Weekly Bulletin - February 5th

Cornerstone Church,

This week we looked at Exodus 3, and this is what we found.

Exodus 3:1-5 (NKJV) ¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." ⁴ So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 
⁵ Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."

The Hebrew word found in Exodus 3:2  “Senneh” from which we get the translation, ”bush” literally means thorny. Most likely an acacia tree that grows in the harsh climate and is full of thorns. The thorn is a symbol of the curse that God pronounced upon Adam after the fall.  

The acacia tree is said to bears thorns that are “abortive branches.”  Branches that do not develop because of malnutrition and lack of water. The would-be buds absorb the parenchyma and harden into thorns instead of fruit bearing blossoms. In some cases, including acacia trees, when grown in gardens with proper amendments they no longer bear thorns but fruit.

Genesis 3:17-19 (NKJV) ¹⁷ Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. ¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. ¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."

We were made to walk with God in a manicured and well-watered garden, to live in the life-giving nourishment of fellowship with Him. Separation from fellowshipping with God leads us to be malnourished spiritually.  It causes us to harden, and our words become sharp. We are less likely to blossom and become all that God intended. We are less likely to bear fruit. However, by the grace of Jesus Christ and His salvation we can enter again into fellowship with the Father and bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives!

- Pastor Joel Johns

Continue to enjoy the songs we sang on Sunday as you spend time with the Lord this week.

We are very excited to let you know that our recent meeting with the Planning Commission went very well. The committee voted unanimously in support of our plans! There are still a couple of procedural steps that must occur before we can receive final approval, but we expect that to happen next week.

The next step in the process involves meeting with the Building Department to review the specifics of our plans and design. Once we have approval from the building department we can begin to pull permits and break ground. Please be praying for all of the details relating to the engineering and architectural plans that need to be finalized before we can meet with them.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Stay tuned…we will have more updates soon!

Every year we hold a Chili Cook-Off and Bake Auction as our primary fundraiser for Youth Summer Camp. We have been holding this event for over 10 years now at Cornerstone and it is truly a signature event for us. Tickets are $5 a person, for all you can eat chili! Please join us as we fellowship over tasty chili, and raise money for our students as they prepare to head out for another life-changing week at summer camp. We hope to see you there!

This will be an evening of worship as we praise the Lord together with some classic hymns. Join us for a wonderful evening of fellowship!

Join us for time of processing and working through the loss of a loved one. This week we will ask the question, “Why?” and process through this difficult portion of grieving. We hope this can be a blessing to you.