Good Sunday's Make Better Monday's

As we continue with our "I Love Sunday" series, this week we'll be digging deeper into how to have a good - if not great Sunday. As with most things in life, preparation pays off. So the foundation of a great Sunday actually begins on Saturday. No, I'm not asking you to give more time, but to invest a little time on Saturday to save some time and stress on Sunday. It's about making little changes that can produce a big difference.

What a wonderful time we had on National Back to Church Sunday! We invited our family and friends and many of them came!! Hopefully that will encourage us to make inviting others a regular part of our week. Thanks to everyone who helped make Sunday such a success. Know that you are loved and appreciated. I'll close with Galatians 6:9-10 from The Message: "So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith."

Just as we focused on guests last Sunday, let's reach out to those who have been away from Cornerstone for whatever reason. Let's be sure to include them and invite them back to church this Sunday. It takes all of us for us to be at our best. Remind them they belong at Cornerstone!

Rev Sandy, Pastor

Sunday's Can Surprise You

Did you know that Sunday is meant to be the best day of your week? It's true. Once upon a time almost everything stopped on Sunday. It was indeed a day of family, faith, rest, and renewal. It was the best day of the week. Some of you have fond memories of days gone by, and others can't even imagine such a world. That's because the world has changed and every day is pretty much the same.

Not everyone has Sunday off.....like me....I've worked on Sunday for almost 21 years now. So instead of thinking of Sunday as that day of renewal, we must set aside another day to observe our Sabbath. The important thing is to choose a day in which you feed your spirit, rest your body and listen for the voice of the Lord. For me that day is Friday. But if you're off on Sunday then that is the best day because you have the opportunity to go to church.

You may be surprised at some of the benefits of attending church. I'll be sharing some of those in my sermon this week. And thanks to technology, you can experience church even if you can't be there by watching our internet broadcast, either live or after the fact. It's not the same, but it's the next best thing.

On this "National Back to Church Sunday" we begin a new "I Love Sundays" series. The topics are:

• Week 2 Good Sundays Make Better Mondays
• Week 3 Better Sundays Make Better Families
• Week 4 Sundays Can Change Your Eternity
• Week 5 How Sundays Changed the World

So invite someone to join you this Sunday and maybe they will rekindle their love for the best day of the week. And if you work on Sunday, choose a day for your Sabbath. Watch the service on-line and be blessed. The important thing is to take a day of nourishment for your soul. God is waiting to share that day with you.

Rev Sandy, Pastor

Daring to Wait in God

Few things are more irritating than waiting. All of the advances in technology haven't helped. They've spoiled us to faster, faster, faster. Yet waiting is an important part of life and developing character. Our inability to wait is the cause of so many problems in our lives. We want immediate gratification and we'll even pay more if we don't have to wait.

Perhaps the greatest challenge comes when we're in God's waiting room. We often become like children and get frustrated and pouty when we're waiting on God. It's as though we forget the promise from Isaiah 40:31 that as we wait upon the Lord our strength is renewed, we mount up with wings as eagles, we run and not grow weary, and we walk and not faint. God doesn't waste our time - especially our times of waiting.

Join us Sunday as we complete our Daring Faith series by focusing on Daring to Wait on God. This may be one of the hardest lessons of all. But it's time we shifted our thinking from the frustration of waiting to the blessing of waiting. If you know someone who's in God's waiting room and they've become frustrated, invite them to join you Sunday. I've got good news to share!

Rev Sandy, Pastor

Dare to Connect and Commit

God wired us to connect with God, ourselves and others. When we do, amazing benefits come. And when we're disconnected, we suffer the consequences thereof. Whether you need to work on your connection with God, yourself, or others, your life will be enhanced if you step out in faith and dare to connect.

Sunday mornings at 10:45am is the best time to work on these connections. Yet often we walk out of church feeling as disconnected as when we walked in. We've got to change that Cornerstone! We may have been let down or hurt in the past but we cannot let that keep us from trying again. It's that important to our spiritual growth and development.

Romans 12:4-5 (Message) "We are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from Christ's Body as a whole, not the other way around. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of Christ's Body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we?" Now that's an image to consider! 

If you've been cut-off for whatever reason, I have good news for you! Jesus, the Great Physician is ready, willing and able to stitch you up and reattach you as soon as you dare to connect and commit to taking your place. Cornerstone is not complete without you and you are not complete without Cornerstone!! Together we can experience great joy and accomplish so much more. Please join us.

Rev Sandy, Pastor

Dare to Give Your Best

Taking the lead from scripture, I want to give you something to think about and pray to understand this week. The text comes from 2 Timothy 2:3-7, "Endure hardship with us like a good SOLDIER of Jesus Christ. No one serving as a soldier gets tied up in civilian affairs-but wants to please their commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an ATHLETE, they do not receive the victor's crown unless they compete according to the rules. And the hardworking FARMER should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Think about these three illustrations, and the Lord will help you understand how they apply to you."

Spend some time meditating on this text and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand how it applies to you. Then join us Sunday as we dig deeper to learn lessons from soldiers, athletes and the farmer - lessons that will help us dare to give our best to God. There is good, better, and best. God deserves our best and as we give it, miracles happen in our lives, our church, and our world. I hope to see you at 10:45am Sunday.

Rev Sandy, Pastor

Daring to Imagine

It's not often that one hears the word "imagination" in connection to spiritual matters. That's unfortunate because it is so important when it comes to developing Daring Faith. The challenge is that our imagination decreases as we age. When we're children we have wild imaginations. And often the adults in our lives tell us how unrealistic we are. But God gave us our imagination for a reason and it's time for us to reclaim it!

Join us Sunday as we look at what destroys imagination, why we are afraid to imagine, and how we can recapture this God-given gift. If you want to know your God-given life dream, you need to spark your imagination. It's part of knowing the truth and being set free to be who God created you to be.

I'll leave you with a prayer from the first chapter of Ephesians, "May God enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see the hope that God's calling holds for you." I hope to see you Sunday, in person or on the Internet.

Rev Sandy, Pastor

Daring to Believe

If we surveyed our congregation on Sunday morning, almost everyone would say they're a believer. And on one level that would be correct. Most people attending church believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That's great! But that is just the beginning. Many believer's never venture beyond this intellectual knowing that Jesus is who He claimed to be.

But there is so much more than head knowledge. The next step is heart commitment. If you research the Greek word interpreted "belief" it is "pisteuo" which means to trust in, to cling to, to rely on, to adhere to, or to commit to. So step one is to know in your head that Jesus is Lord of all, step two is to commit to making Jesus Lord of your life.

Last week I spoke of how seeing life with eyes of faith opens the door to miracles. The greatest miracle of all is salvation. Have you fully received that miracle or have you stopped with just a head knowledge of your Savior? Have you committed parts of your life to Christ but have other parts you still try to hold onto and control? Unless you are completely committed to making Jesus Lord of all in your life, you have room to grow.

Join us Sunday as we exam what it means to experience the full miracle of salvation. Come and be challenged to take the next step on your journey to Daring Belief in which you not only know but fully commits to God's plan of salvation for your life. It's about more than where we spend eternity, it's about enjoying abundant life right here and now. Don't settle for less than God's best for you.

Rev Sandy, Pastor