Cornerstone Blog

President Obama's Prayer Remarks

Tim Forsthoff — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:10:31 +0000

President Obama hosted the annual prayer breakfast. Below are his words that he spoke at the prayer breakfast. I thought they were appropriate for the occasion. Although I have differences with the President politically, I enjoy his words at the prayer breakfast. As our political leader, he needs our prayers. God bless, Pastor Tim

For like us, Jesus knew doubt. Like us, Jesus knew fear. In the garden of Gethsemane, with attackers closing in around him, Jesus told His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He fell to his knees, pleading with His Father, saying, “If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” And yet, in the end, He confronted His fear with words of humble surrender, saying, “If it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

So it is only because Jesus conquered His own anguish, conquered His fear, that we’re able to celebrate the resurrection. It’s only because He endured unimaginable pain that wracked His body and bore the sins of the world that He burdened -- that burdened His soul that we are able to proclaim, “He is Risen!”

So the struggle to fathom that unfathomable sacrifice makes Easter all the more meaningful to all of us. It helps us to provide an eternal perspective to whatever temporal challenges we face. It puts in perspective our small problems relative to the big problems He was dealing with. And it gives us courage and it gives us hope.

We all have experiences that shake our faith. There are times where we have questions for God’s plan relative to us -- (laughter) -- but that’s precisely when we should remember Christ’s own doubts and eventually his own triumph. Jesus told us as much in the book of John, when He said, “In this world you will have trouble.” I heard an amen. (Laughter.) Let me repeat. “In this world, you will have trouble.”

Reject - Receive - Redeem (Culture Warrior)

Tim Forsthoff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:20:19 +0000

As Christians we are called to be warriors, culture warriors.

We are in the world but not of the world.

We are soldiers in God's army.

We are to earnestly contend for the faith.

We are to come out of the world, but we are still in the world.

We are salt (we only do good when we come in contact)

We are light (we only do good when we are separate and distinct)

We are to be relevant (taking what is cultural to teach what is timeless)

We are to be revolutionary (having a radical commitment to Jesus Christ)

We are to reject the culture when appropriate.
We are to receive the culture when appropriate.
We are to redeem the culture when appropriate.

Let me ask you a few questions. Answer them honestly if you can.

Culture of Gambling - Do you reject, receive it, or redeem it?
Culture of Tolerance - Do you reject, receive or redeem?
Culture of Gay Marriage - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Politics - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Christmas and Santa Claus - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Easter and the Easter Bunny - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Credit Cards - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Contemporary Christian Worship - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Seeker Sensitive Churches - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Socialism - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?
Capitalism - Do you reject, receive, or redeem?

What do you think?

Blessings, Pastor Tim

Easter, The Easter Bunny, and the Resurrection

Tim Forsthoff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:00:45 +0000

Great article by Pastor Mark Driscoll. It sums up my feelings on Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many of the things of Easter are rooted in paganism. But the resurrection of Jesus is rooted in Scripture. Our culture combines the elements of paganism with the truth of Scripture. The early church redeemed the pagan holiday of Eostre (Easter) and turned it into a great celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read more...

Easter is the biggest Sunday of the year for Christians—and rightfully so. It’s an occasion for us to celebrate the Resurrection, the victory of Jesus Christ over Satan, sin, and death.
Grant Makofske, 2, has a chat with the Easter Bunny at the Spring Festival at St. Vincent's Hospital Southside Saturday, March 31, 2012 in Jacksonville, Fla. (Will Dickey - AP)

It’s also when a few of the more “interesting” folks in the church, the kind who like to write end-times charts on ammo boxes in crayon, come out of the woods to rail against the day as a pagan holiday.

It’s most likely that the origins of Easter stem from early Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of the British Isles during the first millennium who celebrated a spring festival in the month of April in honor of their goddess Eostre, who represented fertility and the arrival of spring, light, and the rising dawn.

When Christian missionaries first arrived in Britain from the Roman Empire during this time, they incorporated some of the pre-existing traditional festivities into the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which took place in the same season. Basically, since everyone had the day off and it was a fun time to celebrate, the Christians then were unsure exactly when Jesus rose from death and so they chose to add their celebrations to the day. Over the centuries, the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection overtook Eostre in popularity, although the name stuck as “Easter.”

Some Christians, rather than celebrate the fact that a day that was once devoted to the celebration of a pagan god and is now devoted to Jesus, wish to be the conscience police and go around telling everyone how they should stop having fun and celebrating because of the day’s origins. If someone has a conscience issue with celebrating the holiday, they should abstain, but to rail against kids eating candy and having fun sounds more like the religious types who murdered Jesus than the kids who hung out with him.

When it comes to cultural issues like this, we as Christians should view them through a simple rubric: reject, receive, or redeem? In this case, the early missionaries to the British Isles sought to redeem Easter rather than reject it or simply receive it. As a result, it became one of the centers of Christianity for many centuries and Eostre the goddess was all but forgotten.

I encourage you to visit Mark Driscoll's website for more great articles. www.theresurgence.com/authors/mark-driscoll

Happy Resurrection Day!

God bless,
Pastor Tim

Jesus is the Lamb

Tim Forsthoff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:03:46 +0000

Good Friday is the remembrance of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The death of Christ was pictured in the Old Testament as the passover lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Like a lamb, Jesus was spotless.
Like a lamb, Jesus was meek.
Like a lamb, Jesus was silent.
Like a lamb, Jesus was harmless.
Like a lamb, Jesus was innocent.
Like a lamb, Jesus was chosen.
Like a lamb, Jesus was led to the slaughter.
Like a lamb, Jesus was planned (foreordained).
Like a lamb, Jesus was sacrificed.

In Genesis 22:7-8, God provided a lamb for a man (Abraham and Isaac).
In Exod. 12:3, God provided a lamb for a house.
In Exod. 29:38-42, God provided a lamb for a nation.
In John 1:29, God provided a lamb for the world.

In Gen. 22:7 the question is "Where is the Lamb?"
In John 1:29 it is "Behold the Lamb!"
In Rev. 5:12-13 it is "Worthy is the Lamb!"

In Exod. 12:3 it is "a lamb"
In Exod. 12:4 it is "the lamb"
In Exod. 12:5 it is "your lamb"

Jesus is not a lamb. He is the lamb. He needs to become your lamb.

Rev. 5:12 says, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!"

God bless, Pastor Tim

Why the Veil was Torn in Two

Tim Forsthoff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:40:48 +0000

Here is a devotional from a good friend of mine, Pastor Kent Crockett. His blog address is at the bottom of the devotional. I highly recommend you read his weekly blog. It will bless you. Enjoy!

Why was the Veil in the Temple torn in two?

Have you ever wondered why the veil of the temple was torn in two after Jesus died? Matthew 27:50-51 says, "Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and yield up His Spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom."

That veil was 60 feet high and six inches thick, and it separated the room called "the Holy of Holies" (the holy place) from the rest of the temple. Only the high priest could go through the veil into the room once a year on the Day of Atonement. He sprinkled goat's blood on the mercy seat, which was the top of the ark of the covenant (the one Indiana Jones looked for). See Lev. 16:12-14. This atoned for the sins of Israel for one exactly year.

The holy place was an exact copy of the temple in heaven (see Heb. 8:5, 9:23-24). If God hadn't told them to sacrifice animals for centuries, they never would have understood why Jesus had to die for them. If God hadn't told them to build a temple and for the high priest to put blood on the mercy seat, they never would have understood what Jesus did just after He died.

When Jesus died, He committed His Spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46). At that moment, Jesus in His Spirit (not His body), went to heaven and placed His blood on the mercy seat in the heavenly temple. Heb. 9:11-12 says, "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." The earthly high priest had to do this every year, but Jesus did this once for all time.

When He sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat in heaven (Heb. 12:24), God tore the veil from "the top to the bottom" which meant He tore it from heaven to earth. He opened the way for everyone to come to Him. Have you come to Him? Have you gone through the veil?
http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/

Jesus said, "The Son Can Do Nothing"

Tim Forsthoff — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:11:13 +0000

There are three instances in the Gospels where Jesus uttered these words, "The Son can do nothing of Himself." Jesus said these words in John 5:19, John 5:30, and John 12:49.

Jesus said that He can only do what He sees the Father doing. John 5:19 says, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner."

Jesus said that He can only judge what His Father judges. John 5:30 says, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me."

Jesus said that He can only speak what His Father speaks. John 12:49 says, "For I have not spoken on my own authority; but the Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak."

Jesus is such a great example for us.

How many times do we get in trouble by doing things we are not called to do?
How many times do we get in trouble by judging wrongly another person?
How many times do we get in trouble by speaking, teaching, or preaching our own thoughts not God's?

I think these three points are great for preachers and pastors.

Ministers need to make sure they are doing only what God has asked them to do.
Ministers need to make sure their discernments and judgments are biblical not self-righteous.
Ministers need to make sure their teaching and preaching is rightly divided according to the Word.

Jesus had great humility. He knew He was dependent upon His Father for actions, judgments, and words.
Jesus only did those things He saw and heard His Heavenly Father saying and doing.
Jesus had to spend a great deal of time in prayer, reflection, and meditation to hear and see from His Father.
If Jesus lived this way, shouldn't we?

Blessings, Pastor Tim

Tell the President to Wait

Tim Forsthoff — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:51:37 +0000

What a great blog by Dominic Russo on compassion for souls. If you would like to know more about his ministry, check out his website at dominicrusso.com. We support him as a church. Here is his latest blog on "Tell the President to Wait." It will touch your heart.

POSTED 27 FEB 2012
Last June, I had the unique privilege of spending time at the former home of Mother Theresa in Calcutta, India.
I saw the room she slept in for over 50 years. I interacted with the Missionaries of Charity who worked alongside side her for decades and still live in the home. While there, I heard a revealing story about an appointment she had with a United States President. At the time of the President's arrival in Calcutta, she was caring for a dying man in one of her rescue homes. Several people came to her requesting she leave because the President was waiting. She refused to leave. She held the dying man in her arms for nearly an hour until he breathed his last breath, insisting that was far more significant than a meeting with the President or any dignitary for that matter.

I think often of the Gospel writer's description of Jesus when he interacted with the hurting. They said he was "moved with compassion." Maybe when the disciples saw the vast crowds, they were overwhelmed or even annoyed by the pressing needs. When Jesus saw the crowds, his heart and soul stirred. He hurt for the hurting.

The Apostle Paul apparently felt the same way. He said "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart" when referring to the spiritually lost. He actually hurt for the hurting.

I believe the nearer we draw to Christ the more we hurt for the hurting. Paul prayed for the church in Galatia that "Christ be formed" in them. What extraordinary compassion Jesus exemplifies for us. He cries "Father forgive them" in the face of his torturers. He embraces the leper. He ministers to the sick from morning until evening after the death of his close friend and cousin, John the Baptist.

Almost no meaningful spiritual formation occurs in our hearts without quiet reflection and meditation. Today, I suggest you pull away from the busyness of your life and ask Christ to sensitize your heart with his compassion so that you hurt for the hurting as he did.

- Dominic

Top 11 Marriage Killers

Tim Forsthoff — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:23:19 +0000

Here is Dr. Dobson's list for "Marriage Killers."

1. Over-commitment and physical exhaustion.
2. Excessive credit and conflict over how money will be spent.
3. Selfishness.
4. Conflict with in-laws.
5. Unrealistic expectations.
6. Space invaders.
7. Alcohol and drug abuse.
8. Pornography, gambling, and other behavioral addictions.
9. Business failure.
10.Business success.
11.Getting married too young.

What do you think about the list?

I would rank number 3 at the top of the list. Selfishness will kill any marriage.

I was married very young but my wife and I had a great marriage. Immaturity would be a marriage killer.

I know first-hand the stress that money issues can bring on a relationship. My wife and I faced this giant in our early years. We overcame it, but it wasn't easy.

Those are my thoughts - God bless, Pastor Tim

SEX IS A GIFT

Tim Forsthoff — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:58:53 +0000

Here is an article by Pastor Driscoll on sex is a gift from God. I think you'll find his points encouraging and enlightening. Enjoy!

In our book, Real Marriage, Grace and I share that the Bible teaches that sex is a gift from God that should be stewarded and enjoyed by a husband and wife in such a way that is glorious to him and good for our marriages. As a gift from God to married couples, Scripture shows us how sex provides six glorious benefits.

1. Sex Is for Pleasure

Throughout the most erotic book in the Bible, the Song of Songs, children are never mentioned, as the primary focus of the book is simply marital passion and pleasure.

2. Sex Is for Creating Children

While sex isn’t solely for procreation, children are repeatedly considered a blessing throughout Scripture (Psalm 127:3–5). God created sex for a husband and wife to conceive children at their moment of deepest connection (Genesis 1:28).

3. Sex is for oneness (Genesis 2:4)

Dr. Stephen Arterburn’s New Life ministries says,

Sexual pleasure is one of the most intense human experiences. Physically speaking, when a man or woman reaches sexual excitement, nerve endings release a chemical into the brain called “opioid.” “Opioid” means opium-like and is a good description of the power of this chemical. Apart from a heroin-induced experience, nothing is more physically pleasurable than sex. This is a wonderful thing in a committed marriage relationship, because it helps to bond two people together and bring joy to living together and building a relationship.

A married couple with a free and frequent sex life are literally bonded together as one, physically and chemically, by God’s design. This oneness is expressed in such things as having one last name, living in one house, sleeping in one bed, attending one church, sharing one bank account, and worshiping one God.

4. Sex Is for Knowledge

In the act of sex and the related intimacy that surrounds it, a couple learns to knoweach other in a way that they are not known by anyone else (Genesis 4:1). This sacred and experiential knowledge means that a married couple has an intimacy and connection that are not only exclusive but also unprecedented in all their other relationships.

5. Sex Is for Protection

While there is no excuse for sexual sin, there are factors that can increase the temptation for sexual sin. Perhaps chief among them is a marriage that at least one of the people is sexually dissatisfied. If one person feels sexually denied and discouraged, it increases the temptation to wander outside the marriage forsexual satisfaction or remain sexually pure but emotionally bitter. But free and frequent sex within marriage helps safeguard and protect the marriage from such sins as bitterness, adultery, pornography, and secret masturbation (1 Corinthians 7:2–5).

6. Sex Is for Comfort

There are seasons in life when nothing can be said or done to comfort a suffering spouse. In those moments it is the ministry of touch that allows us to connect with our spouses in a way that lovingly serves them and binds us together in the suffering (2 Samuel 12:24).

We knew a couple who suffered the death of their young child. They were understandably devastated. The husband was unsure what to say or do to comfort his grieving wife, and so he simply asked what she needed. She told him that she wanted to go away for a few days to a quiet bed and breakfast, lie together, visit, pray, weep, and make love so that she did not feel alone in any way. They reported that being able to physically comfort each other at that time was a vital part of their healing and grieving process.

How do Strong Men become Weak?

Tim Forsthoff — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:22:36 +0000

I recently heard a message from Craig Groeschel where he talks about the life of Samson. Samson was a judge of Israel who was given tremendous strength from God. Samson was a STRONG MAN. Samson's life ended with him being led by a Philistine child to be mocked by the enemies of Israel. Samson became a WEAK MAN. How did this happen?

Three attitudes that turn a STRONG MAN into a WEAK MAN.

1. I want this. This is the problem of lust. Samson told his father to get that Philistine girl for me (Judges 14:2). Samson lusted after women. He wanted them to fulfill his inner lust. His lust for women caused him to become weak.

2. I deserve this. This is the problem of entitlement. Samson became angry with God, because after a great victory, God did not immediately provide for Samson's need. Judges 15:18 says, "You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?" The demanding spirit comes through the pages of my Bible. It was all about Samson. He felt like God owed him something. That is entitlement. An entitlement mentality will make a strong man weak.

3. I can handle it. This is the problem of pride. Samson thought he could handle sleeping with Delilah, touching dead things, and systematically violating his Nazarite vow. Pride comes before a fall. Pride made Samson weak.

Do you have these attitudes? If so, your strength in God will vanish. Instead of spiritual anointing, you will have fleshly weakness.

Blessings, Pastor Tim