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    40 Days In the Word

    by Pastor Craig  |  February 12, 2012

    Love the Word. Learn the Word. Live the Word

    It’s the most important book in any library. It’s the best-selling book of all time. Many of us have three, four or more copies in our homes. And yet for some reason it can be such a difficult book for us to actually read, and even harder for us to understand. It’s called the Bible, and it’s actually 66 books in one. It was written over a period of 1,500 years by 40 different authors. The first book – Genesis – was written nearly 3,500 years ago; Revelation – the most recent book, was written over 1,900 years ago. So why read it? Can we trust it? Can we make sense of it? And what difference could it possibly make in our lives today?

    Those are the questions we’re going to answer in "40 Days in the Word," a spiritual growth campaign designed by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Southern California. Along with hundreds of churches across the country, we’re going to spend 40 days learning to how to read the Bible for all its worth. We will be reminded that the point of reading the Bible isn’t simply to get more information; it’s to experience life transformation.

    To make the most of this experience, I encourage you to jump in with both feet. Commit to being here every Sunday of this series. Get a workbook – Pastor Warren has put together a terrific guidebook that will help us grow day by day in our ability to make the most of our Bible reading. And join a small group – each week Pastor Warren will, by video, teach us another tool to help us get the truth of the Bible into our lives, tools we will practice together in our groups. God has written down for us in the Bible everything we need to know to experience life at its best, both in the here and now and in the life to come. I encourage you to join with us as we learn together how to get the Bible down off our shelves and into our lives. Join us for "40 Days in the Word" starting February 12th!

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    Thanks For A Great Year!

    by Pastor Craig  |  December 25, 2011

    As we come to the end of another year, I wanted to be sure to say "thank you" to all of you who have given so much of yourselves to our church and to the Kingdom of God. The Bible tells us that God has shaped us to find fulfillment in serving. Author Frederick Buechner says it like this: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." Many of you have served so faithfully and sacrificially this last year, and God is using you to make a significant difference in the lives of many.

    Some have started new ministries - our BridgeBuilders group that prays for and supports the persecuted church; our Cornerstone Recovery ministry that is helping many experience freedom from debilitating addictions; our Financial Peace University ministry that has helped scores of families overcome struggles with debt; our new "Honeymooners" small group; and our email newsletter to keep everyone informed about the "goings on" at Cornerstone.

    Many others continue to serve in our "backbone" ministries, those ministries that are so critical to our mission of "helping genuine doubters become true disciples" - Kingdom Kids, our youth ministries, our talented drama team, our awesome band, our incredibly hardworking Elders, our tech team, the facilities team, our small group leaders, our prayer team, those who manage our website and who maintain our computers, those who manage our finances, our First Impressions team, those who coordinate our Faith In Action ministries - I could go on and on. And to all of you who give so generously and sacrificially to support both our local ministry as well as our missionaries around the world - thank you! Your hard work, your service and your giving is greatly appreciated, and our God promises it will not go unrewarded.

    As the Psalmist said, "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done." (Psalm 62:11-12) May God bless each of you in every way for all you do for the sake of the Kingdom! Thanks for a great year; I am eager to see what God does in and through us in 2012!

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    Reducing the Deficit

    by Pastor Craig  |  December 19, 2011

    No one has to tell us – we have a deficit problem. Reducing the deficit has been the subject of seemingly endless debate in our nation's capital, but despite all the talk the national debt just keeps growing. In this, an election year, we can be sure we'll hear this message over and over, from both parties and from all the candidates – somehow, we have to reduce our deficit.

    And the truth is, it's not just our country that is running a deficit - we all are. No, I'm not talking about our personal finances; I'm talking about our hearts and our lives. When it comes to what matters most in life, well, we're running a deficit – a deficit of joy, of hope, of grace, of power and of peace.

    But Jesus promised us something different, something better – Jesus promised us a life of abundance and fullness (John 10:10). Jesus said that if we follow him fully, he will fill our lives with everything we need to live life to the full. Jesus offers us a life that is joyful, hopeful, graceful, powerful and peaceful. Join us at Cornerstone as we kick off 2012 by discovering together how to do what our politicians are struggling to do, to reduce our deficit and to learn how to live life to the full!

    Reducing the Deficit Semon Series

    A Christmas of Your Choosing

    by Pastor Craig  |  November 21, 2011

    Every December we exchange this greeting with each other: "Have a merry Christmas!" So here's the question - is whether or not we have a merry Christmas really up to us? Doesn't it depend on what the economy is like and what our health is like and which relatives are coming to visit? Doesn't it depend on the weather and how Christmas dinner turns out and, most of all, whether we got the presents we had asked for?

    But of course the truth is that whether or not we have a merry Christmas really is a matter of our own choosing. No one can make us merry, and no one can make us miserable. But as the Christmas story illustrates, Christmas is about far more than simply choosing to be grateful even if you get nothing but coal in your stocking. It's about making choices that will determine our destinies. Mary had a choice - "Will I believe the angel's promise that I - a virgin - am going to have a baby who will be the long-awaited Messiah?" Joseph had a choice - "Will I do the honorable thing and take Mary as my wife even though no one will believe our story that she's pregnant by means of the Holy Spirit?" The wise men had a choice - "Will we follow this star and search for the prophesied king, even though our journey will be long, dangerous, and offers us no guarantees?" The shepherds had a choice - "Will we leave our sheep to go and see the newborn that the angels claim is the Savior of the world?"

    Christmas is a time for choosing - to choose the patience to keep waiting for God to do what He's promised to do; to choose the courage to answer God's call to do hard things for the sake of the Kingdom; to choose the faith to believe the miracle God came to do in your life; and to choose joy by celebrating the good news of Christmas with all the passion and fervor it deserves. Join us at Cornerstone as we celebrate a Christmas of your choosing!

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    Faith That Works

    by Pastor Craig  |  September 4, 2011

    Authenticity - we want it in our leaders, we want it in our partners ... and the world wants to see it in us, we who call ourselves followers of Jesus. What's one of the most frequent criticisms of the church? It's hypocrisy: "I don't go to church because there are too many hypocrites there." Now on one hand the criticism is true - we are hypocrites, every last one of us. Frankly that's why we're in church, because we are very much aware of our desperate need for God's mercy and grace. But while we might not be perfect, we are doing our best to live out what we believe, to practice what we preach. We are putting our faith to work.

    And when we put our faith to work, we discover that our faith works. Our faith isn't merely wishful thinking; it isn't a "pie in the sky by and by" faith. It's a faith that works when things go wrong, and it's a faith that works when we're tempted to do wrong. And no book in the New Testament challenges us more directly to live out an authentic Christian life than the book of James. Join us at Cornerstone this fall as we put our faith to the test and discover for ourselves that the Christian faith is a faith that really works.

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    Rehab Addict

    by Pastor Craig  |  May 29, 2011

    If you've ever watched the DIY Network (short for "Do It Yourself" Network), you've probably come across a show called "Rehab Addict," a show starring a single mom named Nicole who discovers and rehabilitates historic homes that were once the pride of the neighborhood but then fell on hard times. "By the time the dust clears," the promo says, "a house that was ready for the wrecking ball is restored to its former glory."

    When we read the Old Testament book of Isaiah, we can't help but observe that our God is a "rehab addict." Over and over again, Isaiah describes God's relentless passion and remarkable power to redeem our mistakes, our failures and even our rebellion. One of Isaiah's favorite names for God is "Redeemer." Isaiah 47:4 says, "Our Redeemer - the Lord is his name - is the Holy One of Israel." As our Redeemer our God will take what is old and make it new: "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth." (Isaiah 65:17) He will take our sadness and turn it into joy: "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me ... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair." (Isaiah 61:1-3) He will empower his people to rebuild what was ruined: "They (God's people) will rebuild the ancient ruins, and restore the places long devastated." (Isaiah 61:4) And he will resurrect what once was dead: "On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever." (Isaiah 25:7-8)

    Have you ever made a mess you couldn't clean up? Ever made a mistake that couldn't be redeemed? God is a "Rehab Addict" - he specializes in lost causes. Join us this summer as Isaiah the prophet introduces us to the God who rehabilitates, restores and redeems our worst wrecks and turns the ashes of our mistakes into the beauty of our dreams.

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    Soul Surfer

    by Pastor Craig  |  May 1, 2011

    "Soul surfer" - a term coined in the 1970s to describe a talented surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of it. Although a "soul surfer" may enter competitions, his or her motivations go far beyond winning. Bethany Hamilton is a "soul surfer." Born into a family of surfers in February, 1990, Bethany won her first surfing titles at the age of 8. But on Halloween morning in 2003, Bethany was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark, which bit off her left arm and seemed to end her career as a rising surfing star. After losing more than 60% of her blood and undergoing a series of surgeries, Bethany began her recovery with an unbelievably positive and faith-filled attitude. Miraculously, just one month after her attack, Bethany was back in the water, and just one year after the attack Bethany won her first national surfing title.

    Essential to Bethany's recovery from the trauma of losing an arm was her faith in God, the support of her youth group leader, and a life-changing mission trip with World Vision to Thailand. At the age of 21, Bethany is a professional surfer who uses her public platform to encourage others to get back in the game when life knocks you down and to make an eternal difference in the lives of those in need.

    The movie "Soul Surfer" opened in theaters across the nation on April 8th - I hope you've had a chance to see it! Each Sunday this May we will be showing clips from the movie and interviews with Bethany as we learn from her and from some of our favorite Bible stories how to bounce back from adversity and how to live epic lives to the glory of God. Join us at Cornerstone as we learn to catch the waves God brings into our lives and to live the adventure of a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

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