Update From Pastor Sandy

About 6:40 Saturday morning I was overcome with a severe stomach virus, vertigo, and sensitivity to light and sound. I have never been so sick in all my life. Monday evening I began to get some relief but my recovery is slow. It's Tuesday evening and I'm dictating this from bed.

I will not be in Mobile Saturday but I hope to preach Sunday and teach the Membership class that afternoon. As soon as I am able I will process the hundreds of voicemails, emails and text messages awaiting me. I ask for your continued prayers as I regain my strength and health.

 

How Sundays Changed The World

In spite of her flaws and shortcoming, there is no agent of change as powerful as the Church of Jesus Christ! Every Sunday people's lives are changed by the good news of the gospel. Every day of the week people's lives are transformed by the ministry of the Church. It still amazes me
that God invites ordinary people like us to do extraordinary work in our world.

Join us this week as we conclude our "I Love Sundays" series by celebrating some of the accomplishments of the Church, MCC, and Cornerstone. We are making a difference in the world yet there is still much to be done. This is a great time to join in and be a part of something
bigger than yourself. There is nothing on earth like the Church. Come and rejoice and be renewed and then let's get back to work.

Rev Sandy, Pastor

Sundays are for Believing and Receiving

Even with the diversity of media in the world today, Sunday is the day of the week more people come to hear the good news of the gospel. It's an old, old story that still has the power to reclaim and transform lives.

At times we forget who we are and Sundays help us reclaim our holy and sacred identity. None of us are perfect and Sundays offer us an opportunity for spiritual transformation. Life can be difficult and Sundays help us capture that full and abundant life Jesus has for us now and throughout eternity. And the icing on the cake is it's as easy as believing and receiving these free gifts from God.

Try to think of someone you know who needs the good news of Sunday. Invite them to join you for church this week. Come, be blessed and share the blessing!

Rev Sandy, Pastor

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