I have good news. The word of God is powerful. It is his word that created all things. It is his word that calms the raging sea. It is his word that brings the dead to life. God reminded his people repeatedly to fear him, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve him wholeheartedly, and to keep his commandments. He knew his people would need help, and he spoke to them his life-giving word. He told them time and time again to be careful to obey all the words He gave them

I have good news. Our God sees us. We never have to fear being alone or abandoned. This ought to encourage our hearts, but does this cause discomfort instead?  God warned Israel that they could not hide their sin from him. He told them that their sin would find them out, yet they struggled in sin. They were easily swayed by the pagan cultures around them and sinned against God. They didn’t take seriously the effects of sin and God's warning of judgment. Like Israel, we are te

I have good news. In a world full of competing voices telling us how to live, we can trust the heart of God. How many times have you watched a show and heard the advice “just follow your heart”? That is the worst advice ever!! The book of Numbers shows us just how destructive (and even deadly) that advice can be. There is opposition to God’s plan, rebellion, complaint, fear, loss, defeat, a plague, and death. Why? Because the people followed their wicked, selfish hearts. And

I have good news. Our God is for us. We are his chosen people, he is the giver of all good things, and he has set us free. God is in control and he ALONE calls the shots. His way will always prevail. He expects and deserves our reverence, worship, and awe. We get to choose: obedience and security with God or disobedience and separation from God. Israel struggled with that. We struggle with that. Sin is an ongoing battle in our lives, but praise God that the war has already be

I have good news. We serve a holy God who cares for us deeply. But we all have a serious problem. Sin. Our sin separates us from God, but he loves us too much to leave us there. God gave the law to Israel to show them their great need for a savior. He desires for his people to be set apart to Him. We can see how God cares about every aspect of our lives in the detailed requirements of the law. He knows the depths of our wickedness and that our greatest need is Him. So we need

I have good news. Our God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He forgives our sins. This truth ought to stir our hearts and make us willing and eager to know his commands and obey his commands. God's standard is righteousness, but we fall short. He is a holy God and cannot dwell in darkness. Like the children of Israel, we struggle with sin and drift towards darkness. But with the shed blood of a spotless lamb atonement can be m

I have good news. Our God delights in caring for and providing for us. He knows the physical and spiritual needs of His children. He provided manna and water as the people of Israel journeyed through the wilderness. He gave them the law to teach them of their lostness and guide them in their walk. He ordained the building of a tabernacle so He could dwell among them. He sent his son Jesus: the bread sent from heaven, the fulfillment of the law, God with us. In Jesus, we have

I have good news. Our God sees us. He knows us. And he loves us still. Our God uses unlikely, unlovely people to do the unexpected-not because of who we are, but because of who He is. He is working out his perfect plan of redemption: not only to free Israel from bondage in Egypt, but to free us from our bondage of sin. The story of Exodus is our story. God heard his people’s cry, he saw their need for deliverance and He kept his promise to set us free. Week 5 Bible Reading P

I have good news for you – right now, even at this very moment, God is seated on his throne. Our God reigns. For those who walk by faith, through the ups and downs, we can trust that God is working all things for His glory and our good. Joseph‘s life is evidence of God reigning over all things. From the outside, Joseph’s life seemed desperate and chaotic, but God was near and, in His wisdom and foreknowledge, worked all these things for a greater purpose. Trials and struggles

I have good news for you: our God is a God of grace. I’ve heard grace explained as God’s unmerited favor, or simply getting what you don’t deserve. In the story of Genesis, there is deceit, disputes and disobedience among God’s chosen people. Why would God choose to bless them?  How could a redeemer come from a people steeped in sin?  Only by His grace. Praise God! God’s grace was evident in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and most clearly seen in sending His one and only

I have some good news for you. The good news is that there is nothing that our God can’t do. Like Abram and Sarai, when things don’t go as we would like, our temptation is to charge ahead - because of fear and the “what ifs”. If God has promised it, He will keep His promise, and He is able to do it because of who He is. Thank him for being a God of righteousness, faithfulness, and grace. Have the courage, faith, and discipline to trust Him and wait for His timing. Week 2 Bibl

This week will end the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and so end 2025. This has been a 2-year journey through the Bible. In 2025, Cornerstone looked at how Love Shows Up. Revelation is Jesus showing up! For those who believe in Him, it will be the fulfillment of all that has been hoped for, and to those who do not, everlasting judgment. Lamentations is the last of the Old Testament books to finish out the whole Bible in 2 years. Please join us in 2026 for the whole Bible in a ye

The Revelation of Jesus Christ is believed to have been written by the Apostle John, and is a prophetic vision of the end of the world as we know it. This entails God’s judgment of the earth and the coming of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Next week will cover the final judgment of all mankind. This will include the casting out of those who continued in their sin and disbelief, and the rewarding of those who believed in the Lord Jesus into the family of God for eternity. This

This week will include the conclusion to the Elder’s letters and then on into the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We will take the opportunity to review 1st-3rd John, and then launch into Revelation for the remainder of the year. This is a review from our time earlier this year in the Gathering. Remember that the letters are thought to be written by John the apostle, and that he wrote to a group of house churches around Ephesus. John writes in a circular way to emphasize his poin

This week, we will be finishing the last of the writings of Peter, which is called Second Peter. Then on to the small letter of Jude, only 1 chapter. After that, we’ll read the letters of John, which Cornerstone began in 2025 during the Gathering time. It is important to remember that Peter was a fisherman before called to be a disciple. He was impulsive and brash at times. Jesus rebuked him by telling him directly, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a hindrance to me because you

This week will conclude Hebrews and begin 2 Peter. However, the focus will be on the last writing attributed to Paul in the second letter to Timothy. He is at the end of his life and ministry. Paul is in prison again and suspects that he will be put to death. He writes to his “dearly loved son” in the ministry, Timothy, to instruct and comfort him. The world is a challenging place for Christians in the first century, with pressures from out and in. Paul is encouraging Timothy

This week will cover the book of Hebrews. The author is unknown, but there are varying opinions on who it might have been. Whoever the author was, both knew the disciples and had an extensive knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament. The author also knows that the recipients of the letter have an extensive knowledge of the Old Testament. This book in the Bible is believed to be a letter to messianic Jews or Jewish believers in Jesus who are suffering persecution. Ther

The past couple of weeks have been spent dealing with the Apostle Paul’s letters to different churches and individuals in the region of Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey. This week shifts to the letter of 1 Peter, from the Apostle known as Simon Peter. This letter is also to the churches in Asia Minor. The Book of Acts last saw Peter tending to the church in Jerusalem; however, by the end of 1 Peter, the readers find out that he has also journeyed to Rome, similar to Paul. Pete

This week continues again through the letters of Paul. Remember that Paul was left in prison in Rome for at least 2 years, and this is when he spent time writing to different churches and people to encourage them in the faith. Timothy was a younger man whom Paul had discipled. Paul later sent him on a mission to Ephesus to correct false teaching and those stirring up conflict. Titus was also a co-worker with Paul, who was Greek. Titus was also sent on a mission to help the ch

This week continues through the letters of Paul, who was God’s original missionary to the Gentile, or non-Jewish, world. These letters he wrote during the years he was imprisoned in Rome. This is recorded in the closing chapter of Acts. The reading will finish the letter to the Ephesians and begin the letter to the Philippians. Paul’s experience in Ephesus is recorded in Acts 19, and the story of the beginning of the church in Philippi is in Acts 16. Paul had a personal relat

The Book of Acts closed with Paul imprisoned in Rome for 2 years. Paul used this time to write letters and minister to different churches. Paul is believed to have written several letters, which include the readings from this week in Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon. Colossians and Ephesians were written to the Churches of Colossae and Ephesus. Both letters are structured similarly, with the first half focused on doctrine and the second on application. Philemon is a person

This week finishes the Book of Acts, which records the birth of the church in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. The story has followed the growth of the church in Jerusalem and then its scattering. Saul became Paul, and was sent on mission by the Lord Jesus to the Gentile world. This will land him eventually in Rome as he appealed to Caesar. The Book of Acts concludes with Paul in Rome for two years proclaiming the Gospel. Church Tradition states that Paul was beheaded somet

This week will finish the letter to the Romans. Paul wrote to the church in Rome for the purpose of clarifying theology for Jewish and...

Paul’s letter to the Roman church addresses Gentile and Jewish believers, and Paul is working out the Gospel for them. The letter will...