Pastoral Notes for Sunday, July 14, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Three weeks ago, we announced exciting news. The elders extended a call to Mr. Sebastian Bjernegård to be an Assistant Pastor at Cornerstone. If you missed that announcement, please go back and read the pastoral note from Sunday, June 23 on the website or app.  

Since that announcement, Sebastian and his wife, Ainsley, as well as their two children, Felicity and Theo, have been busy making preparations to move from Edinburgh, Scotland to Franklin, TN. Just this last week, the Bjernegårds made their way across the pond. They are wayfaring in North Carolina right now with family. If all goes according to plan, they will transition to Franklin later this month. I can’t wait for you to meet them!

On that note, we will officially introduce the Bjernegårds on Sunday, August 4. During the Sunday School hour that day, I will conduct a Q&A with Sebastian so you can get to know him and learn firsthand about his call to ministry and why he and Ainsley are excited about serving at Cornerstone. Please mark your calendars!

Speaking of marking your calendars, we will have a chock-full August with exciting opportunities for ministry. Because of all that’s going on, our Sunday services and Sunday School hours will be a little different in August. Please take note of the schedule below so you can be fully involved in the life of ministry in August. 

July 21 & 28 – Sunday School Break 

August 4 – Q&A with Sebastian Bjernegård during the Sunday School Hour

August 11 – Start of Youth and Children’s Sunday School; Officer Election

August 18 – Dr. Derek Thomas preaching and Q&A during the Sunday School Hour

August 25 – Officer Ordination/Installation Service; Cornerstone Family Meeting during the Sunday School Hour

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, July 7, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Due to the in-and-out nature of the summer schedule, we’ve often chosen to take a break from book length sermon series to focus on singular texts and stand-alone sermons. For that reason, we’re breaking from 1 Corinthians till the fall and are starting a slow meditative walk through Psalm 37 in a series titled, A Faith to Live By.

Why Psalm 37? Well, as the moral foundations continue to collapse and as enemies align themselves against the church, it’s critical that Christian’s are steeped in the tried-and-true never changing truth of the gospel. Speaking to the heart and full of wise instruction, Psalm 37 gives us reason for hope when all around us evil appears to be winning the day. Please pray this summer series equips us to trust, delight, and commit our way to the Lord.

Last week on the behalf of the session we announced the unanimous recommendation of Mr. Sean Kelley and Mr. William Tice for election as ruling elders and Mr. Matt Michaud and Mr. Carl Ware as deacons at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. The election will be held during the Sunday School hour on Sunday, August 11. All communing members of Cornerstone are eligible and encouraged to participate.

In order to help you get to know these brothers and vote your conscience on August 11, I’ve asked each man to provide some basic biographical information for your review. Please take a moment to read the information below. Moreover, pray for these brothers as they pursue the confirmation of the Lord’s call to officership through the election on August 11.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, June 30, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

As a baseline of involvement at Cornerstone, we recommend every member follow a fairly straightforward three-point formula: attend worship weekly, find a place to grow, find a place to serve. 

There are lots of other good things we could add to that list, so it’s fair to ask the question, “Why do we recommend these three commitments in particular?” The reason is simple: those who make these commitments tend to demonstrate measurable signs of spiritual growth over time.

When you think about it, this is hardly surprising. Over and over the Bible emphasizes the priority of Lord’s Day worship, discipleship, and service as essential to what it means to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20; Hebrews 10:23-25).

As we continue to scale for health and growth as a congregation, there are areas of ministry—especially service—that need your help. Toward that end, we are taking time today in worship to hear the Lord say to us, “Bear each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2).

Then, each Sunday in July, we will highlight a particular ministry area in need. Specifically, we will give attention to the prayer ministry team, the nursery team, the communion preparation team, and the watchman team. You will hear reports and testimonies from ministry leaders and team members as well as specific ways you can serve. Begin praying now about how the Lord is calling you to respond to the needs within the body of Christ.

Finally, on the behalf of the elders, it is my distinct privilege to announce the unanimous recommendation of Mr. Sean Kelley and Mr. William Tice for election as ruling elders and Mr. Matt Michaud and Mr. Carl Ware as deacons at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. These brothers have faithfully completed officer training and been sustained in examination in the areas of Christian character, Bible knowledge, the Westminster Confession of Faith, the PCA Book of Church Order, and qualification for church office (1 Timothy 3:1-13).

The election will be held on Sunday, August 11 during the Sunday School hour. Only communing members of Cornerstone are eligible to vote in the upcoming election. If you are a communing member of Cornerstone, we strongly urge you to participate in the upcoming officer election!

Next week we will publish short bios and pictures of the officer candidates, so that you can begin to get know them better. Between now and August 11, please feel free to reach out to them directly. Their contact information is in the church directory. Ask about their testimony, their walk with Jesus Christ, and their sense of call to the office of elder or deacon. They would be delighted to hear from you.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, June 23, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

I have big news! But let’s review a little history first.

At the beginning of this year, following the recommendation of our Personnel Committee, the elders of Cornerstone voted unanimously to begin a search for another Assistant Pastor. At our last Cornerstone Family Meeting in early March, I gave an update on the search process mentioning that a job description for the position had been written and approved, and that the Personnel Committee, which was serving as the search committee, was collecting applications, resumes/CV’s, and ministerial data forms from qualified ministerial candidates. 

Over the last three to four months, we conducted interviews, listened to sermons, called references, conducted more interviews, and prayed, prayed, prayed. We saw doors open and close. We saw candidates enter and depart from the process. But with each step, we sensed the Lord’s guiding hand leading us to his man.

Three weeks ago, one of our lead candidates and his wife were invited for an on-site visit. Over the course of three days, in a variety of formal and informal contexts, the search committee, the staff, and the elders met with the candidate and his wife. With each meeting, we felt more and more confirmed that this was God’s man for us.

After their departure, we took time to collect feedback, deliberate, and—you guessed it—pray, pray, pray. At the end of that process, the session voted unanimously to extend a call to Mr. Sebastian Bjernegård to be an Assistant Pastor at Cornerstone. In very short order, Sebastian and his wife, Ainsley, responded to our offer and accepted the call.

As you probably surmised from the last name, Sebastian ain’t from around these parts. Sebastian grew up in Sweden. While in high school, he was an exchange student and lived for a year in Fort Payne, AL. In God’s kind providence, he lived with a PCA pastor’s family, and over the course of that year, he came to know the Lord. Soon thereafter, he enrolled at Belhaven University in Jackson, MS, which is where he met his future wife, Ainsley, a Miami native. After graduation, sensing a call to ministry, Sebastian enrolled at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson and worked at First Presbyterian Church. After completing his MDiv, he crossed the pond again to begin work on a Ph.D. that he’s nearly finished with at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Sebastian and Ainsley have two young children, Felicity and Theo, and one on the way (due in September). They are eager to get to know the Cornerstone family! Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to meet them. If all goes according to plan, the Bjernegård’s will be on middle TN soil mid to late July! Needless to say, they have a big move ahead of them, and a lot to figure out in a short period of time. As timelines and needs become clear, we will share more with you. In the meantime, please pray for the Bjernegård family as they transition to Franklin and prepare to partner with us in the work of ministry.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, June 16, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Since 1909 the United States of America has in some form celebrated Father’s Day. As a complement to Mother’s Day, the third Sunday in June was set apart in order to specifically honor the role of fathers in families and more generally the institution of Fatherhood for the good of society.

Statistically, it is a well-established fact that a home with a father fairs better than home without a father. From alleviating poverty to children’s academic performance and future success in life, the presence of fathers is a blessing to families and communities bearing generational dividends.  

More than a secular holiday, however, Father’s Day provides Christians with a unique opportunity to honor, not just earthly Fathers, but the only perfect Father, our Heavenly Father. Providing everything we need––most importantly, salvation––and ensuring our complete maturity, our Heavenly Father is second to none and is the model for what it means to be a godly father.

Today, we give thanks for our earthly Fathers for the many ways they love, care, and serve the best interest of their families. But more than this, we give thanks and praise to our Heavenly Father, who loves, cares, and serves the best interest of his family eternally. May he be glorified in all we do today in worship!

Secondly, I want to extend a brief word of thanksgiving to the many of you who are avid listeners to the new church podcast, Life at the Corner. I’m not going to lie; I debated for a long time whether to enter the podcast world. In large part because I wasn’t sure (1) whether the effort was worth the investment and (2) whether I could add something else to my already overloaded plate. Nevertheless, your excitement and interest, coupled with the steady stream of comments and encouragements I have received along the way have convinced me of the podcast’s ministerial benefit.

That said, breaks are important. A few weeks ago I decided the first season of the podcast will come to a close at the end of June. That means the last episode of the first season will drop on Monday, June 24. I will take off July and return for a second season of the podcast in August, Lord willing. If you haven’t yet had a chance to listen in to the podcast, please consider taking time over the month of July to explore the wide variety of important topics we’ve addressed thus far, including deconstruction, kingdom prayer, Israel and the church, transgender weddings, and, most recently, the conscience.

Finally, and, briefly, thank you for praying for Randy Allen, Jim Payne, Tony Giles, and yours truly as we served this week in Richmond, VA, at the 51st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. I look forward to sharing a few highlights from this week’s business during the Sunday School hour today. Please join me!

Your servant,