Pastoral Notes for Sunday, April 7, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

We have the privilege to welcome Dr. Irwyn Ince to the Cornerstone pulpit today. Dr. Ince is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and is currently serving as the denomination’s Coordinator of Mission to North America.

Dr. Ince was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is married to Kim, and together they are the proud parents of four wonderful children and two beautiful granddaughters. Following his graduation from City College of NY in Harlem with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, he began his professional career as a systems engineer and project engineering manager in the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan area.

In 2016, he received the Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological Seminary. His dissertation was on Identity Formation in Diverse Churches. He firmly believes that the ministry of reconciliation demonstrated in the local church by the gathering of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities is the natural outworking of a rich covenantal theological commitment.

Dr. Ince sensed a call to ministry and earned his Masters degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, DC on a part-time basis while continuing his engineering career. Following his graduation in 2006 Dr. Ince helped plant City of Hope Presbyterian Church in Columbia, MD.

In 2018, the 46th PCA General Assembly unanimously elected Dr. Ince to serve as moderator—the first African American elected to the position.

Dr. Ince is the author of Hope Ain’t a Hustle: Persevering by Faith in a Wearying World published in February 2024 and The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best published in 2020.

In addition to his passion for his family and for ministry, Dr. Ince enjoys coffee and kettlebells. Connect with Irwyn at irwynince.com, on Twitter (@Irwyn), or on Instagram (@pastorirwyn).

In addition to preaching today’s service, Dr. Ince will join me for a Q&A session during the Sunday School hour. During that time, we will have the privilege to get to know Dr. Ince personally while addressing a number of cultural and kingdom matters—most noteworthy, the work of Mission to North America. Please join us!

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, March 31, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Holy week is the crescendo of the Christian calendar, because the crucifixion and resurrection are the center of the Christian faith. Without the shedding of blood, as Paul reminds us, “there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22), and if Christ has never been raised from the dead, then our “faith is futile and we’re still in our sins...and we of all people are most to be pitied.” (I Corinthians 15:17, 19)

However, because Jesus died for us, and rose again from the grave, we are the most blessed! For Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities (Colossians 2:15) and put to death the last enemy, death (1 Corinthians 15:54). He became the first fruits from the dead (I Corinthians 15:20), and by that same power—Christ’s resurrection power—the grave will not hold us either. Listen and believe.

• “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

• “We will not all die, but we will all be changed...in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians15:51-52

Herein is hope, friends. Hope for the world. Hope for eternity. Hope for us...Hope for you.

The quality of our celebration today should match the importance of what we are celebrating—the most important reality of life and eternity, the death and resurrection of Christ. There is simply no risk of overdoing the celebration. If there was ever a time for worshipful abandon, for giving yourself to wonder, love, and praise, that time is now. Join with the angels in heaven, and the saints from all the ages, and worship the risen Christ in Spirit and in truth. The tomb is empty, and the gospel is true. Let the celebration begin!

“Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion.”—John Stott

“The Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, in human nature descended into His own universe and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle.”—C. S. Lewis

“The whole gospel is encapsulated in the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”—George Eldon Ladd

“The resurrection of Christ is the seal of the great work that He came on earth to do. It was the crowning proof that the ransom He paid for sinners was accepted, the atonement for sin accomplished, the head of him who had the power of death bruised, and the victory won.”—J. C. Ryle

“Grant me more and more of the resurrection life: may it rule me,
may I walk in its power,
and be strengthened through its influence.”

—The Valley of Vision

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, March 17, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you’re a visitor with us today, we want to thank you for taking time to worship with us. We sincerely hope you are warmly welcomed by those around you, and that your time in worship today will be a great blessing.

If this is your first time with us, you might notice it’s pretty tight in here. We want you to know we see that. As a partial answer to the good problem of growth at Cornerstone, we’re in the process of finishing a complete renovation of the bottom floor of our educational space. Once that space is finished, we’ll have a brand-new fellowship space and a greatly expanded overflow. We trust this expansion will give us a bit more elbow room in the Chapel.

By the way, renovation is moving along. Sheetrock is hung and painted. Sinks and toilets are in the bathrooms. It’s getting close! I’m not a prophet or a son of a prophet, but IF the renovation stays on schedule, we’ll be in the new space by April. Exciting!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The latter half of March will be chock full of opportunities to worship, reflect, and celebrate together. As hard as it is to believe, we’re one week away from Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. In order to help you be fully engaged with Cornerstone during Holy Week, I want to take a few moments to talk about upcoming services.

The Maundy Thursday communion service will be at 6:30 p.m. this year. The word “maundy” is an abbreviated form of the word mandate. It refers to the powerful display of Christ’s love as he washes his disciples feet and charges them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:35). This beautiful communion service lays important historical and theological foundations for all that will follow on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Speaking of Good Friday, we will gather for two services this year—at 5:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. This service is a powerful reflection on the Passion of Jesus Christ. Complete with choir and chamber orchestra, this service leads the worshiper into Christ’s darkest hour as together we survey the wondrous cross. Given the significant turnout for this service the last few years, we are asking you to register for either the 5:00 or the 7:00 service. Once we reach critical mass in a service, registration for that service will close. Please don’t delay!

Then, on Easter morn, we’ll gather three times—7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 10:45 a.m.—and rejoice in Christ’s victory over the grave. With three services, we will have plenty of space for family, friends, and neighbors to join us. If you haven’t done so yet, please take time this week to consider who you might invite to join us for Easter. I am already looking forward to preaching about our victorious Christ!

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, March 10, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Greetings and blessings to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Earlier this week I was thinking about the years I’ve shared with Christy in marriage. Recounting the ups and downs, twists and turns, I found myself tearing up at the unspeakably precious gift Christy has been to me over the years. I can honestly say that one of the most grounding and comforting realities of my life is knowing that she loves me.

Reflecting on the sweetness and sturdiness of her love for me produces grateful peace in my heart. For regardless of how inadequate I feel or what anyone else thinks or says about me, I know she loves me. I’m her person no matter what.

This is all the more astonishing when I consider who I am. Shocker, I’m not an easy person to live with. But my scattered, running-thin, and embarrassingly selfish self doesn’t rattle her. She takes it in stride and accepts me warts and all while her example continually nudges me toward being a better man—the man I know God has called me to be.

Even after all the foolish things I’ve said and done, after all the ways I’ve fallen short, her love hasn’t budged. Her affection remains. Her patience is steady. Even after I do “that thing” for the umpteenth time, she forgives me. She forgives me.

Despite how it sounds, Christy is not perfect. Far from it! She’s a sinner like the rest of us. But I can honestly say the Lord has been pleased to use her example of love as a vision of grace in my life.

What do I mean by a vision of grace?

Well, take this in. If you have trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, then you are a child of God. And if you are a child of God, you are loved with perfect patience by your Heavenly Father. Though you have fallen short countless times (it’s far worse than you know), his love for you hasn’t wavered once. The Father is not in heaven wishing he had the “good kid next door” and not you as his child. No, as hard as it may be to wrap your head around this, he delights in loving you.

Sure, you disappoint him. There’s no way around that. But know this—his grief over your sin is the evidence of his love for you. In the way that a loving parent grieves over a child who wanders away from the Lord, the Father grieves when you leave the comfort of his love and commands. He grieves when you forsake him and bow down to the idols of the world and the flesh.

But don’t despair. You’re in the house of God. Today, the Father gathers up his robe and runs toward you in love. In the finished work of Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit, the Father takes you into his arms and rejoices to welcome you, “My prodigal child is home again!”

As we worship today, let’s remain in his love (John 15:9)

Your servant,