Cornerstone Church, S.c.

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here Find Jonathan online here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Thanks for joining us on the Cornerstone Church Podcast! Find the sermon notes here Connect with us here Partner with us financially here

Just because something: SEEMS True FEELS True STATED True Doesn’t Mean it’s true… New Series: A TWISTED TRUTH A twisted truth contains SOME TRUTH but is still a lie What is truth? Truth aligns with how God created the world; falsehood contradicts God’s reality, even if it still “exists” in some sense within this fallen world. Truth Is: More than just facts and appearances Knowledge of what is right in God’s sight, rather than man’s alone. Human beings have been created to seek the truth But we cannot know all truth in ourselves, and so we need God to lead us to the Truth We can easily be led astray by falsehood. The devil is the “father of lies” (John 8:44), and he is behind every lie circulated in the world today He can only be defeated by God’s Truth.   Truth = Order, Flourishing, Joy, Hope Lies = Chaos, Pain, Confusion, Suffering What does the Bible Say about Truth?   John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full

All In Easy to be “All In” when you’re winning No “Fair Weather Fan” All in means: You trust the Player’s talent The coaches call The schedule etc You have “FAITH” in these things How you determine if you are ALL in or not is: It’s NOT how you handle WINNING; it’s how you handle LOOSING Blame others Fly off the handle or You win some; you lose some   Reclaiming Abundant Life John 10:10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. Week 1: An Abundant life is a life full of the spiritual gifts of God’s Holy Spirit given to His faithful followers Week 2: An Abundant Life is a PURPOSEFUL LIFE Today… An Abundant Life is a FAITH-FILLED Life What is Faith? Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith Is… 1: To be ALL IN on something Truth and Expectation CONVICTION – Deeply helps belief Not constantly questioning: Intent/motives Believe the person and their strategy 2: Not

The Question WHY Frustrating when kids ask But a REALLY GOOD QUESTION WHY do you do what you do? WHY Are you here? WHY do you exist? What is your WHY? We all have one Abundant Life is a PURPOSEFUL LIFE John 10:10 10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. Last week… What is abundant life? Abundant life is a life full of the spiritual gifts of God’s Holy Spirit given to His faithful followers   Current Statistics: 2023 Harvard Graduate School of Education More than half of young adults (58%) reported that they lacked “meaning or purpose” in their lives in the previous month and half of young adults reported that their mental health was negatively influenced by “not knowing what to do with my life.” There are many other factors that may contribute to feelings of meaninglessness and purposelessness as well as to anxiety and depression, including: The increasing focus on the self in our culture; Difficulties making choices given new

Reclaiming hearts & minds Not with Physical swords but THE SPIRITUAL SWORD Hebrews 4 12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Not just DEFENSIVE but OFFENSIVE Matthew 16 18 …and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.   Series: RECLAIMING ABUNDANT LIFE John 10:10 10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. Key question: What is Abundant Life? Abundant life is NOT: Wealth/Health/Fame Make life easier but not more abundant Cynthia Heimel, “Tongue in Chic” column in The Village Voice, January 2, 1990. Atheist/feminist writer in the 90s/2000s “I pity celebrities, no I really do – [celebrities] were once perfectly pleasant human beings. But now their wrath is awful. I think when God wants to play a really rotte

Fighting in a relationship The “problem” usually isn’t the “problem” Is a symptom of a Deeper issue Deeper Issue: Selfish Hurt Bitterness Anger In order for the relationship to FLOURISH, you have to get to the ROOT CAUSE This makes the relationship healthy Something we all know… Healthy Things grow Fruit trees produce fruit Also… When we are healthy, the important things in our lives grow fruit Relationships People/Kids Ideas Actions Etc… It is the time of year when we all take stock of where we are Health Finances Friendships What is important to us Do more of Do less of As Christians, we ask different questions What does God’s Word say about being healthy? Takes clues from Paul… Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. To be spiritually healthy, we must grow by the “Making New” of our minds The important question is… HOW How is our Mind renewed?   What is our MIND?

Christmas is about a CHOICE The most important choice any of us will ever make Series: SONGS OF CHRISTMAS HOPE – Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel STORY – Go Tell It on the Mountain Our song this week… Oh Come all Ye Faithful This song speaks of God’s GLORY Before we look at the song, we need to do a little Theology First, Let’s define GLORY GLORY: Beauty, power, or honor: a quality of God’s character that emphasizes His greatness and authority The word is used in 3 senses: 1: God’s moral beauty and perfection of Character Psalm 113:4 The Lord is exalted above all the nations, his glory above the heavens. We all fall short of this version of God’s glory… Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 2: The Audible honor and praise of His creation Revelation 5:13 I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! The last and for us today

Every Culture has it’s Stories What matters Who or what holds value\importance How to fit in Etc The stories that we believe in have REAL IMPACTS in our life Forms our value system Forms our identity Forms our morality   We are in the middle of a “STORY REWRITE” in our culture Forcing you to choose which story to be a part of This week, our song is… Go Tell It on the Mountain Go Tell It on The Mountain 1 While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night, behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light. 2 The shepherds feared and trembled when lo, above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior’s birth. 3 Down in a lowly manger the humble Christ was born, and God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn. [Refrain] Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills, and ev’rywhere; go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. SONG HISTORY: Born Pre Civil war in the spiritual songs of enslaved African-Americans Similar to “Swing low sweet chariot Sung at Chris

In our modern world, Christmas is all about… ANTICIPATION Anticipation: Waiting eagerly for something you know is going to happen Gifts Food Gatherings Lights The Story of Christmas is actually about a DIFFERENT type of waiting… LONGING Longing: A strong desire, especially for something unattainable Let’s talk about longing before we get to how it is a part of Christmas We have all experienced some sort of longing Nostalgia – Longing for a time in the past Sorrow – Longing for something lost Grief – Longing for someone who is gone We can long for… An opportunity that may never come Health outcome Financial windfall Etc   Longing – The Cracked Bowl Regardless of how much is put in, it always runs low Our hearts/souls also leak We are constantly needing to FILL BACK UP This leak is LONGING The trouble is… Our world offers MANY things that claim to “FILL OUR BOWL” To fix the longing Things like… Stuff – But it is never enough (The bowl leaks) Relationships – But we always get let down (The bowl leaks)

Thankfulness changes as you age… Stuff Relationships Health KEY QUESTION: Why is Thankfulness/Gratitude so important? Not your easy Sunday school answer Why do we teach it to our kids? Because… Being thankful is POWERFUL It is well-documented that GRATITUDE and ANXIETY cannot exist in our brains at the same time It also… Releases Toxic emotions Reduces physical pain Improves sleep quality Regulates stress Reduces depression This shouldn’t surprise us… Psalm 92:1–4 1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise to your name, Most High, 2 to declare your faithful love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre. 4 For you have made me rejoice, LORD, by what you have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of your hands.   True thankfulness is pointed at God A study at Pepperdine University found… First, those with religious gratitude reported markedly higher levels of nonreligious gratitude. More centrally, however, religious beliefs m