September Newsletter 2016
You can visit our Fall Fundraiser page by clicking on the banner below
Prayer Corner
Please join us in prayer for God's provision for The Cornerstone. Pray that He will meet each need in His perfect time and perfect way. Pray for each business and individual who contributes to the needs of this ministry
Save The Date:
Sept 5 - Labor Day
Sept 11 - Grandparents Day
Sept 14-16 - Cornerstone's Fall Fundraiser
Sept 22 - First Day of Autumn
Oct 1 - Port Orange Family Days
Can We Have a Piece of Pie Please? Bill Powell
I love pie. I especially like blueberry and cherry. I must admit apple is not far behind, or lemon meringue, chocolate, key lime, and coconut pie ain't bad either. Please don’t hate me, but I don’t like pecan or rhubarb. Actually, it’s not the delicacy of the pie tin I would like to talk about, but it does serve as a good analogy.
All of our personal finances are like pies. Like a pie, they can be cut into many different size slices, but that doesn’t change the size of the pie. September 14,15 and 16 is our Fall Fundraiser. As most of you know, we are listener supported and that can’t be changed. Many of you gave generously in March during our main Sharathon. To you we say thank you. Because of you we have made it this far into 2016. It was an awesome pie. Unfortunately, it’s going to take another pie to get us through the rest of the year.
We hope you enjoy the programming from this radio ministry even more than blueberry and cherry pie. When you give you are not only giving so you can benefit, but you are making Christian radio possible for those new to our area and for new followers of Christ. Please consider the value to our community and how few places this lost world has to go to get to know the Lord. Never before has this ministry been more needed. I know I have said this many times before, but am I not right? Is it not needed more than ever before?
The Lord says in James 4:2,3 "You have not because you ask not." We are asking you to help us raise $50,000. The scriptures also say "You receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts." We don’t ask so we can consume it for ourselves personally. We ask for the sake of all of our souls and the lost souls among us.
Please consider the size of your financial pie and how you might be able to cut us out a piece, whatever size you feel you can part with. No size is too small and no size is too large. Pray about it and for us. It has been a really lean year so far and the need is real. I know it can seem like a burden, and it is year after year, but this is a work of the one and only true God of all creation. He has chosen this method and you are the people he has called to do the work. You might say it is pie in the sky. May God bless you all for listening and giving.
Loving His Appearing! Chris Johnson
“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:8
Do we think about Jesus' second coming? Do we long for his return? Do we love his appearing? These are very important questions because our answers have great bearing on our everyday lives. I’ve been thinking a lot about how we navigate through these days as we continue to witness moral decay, justification of all kinds of sin, and unspeakable acts of violence all around us. Often we are tempted to shut ourselves in from the world, keep the curtains drawn tight and only go out when absolutely necessary, but would the Lord have us live that way? Can we really be the light of the world and the salt of the earth if we seclude ourselves away from the world we live in? Second Peter 2:11 would encourage us to live in the world but to do so with the full intention and pursuit of a godly life.
We must be careful not to shift our lives into neutral and simply coast through our days. Instead, let’s choose to boldly, joyfully and faithfully pursue Christ with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Let us bind together in prayer for each other and for our world. May we encourage one another with the words of Scripture and an often extension of brotherly kindness to those God brings to our path. Finally, may we never be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but instead share it freely and courageously remembering the good news of Jesus is in fact the power of God unto salvation!
Let us love his appearing by deliberately seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. This pursuit of Christ will certainly cause us to stick out in a world gone mad, but so too does a full moon, with its gleaming light, in the midst of a dark night sky. Our lives ought to beam forth as an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in the Lord and a call to the lost to flee to Christ, depart the darkness, and live in the fullness of his marvelous light. May the Holy Spirit be pleased to encourage and empower us to love Jesus’ soon appearing knowing that we have been given new life and genuine purpose in Christ.
The Cornerstone is committed to remaining steadfast in proclaiming the faith that was once for all delivered to the church! We thank God every day for the many opportunities he provides for us to reach out to our community with the good news of Jesus Christ! Through Music with a Message, biblically focused family programming and faithful Bible teaching, we deliver programming that’s designed to help every Christian grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We long for Christ’s appearing and we want our listeners to share that desire. On September 14-16 we will launch our annual Fall Fundraiser. This campaign will open the doors for our listeners to financially partner with us as they catch the vision of what the Cornerstone is all about. We are asking each of you to please prayerfully consider how you can help us this fall. We know the Lord has called us to the mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ as Savior of the world but we cannot do it without your help. Thank you in advance for joining us in this effort and please know that every penny that is given to this ministry goes to further the advancement of the message of our precious Lord!
Soli Deo Gloria!
A Real Gem Donna Bramlett
I have a confession. I threatened to plagiarize Christina's article this month. She makes a compelling explanation of who we are and what we do - and the fact that we do it all the time. That can't be said of everything! I remember in the early 80s Christianity was quite popular, but not necessarily accurately understood. It seemed difficult to share the real gospel with people, because almost everyone considered themselves a Christian. It was like trying to convince someone to buy a 1 carat diamond when they were wearing a 5 carat fake. To them what they had was better, just as sparkly but much larger and easier to obtain. It was hard to convince people that what they had was valueless compared to the real worth of a genuine diamond, of the real gospel and a loving Savior, because the gospel as many preached it was comfortable and not especially demanding.
Fast forward to post 9-11 America. The gospel is not popular, even in a watered down form. Now it's difficult to share the gospel or even talk about God in a real and genuine way because the world hates us. Many people don't want to even appear to be Christian (unless they truly are), because there is so much antagonism and bias against Christ-followers. Don't believe me? Do a YouTube video about original sin, the holy wrath of God, and a suffering Savior. See what the response is. We saints hold tenaciously to our faith, but it gets harder and harder to do so.
Yet through all these shifting winds of spirituality, The Cornerstone has continued straight and true. Our message, the message of the cross and the truth of God's Word, has not been distorted to fit public opinion. We experienced much growth and expansion during the "popular" years, and even now we continue to grow via technological automation and economic streamlining. As Steve Brown says, "We squeeze every dime to the glory of God." But we must appeal to the faithful to help us remain faithful, too. The expenses are real and regular, just like our message, and we need your help to meet them. Join us for our Fall Fundraiser September 14-16, and let's work together to keep truth available for every listening ear.
Seasons Christina Hutchinson
Out with the old, in with new. Seasons change and they change fast! This time of year always get me excited for the change in seasons. I know, realistically we don't get all four seasons here in the sunshine state, but I love when we get cooler weather. There's something about the way the breeze blows on a sunny day and you can feel the cool air coming. It motivates me to start planning for the holidays while filling the house with those cliché fall fragrances!
Seasons also come and go in other ways. If you look around you will probably notice a certain fashion trend. It could be something new or something that's been revived from the 70's, 80's or 90's. Nowadays it's a pretty wide spectrum and any form of fashion seems to have a place on the store racks. It always amazes me the clothing items they consider to be "in" and popular and what's not.
The Bible teaches us about seasons. God created the environmental seasons and gave us things like the moon to observe them. He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. (Psalm 104:19) And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years... (Genesis 1:14) The Bible talks about seasons in other ways as well. Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)
Let's look at "be ready in season and out of season." I looked into this verse using John MacArthur's Study Bible, and he explains that in this verse "in season and out of season" has to do with the seasons of our culture, what's popular and what's not. If we look at society, it's obvious we are in a season where preaching God's Word is not the "in" thing or popular. He explains that we are to be ready to preach God's Word either when it's popular or when it is not, when it seems suitable or when it's not. Whatever the circumstance we cannot let the cultural season dictate when we are to be faithful to preaching God's Word. At the Cornerstone this is God's ministry. We preach the gospel. We are ready in season and out of season to make a stand for Christ, to be a light in a dark world, to reach the lost and disciple the saved.
This month, we are in our season of Fall Fundraiser. Our community needs us to be faithful in preaching God's Word which is why we ask for your support. Will you be ready with us in season and out of season to proclaim the gospel of Christ? If so, please send in your pledge and please pray for the Cornerstone. God Bless!
