Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 19, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Back in September, the elders approved a two-week officer nomination season for new officers. During that season, twenty-five different men were nominated for office. It was by far the largest single group of officer nominees in Cornerstone’s twelve-year history!

After conversations with nominees regarding qualifications for office, the work of elders and deacons, and the training requirements, fourteen men accepted their nomination and agreed to move forward with training. The fourteen men are: Jeff Alldredge, Preston Brooks, Terry Cheney, Doug Ford, Kerry Hart, Sean Kelley, Mike Kretsinger, Tim McCoy, Matt Michaud, Matt O’Roark, William Tice, Taylor Thompson, Carl Ware, and Craig Westerbeek.

Two of the fourteen men listed above are in a unique situation, and due to the uniqueness of their situation, the elders voted to expedite their process toward officership. Let me explain why.

Mr. Preston Brooks was nominated and trained as an officer last year. But instead of moving toward office at that time, Preston stepped toward an even greater need. He became a part time Interim Youth Director. When “interim” is a part of your title, the implication is you won’t be in that position forever. Given that, Preston and I agreed that once his service as Interim Youth Director concluded, we would revisit the question of officership. As many of you will remember, back in the summer Mr. Drew Abercrombie was hired as the Director of Youth and Families, relieving Preston of his duties with youth. When Preston was renominated in September, he immediately stepped toward the opportunity to serve as an officer.

Mr. Terry Cheney served as an elder at Cornerstone for five years before moving to Florida three years ago. Much to our delight, the Lord called Terry and his wife, Barbara, back to middle Tennessee and to Cornerstone at the beginning of this year. When Terry was nominated in September, he agreed to move back toward serving as an elder of the church.

This week on Tuesday, November 14, at our regularly stated session meeting both Preston Brooks and Terry Cheney were examined, sustained, and are unanimously recommended to you for election as elders on Sunday, December 31, at 9:45 a.m. in the chapel. All communing members are eligible to vote and are strongly encouraged to participate in the election.

Over the next few weeks, we will provide more information about Mr. Brooks and Mr. Cheney, so that you can get to know them better and prepare to vote your conscience on Sunday, December 31. In the meantime, please pray for Mr. Brooks and Mr. Cheney and for God’s will to be accomplished through the election on December 31.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 12, 2023

I asked Greg Wilbur to tell us a bit about the new piano that we’ve been enjoying in worship these past few months. In addition, he’s going to give us a preview of some of the upcoming music and services we will enjoy during the Advent season at Cornerstone.

Dear Cornerstone Family:

We are blessed with a number of gifted musicians in our midst, and it is a joy to lead the players week by week and in special services. As part of our weekly music, our old upright piano served us well for more than a decade. While fun to play, the design of that piano with its bright and narrow tone was better suited for a private practice room than for leading in worship.

Late in 2022, a Cornerstone member donated money with the express purpose of providing for a piano fund for a different and better instrument. The Finance Committee added to that amount, and I began the search for a piano to coincide with the renovations in the Chapel.

Many of you may know Brandon Herrenbruck, an elder at our sister church, Parish Presbyterian, and owner of Steinway Pianos in Nashville. Steinway pianos are some of the finest in the world—each handcrafted in New York—and they are the standard for performers and concert stages all over the globe.

Brandon selected several non-Steinway pianos for me to try—less expensive pianos made overseas, but still much better than the one we had. Before I left the store, he remembered that he also had a few used pianos in stock. And there was the 1934 Walnut Steinway M-class grand in immaculate condition and refurbished with Steinway parts. It is a beautiful antique that almost looks new and has a rich tone and feel. I studied music for six years in college and earned two degrees, yet I can only recall being able to play a Steinway piano twice. What a joyful thing to be able to utilize such a fine instrument week by week for the purpose of leading in worship. The Steinway store was very generous in making this a reality and I am most grateful.

I hope you have noticed and enjoyed the difference in the instruments and what that adds to our congregational singing. I continue to be encouraged every week by the enthusiastic and joyful singing of the congregation and am humbled and truly blessed to serve at Cornerstone.

With that in mind, I wanted to tell you about some of the fun and different ways that we will celebrate during the Advent season. On Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m., the Cornerstone choir along with the New College Chorale will present a Christmas Concert of music from various ages. Music from England, Italy, Norway, Russia, and Ireland including pieces by Handel, Vivaldi, Ola Gjeilo, Palestrina, Amy Grant, and James Taylor. This will be a concert of beautiful and fun music for the season.

Since December 24th falls on a Sunday this year, we decided to incorporate our annual Lessons & Carols service within our Sunday morning services. In addition to the preaching of the Word and the sacrament, we will read various Scriptures from the Gospel story—from Genesis, to Isaiah, to Matthew, to Luke—as well as sing together many familiar carols as a congregation. I look forward to sharing that morning with my church family as we worship and anticipate the coming of Christ in the Incarnation.

Your servant,

Greg

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 5, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

What a wonderful Reformation Sunday we enjoyed last week! From “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” to “A Mighty Fortress is our God” to exalting in the sola Christus theme from Acts 4, 1 Timothy 2, and many other New Testament texts—it was a rich morning of worship.

And boy oh boy, we were packed. We had over 60 people in overflow in the first service alone! Thanks to those of you who gave up seats and squeezed in tight to make sure everyone could worship. This “good problem” of growth is real at Cornerstone! It makes me eager for that greatly expanded and improved overflow room that is being constructed on the first floor.

Speaking of first-floor construction, things are moving along! Each week a bit more progress is being made. We did run into a little snag two weeks ago with the duct work, which has delayed getting air conditioning and heat to the second and third floors (not the Chapel) back up and running. If you’ve wondered why it’s been a little chillier or warmer on the second and third floors the last couple of weeks for Sunday School, that is why! Lord willing, the new duct work will be put in this week, and the air conditioning and heat will be back up and running. Apart from that hiccup, everything else has gone according to plan and is on time. We’re still aiming to be in the new space by the end of the year or the first of next year. Please continue to pray to that end.

In addition to the first-floor renovation, there are a number of smaller but significant projects that remain in process including the finishing work in the Chapel, projects at The Corner House, and audio and visual needs for in-person and livestream. I want to personally thank you for bearing with us as we are running down a number of different paths project-wise right now. The advances being made will help meet the challenges of our growing ministry, but the patience needed for remodeling and expansion are real :) Over the next three months, these projects will draw to a close, and we will start enjoying the fruit of these labors (Lord willing).

Before I go, I want to share about an opportunity we have to reach the children and, through children, the families of our community with the gospel. Next week in worship we will be highlighting the wonderful ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). Your Missions Committee in relationship with Suzanne Farris, a member at Cornerstone, have been prayerfully considering partnering with CEF for starting a Good News Club. We haven’t committed to doing this yet. The last thing we want to do is make plans and then later ask God to bless them! No, we’ve just been thinking, talking, and praying, but we believe it’s time to “go public,” share about this opportunity, and see if the Lord sparks an interest in you to serve the children and families of our community through sharing the good news of the gospel. So, come back next week and learn more. In the meantime, pray that God would be pleased to use us—whether through CEF or some other means—as a gospel witness to the least of these (Matthew 19:14, 25:40).

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 29, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

On October 31, 1517, an Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther took a hammer and nail and posted his now famous 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door in Germany. That courageous action sparked one of the greatest movements of God’s Spirit in human history. And it all began on... Halloween? That’s right. The launch of what would become known as the Protestant Reformation began on the one night of the year where ghosts and goblins rule the streets. If you think that’s merely a coincidence, you’re likely mistaken.

Halloween is short for All Hallows Eve. The word “hallow” is the word for “holy.” You know this because you say it every week in worship when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). All Hallows’ Eve was the name given to the night before the Christian feast, All Saint’s Day, which was celebrated on November 1. All Saint’s Day is the annual remembrance of those who have died in Christ and gone before us into heaven.

Now, it has been suggested that Martin Luther chose to nail his 95 Theses on All Hallows Eve in anticipation of All Saints Day, because his protest sought to expose the corruption of the church in his day and call it back to the faith once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 1:3). Luther believed the late medieval church was, in many ways, held captive by a “doctrine of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1), and that the time had come for a return to the historic orthodox belief and practice held by the church throughout the ages. To borrow another phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, Luther wanted to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven.

Rehearsing the legacy of faith passed down through the generations is a critical Christian discipline (Hebrews 12:1). Though often neglected today, it was common historically for the church to pause during this season and remember those who have passed into glory, giving thanks to God for their lives.

As a way of stepping into that discipline, next Sunday, November 5, we’re going take time to hear testimonies from Cornerstone members regarding those who have died in Christ Jesus. In preparation for next week’s service, please take few minutes to remember a person or two––a grandmother, a coach, a teacher, a missionary, a historical figure, a writer––who died in Christ and offer thanksgiving for their life.

As a precursor to next week’s service, today we recognize and rejoice in a particular movement of God in church history, the Protestant Reformation. Or, properly speaking, we recognize and rejoice in the recovery of the gospel of Jesus Christ that took place during the Protestant Reformation. On that note, look for themes related to the gospel and the precious doctrine of justification by faith as we offer to God worship with reverence and awe.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, October 22, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Two weeks ago, I mentioned my intention to write several brief articles on the complexities and mysteries behind Malachi 1:2-3, “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated.” I want to pick up that thread with you today by zeroing in on the biblical doctrine of the love of God. I italicized the words “biblical doctrine” because the love of God is often thought of in one dimensional or sentimentalized ways in our time.

When we hear, “God is love,” it is often assumed we mean that God is an old softy, a grandfather in the sky. He keeps candy in his pocket in case he passes children on the sidewalk and just loves and accepts everyone and everything no matter what. The problem with this notion is it doesn’t faithfully represent––you guessed it––the biblical doctrine of the love of God.

In the year 2000, the long-time professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, D.A. Carson, was writing a book on the love of God. After giving himself to the subject for several months, he landed on this title for his book: The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. Carson is onto something with that title. When we take the Bible’s teaching on the love of God seriously, we’re immediately confronted with a multifaceted and complex doctrine.

In Carson’s work, he identifies five ways the Bible speaks of God’s love. Today, I want to look at two of them with you.

First, there is the love that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have shared for one another from all eternity. Before anything was made, God enjoyed within himself perfect love and communion (John 3:35, 5:20, 14:31). It is this love that is the source from which every other dimension of the love of God flows. The rich love and communion of the Godhead overflows into the work of creation and providence.

Second, there is God’s providential love for everything he made. In and from the love that God enjoys within himself, he created the heavens and the earth. He declared what he made was “good” (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Why is creation good? Because it is the fruit of a loving Triune Creator. This is why God cares for every part of creation, even the parts that seem insignificant like lilies of the field and birds of the air (Matthew 6:26-29). When we speak of God’s care, we are speaking of his providence. You see the word provide in the word providence for a reason!

Question 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism beautifully expresses God’s providential love in this way: “The almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were, by his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth, with all creatures, and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.”

I’ll pick up this thread again either next week or sometime in early November and consider with you the other three ways the Bible speaks of God’s love. Stay tuned!

Your servant,