Sermons on Conflict
Able to Instruct | Romans 15:14
Listen to Andy Bradshaw preach on Romans 15:14. You can watch the full service here on Facebook or the sermon on our YouTube channel. SASHET stands for Sad, Angry, Scared, Happy, Excited, or Tender.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel | Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:78 (Christmas Eve Homily)
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. I tried to lead our college and young adults group to sing this song last weekend, and while the words were beautiful, my rendition was pretty awful. Part of the reason for that is because there’s a bunch of different verses, and I wasn’t always sure which one to sing.…
The Rhythms of Life: Stress and Solitude | Psalm 46
Dave Astolfi is a second career pastor, having earned an M.Div from Bethel Seminary of the East. He retired early from a 35 year career in science research to devote more time and energy to pastoral ministry. Dave was ordained at Grace Community Church in Chelmsford, while serving as Pastor of Care. He is enjoying semi-retirement, serving God through pulpit supply, interim ministry, mentoring and volunteering at a community pantry … Oh, and he also keeps busy playing with his…
Strangely Comforting | Acts 15:36-16:15
In today’s text, I want to tell you about three things. I want to tell you about something I find strangely comforting, something I find oh so convicting, and something I find incredibly hopeful. In that way, it kind of reminds me of 495. I find the sound of I-495 strangely comforting. When I wake up in the morning, if I listen carefully, I can hear the white-noise buzz of 495. When I hear the cars whizzing by, the truck…
Acts of Change | Acts 6:1-7
Pastor Sam Kim of the Intercultural Mission Church in North Andover joined us for this morning’s sermon. Pastor Jonathan has appreciated Pastor Sam’s mentoring and discipleship in his life, and is excited to introduce him to the Cornerstone church family. The general idea of the Acts 6:1-7 sermon is this: By the Holy Spirit, the early church was able to change for those they loved, as the Son of God changed (fully God to fully God and fully human) to…
5 Steps | Matthew 18:15-18 (Accountability & Church Discipline Sermon)
What do you do when someone you love has a runny nose? You shove a Q-tip up their nose! But before-covid, what would you do? You’d hand them a tissue. That’s it. Maybe you’d say, “Your nose is running. Here’s a tissue.” But what if they don’t want to wipe their nose? What if they don’t realize they’re sick? You could forcefully wipe their nose with a tissue, like I do with my son, who by the way, is getting…
The Heart | Proverbs 4:23
Have you ever had one of those moments where you’re listening to a teaching or reading or watching a documentary and something “clicks” in your mind? You finally “get it” and the way you think has changed? Maybe it’s a radical “paradigm shift” or just a “aha moment.” Something is different. I had one of moments this fall when I began reading Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp. This is a book on parenting, but he starts with the…
Family | Proverbs 23:22-25
For our Christmas series this year—Wisdom for the Holidays—I’ve extended our time in Proverbs. I’ve done this because we could all use a little help navigating a fun but sometimes difficult time of year. The first week I spoke on gifts, the second week on drinks, and this week I’m talking about family. For many of us, spending time with family, whether our nuclear family (immediate)—parents and children—or our extended family—in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc—is a big part of…
Think Differently | Ephesians 4:17-32
Have you ever met your doppelgänger? A doppelgänger is someone who looks like you but isn’t related to you. This is an example of a doppelgänger. A wedding photographer met his doppelgänger flying from Ireland to Scotland. I met my doppelgänger when I lived in Falls Church VA. We attended the same church and people would walk up to him and say, “Hi Jonathan.” His name is Russell. In Ephesians Paul calls the church the body of Christ (Eph 4:15-16).…
Walking in Grace | Ephesians 4:1-6
I want to tell you about how God sees this church, how God sees our church. We’ve been reading and studying the book of Ephesians together, and it tells us how God sees our community of believers. When God sees our church he sees holy and faithful people. (1:1) God sees the ones he chose before the creation of the world. (1:4, 11) God sees his adopted children—we’re sons and daughters like Christ. (1:5) God sees those he has redeemed…
Discipleship 101: The Connection Between My Peace & Our Peace | Philippians 4:2-9
I worked on a ranch for a summer. While I was there I helped brand cows, run cattle through chutes, and even tagged one cow’s ear. I’m not much of an animal person, but I do know that in a cattle herd the health of one cow can affect the health of the whole herd. Sickness and disease can spread quickly, so you want to make sure each cow is healthy. If one cow becomes stressed, it can get sick,…
Discipleship 101: The Difficulties of Discipleship | Philippians 1:12-26
As I was preparing this sermon on the difficulties of following Jesus this, I began to think about places we face hardship, and I thought of boot camp. I have not gone through boot camp, but my brother went to the Marine Corps boot camp. Boot camp is known for being really hard. You constantly drill, study, workout (sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, running), and this all culminates at the end in the crucible. The crucible is a 54-hour test where you’re…
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