January 2017 Newsletter
Prayer Corner
New Year - New President. Please join us as we pray for our nation and the changes that will be coming. Pray for our incoming administration, that God's people will continue to enjoy the liberty of free worship and that we will be able to "live peaceful and godly lives in Christ Jesus."
Looking Ahead
Jan 15 - Sanctity of Human Life Day
Many Thank you's !
For several years our listeners have lavished gifts on nursing home residents and foster children, and we get to hear all the thanks for it. We just want to give credit where credit is due - to you!
NURSING HOME -
This year we added a little personal touch. Along with your gifts, Chris and Christina also shared the Christmas story and sang carols with the residents for a great Christmas celebration. We had enough donations for everyone to receive a gift of their own, and they enjoyed singing along to some classic favorites!
FOSTER CHILDREN -
This was the year of the bike! We had about a dozen bikes donated, along with dolls, stuffed animals, monogrammed cuddly toys, coloring books and crayons, story books, trucks and cars, and so-o-o-o much more. The children in the Guardian ad Lidem program were lavishly blessed by you. Thank you from all of them and from us!
The Year in Review
By Bill Powell
As I pondered the year 2016, the first thing that came to mind is where did it go? It appears we are stuck in hyper drive. The next thing that came to mind is how every year has a mixture of the same kinds of things. The seasons come and go; however, I believe last year was the first year I can remember we didn’t have a single frost. And it sure isn’t every year we have a hurricane come to visit. I hope I can get my roof, fascia, and siding redone on my house by spring. Although The Cornerstone was spared a catastrophe, there were many problems caused by the storm, and we had approximately $8000 in damage that was not budgeted for. Catastrophe didn’t come to everyone, but it did come to some.
Many of us lost someone last year who is now in the Celestial City, as we here miss them. We are sorry for your loss. One day we will all be singing in the heavenly choir, praises to the Lord at His feet. My guess is if you can’t sing now, when we get our new bodies we will all sing like angels.
Elections come every year and wow, this past one was a doozey. We were unable to interview the candidates like we usually do because the hurricane damage took up the time we needed to pull it off. It seems it’s ok now to say Merry Christmas. I saw a meme on face book that had Donald Trump sitting in the oval office. Standing in front of him was Jesus and Santa Claus, and the caption was "Welcome back, gentlemen." I do hope 2017 slows down the political strife in our nation. Last year was one for the record books. Continue to pray for revival.
We were able to add a few new programs in 2016. WMFJ added Elizabeth Elliott, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, and Joni and Friends. The FM added a few new church services on Sunday morning. I hope you check out our newly improved web site and print yourself a copy of our program guides.
Time and space don’t permit a total review of all the wonderful people we were able to interact with throughout the year. We met many new faces and interacted with many of you through the different ministries we were engaged in. The Cornerstone family is the best radio audience in the world. You are all special to us.
Many things, however, do not change, thank God. The Lord is sovereign and continues to use this ministry to reach people. We continue to be faithful in bringing you and all who have ears to hear the best in sound Biblical teaching and Music with a Message. We continue to need your prayers and financial support. The Bible is and always will be the tool the Lord has given us to reveal Himself and what is expected of us. Our hope is the same eternal life for each of us and those whom we love. Jesus is now and will always be our Savior.
We’re excited about next year. There are many irons in the fire and plans in the pipe line. We are going to continue to be a Ministry on the Move. It is our desire that the Cornerstone family will grow and hearts will be changed. We thank you all for how you have supported us throughout the years. We will continue to pray for you and ask you to please pray for us.
Happy New Year!
Bill
Happy New Year
Chris Johnson
Happy New Year! We’ve already hit the ground running as 2017 is officially underway, and who knows what the year will bring. As with every January I’ve already begun to take some time to look back on the last journey through the calendar year and consider the successes and the failures, the good and the bad, along with the opportunities that last year seemed to open up for the year to come. I can only speak for myself but sometimes I tend to write something off as a “bad idea” or a “failure” before an ample amount of time has been given to see if real fruit does come of a particular endeavor. Maybe that’s how you’re thinking about a few things that took place in 2016. Spiritually speaking maybe you tried really hard to be intentional about living out your walk with Christ in front of unsaved loved ones or co-workers. Maybe you invited several people to join you at church or even tune into The Cornerstone and enjoy the music. Maybe some even seemed to respond positively, only to wane a little here or there. Well, I’d like to encourage you not to grow weary and to continue pointing people to Christ and never forget the utter importance of lifting them up to the Lord in prayer! I want to encourage you to remember that it’s the Lord who gives the increase, while we’re called to labor in his service and for the furtherance of the Gospel. This year we want more than ever to “Spread the Word” of Jesus Christ to more people in more places and as we journey through this year we hope you will join us in this effort! We’ve got some exciting things planned for 2017 and we are trusting the Lord to bless those plans and to bring to full maturity some of the watering and planting that took place in 2016. The Lord’s richest blessings on you and your family in your year ahead!
An Unlikely Hero
Donna Bramlett
Would you want your daughter to aspire to be like a prostitute? Would you want her to look at a street walker and say, "Hey! That's what I want to be!" Hardly. But then there's Rahab. Rahab is uniquely wedged in the gnarly family tree of our Savior, and she sets a great example of old things forgotten and new life begun. Yet every time she is mentioned, she is connected to her old life - Rahab the prostitute.
God keeps Rahab's old life attached to her, not because He didn't forgive her sin or because it was too big to set behind His back, but because she is iconic. Moses committed murder, but he was not a murderer by trade. David committed adultery, but it was not a way of life for him. We can perhaps slide over these infractions because, after all, who doesn't slip and fall at times. Rahab, however, was a prostitute by trade and by choice, and she must have been successful at it. She had her own home, expensive scarlet cloth, sheaves of wheat stacked on her roof, all paid for by her illicit lifestyle. Her sin did not overtake her or catch her unawares - no, it defined her. Yet she shed it all when she encountered the one true God. Not only did she ask to be identified with Him and spared destruction, she saved her parents, her brothers, her sisters, and all who belonged to them. She wanted salvation for all her whole family. And she got it, too.
As if saving and forgiving her were not enough, God went further still, beyond anything Rahab could hope or ask for. He included her in the lineage of the one and only Savior of the world. He sealed her redemption in Christ, for the one who delivered her was delivered in human form by her offspring. She is the one who gave birth to Boaz, the Christ-type hero of the book of Ruth. She, the former prostitute by trade, raised up a man so noble and kindhearted that Naomi rejoiced to find her daughter-in-law a place in his home. Talk about a changed woman!
I can only marvel and rejoice at the mercy and kindness of my God. We turn from our sin and lift up muddy arms, and He reaches down to lift us from the mire. May I be numbered with this foreign prostitute and counted worthy of my Lord!
2017- New Year, New Hearts
By Christina Hutchinson
Well, we've made it another year! 2016 held a lot of ups and downs for me and probably for you too. As we look forward to a new year, we start making new plans and prepare for new experiences. My new plans include a home that Ryan and I just purchased in December! I'm excited to get rid of the old and bring in the new! On another note, America as a nation will be welcoming in a new president!
Yep, 2017- a new year, a new start. But what about new hearts? My prayer for this year is that God would change peoples' hearts and make them new! That they would come to Christ, repenting of their sin and fully trust in Him! I pray that they would see the filth of the world and turn away from it, and set their hearts and minds on serving the Lord each and every day. Happy New Year, God bless! -Christina
