Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 23, 2025

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

Today we take time in service to celebrate the 14th anniversary of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. On November 20, 2011, Cornerstone was received as a member church of the Presbyterian Church in America. Since that time, the Lord has blessed and grown this congregation far beyond anything I could have imagined.

As we remember God’s faithfulness and give thanks, I’d like to take a moment of personal privilege to say it’s one of the great joys of my life to be your pastor. Your patience in bearing with me, your embrace of the ministry, and your steadfast commitment to the mission of the church is a powerful testament to the Spirit’s work among us. Truly, it is a gift to call Cornerstone my church home and you my church family.

As we give thanks for fourteen years of God’s lavish care and provision, it is also appropriate to share with you where we stand financially as we approach the end of the calendar year.

First, thank you! Your regular and sacrificial giving enables everything we do—from weekly worship and discipleship to mercy ministries and missions. Humanly speaking, the church could not exist without your generosity, and the Lord continues to meet our needs through your faithfulness.

Second, here is where we are:

·      We are 12% below projected giving for the fiscal year.

·      By careful stewardship, we are 10% below projected expenses.

·      Historically, nearly a quarter of our annual giving comes in November and December.

·      Because of the current deficit, we need to receive approximately 30% of our annual budget—$605,000—between now and December 31 to remain on track.

We believe the Lord, who has been faithful for fourteen years, will continue to provide for our needs. We are earnestly praying that the current financial gap closes over these final weeks of the year.

On that note, let me encourage you to continue (or begin!) giving faithfully to the work of the church. In addition, as you plan end-of-the-year giving, please consider a special year-end gift to help us overcome the current deficit and finish the year in a strong position financially. If you have questions about giving in non-traditional ways such as appreciated stocks, mutual funds, a qualified charitable donation, or some other means, please contact our bookkeeper, Tammy McCoy, at bookkeeper@cstonepres.org.

Let’s press forward together in cheerful, hope-filled giving as we enter year fifteen of gospel ministry at Cornerstone.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 9, 2025

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

On Thursday of this last week, I sent a message to the church regarding the ministry of Rev. Tony Giles. If you missed that important communication, please take a moment now to read the note below.

One of the great blessings of being the pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church is the opportunity to partner with elders, deacons, and staff who deeply love the Lord and are committed to living lives of selfless sacrifice in service to His church.

 One servant who has modeled such love and sacrifice over many years is our dear brother, Rev. Tony Giles. For the last eleven years, Tony has served Cornerstone with sincerity, humility, and devotion. He’s a dependable servant, a right-hand man in the work of ministry, and I’ve been helped and challenged by his example of Christlike maturity, wisdom, and grace over the years.

I’m pleased to say Tony will, by God’s grace, continue to serve at Cornerstone in the days ahead, but his role with us will be greatly reduced as we close out 2025 and head into 2026.

Pending approval of the Nashville Presbytery on November 11, Rev. Tony Giles will serve as “stated supply” (Book of Church Order 22-5 and 22-6) for a sister congregation in our presbytery, City Church of East Nashville (PCA). Essentially, Tony will be serving as a “pastor on loan” from us to City Church while they are without a minister and passing through a difficult season of transition.

Tony’s call as a minister will remain with Cornerstone during his season of service at CCEN. In addition, he will continue to perform a few duties of ministry at Cornerstone on a very part-time basis. If this is approved by the presbytery on November 11, Tony will begin his new role at CCEN on December 1, 2025.

As Tony prepares to take up this new mantle, let’s covenant together to pray for him, Mary Lynn, and CCEN. As sad as we all will be not see our brother regularly on Sunday morning, let’s rejoice in the opportunity to send our brother to a sister church in need who will undoubtedly benefit from his faithful and steady ministry.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 2, 2025

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

Thank you, thank you for prayerfully participating in our recent officer nomination season. I’m pleased to report that fourteen men have stepped forward and accepted their officer nomination. The fourteen are Jonathan Eby, Matt Johnston, Eric Smith, Will Tice, Jeff Kremer, Lester Farwell, Al Adams, Mike Kretsinger, Dan Apple, Craig Westerbeek, David Horn, Jason Crook, Nic Lane, and Chris Holder. Please begin praying for these men and their families as they enter officer training and seek to discern the Lord’s call.

Well, it’s the month of November, and you know what that means. Thanksgiving is right around the corner! I trust you’ve made plans (or are beginning to make plans) to celebrate the holiday with family and friends. The Shurden’s will make their annual pilgrimage to Mississippi to visit family. I can hardly wait to see everyone, and to taste the turkey and dressing, the sweet potato casserole, and, yes, the pecan pie.

But before we hit the road, we’re looking forward to kicking off Thanksgiving week by celebrating God’s goodness with you at our annual Thanksgiving and Anniversary Service on Sunday, November 23. I have chosen a special text for that day, and I am quite sure we’ll sing many thanksgiving favorites. We will also have the privilege to hear several personal testimonies from the Cornerstone faithful about how the Lord has shown up in their lives this year. It’s going to be special. Don’t miss it!

In addition to the testimonies that will be shared in worship on November 23, we have set aside the Sunday School hour for a special time of informal congregational sharing and giving thanks. I’m calling it A Sacrifice of Praise. We will gather in the chapel and open the floor for anyone who wants to share a story of God’s faithfulness.

In preparation for November 23, please take time to review your life. Identify and reflect on different ways you’ve witnessed the presence and power of God in your life this year. Then, prepare to step forward that morning and share a story. Whether 20 seconds or two minutes (we want to keep them brief so many can share), we want to encourage one another in the faith and rejoice in God’s goodness to us. 

So, I ask you, “How will you give praise to God on November 23?”

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 26, 2025

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

On June 15, 1520, Pope Leo X issued a papal bull of which the Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, was the subject. Citing Luther with 41 instances of doctrinal deviation, Luther was given sixty days to recant or further action would be taken. Luther wasted no time publishing his answer. He promptly lit a match and burned the papal bull.

Surprise, surprise Luther’s in-your-face rejection of the papal bull wasn’t received kindly. In January of 1521, Pope Leo responded to Luther with an edict of excommunication. And just like that, Luther was no longer a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

It’s difficult for modern Christians to grasp the gravity of this action. In the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church wasn’t just a church among churches. It was the church. There were no other branches of the church for Luther to join. To be cut off from the Roman Catholic Church was to be cut off from the church. Period. End of story.

Or was it?

Luther responded to the Pope’s excommunication with an excommunication of his own. Luther argued that Rome’s rejection of justification by faith alone—“the article by which the church stands or falls”—was proof enough that Rome could no longer be regarded as a true church. To support this claim, Luther returned to the Bible’s doctrine of the church. Luther argued that the true church does not consist in its history or in its institutional structures. Rather, the true church is found wherever the true gospel is preached. “The sure mark by which the Christian congregation can be recognized is that the pure gospel is preached there. For just as the banner of an army is the sure sign by which one can know what kind of lord and army has taken the field, so too the gospel is the sure sign by which one knows where Christ and his army are encamped” (Luther’s Works, 41:231-232).

Summarizing the Protestant Reformation’s teaching on the church, Michael Reeves and Tim Chester write, “It was not the Reformers who had departed from the true church. It was Rome that had departed from the true gospel…The church is the universal body of people on earth and in heaven who have been formed by the gospel. You are not saved by being a part of the church. You are a part of the church by being saved.” (Why the Reformation Still Matters, p. 164-165).

In worship today, we join with thousands of churches across the world remembering and giving thanks for the truth of the gospel recovered during the Protestant Reformation. At the same time, we recognize the work of reformation is not done, for even the purest churches today are “subject to mixture and error” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 25.5). Therefore, in humility, we labor in hope for the continued reformation—for the peace, purity, and progress—of the church. Until Christ returns and a yet more glorious day dawns (Philippians 1:6).

Your servant,