Hear Us Cry | Psalm 80
Listen to Bernie’s Psalm 80 sermon on how the church is a place where the people of God cry out to God together. You can download Bernie’s sermon manuscript by clicking “Save” and “PDF.” Thanks! Our God and our savior, tonight we cry out to you. We pray that you would forgive us of our past sins and teach us to be your people, your church. We thank you for your Son Jesus who died for us that we might…
How to Complain Well | Psalm 3 (scripture reading in Hebrew)
No one likes a complainer, but everyone likes to complain. Have you ever heard that? As human beings, we complain—we vent, we express, we share. But no one really wants a perpetual Eeyore in their lives. Eeyore is Winnie-the-Pooh’s donkey friend who has a never-ending rain-cloud hovering just above his head. He’s gloomy, depressed, pessimistic, and grey. He’s a complainer. Do you have a friend or family member who constantly complains? If you do, you probably don’t want to spend…
Praying with Purpose and Praise | Psalm 67
Today’s Psalm starts by asking God to bless his people. When you think of blessing, what do you think of? Maybe you think of blessing your meal before you eat. Does a voice from the past or from a recent Holiday tell you to, “Count your blessings”? Maybe you think of the last time you gave money to a homeless person or the bell-ringer for the Salvation Army and they said, “Bless you…” Maybe you’ve had a priest or a…
Cookies and the Cross | Acts 2:22-24 (Easter Sunrise Service)
Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? Kids do this all the time, right? You tell them not to eat the chocolate chip cookies and when you come back into the room the cookies are gone. And you ask the child, “Did you eat the cookies?” And he says, “No, my brother did.” Of course, you have to ignore the chocolate wiped across his face, that he’s holding an empty cookie jar, and that his brother was…
Praying with Christ | Psalm 22
I love listening to people pray because we all pray a little bit differently. I appreciate how people from a Catholic background or a more formal (aka. liturgical) church setting pray. Their words always seem so reverent and thoughtful. But I also like listening to people pray who just talk to Jesus like they’re talking to a friend. Their prayers seems so relational and honest. I even like hearing people pray who are going through a hard time. There’s something…
The Certain Gospel: Get Your Go Bag Ready! | Luke 12:35-48
Christians believe that one day Jesus is going to come back. We believe his return is going to be unexpected, surprising, and everyone will see it. Today’s passage explains how to prepare for that day. That got me thinking about other times in life where we prepare for someone’s arrival, but we don’t know when they are coming. And of course that reminded me of our upcoming baby’s arrival. Our care provider has given us a due date of Saturday,…
The Certain Gospel: 6 Warning Signs of a Heart Problem | Luke 11:37-54
My family has a history of heart-attacks. My uncle died of a massive heart-attack, and my dad had two heart attacks. So I personally am interested in not having a heart attack, but also being able to identify the signs of a heart attack. The American Heart Association lists Warning Signs of a Heart Attack: Pain or discomfort in chest Lightheadedness, nausea, or vomiting Jaw, neck or back pain Discomfort or pain in arm or shoulder Shortness of breath It’s…
The Certain Gospel: Ministry Burnout | Luke 10:38-42
Do you ever feel burned out by church? Churches have a tendency to burn people out. When first-time guests Benjamin and Olivia Smith walk through our door, we hope they’ll come back the next week. When they do we’re so excited, we invite them to our fellowship dinner, and when they’re at the fellowship dinner we tell them about all our fantastic ministries and ask if they’d like to join any of them. When we find out Benjamin can play…
The Certain Gospel: 72 Go! | Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
I want to start by talking about my job. What are pastors for? At Cornerstone, we have “roles of ministry.” We believe elders are called to lead and shepherd, deacons are called to serve the people, and the pastor is called to equip the congregation who are to engage in ministry. Our philosophy of ministry says: “Staff Equipped: We believe that Pastors are called to serve the church by equipping the believers for the work of the ministry.” This is…
The Certain Gospel: Out of Glory into Chaos | Luke 9:28-43a
Why does God take us from mountaintop worship experiences into everyday chaos? You can listen, watch, or read Mark Pender’s sermon from Luke 9:28-43a to find out why. The sermon manuscript is available by clicking “Save” and then “PDF.” Church Service You can watch the full service on Facebook or only the sermon on YouTube. This is Mark Pender’s first sermon at Cornerstone. Sermon Slides
The Certain Gospel: Three Life or Death Questions | Luke 9:18-27
Have you ever had to answer a question like your life depended on it? Maybe some of you have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail. King Arthur and his men are on a quest to find the Holy Grail, and they come up to the Bridge of Death, where they “must answer three questions from the bridge-keeper to pass.” The bridge-keeper, an old hermit with a scraggly beard, asks the first knight, “What… is your name?” “Sir Lancelot of…
The Certain Gospel: To Hell with the Devil! | Luke 8:26-39
Last summer we went through a series called What We Believe and Bernie preached on Satan. I’ll admit it. For some reason I was a little jealous. Well today I get to preach on Satan and demons, but now I’m not so sure that’s anything to be happy about. See, demons are dark and scary and not fun to study. One of my very first introductions to the fallen angel Satan and demons was on one of those old church…