Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:25
7/17/16 Memory Verse
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
John 12:24
7/10/16 Memory Verse
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8
Back to Basics
Join us as we all get back to basics! Follow along in our daily Bible reading plan (click here to download and print the New Testament-Cornerstone UMC schedule, or simply click the Calendar tab to view each day’s reading). Plus, memorize key scripture so that God’s Word becomes a part of you who are (view each week’s memory verse on the home page). In this way, we will “keep planting, keep watering, and keep growing!”
Pentecost Sunday: don’t let the Fire go out!
We were blessed to have guest speaker Rev. Dr. Kimball Coburn, his lovely wife Pam, and beautiful daughter Kathy join us for Pentecost Sunday a couple weeks ago.
Self described as a servant evangelist, Rev. Dr. Kimball Boyd Coburn has spent more than three decades venturing out in faith to serve God in a way that challenges his hearers “To Be The Church”…to feed the hungry, share with the poor, respond to the cry of the powerless and hurting of our world and work for peace. And part of his ministry involves music and songs that are specially written—whether it’s to celebrate Pentecost or to explain to his own children back when they were young, how they were each so unique.
Growing up poor, Kimball still remembers the day his mom saved up to buy him a brand new Schwinn bicycle. And he shared how anytime the bike needed repair, his mom insisted that it be fixed right away rather than sitting unused in the garage. In the same way, Kimball reminded us that we are to use our gifts and talents for God’s glory, and we need to keep the fire going within us, not hide them away where they’re unused.
Now if you found yourself swaying to the music a couple Sundays ago, or if you still have those catchy melodies playing in your head, visit Kimball’s song website to hear them again. Songs like Don’t Let the Fire Go Out or URU. Plus you might be surprised to find even more songs on YouTube, as he recorded quite a few songs during the rockabilly days of the late 50s and early 60s.
For more information about Rev. Dr. Coburn, visit his website at kimballcoburn.com.
Clay Pots: are we all broken fragments?
This used to be part of a good-sized clay pot, just an ordinary reddish colored pot that was purchased from a discount store. As guest speaker Dr. Michael Bischof explained in his message “Empowering Leaders in Wholeness,” a pot is a vessel or a container that usually carries soil and some type of plant. Similarly, we are like a clay pot as God fills us up with all sorts of gifts and talents and experiences—for the sole purpose of growing others by sharing God’s light with them. We happily hold all that God gives us. All is good, right? But then trouble and hard times unexpectedly hit us from all sides, just like Dr. Bischof surprised us by smashing the clay pot with a large, heavy hammer. With each blow, we could see how it resembled our lives—cracking, breaking, and even shattering. As we deal with stress, busyness, and setbacks, we feel broken. We develop sharp sides that hurt, and when we encounter someone else who is broken, we experience frustration and irritation as two separate fragments rubbing roughly against each other.
So what are we to do? We can remind ourselves that none of us is perfect, and that we’ve all been formed by God to be part of something bigger. As leaders (in the home, at work, in school clubs, at church), we can allow each other some slack and be more understanding or have a listening ear.
In addition, we can also try to stop what Dr. Bischof described so well as “Hurry Sickness”:
- Do you search for the shortest line at the grocery store?
- Do you try to guess which line will be faster, based on which checker looks young and fast, or which customer will use a dreaded checkbook and slow everything down?
- Do you track your progress by keeping track of where you would’ve been in the other line?
- Do you feel like you won the race if you chose the right line and got to the front first?
- Or do you feel upset if the other line ended up being faster?
Sounds all too familiar? So maybe we can try letting someone else go first, or not have a fit if someone cuts us off. We’re not clay pots that are new and intact, but as broken, fragmented pieces, we can still shine God’s light in dark places.
For more information about Dr. Bischof, you can visit his website at souleader.org.
War Room: make time to watch
It has been hailed as a box office smash but one might assume that War Room is a predictable movie about prayer. On the contrary, War Room turns out to be an inspiring, moving film that touches the soul in so many ways. The trailers don’t do it justice, and if you don’t think you’ll need kleenex, you’ll be surprised at how your eyes unexpectedly well up during certain moments. A successful yet hardened businessman, too self-absorbed for his wife and young daughter…a bitter, criticizing wife, caught up in her own career and missing important moments in her daughter’s life…a faithful, seasoned woman wanting desperately to pass along the life lessons she’d learned… You may guess the ending, but as the story unravels, you’ll experience a few a-ha moments that make you realize how real God is, how He works in our favor when we feel helpless, how Satan is intent on distracting us and stealing our joy through failed relationships and temptations. You’ll also be reminded how focusing on God’s presence, and spending uninterrupted time in prayer, is a way to “fight the right way.”
If you haven’t seen the film yet, make time to watch it—alone or with your spouse or with a good friend. And then find an accountability partner so you’ll be encouraged to devote time in prayer, either in your own “war room” or another place where you can focus on God’s promises. Prayer is powerful!
Mother’s Day “Beach Boys” style
Part of our Mother’s Day luncheon entertainment was provided by Calvin Lowe, Brad Chinn, Alex Yu, and Richard Chow, who swayed to the music and serenaded the ladies with lovely (and hilarious) four-part harmonies. Below are Brad’s creatively rewritten lyrics, personalized just for Cornerstone!
Cornerstone-a Girls
(sung to the tune of The Beach Boys “California Girls”)
Well Saddleback girls are hip
I really dig those songs they share
And the Calvary girls with the way they talk
They like to chat when I’m out there Oo-oo
The Crystal Cathedral ladies really make me feel alright Yeah!
But our New Life girls with the way they care
None of the others really can compare! No! No No!
I wish they all could be Cornerstone-a
I wish they all could be Cornerstone-a
I wish they all could be Cornerstone-a girls
The other churches have the money
And, are known a-cross the la-a-nd
But all the Mamas here in our Fellowship Hall
They make us PROUD to be their men! Oo-oo
I’ve been all around this great big world
And I’ve seen all kinds of girls Hmm…
Yeah, but you couldn’t wait to get back to this place
Back to the SWEETEST girls in the world!
I wish they all could be Cornerstone-a
I wish they all could be Cornerstone-a
I wish they all could be Cornerstone-a girls
Repeat:
I wish they all could be Cornerstone-a
(Girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the…)
Cornerstone
(sung to the tune of The Beach Boys “Kokomo”)
Anita, Rebecca, oo I wanna take ya
Marietta, Charlene-a, come on pretty mama
Helene-o, PamFitch-o; Where did Pam Fitch go? Virginia!
Off Valencia…There’s a place called Cornerstone
That’s where you wanna go to get away from it all
Just ask Byung-Mee Chinn, or if she’s out, you can go ask Yin
They’ll be telling the world that you can find the best mothers in town
Down at Cornerstone!
Diane-na’s, Fukushima, oo I wanna take ya
Hayakawa, Hasegawa, come on pretty mama
Suzy Brachen-o, and Mabel Joe,
Baby, why don’t we go
(oo… I wanna take you down to)
Cornerstone, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we wanna go, Way down to Cornerstone!
Myr-na Chow. She’s really somethin’. Wow!!
If you have a need…you just reach out and call Wendy
And don’t you cry, if she denies – that she’s our secretary;
Sheree works late nights…on worship songs and our website
That creative look in her eye…leads people to Christ!
Way down at Cornerstone!
Angela, Selina, oo I wanna take ya
Wei-ling-a, PatGayle-a, come on pretty mama
LindaSmith-o, and Betty-Loh,
Baby, why don’t we go
(oo… I wanna take you down to)
Cornerstone, we’ll get there fast so we can meet Peggy Lowe!
That’s where we wanna go,
Way down to Cornerstone!
Myr-na Chow. She’s really somethin’. Wow!!
~ Instrumental ~
Everybody knows
A little place like Cornerstone
Now if you wanna go and get away from it all
Go down to Cornerstone!
Lydia, and Lily-a, oo I wanna take ya
All the Wong-ah’s and Fong-ah’s
Come on pretty mamas
Midori Lowe, all the Yee-o’s,
Baby, why don’t we go
(oo… I wanna take you down to)
Cornerstone, we’ll get there fast so we can meet J-Low!
That’s where we wanna go,
Way down to Cornerstone!
Laura, BessieDear-a, oo I wanna take ya
MinnieLou-a, JoanEng-a, come on pretty mama
MayLou-o, Eleanor-o, baby why don’t we go…
Shared by Speaker Rev. Allison Mark
If you know of any college student or very recent college grad looking for a summer internship in Urban Ministry, where they will also “lean into” church and church-affiliated work and a calling to ministry, live in Christian community at Orchard House near USC, join a new faith community for the summer, and have meaningful work in the 8-week internship,please invite them to apply to our Internship in Urban Ministry. (Internships include a stipend, housing, food, and transportation allowance.)
Here is more info about the program: http://www.urbanfoundation.org/ui_2016
Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mexPhDJI0RfFk2Kfr4FT5Jcdi5NeHMMhbdbiyuiuoFM/viewform
Shared by Speaker Kimberly Low
We were all touched and blessed through Kimberly’s Sunday message “How the Word of God Can Set You Free” based on John 4. The day before, she spent 16 hours at Azusa Now held at the Los Angeles Coliseum where God’s power and healing presence was witnessed in real ways, and not just through the pouring rain. People flew in from Germany, Brazil, Hawaii, Texas, Britain, Nepal, and other places. Here are a couple images that Kimberly shared after the event. Praise God for stirring in all of us!
(Click images to view larger)
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 21
- 22
- 23