Cornerstone Message Podcast

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*.

When is a gift not a gift? Maybe it was given with a sense of obligation; the giver felt a gift was necessary or expected. Or maybe it felt more like manipulation, as though the giver was more interested in getting something from you than for you. These situations are unfortunate at best. When they carry over into our relationship with God, they can be tragic. In today’s addendum to the Advent sea...

To say someone is right out of central casting is to say they look the part. They’re exactly what you would expect. Muscle-bound superheroes. Menacing villains. But when God casts parts for his Kingdom, right from the start at the Nativity he made some unexpected choices. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you won’t get the part, or overlooking others because they don’t look the role. You just mig...

What if you missed out on what God wanted you in on? For generations, people had been longing for and looking for the advent of God’s kingdom, heralded by God’s anointed king. But when the kingdom came and the king arrived, many of them missed out on it entirely! How could this happen? God sent them an unexpected kingdom inaugurated by an unexpected king. Listen in and you won’t miss out on what G...

It makes sense, doesn’t it: If we’re doing what we should and trying our best to do what God wants, shouldn’t we expect that life will get easier? So what are we to make of it when we’re following Jesus wholeheartedly, and instead life gets bumpy? Today we’ll look at one person’s story. He does everything he should, but his life still gets very complicated. What are we to make of it when following...

Few of us like it when our plans go awry. The delayed schedule. The unexpected expense. The shattered expectations. But what if you discovered that interrupted objectives often fall right in line with God’s perfect plan? In the Christmas story we see that very thing! Join us as we embark on a journey of discovery, seeing how An Unexpected Christmas can take us to the places we really want to go.

Do you know where you stand with God? What prompts doubts or gives you confidence when that question is asked? In the last section of the Apostles’ Creed we affirm “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” and then the creed seems to move on and wrap up with a short list of unrelated affirmations about everything from the church to forgiveness to the resurrection. But are they really unrelated? In reality,...

How and when will we face God’s judgment? In the Apostles’ Creed we affirm that Jesus will return from his rightful place at God’s right hand “to judge the living and the dead.” It seems reasonable to assume that standing before the God of the universe to give an account of ourselves from start to finish, inside and out, should fill us with a certain amount of trepidation. If it doesn’t, perhaps i...

What does Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension mean for me? In the core of the Apostles’ Creed, we see Jesus face the worst the world can throw at him, and see him rise from the lowest of lows to the highest heights. The kicker? His story is our story. His victory is our victory. See how Jesus’ winning the ultimate battle gives his followers rock-solid confidence for whatever the world throws...