Cornerstone Simi Audio Podcast

This episode of the Beyond Sunday Podcast is the final one in the study of I Thessalonians and Todd, Christian and Spencer discuss the passage found in Chapter 5, verses 19-22. Where last week the pastors discussed verses 16-18, where we, the Church is speaking to God, in the passage this week, God is speaking to His Church. Todd emphasizes that God has always wanted to speak to His people, and He often does it through prophets in the Old Testament and specifically Moses, who is directed to communicate the will and heart of God. The pastor’s conversation continues by defining 4 main roles and functions of prophecy - to correct, protect, remind and comfort God’s people. The discussion concludes with a lively exchange about whether prophecy continues today or if it ceased long ago - you’ll be encouraged as you listen in, and perhaps surprised by the grace expressed by our leaders!

In this special Easter podcast, Todd, Spencer and Christian expand our understanding of the ramifications of Christ’s death and resurrection. Spencer reminds us of the account in Genesis 3 where mankind is devastated and we must now live with the consequences of our rebellion against God, but he then goes on to explain that Jesus not only conquered death and sin, but also overcame our guilt, shame and fear. Jesus forever bore the debt we owed to give the honor due to God. God is always trying to bring His goodness to bear on our lives, and it is through Jesus, that He redeems and conquers to bring restoration to all things and display His Kingship. Yes, we rightly claim Jesus as our Savior but we must not forget that He is also King and this is the culmination of the Good News! To conclude this podcast the pastors help us understand the responsibility we now hold to share this Good News to expand the Kingdom and bring freedom to our desperate world.

Our pastors, Todd, Christian, and Spencer, focus this week’s podcast on I Thessalonians 5:16-18. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Todd boldly proclaims that “we’ll never be the church as God intended unless we are doing this together”! These instructions from Paul are meant to be a “y’all” reality, where something special would happen when we are all together in rejoicing, praying and offering thanks to God. These instructions are both descriptive and prescriptive for the Church and are also both normative and transformative in the life of believers! Listen in as the trio discusses how this is happening in the local church, Cornerstone!

Continuing on in I Thessalonians, this week and next week Todd walks us through Chapter 5, verses 12-28. In this podcast, Todd, Spencer, and Christian focus their attention on helping us understand how we collectively, as Christ-followers, are to live in order to make a name for God and influence a watching world for His Glory. Beginning with encouraging one another and building one another up, and moving on to respecting the leadership God has established over us, the pastors remind us that this posture is radically different than the way the world in general operates. Ours is an “upside-down kingdom”, where servant leadership is honored and expected. Our pastors continue in a great discussion on verse 14, elaborating on what it means to “admonish the idle, encourage the faint-hearted and help the weak… all while being patient”. And when this is difficult and confusing, it is God Himself who works in and among us and through us to bring about His intended purpose for our lives. Enjoy this lively and confessional podcast as we near the end of our time in I Thessalonians!