Unexpected Deliverance | Acts 23:12-35
There’s something wrong with our youth; and I don’t mean our teenagers. I mean the children. There’s this thing that they are just addicted too. It gets in their brains. They always want to watch it, and sing it. That’s right, I’m talking about the dangers of Encanto, Disney’s newest adventure for the whole family. We watched Encanto a couple weekends ago and now we’re listening to Surface Pressure and We Don’t Talk About Bruno so many times. Here’s the…
God’s Work in Emotions | Acts 22:22-23:11
Today is a big day for Cornerstone for two reasons. First, we finally made it back to Acts! I last preached Acts in Juneand, Lord willing, we’re going to finish it by Easter. Second, today is the first day of our new worship service format—which is 20 minutes of worship, 20-minute message, and 45 minutes of discussion. And this is terrifying for me because I normally preach 30-35 minutes. So this is going to be an experiment, for all of…
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.
Invited to the Party | Hebrews 10:19-25
Remember what it was like before the pandemic when you’d get invited to someone’s birthday party? I remember birthday parties being really exciting when I was a kid. Your friend invites you (or their mom), you purchase a gift for them, and then you get to go over to their house for the party. There’s cake, games, and maybe a movie and a sleepover if it’s a really exciting birthday. Imagine your best friend has invited you to their birthday.…
Resolution Frustration | 2 Corinthians 5:16-18a (New Year’s Sermon)
Good morning and happy new year! I wanted to start out with a favorite childrens’ story that we read when Lucas and Julia were little. It’s from the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel and pretty appropriate when we think about New Years and resolutions. Toad baked some cookies. “These cookies smell very good,” said Toad. He ate one. “And they taste even better,” he said. Toad ran to Frog’s house. “Frog, Frog,” cried Toad, “taste these cookies that…
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.…
Isaiah 66:7-13 Zion’s Birth Story (Labor & Delivery Sermon)
Monica Romig shared the following message at Gordon-Conwell’s chapel service on Wednesday, November 17th, 2021 (video link) from Isaiah 66:7-13. She talks about the biblical imagery of labor and delivery to describe how God is going to deliver and redeem his people. Enjoy the message. Since shops are already putting up Christmas lights and radio stations are playing Christmas music I thought it would be appropriate to consider this morning one of the prophetic birth passages of Isaiah. 7 “Before she…
Awkward Christmas | Matthew 1:18-25 (Shameful Christmas)
One of the annual traditions of the town I grew up in was to host a day-after-Thanksgiving Day parade, which was really a Christmas parade. Now they call it the “Catch the Glow” parade. There were lots of rides and floats, people marching, colorful Christmas decorations. But every year, at the end of the parade, Santa and his reindeer came parading down the main street. It was Santa, and presents, on a slay, on a semi, with fake reindeer. Rudolf…
A Message of Hope | Isaiah 40:1-5
Ethan Wormell was born and raised in Massachusetts. He is married to Catherine and has a son named Henry. He served for five and a half years in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a graduate of Westminster Seminary in California. He is pursuing pastoral ministry and church revitalization in New England. Please enjoy his Christmas message from Isaiah 40:1-5. A Message of Hope | Isaiah 40:1-5 At Christmas time we often reflect on the birth of Christ and the…
Part 10. A Flourishing Future | Revelation 21:1-6; 22:1-5
I grew up in a mountain town in Colorado called Estes Park. Estes is famous for being the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. One of the tallest mountains in Colorado is right outside of town, a 14-thousand-footer named Long’s Peak(14,259 feet). But growing up in Estes, I never climbed Long’s Peak. We heard all the horror stories of people falling, getting stuck, and dying, and I didn’t want to risk it. And then I moved away to sea-level and…
Part 9. “H” – Help the Needy | Zechariah 7:8-12 & Matthew 25:31-46
We’ve been working through the word “F.L.O.U.R.I.S.H.” in our Faith & Flourishing in Politics sermon series. Today we’re finishing our acronym. Let’s review: F – Faith, Not Fear (or “faithful presence”) L – Love God & Neighbor (enemies too) O – Other Peoples’ Good (shalom/common good) U – Understanding & Wisdom R – Reign of Christ I – Image of God (Imago Dei) S – Speak Prophetically H – Help the Needy Last week we talked about speaking prophetically. We…
Part 8. “S” – Speak Prophetically | Amos 5:21-24
On the morning of Thursday, February 3rd, 1994, a room of political and religious elite gathered in the ballroom of a swanky hotel in downtown Washington DC. Members of Congress were there, as was the President and Vice President, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, Hilary too. But there was also someone there you might not expect, Mother Teresa. An 83-year-old nun from India, Mother Teresa had spent a lifetime caring for the poor and needy in the slums of Calcutta,…