—from December through February—we would be poised to pay off the chapel by March of 2024. But as I say that, it might be that the Lord has blessed you with the financial wherewithal to alleviate a large portion of this debt today with just one check. I do not know what the Lord will do, but I am convinced of this––with the Lord’s help, we can meet this need. I am convinced of it for this reason: the power of the gospel.

The churches in Macedonia were dirt poor. But when they heard the gospel, their hearts swelled with joy and their lives overflowed in a wealth of generosity for the work of ministry. People gave far beyond their means to support the advance of the gospel and to meet the needs of the church (2 Corinthians 8:1-3). Surely, with all the Lord has given us, we can loosen our grip on the earthly treasure that won’t last (Matthew 6:19-21) and give sacrificially and cheerfully toward the eternal treasure that will never end (Revelation 21:9-27).

May the Lord do a mighty work in our hearts and make it so!

On the Behalf of the Finance Committee,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 3, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

On December 4, 1973 in Birmingham, AL, the Presbyterian Church in America was born. That means that tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the PCA. To commemorate the occasion, all PCA churches are being asked to remember the denomination in prayer today. We will do just that while rejoicing in God’s goodness––that through many dangers, toils, and snares, God has preserved the witness of the PCA these 50 years. Should the Lord tarry, let’s pray the PCA will be preserved in faithfulness for yet another 50 years.

It’s appropriate that this day of prayer and recognition of God’s faithfulness to the PCA would fall on the first Sunday of Advent. As you may have heard this week on the Life at the Corner podcast, Advent has traditionally been a time of spiritual preparation. As we anticipate the celebration of the incarnation at Christmas, we prepare spiritually for the second coming of Jesus Christ. As the old Roman Missal declared, “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ is coming again!”

As an aid to your spiritual preparations during this season, our Cornerstone Christmas Devotional is available for you to pick up this morning. You will find daily services, readings, historical tidbits, and personal reflections from Cornerstone members. I want to publicly thank Mr. Greg Wilbur and Mr. Max Shell for their efforts in helping design, oversee, and execute the production of the devotional. They did a marvelous job! I believe you will be greatly helped by it. Please grab a copy—or two or three. Pass one along to a friend or a neighbor. Let’s put the devotional to good use as together we trim our lamps and stay awake, looking for the coming of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 12:37).

In addition to the Cornerstone devotional, there are a host of helpful resources on the Cornerstone bookshelf. Run by the bookshelf and check out Jonathan Gibson’s O Come, O Come Emmanuel or Leland Ryken’s Journey to Bethlehem. Both volumes are instant classics! Who knows, you might even find the perfect gifts for the readers on your list.

In closing, please don’t forget to mark your calendar for all that is going on in December at Cornerstone. From our Christmas concert on December 7th to our Children’s Choir performance on December 17th to our Lessons and Carols Sunday services on Christmas Eve, it’s a month full of opportunities to worship and fellowship together. It’s also, of course, an ideal time to invite unbelieving family, friends, and neighbors to join you. In fact, what could be sweeter than celebrating Christ’s coming and witnessing Christ come into the heart of another. Should that happen, it would be a merry Christmas indeed.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 26, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Today we celebrate the twelfth anniversary of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. On November 20, 2011, Cornerstone was received as a member church into the fellowship of the Presbyterian Church in America. Over the last twelve years, it’s been a privilege to sit on the front row in this theater of God’s grace and behold the gospel advancing in and through you. All praise to God for the great things he has done in our midst!

On a personal note, let me say what an honor it is to be your pastor. Thank you for allowing me the special joy to serve in this way, and for bearing with me all these years. You are a longsuffering people! My family and I are sincerely grateful to call Cornerstone our church home—to have our lots thrown in with all of you. As we look to the years ahead, our hearts are filled with gospel hope and expectation.

Speaking of gospel hope and expectation, next week we begin a six-week Advent and Christmas sermon series. In light of our recent study of Malachi, the end of the Old Testament, it seemed appropriate to turn the page, so to speak, to Matthew and spend a few weeks reflecting on the beginning of the New Testament. If you would, please pray each week for the Lord to use our time in Matthew to renew our love and commitment to Jesus Christ and his kingdom.

The Name Above All Names

  • December 3 – Matthew 1:1-6 “Jesus Christ, Son of Abraham”

  • December 10 – Matthew 1:1-11 “Jesus Christ, Son of David”

  • December 24 – Lessons & Carols Service

  • December 31 – Matthew 2:1-18 “Jesus Christ, A Threat to Kings”

  • January 7 – Matthew 2:1-18 “Jesus Christ, A Savior for Wise Men”

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 19, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Back in September, the elders approved a two-week officer nomination season for new officers. During that season, twenty-five different men were nominated for office. It was by far the largest single group of officer nominees in Cornerstone’s twelve-year history!

After conversations with nominees regarding qualifications for office, the work of elders and deacons, and the training requirements, fourteen men accepted their nomination and agreed to move forward with training. The fourteen men are: Jeff Alldredge, Preston Brooks, Terry Cheney, Doug Ford, Kerry Hart, Sean Kelley, Mike Kretsinger, Tim McCoy, Matt Michaud, Matt O’Roark, William Tice, Taylor Thompson, Carl Ware, and Craig Westerbeek.

Two of the fourteen men listed above are in a unique situation, and due to the uniqueness of their situation, the elders voted to expedite their process toward officership. Let me explain why.

Mr. Preston Brooks was nominated and trained as an officer last year. But instead of moving toward office at that time, Preston stepped toward an even greater need. He became a part time Interim Youth Director. When “interim” is a part of your title, the implication is you won’t be in that position forever. Given that, Preston and I agreed that once his service as Interim Youth Director concluded, we would revisit the question of officership. As many of you will remember, back in the summer Mr. Drew Abercrombie was hired as the Director of Youth and Families, relieving Preston of his duties with youth. When Preston was renominated in September, he immediately stepped toward the opportunity to serve as an officer.

Mr. Terry Cheney served as an elder at Cornerstone for five years before moving to Florida three years ago. Much to our delight, the Lord called Terry and his wife, Barbara, back to middle Tennessee and to Cornerstone at the beginning of this year. When Terry was nominated in September, he agreed to move back toward serving as an elder of the church.

This week on Tuesday, November 14, at our regularly stated session meeting both Preston Brooks and Terry Cheney were examined, sustained, and are unanimously recommended to you for election as elders on Sunday, December 31, at 9:45 a.m. in the chapel. All communing members are eligible to vote and are strongly encouraged to participate in the election.

Over the next few weeks, we will provide more information about Mr. Brooks and Mr. Cheney, so that you can get to know them better and prepare to vote your conscience on Sunday, December 31. In the meantime, please pray for Mr. Brooks and Mr. Cheney and for God’s will to be accomplished through the election on December 31.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 12, 2023

I asked Greg Wilbur to tell us a bit about the new piano that we’ve been enjoying in worship these past few months. In addition, he’s going to give us a preview of some of the upcoming music and services we will enjoy during the Advent season at Cornerstone.

Dear Cornerstone Family:

We are blessed with a number of gifted musicians in our midst, and it is a joy to lead the players week by week and in special services. As part of our weekly music, our old upright piano served us well for more than a decade. While fun to play, the design of that piano with its bright and narrow tone was better suited for a private practice room than for leading in worship.

Late in 2022, a Cornerstone member donated money with the express purpose of providing for a piano fund for a different and better instrument. The Finance Committee added to that amount, and I began the search for a piano to coincide with the renovations in the Chapel.

Many of you may know Brandon Herrenbruck, an elder at our sister church, Parish Presbyterian, and owner of Steinway Pianos in Nashville. Steinway pianos are some of the finest in the world—each handcrafted in New York—and they are the standard for performers and concert stages all over the globe.

Brandon selected several non-Steinway pianos for me to try—less expensive pianos made overseas, but still much better than the one we had. Before I left the store, he remembered that he also had a few used pianos in stock. And there was the 1934 Walnut Steinway M-class grand in immaculate condition and refurbished with Steinway parts. It is a beautiful antique that almost looks new and has a rich tone and feel. I studied music for six years in college and earned two degrees, yet I can only recall being able to play a Steinway piano twice. What a joyful thing to be able to utilize such a fine instrument week by week for the purpose of leading in worship. The Steinway store was very generous in making this a reality and I am most grateful.

I hope you have noticed and enjoyed the difference in the instruments and what that adds to our congregational singing. I continue to be encouraged every week by the enthusiastic and joyful singing of the congregation and am humbled and truly blessed to serve at Cornerstone.

With that in mind, I wanted to tell you about some of the fun and different ways that we will celebrate during the Advent season. On Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m., the Cornerstone choir along with the New College Chorale will present a Christmas Concert of music from various ages. Music from England, Italy, Norway, Russia, and Ireland including pieces by Handel, Vivaldi, Ola Gjeilo, Palestrina, Amy Grant, and James Taylor. This will be a concert of beautiful and fun music for the season.

Since December 24th falls on a Sunday this year, we decided to incorporate our annual Lessons & Carols service within our Sunday morning services. In addition to the preaching of the Word and the sacrament, we will read various Scriptures from the Gospel story—from Genesis, to Isaiah, to Matthew, to Luke—as well as sing together many familiar carols as a congregation. I look forward to sharing that morning with my church family as we worship and anticipate the coming of Christ in the Incarnation.

Your servant,

Greg