Cornerstone Church Sermons

There is a great deal of knowledge in our world.  Experts tell us that until the year 1900, it took 100 years for knowledge to double.  But then it began to accelerate and by 1945 it began to double every 25 years.  Still it accelerated and by 1982, the ‘knowledge doubling curve’ was every 12-13 months.  Shockingly, today the experts tell us it doubles every 12-13 hours driven by the advancement of AI.  Yet wisdom, even with all the increase in knowledge, is on the decline.  We need the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs more than ever!  Let the Wise Hear will be a tour guide on the pathway of wisdom, leading us to wise speech, wise marriages, wise parenting and much more.  Come join us as we discover what true wisdom is, how it is distinct from knowledge, and how wisdom helps us in the most practical areas of our lives.    

There is a great deal of knowledge in our world.  Experts tell us that until the year 1900, it took 100 years for knowledge to double.  But then it began to accelerate and by 1945 it began to double every 25 years.  Still it accelerated and by 1982, the ‘knowledge doubling curve’ was every 12-13 months.  Shockingly, today the experts tell us it doubles every 12-13 hours driven by the advancement of AI.  Yet wisdom, even with all the increase in knowledge, is on the decline.  We need the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs more than ever!  Let the Wise Hear will be a tour guide on the pathway of wisdom, leading us to wise speech, wise marriages, wise parenting and much more.  Come join us as we discover what true wisdom is, how it is distinct from knowledge, and how wisdom helps us in the most practical areas of our lives. 

There is a great deal of knowledge in our world.  Experts tell us that until the year 1900, it took 100 years for knowledge to double.  But then it began to accelerate and by 1945 it began to double every 25 years.  Still it accelerated and by 1982, the ‘knowledge doubling curve’ was every 12-13 months.  Shockingly, today the experts tell us it doubles every 12-13 hours driven by the advancement of AI.  Yet wisdom, even with all the increase in knowledge, is on the decline.  We need the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs more than ever!  Let the Wise Hear will be a tour guide on the pathway of wisdom, leading us to wise speech, wise marriages, wise parenting and much more.  Come join us as we discover what true wisdom is, how it is distinct from knowledge, and how wisdom helps us in the most practical areas of our lives.    

Speaker: Rich Negron

Recently, I realized that I needed a gospel tune-up.

I was long overdue for regular maintenance—an oil change, if you will. Over time, I found myself

carrying a growing sense of shame, and as I reflected on it, I realized that if I had been

preaching the gospel to myself, I likely wouldn’t have found myself in as rough a condition as I

had.

That recognition is the reason I’m preaching from this passage today. Because I believe

Ephesians 1:3-14 offers a correction to my heart—one that helps me live from a life marked by

grace, rather than limping along in ways that I eventually break down.

And since we’re already using car imagery, there’s another picture I often return to when I need

to reorient my heart. When I was a kid, I loved hopping into the car with my dad. Almost every

time, I would ask—despite the fact that I should have learned by then—“Where are we going?”

And my dad would always respond, “Crazy.” As in, we’re going crazy. One of many elite-tier dad

jokes.

Looking back, I love that memory—especially as I think about how it relates to my relationship

with my Heavenly Father. Because what I’m learning is this: as long as I’m with my Father, He

will get me where I need to be. He always knew the destination—and we always got there.

And that’s where this passage meets us. It’s not right thinking that produces right living and then

results in assurance. Scripture tells a different story. Our salvation is first accomplished

through Christ. That finished work then reshapes our minds, and over time, that renewed mind

deepens our assurance......

1 Kings 3:16-28

English Standard Version

Solomon's Wisdom

16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.

23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

‘What’s in a name?’  Are you familiar with this question from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?  Maybe you will recognize it if you hear Juliet’s answer: ‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’  Yet there is a much greater name than the one Juliet was thinking of.  Isaiah will unwrap this name like we would unwrap a Christmas gift.  “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called…” (Isaiah 9:6).  What follows is one wondrous layer after another as the Person of Jesus is revealed before us.  Come along with us as we see the greatest answer to What’s in a name?’.  When you see the answer with eyes of faith, your life will be changed forever!

‘What’s in a name?’ Are you familiar with this question from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? Maybe you will recognize it if you hear Juliet’s answer: ‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ Yet there is a much greater name than the one Juliet was thinking of. Isaiah will unwrap this name like we would unwrap a Christmas gift. “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called…” (Isaiah 9:6). What follows is one wondrous layer after another as the Person of Jesus is revealed before us. Come along with us as we see the greatest answer to What’s in a name?’. When you see the answer with eyes of faith, your life will be changed forever!

‘What’s in a name?’  Are you familiar with this question from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?  Maybe you will recognize it if you hear Juliet’s answer: ‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’  Yet there is a much greater name than the one Juliet was thinking of.  Isaiah will unwrap this name like we would unwrap a Christmas gift.  “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called…” (Isaiah 9:6).  What follows is one wondrous layer after another as the Person of Jesus is revealed before us.  Come along with us as we see the greatest answer to What’s in a name?’.  When you see the answer with eyes of faith, your life will be changed forever!

How often have you held a door for someone, and they breeze right through with not an ounce of acknowledgment?  Or, closer to home, how rare do the words, ‘Thank you’ come from the mouths of your children?  Ingratitude is prevalent all around us, and self-centeredness is on the rise.  Experts tell us that one cannot be found without the other.  But the roots of ingratitude (gratitude as well) lodge deeply in our hearts, and this is where the power of God is aimed, changing us from the inside out.  Christians can be and ought to be the most grateful people there are.  Grateful people stick out for all the right reasons.  Pretty soon, they will be the unicorns of our modern culture.  God is deeply transforming us to be grateful people who express it in thankfulness, and in the midst of our selfish culture, we will glow in the dark.  So come along with us on this journey and do not be surprised to discover that you are traveling in the opposite direction of most of those you encounter along the way.  Yet our gratefulness will be a fragrance that draws people to the beauty of Jesus!