Wednesday, August 7, 2013
New to CBF?
New to CBF? Want the latest info on our Guest Lunch, Discovery, & Membership sessions? Want the latest updates and reminders on how to connect to a LifeGroup? Just text CBFNEW to 41411 now!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
Not Just for Sundays: Biblically Grounded
Let me state the obvious: you can’t live a ‘Biblically grounded’ life if you don’t read and study
the Bible.
How can you be grounded in a lifestyle and belief that you
don’t read or study?
Some may answer that they are grounded in it because they
listen to someone talk (preach) about it for almost an hour every week and then
try to apply it to their lives. Others may use the same argument for Christian
sermons on the radio or TV, books by Christian authors, or even from listening
to Christian music.
While all of these can be good and beneficial, I would argue
that if these are the only sources for your Biblical understanding then what
you are grounded in is the interpretations and understandings of others
understandings of the Bible. This is not all bad as I said before. For
centuries the average Christian had no access to the written Bible but instead
were forced to rely on oral summaries from those who did such as in the form of
sermons or conversations.
But in today’s world of information accessibility, no one in
western culture has to go without his or her own copy of a trusted translation
of God’s word. In fact many of us, thanks to ‘smart’ devices such as computers,
tablets, and phones, have the ability to carry around hundreds of translations and versions at all times. (We can even
carry around the text in their original Greek or Hebrew thanks to these
devices!)
What this means is that we can all be Bereans! In Acts 17:11
the Bereans were commended by Luke for their “noble character” because after
they heard Paul preach they went and “examined the Scriptures every day to see
if what Paul said was true” (NIV84).
While the preacher you love to listen to may be a great
expositor of the Bible, I doubt they are in possession of greater insight and
inspiration than the Apostle Paul. So if scrutinizing Paul’s teaching against
the actual text of the scriptures was commended in scripture itself, it surely
follows that we too should be encouraged to do the same no matter how “great”
the speaker is.
I wonder sometimes what the statistics would be if we were
to poll a group of members of a church like CBF and ask: “Do you strive to live
a ‘Biblically grounded’ life?” and “Do you read and study the Bible regularly?”
If your answer to either of these is “no”, then chances are
your life is on pretty shaky ground. In a “shifting sand” world, where is your
anchor? Philosophy’s come and go.
Science uncovers and then “recovers” new “truths” all the time. Your friends
and family are encouraging but relationships fail and falter at times. Got a
hero? Ask Lance Armstrong about the private moral decisions of one (that rarely
stay private). Have money and influence? Even the Beatles know that “you can’t buy
me love” and Broadway knows “you can’t take it with you”.
Jesus on the other hand has profound words about our
relationship with THE Word. In his time of extreme temptation from Satan
himself, Jesus says “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that
comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, NIV84). Here Jesus is quoting
Deuteronomy 8:3 which is a passage from God through Moses that reiterates the
fact that Israel survived in the desert for 40 years but not because of their
“Bear Grylls” wicked survival skills. They were taught by God himself to rely
on His word for their safety and survival. Leaning on their own strength and
understanding got them butchered by the Canaanite and Amalekites living in the
future “hill country of Judah” (See Numbers chapter 14).
As important as it is to live on the word of God, I need
help doing it and I typically struggle when I try to do it alone. Like all good
food, feasting on God’s word is best enjoyed when it’s shared.
I’m very thankful to be a part of two groups of men that
help me stay on a daily diet of God’s word. First is a group of friends that
are trying to get in physical shape while not sacrificing our spiritual shape!
We are holding one another accountable to treating our bodies as the temple of
the Spirit that they are through regular exercise and smarter eating. We are
also challenging each other to read through the Bible from start to finish this
year. (Numbers isn’t that fun some days, but knowing someone else is reading it
too is a good motivator.) So at any workout or in any group email it’s fair
game to ask, “how’s your time in the Word going?” and they often do!
Second is a small accountability group that meets monthly on
“Mighty Man Monday” which is the first Monday of every month. (Now there is a
Thursday monthly meeting time as well.) We share a moment in God’s word, and
then we ask for a report of our giving, our time in God’s word, and our
commitment to purity in all areas.
Don’t have a group of friends to encourage your move to
living a Biblically grounded life? Ask your LifeGroup leader if this can be a
part of your regular meetings. Not in a LifeGroup? Email Justin.hurley@cbf.us or visit our
website and submit the LG interest form.
You can also ask our men’s or women’s ministry leaders to help you find
a small accountability group by asking for one of them at our welcome desk on
Sunday, they can help you find one. Or, why not start one of your own?
(An upcoming sermon series at CBF simply called “The BOOK”
will explore ways and resources to help your personal Bible study.)
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Not Just for Sundays
The experience of participating with a group of Jesus-followers in worship on a weekly basis is one of great importance, and its impact is especially felt by those who have never had such an experience before or at least not for a long time. Phrases I've recently heard that describe it at Cornerstone are:
"I'm so glad I found this church!"
"These messages hit home every week."
"I'm so moved by the authentic spirit of the worship here."
And yesterday at lunch I heard, "I just really connect with what I see going on at Cornerstone."
Yet there can be a bit of a dilemma one finds after "discovering" a church like Cornerstone. It usually comes with the realization that Sunday morning worship attendance alone is not enough to grow spiritually and sustain a pattern of spiritual growth. Once an individual becomes passionate about worshipping God with other Jesus-followers, this very worship drives them to yearn for a relationship with the God of worship that goes beyond the doors of the place of worship. This is good. This is what worship does. As I look more and more intently at God in corporate worship, the more I realize that I need to look more like him at all other times in my week. Passionate worshippers of Christ will eventually desire to become passionate imitators of Christ.
I expect that very soon we will witness the baptism of a young man that illustrates and personifies this process. He came with his family (grudgingly because he didn't need or believe in God) to worship for several months. He found that there was something in the worship that was different than simply quality music, something in the messages that wasn't completely irrelevant to his life, and something in the relationships he was forming that was different than any others he had seen or personally experienced. These are my descriptions of this process from talking to him and his family, not his (but I hope you'll hear his soon.) One day he realized that he was not just attending a church gathering as an observer, but he was participating because he believed it.
It may have already hit this young man as it has many of us before him that as awesome as our Sunday worship time is, it's not enough. My Christianity is not equal to passionate Sunday worship participation. I'm not saying my Sunday worship participation is irrelevant to it, but if I attempt to make the two the same thing, then I will likely stop attending altogether at some point. The reason is that my enthusiasm for Sunday worship will fade if it tries to stand on its own. Passionate Sunday worship leads to a desire for passionate following of Christ 24/7. Guess what passionate following of Christ leads to… a desire for passionate worship with other believers… which leads to… (you get the idea.)
If you have recently "found a church home" at Cornerstone or even if it's been your church home for several months or years I want you to know that everything we do outside of our Sunday morning worship is designed to facilitate and encourage your growth into a passionate follower of Christ 24/7. This blog series will hopefully encourage your ongoing journey into just such a follower through practical ideas and follow-up suggestions from our recent sermon series "Don't just stand there, MOVE!" found here.
Passionate followers of Christ are people who are biblically grounded, spiritually directed, relationally connected, ministry focused, culturally engaged, and kingdom invested!
Are you?
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Want to read along in the Word with CBF pastors this year? Connect with them on YouVersion by clicking on the "friends" link on the web site and then typing in these user names in the search bar:
Cody Van Scyoc: codyvanscyoc
Justin Hurley: justinhurley
Dave Reynolds: dgrmlr
Barry Wingfield: bwingfield
Cody Van Scyoc: codyvanscyoc
Justin Hurley: justinhurley
Dave Reynolds: dgrmlr
Barry Wingfield: bwingfield
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