Well Good Morning Cornerstone, I trust everyone had a safe and fun New Year. It was not too long ago I can remember getting excited about what New Year’s Eve brought; a night of fun, dancing and partying with friends and family. This year and the last few have been slightly different. Just simply tired from the day and the year in general I found myself only conscious of the New Year from the howitzer grade fireworks being set off in an adjacent park. That was the only way I knew it was 2013. My wife on the other hand was fast asleep in preparation for her twelve-hour work shift the next morning and our baby girl Carmella was happily tucked into her crib with her favorite snuggle. Yes the New Year started off with a zzzzzz!

On another note however, I must say I am rather pleased to be in 2013, after all just a few weeks back I thought we would never see December 22nd. You know what I mean, that ancient prediction from those seers and prognosticators in the Mayan culture, to Nostradamus and other famous charlatans all predicting the end of the world on December 21st 2012. (SLIDE 2) I have to admit, recalling a television program from the mid 90’s called “Ancient Prophecies” my mind was filled with a bit of anxiety and concern over whether or not these people got it right. The show espoused all sorts of fanciful tales of California sinking into the sea, with the west coast now beginning in Denver, terrible events surrounding a nuclear apocalypse and WWIII, to the actual identity and birth date of the Anti-Christ. The narrator, David Mccallum (you may know him as “Ducky” Mallard from NCIS) spoke in a way that had my 12 year old bones chilling. He was quite good at scaring the life out of me with his tales. Now I realize that I should have heeded Christ’s words regarding this day in history and the message of this show when He tells us that regarding the end of the age,

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt. 24:36)

Well Good Morning Cornerstone, I trust everyone had a safe and fun New Year. It was not too long ago I can remember getting excited about what New Year’s Eve brought; a night of fun, dancing and partying with friends and family. This year and the last few have been slightly different. Just simply tired from the day and the year in general I found myself only conscious of the New Year from the howitzer grade fireworks being set off in an adjacent park. That was the only way I knew it was 2013. My wife on the other hand was fast asleep in preparation for her twelve-hour work shift the next morning and our baby girl Carmella was happily tucked into her crib with her favorite snuggle. Yes the New Year started off with a zzzzzz!

On another note however, I must say I am rather pleased to be in 2013, after all just a few weeks back I thought we would never see December 22nd. You know what I mean, that ancient prediction from those seers and prognosticators in the Mayan culture, to Nostradamus and other famous charlatans all predicting the end of the world on December 21st 2012. (SLIDE 2) I have to admit, recalling a television program from the mid 90’s called “Ancient Prophecies” my mind was filled with a bit of anxiety and concern over whether or not these people got it right. The show espoused all sorts of fanciful tales of California sinking into the sea, with the west coast now beginning in Denver, terrible events surrounding a nuclear apocalypse and WWIII, to the actual identity and birth date of the Anti-Christ. The narrator, David Mccallum (you may know him as “Ducky” Mallard from NCIS) spoke in a way that had my 12 year old bones chilling. He was quite good at scaring the life out of me with his tales. Now I realize that I should have heeded Christ’s words regarding this day in history and the message of this show when He tells us that regarding the end of the age,

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt. 24:36)

“PLAN LIKE A PRO: HOW TO MAKE ROCK SOLID INVESTMENTS”

Rock Solid: Doing Life Jesus’ Way

December 30, 2012

Cornerstone Community Church

Like many of you here at Cornerstone, I went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University a couple of years ago and found it tremendously helpful. At my stage of life my focus was not so much on how to prepare a budget or how to save to buy a car, but on how to plan for retirement. I wondered, for example, how much will it cost me to live when I’m 75 years old? And if it costs me say $60,000 a year to get by when I’m 75, how much will I need to have in savings and how much will I need to receive as income, whether it’s from Social Security or some other source?

“PLAN LIKE A PRO: HOW TO MAKE ROCK SOLID INVESTMENTS”

Rock Solid: Doing Life Jesus’ Way

December 30, 2012

Cornerstone Community Church

Like many of you here at Cornerstone, I went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University a couple of years ago and found it tremendously helpful. At my stage of life my focus was not so much on how to prepare a budget or how to save to buy a car, but on how to plan for retirement. I wondered, for example, how much will it cost me to live when I’m 75 years old? And if it costs me say $60,000 a year to get by when I’m 75, how much will I need to have in savings and how much will I need to receive as income, whether it’s from Social Security or some other source?

My family tradition when I was growing up in Minnesota was to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. My Mom and Dad would pack their three sons in the car, along with all the presents, and drive us from our home in the suburbs to my Grandparent’s very old, modest home in downtown Minneapolis. After eating my Grandmother’s roast beef dinner, and after everyone pitched in to clean up, we would then park ourselves around the Christmas tree in the corner of my Grandparents’ very small living room. As kids we were eager to get to the presents, but we understood that first things came first. No presents would be opened until we had first worshiped the one who was Lord at his birth – Jesus the Christ. First we would sing Christmas carols, then there would be the reading of the Christmas story, and then Grampa would lead us in a very long prayer.

My family tradition when I was growing up in Minnesota was to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. My Mom and Dad would pack their three sons in the car, along with all the presents, and drive us from our home in the suburbs to my Grandparent’s very old, modest home in downtown Minneapolis. After eating my Grandmother’s roast beef dinner, and after everyone pitched in to clean up, we would then park ourselves around the Christmas tree in the corner of my Grandparents’ very small living room. As kids we were eager to get to the presents, but we understood that first things came first. No presents would be opened until we had first worshiped the one who was Lord at his birth – Jesus the Christ. First we would sing Christmas carols, then there would be the reading of the Christmas story, and then Grampa would lead us in a very long prayer.

It is one of the greatest lines in any hymn or any carol I’ve ever heard. It is certainly my favorite line in any hymn or carol I’ve ever heard. It is the fourth line in the carol “O Holy Night,” and it simply says this, speaking of the birth of Jesus Christ: “Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” To appreciate this line in its fuller context, let me read you the entire first verse, and the chorus:...

It is one of the greatest lines in any hymn or any carol I’ve ever heard. It is certainly my favorite line in any hymn or carol I’ve ever heard. It is the fourth line in the carol “O Holy Night,” and it simply says this, speaking of the birth of Jesus Christ: “Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” To appreciate this line in its fuller context, let me read you the entire first verse, and the chorus:...

It is one of those carols that make us feel better no matter where we are or what we’re doing when we hear it. Right from its first word, this carol expresses the deepest longing of our heart, not just for Christmas but for the entire year – joy. What we hope for this Christmas is joy, lasting joy. We’ve had enough sadness this last year. We have lost loved ones. We have lost jobs. We have had marriage struggles and health struggles and struggles on the job. We’ve had run-ins with our children and we’ve had run-ins with our parents. We’ve been angry, we’ve been anxious, and we’ve been apathetic, and now it’s time for a different emotion. We want joy, real joy, lasting joy, the kind of joy that Isaac Watts wrote about in 1719 in his classic Christmas carol we know as “Joy To The World.”

It is one of those carols that make us feel better no matter where we are or what we’re doing when we hear it. Right from its first word, this carol expresses the deepest longing of our heart, not just for Christmas but for the entire year – joy. What we hope for this Christmas is joy, lasting joy. We’ve had enough sadness this last year. We have lost loved ones. We have lost jobs. We have had marriage struggles and health struggles and struggles on the job. We’ve had run-ins with our children and we’ve had run-ins with our parents. We’ve been angry, we’ve been anxious, and we’ve been apathetic, and now it’s time for a different emotion. We want joy, real joy, lasting joy, the kind of joy that Isaac Watts wrote about in 1719 in his classic Christmas carol we know as “Joy To The World.”