Posts by Cornerstone Staff (Page 25)

Posts by Cornerstone Staff (Page 25)

Julia Pender’s Baptism: God’s Signal To Me

Hi, I am Julia Pender and I have been going to Cornerstone Church for about 2 years.  I have met and seen so many great people who have changed my life greatly. My family and I  are originally from South Carolina and when we were there we found a great church. While we were there it was an emotional roller coaster; we had ups and downs. One of my favorite verses is Joshua 1:9 it says Have I not commanded…

God Rescues Through Water: 
Stories of Water and Baptism in the Bible

Today’s is Julia’s baptism! We are so excited to celebrate with her this special moment. Julia, I want you to know that although today is your baptism, you’re not alone in your baptism. Do you remember how the Bible starts? The second verse in Genesis says, “…the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:2b). From the beginning God uses water for something special. We see him rescuing his people through water all throughout the…

Thanksgiving Communion

This past Thursday we gathered with friends and family to share a Thanksgiving meal and give thanks for the ways the Lord has blessed us. I found that this year I was far less intentional about giving thanks than I should have been. I gave thanks to the Lord for a few things in my mind but I got so wrapped up in family time that I didn’t stop and thank the Lord as I would have liked. I’m assuming…

Gospel-Centered Advent Reading Christmas Eve: The Christ Candle

Since the moment Adam took a bite out of the forbidden fruit we’ve all been waiting for a Savior to come and put things right again (Gen 3:15). We waited during the time of Noah and the flood. We waited during the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We waited during the years of captivity in Egypt and the years of spiritual rebellion in Israel. We waited under the good but broken King David and the bad kings who followed.…

Gospel-Centered Advent Reading Week 4: The Love Candle

The big story of the Bible is all about the one true God who chooses to love unloveable people. After Moses brought the people of Israel safely out of slavery in Egypt they came to a mountain called Sinai where God made a special covenant promise to love and care for them. Yet even as God was making this promise they made a golden calf to love and worship. God would have destroyed the people in that moment if Moses…

Gospel-Centered Advent Reading Week 3: The Joy Candle

Can you imagine the joy Adam and Eve must have felt to walk with God in the garden of Eden? They knew and experienced their Creator face to face. We can also imagine the despair they experienced when they were cast out of Eden for sinning against God. Yet in his mercy God began to restore the joy of knowing and experiencing him through a man he named Abraham and his descendants Israel.  God often leads people into trial so…

Gospel-Centered Advent Reading Week 2: The Peace Candle

In the beginning we had peace with God and each other. When we chose our way instead of God’s way we traded our peace for conflict and war. Humankind ruled with an iron fist and so God wiped all people but Noah and his family off the face of the earth with a flood. As the waters dried Noah sent a dove from the ark to search for dry land. It returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf. The dove…

Gospel-Centered Advent Reading Week 1: The Hope Candle

Creation began with hope. In the first verses of the Bible God called hope out of the chaotic darkness. Genesis 1:2-3 (NIV) Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  At the beginning there was so much hope. Into this hope-filled world God brought the first man and woman, Adam and Eve.…

Children Dedication Example

This last Sunday I had the privilege of dedicating one the children of our families here at Cornerstone Congregational Church. I used Before the Lord, Before the Church: “How-To” Plan a Child Dedication to help me plan the explanation and commitments.  With this family’s permission I’m sharing the slides I shared with the congregation that day. You can also watch how I did it in the above video. You can find a writeup of another baby dedication here. Please use thoughtfully.…

New Beginnings – Jennie Pelletier’s WCAT Cancer Story

Listen to Jennie Pelletier share her testimony of God’s faithfulness in the midst of cancer. Pastor Jonathan also shares a few words at the end. You can hear Jennie’s coming to Christ story here and her written story of her cancer journey here. Thank you Jennie for sharing and Betsy Carolina for having us on New Beginnings!

The Proverbs 31 Woman – The Perfect Wife

Have you ever wanted to be so good something that you tried to read everything that was written about it so that you could learn as much as possible? That was me the year that I got married to my husband Joe. I wanted so badly to be a good wife, the best wife I could ever possibly be, that I read every book I could find. I was hoping to find a to do list that said do these…