Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 24, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Last Sunday we were treated to a lovely Christmas performance from our covenant children. There really is nothing sweeter than hearing little ones open their lips to declare the praise of our glorious God and Savior Jesus Christ.

As you know, such performances do not just happen. I’d run out of space mentioning the many names of those who served to make last week’s performance a reality. One name, however, simply must be named––Jessica Michaud. For years, Jessica has poured her heart into leading the children’s choir. Her efforts have grown our covenant children in their knowledge of and love for singing. I am so thankful for Jessica and for the small army of volunteers who labor so faithfully to train our children musically.

In addition to choir, I would like to publicly thank our children’s Sunday School teachers and assistants as well as all those who assisted in our children’s ministry on Wednesday nights this fall. Under the leadership of our Children’s Coordinator, Meredith Suits, it’s been a deeply encouraging semester of exploring God’s Word and putting the truth to work in fun crafts and activities. As we bring this semester to a close, please join me in giving praise to God for the gift of diligent teachers and assistants who weekly take the little children to Jesus (Matthew 19:14).

Now, like many of you, one of the things I look forward to during Advent and Christmas is seasonal reading. In fits and spurts over the last few weeks, I made my way through a number of volumes. To close out our Advent season, I’ve culled a few quotes from my seasonal reading. I hope these quotes serve to inform your mind and enflame your heart for the celebration of Christ’s coming into the world.

“Incarnation prophesies salvation...When God stoops down to man, it must mean that man is to be lifted up to God.” ––C.H. Spurgeon

“Now have the homely things been made Sacred, and a glory on them laid,
For He whose shelter was a stall,
The King, was born among them all. He came to handle saw and plane, To use and follow the profane; Now is the holy not afar
In temples lighted by a star, But where the loves and labors are,
Now that the King has gone this way,
Great are the things of every day!”––Edwin Markham

“What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give him: I give my heart.” ––Christina Rosetti

“Nothing makes a Christmas gathering so happy as to feel that we are traveling on towards an eternal gathering in heaven.” ––J.C. Ryle

“The incarnation means that for whatever reason God chose to let us fall...to suffer, to be subject to sorrows and death––he has nonetheless had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine...He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He himself has gone through the whole of human experience––from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death...He was born in poverty and suffered infinite pain––all for us––and thought it worth his while.”––Dorothy Sayers

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 17, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

You know what they say about December? It’s the happiest sickest time of the year. At church last Sunday, news was spreading. In hushed tones, I kept hearing, “Something’s going around. So-and-so is under the weather. Such-and-such is down for the count.” ‘Tis the season.

With almost prophetic accuracy, the plague descended on the Shurden house that very evening. In the waning hours of the Lord’s Day, I had this vague foreboding that I was coming-down-with-something. In the middle of the night, there was nothing vague about it. I was sick! And I mean sick. Sore throat, cough, fever, chills, headache, body aches...you name it, I had it.

God’s sovereignty notwithstanding, the timing could not have been worse. Our annual leadership Christmas soiree was on the calendar for Tuesday evening, December 12th. This year our theme was “A Classy Christmas at the Corner House.” Delicious fare, festive drinks, and Mariah Carey karaoke––it was all you could want and more. Sadly, when it became clear that this “something going around” was no joke, we pulled the plug. And Mariah Carey cried.

As I write this Pastoral Note, I am far from out of the woods. Checking thermometer once more––yep, 100.5. Still sick. As if I needed a thermometer to confirm I’m still sick. You’d think feeling like death warmed over would be clue enough. But don’t worry, there is an upside to all this. My sides hurt so bad from coughing that I’m finally getting in that core exercise I’ve needed all year. It feels good to tick off one of my new year’s resolutions ahead of time. #winning

Thankfully, I’m an easy patient. I pretty much nurse myself. All I require is Gatorade, Zicam, Chloraseptic, cough syrup, Tylenol alternated with ibuprofen, extra pillows and blankets, eye mask, essential oils, relaxing Christmas music, homemade chicken noodle soup, a variety of Christmas treats, several good books, my iPhone, and...pretty much constant attention and pampering. What, too much to ask?

Forgive me, I’ve clearly been couped up too long. I’ve managed to waste pretty much this entire article talking about how terrible this sickness has been. (Do you feel pity for me yet?)

Truth is, I haven’t cornered the market on sickness and suffering this December. Far from it! As I convalesced at home this week, I took time, as strength allowed, to work my way through the church rolls and catch up on number of phone calls, emails, and text messages. Many of those contacts circled around trials you’re passing through right now—trials far more significant than my seasonal ailment. Hearing you rehearse Scriptural promises, share testimony, and then pray together (over the phone from a healthy distance!) had the unintended but blessed consequence of putting my small potato troubles in eternal perspective. Which, if I’m honest, is exactly what my soul needed.

Your faith and example this week ministered to me in a way no Z-pack or steroid shot could. For you (ad)ministered to me gospel elixir. That is, the one and only cure that does not promise immediate remedy for life’s troubles, but rather treats the sickness behind all sicknesses, namely, sin and death, and ensures our eternal well-being. After all, this is the very mission of Christmas: “For this reason, Christ came into the world to save sinners...” (1 Timothy 1:15).

We are wasting away. Lord knows I feel it. And I bet you do, too. But, let’s not let that get us down. For these light and momentary afflictions are a part of grand design. They are God’s holy means of preparing for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Should we be further readied this Christmas for that coming eternal weight, it would be a very merry Christmas indeed.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 10, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

During our Cornerstone Family Meeting last Sunday, the Finance Committee gave a report on the fiscal health of the congregation. The report was very encouraging! The Lord continues to provide abundantly for our needs through your weekly offerings, and for that we rejoice.

At the nearly halfway mark in our fiscal year, giving is ahead of projection and expenses are slightly under projection. As the year progresses, we expect expenses to increase as several significant ministry initiatives will catalyze in early 2024. That said, we are encouraged at our current position and are supremely grateful for your sacrificial giving and steady support of the church’s ministry.

Beyond ministry expenses, we will continue to incur costs associated with our renovation. These costs are being paid out over time from our surplus. As the project moves along, we continue to see our surplus diminish as expected. We are, however, committed not to let the surplus dip below $300,000 in order to maintain enough cash on hand for emergency purposes.

Finally, in March 2024 the balloon note on the chapel will come due. We owe roughly $600,000 on the chapel currently. It would be our earnest hope to pay off the chapel by March, so that we have no need to renegotiate the balloon note at a significantly higher interest rate. If each Cornerstone member committed to increase their giving by 25% to even 50% for the next three months—from December through February—we would be poised to pay off the chapel by March of 2024. But as I say that, it might be that the Lord has blessed you with the financial wherewithal to alleviate a large portion of this debt today with just one check. I do not know what the Lord will do, but I am convinced of this––with the Lord’s help, we can meet this need. I am convinced of it for this reason: the power of the gospel.

The churches in Macedonia were dirt poor. But when they heard the gospel, their hearts swelled with joy and their lives overflowed in a wealth of generosity for the work of ministry. People gave far beyond their means to support the advance of the gospel and to meet the needs of the church (2 Corinthians 8:1-3). Surely, with all the Lord has given us, we can loosen our grip on the earthly treasure that won’t last (Matthew 6:19-21) and give sacrificially and cheerfully toward the eternal treasure that will never end (Revelation 21:9-27).

May the Lord do a mighty work in our hearts and make it so!

On the Behalf of the Finance Committee,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 3, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

On December 4, 1973 in Birmingham, AL, the Presbyterian Church in America was born. That means that tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the PCA. To commemorate the occasion, all PCA churches are being asked to remember the denomination in prayer today. We will do just that while rejoicing in God’s goodness––that through many dangers, toils, and snares, God has preserved the witness of the PCA these 50 years. Should the Lord tarry, let’s pray the PCA will be preserved in faithfulness for yet another 50 years.

It’s appropriate that this day of prayer and recognition of God’s faithfulness to the PCA would fall on the first Sunday of Advent. As you may have heard this week on the Life at the Corner podcast, Advent has traditionally been a time of spiritual preparation. As we anticipate the celebration of the incarnation at Christmas, we prepare spiritually for the second coming of Jesus Christ. As the old Roman Missal declared, “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ is coming again!”

As an aid to your spiritual preparations during this season, our Cornerstone Christmas Devotional is available for you to pick up this morning. You will find daily services, readings, historical tidbits, and personal reflections from Cornerstone members. I want to publicly thank Mr. Greg Wilbur and Mr. Max Shell for their efforts in helping design, oversee, and execute the production of the devotional. They did a marvelous job! I believe you will be greatly helped by it. Please grab a copy—or two or three. Pass one along to a friend or a neighbor. Let’s put the devotional to good use as together we trim our lamps and stay awake, looking for the coming of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 12:37).

In addition to the Cornerstone devotional, there are a host of helpful resources on the Cornerstone bookshelf. Run by the bookshelf and check out Jonathan Gibson’s O Come, O Come Emmanuel or Leland Ryken’s Journey to Bethlehem. Both volumes are instant classics! Who knows, you might even find the perfect gifts for the readers on your list.

In closing, please don’t forget to mark your calendar for all that is going on in December at Cornerstone. From our Christmas concert on December 7th to our Children’s Choir performance on December 17th to our Lessons and Carols Sunday services on Christmas Eve, it’s a month full of opportunities to worship and fellowship together. It’s also, of course, an ideal time to invite unbelieving family, friends, and neighbors to join you. In fact, what could be sweeter than celebrating Christ’s coming and witnessing Christ come into the heart of another. Should that happen, it would be a merry Christmas indeed.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, November 26, 2023

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Today we celebrate the twelfth anniversary of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. On November 20, 2011, Cornerstone was received as a member church into the fellowship of the Presbyterian Church in America. Over the last twelve years, it’s been a privilege to sit on the front row in this theater of God’s grace and behold the gospel advancing in and through you. All praise to God for the great things he has done in our midst!

On a personal note, let me say what an honor it is to be your pastor. Thank you for allowing me the special joy to serve in this way, and for bearing with me all these years. You are a longsuffering people! My family and I are sincerely grateful to call Cornerstone our church home—to have our lots thrown in with all of you. As we look to the years ahead, our hearts are filled with gospel hope and expectation.

Speaking of gospel hope and expectation, next week we begin a six-week Advent and Christmas sermon series. In light of our recent study of Malachi, the end of the Old Testament, it seemed appropriate to turn the page, so to speak, to Matthew and spend a few weeks reflecting on the beginning of the New Testament. If you would, please pray each week for the Lord to use our time in Matthew to renew our love and commitment to Jesus Christ and his kingdom.

The Name Above All Names

  • December 3 – Matthew 1:1-6 “Jesus Christ, Son of Abraham”

  • December 10 – Matthew 1:1-11 “Jesus Christ, Son of David”

  • December 24 – Lessons & Carols Service

  • December 31 – Matthew 2:1-18 “Jesus Christ, A Threat to Kings”

  • January 7 – Matthew 2:1-18 “Jesus Christ, A Savior for Wise Men”

Your servant,