Cornerstone Message Podcast

Ever encountered antagonism to your faith? Sometimes it's people we barely know. Other times, walls go up between people who live under the same roof. Or perhaps you're still seeking; some people are really helpful in the process, and others...not so much. The Apostle Paul often faced hostile audiences. Yet God used him to make a world-reverberating difference that is still being felt to...

What if the Lord wanted to use you to make a difference in the world today, to be a part of the answer to the prayer he taught us to pray—"your kingdom come, your will be done"—but our own unwitting actions put unnecessary difficulties in the way of its fulfillment? Find out how you to avoid unwittingly hamstringing your effectiveness and ending up crossways to the Holy Spirit's act...

Find out what the early church was known for and discover how these two simple things can reinvigorate your walk and ensure you make a difference every day. Our current series takes the history of the early church, the book of Acts, as its inspiration. The same Holy Spirit that energized and motivated the early church to GO Make a Difference is alive and present in believers today. And when he&#03...

When Jesus wanted us to know what God was like, he turned to the image of "Father." But that image that should clarify and encourage often becomes muddled and distorted by our experiences and misconceptions. What does it mean to address the God of the universe as "Our Father..."? What are you misbelieving about God? Discover the Father heart of God in this episode of GO Make a...

Don't give up on changing the world! You have been empowered and sent to make a difference in the world today. Discover how God has equipped you with everything you need to live the kind of life he dreams of for you in part one of this new series.

The early church understood and adopted the idea of the resurrection in surprising ways. Where did these new ideas about the resurrection come from? Were there some innovative and imaginative theologians that decided to make lemonade out of the lemon of their would-be Messiah's crucifixion? Or is there another explanation? Hear the surprising innovations on the resurrection that the early chu...

Discover Jesus' remedy for boring, self-satisfied, lifeless religion, today in the conclusion of 7 Letters to 7 Churches. In the seventh letter, Jesus addresses the situation in ancient Laodicea. Their self-satisfied complacency was robbing them of the richness of their relationship with Jesus in the present, and putting in peril the fulfillment of their purpose with him in the future. Don&#0...

What would it be like to hear "You're doing great" from Jesus when you're worn out and getting to the end of your strength? Letter Six in the collection is unusual in that the church in ancient middle-eastern Philadelphia is actually doing well in Jesus' estimation! What characterized their church that led to this assessment by Jesus? Listen in and found out.

Have you ever been surprised in a relationship? You thought everything was going well only to find out the other person had major issues. Or perhaps as you got to know someone you realized they aren't who you thought they were. It's one thing to be surprised by someone else. It's a whole 'nother level when you discover you're surprised by...you! Today we again pick up the...

Guest speaker Shanna Crowell continues our series on the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus with the story of the man famous for his doubts. The disciple Thomas found in Jesus someone who did not reject him for his doubts, but instead made allowances for them, provided the evidence he needed to overcome them, and gave us even more reasons to believe when we face the same kinds of doubts.

Have you ever had your expectations shattered? Struggled to make sense of your circumstances? While we know the end of the story, for Jesus' disciples the days after his crucifixion and death were among the most grievous and disappointing moments of their lives. Even when the reports of Jesus' appearing alive began coming in, the disciples were more bewildered than encouraged. We will se...

If I'm aiming to accomplish God's will, does it matter how I go about it All of us have an incredible capacity to justify our actions based on our good intentions. In letter four of our series, Jesus directs his piercing gaze at our hearts so that we don't deceive ourselves into error and suffer the sobering consequences. We can avoid self-deception and receive all the good things G...

No one believes a lie on purpose. But it is possible to deceive ourselves unwittingly. In the letter to his church at Pergamum, the third of seven personalized letters from Jesus contained in the book of Revelation, Jesus deals with a bit of self-deception that had crept into the church. They were faithfully and publicly holding to their allegiance to Jesus, but they had deceived themselves into t...

In the second personalized letter from Jesus to a church in the opening chapters of the book of Revelation, Jesus gives only commendation and encouragement to the people of the church in Smyrna. They are facing economic, political, and existential threats that could leave them poor, unprotected, and perhaps even dead. But Jesus reminds them that he was once dead, but now lives forever, and promise...

Are you flagging? The dictionary defines flagging as growing weary, tired, or lacking enthusiasm. You could think of it not as active apostasy or gross sin but rather just running down in the race of faith. If so there's hope that will lift your spirits and fuel your fire as we begin our second series in Revelation, working through Jesus' personalized message to the seven churches who we...

What would it be like to lack for...nothing!??! Some of our needs are tangible. Stuff. Things. Others can't be bought at a store or put in a bag. Peace. Safety. According to the Scripture, all of them can be found in one source!

Much of the Bible is poetry; ancient Jewish meditation literature poetry. Reading this literature with understanding, let alone skillfully applying it to our lives today, requires understanding its structure and nature. But when you do, it unleashes wisdom and insight that leads to lives that flourish...as God intended.

Bible is not just a book, but a library of books whose primary genre is narrative, or storytelling. But many have a challenge making sense of some of the stories and especially how they can be accurately applied to our lives today. Don't get derailed by common mistakes that are made when reading the stories of the Bible. You can accurately and skillfully read and apply the Bible's narrat...

A lot of people come to the Bible with a mix of anticipation, hope, and confusion. Anticipation because it is God's Word. Hope because if it's God's Word, it contains solutions to the problems we face in this world. But a little confusion too because we're jumping into a world that is very different from ours and is often hard to understand and sometimes downright troubling. So...

Does your faith stand or fail based on a book? On a church? On your understanding? An experience? What is the foundation of your faith? If you want rock-solid faith, you may need something more. Discover the foundation of Christian faith in this bonus message that dovetails nicely with the How to Read the Bible with Understanding series.

The last book in the Bible, Revelation, has been misunderstood, misused, and misapplied perhaps more than any other book in Scripture. And it's no wonder. It's an ancient text far removed from our usual experience, filled with unfamiliar and frightful images. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you know the interpretive key to Revelation you can unlock its message, read it with u...

If you don't see a danger ahead, it's unlikely you'll take the necessary precautions. Far to many fall into a trap on their spiritual journey that is described in the opening chapter of the book of Revelation, and that can derail them because their experience doesn't line up with their expectations. Be forewarned and forearmed, and less likely to be derailed by the realities of...

There are moments in our lives when we our circumstances prompt questions and our confidence is eroded. Given a choice, we would escape. But God can use these moments in our lives to reveal strengths, gifts, and callings that we never asked for or thought possible. Through Shanna's story we'll see how brokenness, suffering, and service have both hindered and propelled her journey of fait...

When we’re in the middle of difficulty, questions arise that we may almost be afraid to ask. Where is God? Is he really in control? Does he care? Embedded in the opening lines of the book of Revelation, which is also a letter to churches in crisis, are the answers to the questions like these that they may be asking but may be afraid to voice. Find the encouragement and insights you need to keep go...

The start of a new series on the opening scene of the book of Revelation. Most people when reading Revelation are asking the question, "When?" Revelation focuses on "Who?" We'll address both questions in this series and discover that the answers to both questions are always relevant *now*.