Listen to Tom Taylor as he takes a deeper look at the paradoxical message of the blessings of the Beatitudes. Tom is an elder at Immanuel Church in Chelmsford and an ordained minister.

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

|

Open in new tab

Download [198.12 KB]

Dave Astolfi is a second career pastor, having earned an M.Div from Bethel Seminary of the East. He retired early from a 35 year career in science research to devote more time and energy to pastoral ministry.  Dave was ordained at Grace Community Church in Chelmsford, while serving as Pastor of Care. He is enjoying semi-retirement, serving God through pulpit supply, interim ministry, mentoring and volunteering at a community pantry … Oh, and he also keeps busy playing with his four grandsons.

On Palm Sunday, I preached about donkeys. My big idea was “Be a donkey!” Well, we’re talking about deer today, so maybe the big idea should be, “Be a deer!” A doe, a deer, a female deer. Be a deer.

About a month ago, I was meditating on this passage, and the elders and I were talking about my sabbatical, and we thought this text could be a good way to kick off my time away, but also the church’s summer too. While you’re not taking a sabbatical, I hope that this summer can be restful for you. That’s why I’ve asked all our guest preachers to preach on “Rest, Renewal & Grace.” I hope you’ll take intentional time to rest. As I was reading this Psalm, I feel like I encountered that theme of Rest, Renewal & Grace.

Psalm 42:1-2 (ESV)

1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

The Psalmist describes himself as a thirsty deer panting for flowing waters. I don’t see many deer around here. I saw some white-tail deer in our office complex next door to our house but haven’t seen them since last summer. Last summer, when we traveled to Colorado, we saw two mule deer with big ears (that’s why they call them mule). They had antlers and came wandering through the picnic site in the National Park. I actually have a selfie of Elijah napping in my lap and deer walking past us in the background.

The campground picnic area was really beautiful. There was lots of vegetation and a gurgling river flowing by. I could see why the deer would be attracted to it. My family went on a short hike and saw a moose, but Elijah and I missed it. We were napping. But did you know you don’t have to go into the National Park to see deer? You can swing by my parent’s house. They’ll walk right through the yard.

Or I just had someone tell me the story this week of how they went all the way to the National Park to see a big herd of elk, and they were so excited, and afterward, they went to the Safeway parking lot, where they saw another herd of elk. The elk love the town golf courses too. The elk love Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park because there’s plenty to eat, and they are safe. It’s a place of abundance and free from hunters. A deer puts its head down to drink when it feels safe.

And that’s what this Psalm does. It invites us to come and drink at God’s well, to feel safe enough to seek him. The Psalmist longs for that experience, but you know, he actually doesn’t feel safe or satisfied. He actually feels far from God. “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before him?” This Psalm is about a depressed deer. It’s about a thirsty deer who feels far from God.

Psalm 42:3-4 (ESV)

3 My tears have been my food

day and night,

while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

4 These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

how I would go with the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

a multitude keeping festival.

My parents would put up protective wire around their crabapple trees because the elk would come through and rub themselves against it, sometimes destroying it. They get all itchy when their velvet comes off. We call it Elk rutting. My mom just sent a video of the trees in bloom, lots of pink flowers. But one year, a baby deer got caught in the wire. So, we called the police department, and they came by and cut it loose. But it’s a sad story because the baby deer didn’t recover.

Here’s a man who is so far from God he feels like he won’t recover. Will he ever draw close to God’s presence again? He used to be a worship leader at the temple, the place where God’s presence was real and tangible, a place where he knew he could be near God. But verse 6 tells us the Psalmist is all the way at the heights of Hermon, a mountain range over 100 miles north of Jerusalem.  It’s like he wants to go to a Boston Red Sox game, but he’s in Canada. It’s terrib

This morning, I got up thinking about the first time I ever shared my testimony, my story of coming to faith in Christ. In college, I took a spring-break missions trip down to Chinle, Arizona, to the Indian reservation to run a program for kids. I think we must have talked about sharing our testimonies because, on the drive down, I spent time writing my testimony. I wanted to share it, but I didn’t volunteer myself. But a few days later, one of my fellow college students nominated me to share my testimony, and I was ready.

I was nervous-excited to share, and it went really well. Afterward, my college pastor said I should go to seminary, which is perhaps the first time someone said that to me. So, in one sense, sharing my testimony helped put me here. God is good! Sharing your testimony can lead to surprising places. Or, the reverse is true. God can lead us to surprising places to share our testimony. That’s true of Paul’s story.

God led Paul into the heart of a riot to share his testimony, into the center of Jerusalem. Some people wrongly accused him of bringing Gentiles into the temple, a capital offense, and an angry mob dragged him out of the temple, ready to kill him. The Holy Spirit might lead you to share your testimony with a friend over breakfast, in a packed board room, at your family’s 2021 reunion. Will you be ready? Chances are, you won’t get stoned. What can you do to not offend?

Paul took a Nazarite vow. He shaved his head. He sponsored four other Jewish men in their Nazarite vows. He went above and beyond to not offend culturally so that maybe, just maybe, they would hear the gospel and believe. But it didn’t matter because those who hated him were there.

Acts 21:27b-28 (ESV)

. . . the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

The Jews from Asia know how well Paul preached Christ there, and they want to put a stop to him in Jerusalem (Acts 19:26). They sparked the riot. They want Paul dead.

Acts 21:30 (ESV)

Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.

That’s the last time Paul will ever see the temple. He almost dies, but a Roman tribune, an elected official, took soldiers and rescued him, literally carrying Paul out of there, like a very dangerous mosh-pit. This mob provides Paul with a unique opportunity, an opportunity to share Jesus with an angry mob. He’d wanted to do that back at Ephesus in Acts 19, but here he finally gets his opportunity with his own countrymen, people he might have known and recognized.

As we look at Paul’s testimony, it serves as a model for us as we share our testimonies. We may never face an angry mob, but we still might have the opportunity to share Christ with a coworker, neighbor, friend, or family member. That’s why it helps to break down Paul’s testimony into a three-part testimony:

I. Who I was (Acts 22:3-5)

Paul gives his background to establish some credibility. He’s a Jew, educated by a notable teacher, Gamaliel, who we met back in Acts 5:34-39. He was so zealous for the law he persecuted the earliest followers of Jesus, simply called “the Way.” He even had letters from the high priest and council of elders to punish the Christians, not something most people had. Some of those people who wrote him his letter might be listening to Paul now. They knew him. They knew his story.

Why does Paul tell us this? Because God is about to change him. When Jesus saw Paul, he didn’t just see opposition, someone who was fighting him, but an opportunity. God saw a man who could become a mighty missionary to the Gentiles, the non-Jews, someone who was incredibly zealous for the Jewish people.

When we look at our own lives and o

Jamie is a Senior in college. That summer, she works at a Christian camp as a camp counselor. She leads hikes, runs workshops, and leaders her cabin time small group. She even gives some of the devotionals in the large group setting. Over the course of the summer, she begins to sense, not with audible words, but deep in her soul that the Holy Spirit might be calling her into Christian ministry.

Jamie doesn’t know what that means, so she talks it over with her camp director. He encourages her to continue praying, reflecting, and asking others for input. She invites a few of her fellow counselors to pray and fast with her, and discern what the Spirit might be doing. They affirm that they too have seen a love for God’s people in he and that she seems to be gifted for ministry. Maybe she could work at a Christian camp, or maybe the Lord would call her to college ministry or even to serve a local church.

At the end of that summer, she goes home excited by this new potential calling on her life. She determines to spend her final year in college serving her church, exploring her gifting, and praying about where the Spirit might be leading. At first, things seem to go well in her church. The pastor and leadership are grateful for her increased volunteering and service, but when she starts to talk about a call to ministry, her family and church don’t express the enthusiasm or support she received from her fellow camp counselors.

Her parents would much rather have Jamie continue her original plan and go to medical school. They were hoping for a doctor in their family. Couldn’t she go to med school and do medical mission trips on the side? Jamie recognizes that that is a legitimate and good calling, but she’s not sensing that’s what the Holy Spirit is doing. She’s especially surprised when a well-meaning church member asks her if she wants to go to seminary to marry a pastor. “No,” she replies, “I’m thinking about going to seminary because I sense that may be where the Holy Spirit is leading.”

It all comes to a head when her pastor preaches on male headship and male church leadership. She catches a few church members glancing her way. She felt like the pastor was preaching at her. She goes home discouraged and wondering if she misheard the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit calling her to ministry? Should she go to medical school or seminary or just marry a pastor? What should she do?

This is not my story, but I don’t think this type of situation is so uncommon. We hear the Holy Spirit direct us to do something, but when we talk to other Christians, they seem less convinced, sometimes resistant, and even opposed to what we think God is calling us to do. How do you navigate something like that? We care about what our church family and other Christians think. So what should we do? Trust the Holy Spirit is speaking through our church family or you personally?

As believers, we will face resistance.

When we look at Paul’s life and ministry, we see he faced a lot of resistance. Our minds immediately jump to examples of him being accused by false teachers or being beaten up by angry mobs. But he faced resistance not just from external sources but from within the church as well. He faced push-back from well-meaning Christians. I’m sure none of us can relate to that.

We’re in Acts 21 now. Paul just finished passing the ministry baton to the Ephesian Elders at Miletus and is now sailing for Jerusalem. I’m putting up the same map I used last week. This is the end of Paul’s third missionary journey. This last portion shows Paul’s journey from Miletus to Cos, then Rhodes, Patara, and then Tyre north of Jerusalem. When Paul gets to Tyre, the believers do something really interesting. They try to divert Paul from going to Jerusalem.

Acts 21:4 (ESV)

And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

Notice that it wasn’t just that they were well-meaning, but they did

I know some of our teens do track. I think that’s pretty cool. I never did it, but my brother Matthew did the long jump and ran hurdles, 110 and 300. I love watching the Olympics, which are supposed to happen this summer in Tokyo. There are all sorts of great events, especially the team-relay events. The 4×100 involves four sprinters, who each pass a baton to one another before sprinting to their next partner.

Did you know that in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, in the 4×100, the women’s team dropped the baton? The teammates, English Gardner, Allyson Felix, Tianna Bartoletta, and Tori Bowie, were almost disqualified. Bartoletta started the race, smoothly handing the baton to Allyson Felix, who sprinted down the track. But when Felix tried handing it to English Gardner, she tripped and dropped the baton. All was lost. But then she picked up the baton and passed it off to Gardner, who passed it to Bowie, who finished the race.

Allyson Felix realized that the runner from Brazil bumped into her, so they challenged the results. Rio was disqualified, and the USA women’s team was allowed to run again, this time on a completely empty track and field. Felix said it felt really weird, but they were able to qualify for the finals.

Today, Paul is passing the baton to the elders at Ephesus. He’s on his way to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit has told him that he is going to face hardship. And even though he has yet to write the letter to the Ephesians, this is the last time he will see them in person again. Here as he sprints towards Jerusalem, he wants to pass the ministry baton to the church’s leadership and make sure that they run a good race going forward.

Acts 20:24 (ESV)

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul wants to keep preaching the gospel, and he hopes that the church and Ephesus will continue to do the same. This summer I’m going on sabbatical for nine weeks. It’s an opportunity to practice passing the baton for the race to keep going forward, even as I’m away for a brief period. Thankfully, I’ll be back, and we’ll continue the race together, but I want to do my very best to make sure you’ve got the baton. I don’t want to be the one to drop it, and I want you to catch it so that we as a church can pursue God’s plans going forward.

Now, we are running our race in a particular time and place, Westford, Massachusetts, and the surrounding communities. But Paul was running his race all around the Mediterranean. I’m putting up a map that shows the end of Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul has already traveled all the way to Athens and Corinth and is now on the way back home. You can follow along as I read. Starting in Troas:

Acts 20:13-17 (ESV)

But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

Paul could have traveled by land, 30 miles, several days journey, to Ephesus. He spent more time with Ephesus than he did any other church in his missionary travels, three years. Remember how the Holy Spirit forbade Paul to go to Asia (Acts 16:6)? It was all about God’s timing. Now Paul is trying to make it back to Jerusalem by Pentecost, a Jewish holiday celebrating the harvest, and which commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit on the church (Acts 2:1-13). So he asks the Ephesian Elders, the church leaders, to come to him, and t

*Content Warning! The audio version (and maybe the written version) of this message, may be highly troublesome to those who have experienced disabilities and/or seizures. I have done my best to make the written manuscript easier to read. – Pastor Jonathan

Today I’m talking about freak accidents. I am going to tell a true story of sudden death, a tragedy that hit me personally. Our Elders and Deacons recently did a mental health training through Harbor Christian Counseling in Boston and I asked them how to preach on triggering issues. They said to tell you that I’m going to talk about it. So this is me letting you know this sermon could be triggering for some of you, and it’s okay if it would be better for you to go outside and go for a walk in the sunshine. So this is me giving you a heads-up. For those who do stay, I’m hopeful that even though we will look at the tragedy of freak accidents, somehow Christ will redeem them a little bit, and bring hope through the resurrection. So I’m going to pray, and if anyone needs to step out, please feel free to do so, then we’ll get started. Let’s pray.

Lord, today’s sermon is a difficult one. Topics like this one can be really hard to think about and discuss. For those who should leave, would you give them the wisdom and confidence that no one is judging them to step outside. For those who should stay, would you give them the courage to listen, learn, and reflect on what you can do in even terrible situations. Lord, we know that you can and will redeem your broken and hurting world. We look forward to that day. In Jesus’ good name, amen.

In the summer of 2011, I traveled back to Colorado and lived in Estes Park my hometown for the summer. I was going to seminary and I had to do an internship, so I ran a college group at the church I grew up at. I don’t remember how he heard about it, but one of the guys who attended was a young man named Sam (name changed). He went to a different church and I hadn’t spent time with him for years, but he wanted to attend. But that first evening he couldn’t find our house. I tried explaining it over the phone to him, but he couldn’t get it, so I told him to go to the Post Office and I’d meet him there. When I met Sam, I quickly realized that he had some challenges most of us do not have. He had a spinal issue, so he was always kinda hunched, and he had cognitive issues. He couldn’t put things together as quickly or communicate smoothly.

But, he also had one of the most caring and kind hearts I knew. He loved people, and wanted to serve others. Sam wanted to become a volunteer fire fighter. Sam spent that summer faithfully attending our weekly small group Bible study, and he joined us for a hike. He went a little slower than the rest of us, but he had a good time. Here’s some pictures of that hike, and Sam. When I returned to seminary, he actually continued the Bible study with others from our group before it puttered out. I saw Sam again a summer or two later. He was working at the local senior assisted living center serving food in the dining hall.

After that summer he messaged me on Facebook. Once he wished me Happy Valentines Day! His neighbor passed away and he messaged me asking what he could say to the widow to comfort her. He told me he was lost for words, but he would give her a hug and try and help her. The last time I heard from him he reached out to me after a big storm to see if we were okay. His last post on Facebook was of a really cute puppy. Sam walked into a local fitness center and while he was relaxing in the hot tub and the Lord took him. He had a freak accident, and he died. Just like that, Jesus took Sam home.

Acts 20:7-9 (ESV)

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank in

On Mother’s Day 2021, Pastor Jonathan and several Cornerstone moms, Monica Romig, Angela Christoffel, Ann Ralls, and Diana Walker-Moyer shared about the mothers and grandmothers of Jesus. You can find each one of their reflections here. Happy Mother’s Day to all the biological, adoptive, and spiritual moms of Cornerstone Congregational Church!

1. Mary by Jonathan Romig

Happy Mother’s Day! A woman named Anna Jarvis started Mother’s Day all the way back in 1908, and it became an official U.S. holiday six years later in 1914. Anna later tried to stop Mother’s Day because of how commercialized it became. “Did you know? More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.”

Today Mother’s Day is a special day to remember and thank our moms; typically our biological or adopted ones, but maybe spiritual moms too. I want today to be a special day at Cornerstone to celebrate the moms in our midst; and I thought it might be encouraging to look at some of the moms of the Bible. But instead of me telling you everything about these mothers, I’ve asked some of our Cornerstone moms to come and share a little about each mom and something that has encouraged or challenged them from their stories. I’m really excited to hear from them, but first I want to introduce to you these five moms.

These aren’t just any moms. They’re the five mothers of Christ. Maybe you’re thinking, “What?! Jesus only had one mother, Mary.” You are correct! She is the first mother I want to talk about.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Mary was a young woman who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee far north of Jerusalem. One day an angel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” At first Mary was troubled, but the angel told her not to be afraid, but she had “found favor with God.” And that through her would come the Son of the Most High, and they should name him Jesus. In other words, the angel told her she was going to give birth to God’s son.

Mary asked how this could be since she was a virgin, and the angel said the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would conceive and give birth to a son. Mary’s response tells us about her character. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Whatever God wants, I’ll do it.

When Mary gave birth to Jesus, angels announced to shepherds who this child was going to be. They came and worshipped him, and it says, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Mary trusted the Lord and wondered what God was doing.

When Jesus grew older, Mary urged Jesus to save a wedding feast (John 2:1-11). Jesus told her it wasn’t his time yet, but she didn’t care. Jesus would do a miracle when she said it was time. Haha. Somewhere along the way she seemed to lose sight of God’s special presence on him. Mary and Jesus’ brothers tried to get Jesus to come home with them (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21). 

If we stop and look at the over-arching narrative of Mary’s life; as a young woman she’s faithful and blessed. As she grows older she wants Jesus to perform miracles, maybe to show what he can do. Then when he becomes too popular, she doesn’t like it. You can only imagine how she must have felt when she watched Jesus be crucified. Jesus called out to John, the disciple Jesus loved, and told him to treat Mary like his mother (John 19:26-27). Jesus loved her till the end.

How Mary encourages and challenges me.

What I appreciate about Mary is that she is on a journey. When we first meet her, she seems kind of perfect, submissive to God’s will, almost ideal. I think church tradition has tended to idealize her. I mean, half the paintings we have of her put a halo over her head! But in so doing it has also made her less approachable. But if we look at her life, yes she honored Jesus, but she also treated him like her son, and maybe e

Listen to Pastor Brian Gearin preach on homelessness and what the Bible has to say in Mark 10:17-23, John 4:13-18, 5:1-9, Luke 19:1-10, and Matthew 18:1-5. Brian has served the homeless and trained those working with this population for many years. He has lots of stories and wisdom to share. You can review slides from our service below.

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

|

Open in new tab

Download [445.04 KB]

“Power is the ability to make something of the world.” Paul first introduces religious power in Acts 19 when he is in Ephesus. As Paul was doing ministry there God, was doing something powerful.

Acts 19:11-12 (ESV)

11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

God was doing amazing things in Ephesus, people were being healed and others were coming to faith in Christ. But this led to some who tried to imitate Paul. It led to some who wanted to take advantage of Paul’s power for their own financial gain. A group of Jewish exorcists called the seven sons of Sceva attempted to cast out a demon in Jesus’ name and Paul’s name. But when they did this, it didn’t go well. They didn’t know Jesus, and the demon knew that.

Acts 19:15-16 (ESV)

15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all[d] of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

These guys tried to cast out a demon in Jesus’ name, but they didn’t know Jesus, and the demon cast them out instead of them casting the demon out. And this has a huge effect on the city, a place of occult practices.

Acts 19:19 (ESV)

19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.

The new believers brought their books together and burned them, a huge fortune going up in flames. Imagine paying 150 people full-time salaries for a year. That’s how much money they burned up. Paul has challenged the religious powers by preaching the gospel, but that challenge has implications for the economic powers of his day. Their whole economy in Ephesus is built on the intertwining of religion and business. To question one, leads to questioning the other.

As we think about our own lives, the religion we participate in, and the economic systems we ascribe to, I hope we will shine them under the light of God’s Word to see what they really are. You ever see one of those lamps that also has a magnifying glass in it. You can use them for sewing or threading needles. They’re kind of funny because if you look through them the reverse direction your nose looks really big. My mom had one of those growing up and I loved to look through it. You could look at smaller objects under a lot of light. It exposed what was there.

What the Bible does is shine the light of the gospel on the religious and economic system in Ephesus.

The light of the gospel:

Paul preaches the gospel, and God moves to bring back the curtain, and expose what’s underneath. It’s painful for Ephesus, but it leads to the salvation of many.  I wonder if we could do the same thing today. If we could pull back the curtain on our own religious and economic systems, and shine the gospel on them. It’s no fun to have someone shine a bright light in your face, but it wakes you up if you were sleeping. How does the gospel expose the religious and economic powers at Ephesus? The light of the gospel:

Exposes the intermingling of false religion and money. (v21-27)

We shouldn’t be surprised when a riot erupts in Ephesus. Paul has been going around preaching the gospel message. People are starting to following Jesus and become disciples. They burn their treasury of books. That would have made headlines, “Town library burns priceless collection costing millions of dollars due to recent gospel crusade!” But that’s just the first of many fires, as slowly more and more people come to faith, and less and less people participate in the economic systems of the city.

Much of this city’s power is based on the two working together. Above the city on a rocky outcropping sat the temple of Artemis. La