A Note From Chris - January 20, 2022

CHURCH!

2 Timothy 2:3 says, “Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” I’m teaching on that passage further this weekend. But it got me thinking about soldiers.

One of the defining characteristics of a soldier is that he is part of a greater body, an army or battalion or wing of other soldiers. Together, they are troops. By very definition, a solider has other soldiers. You know what you call a soldier that is all on his own, trying to accomplish mission by himself? Rogue. He is no longer a soldier, but a rogue warrior. You’ve seen the movies. Rogue warriors usually don’t make it (Rambo aside).

Don’t try and go rogue. The spiritual life is intended to be done in community with others. I need you, and you need me. We all need each other. That is the beauty of the church! For us to truly grow spiritually, we need each other. We’ll be talking more about that this weekend as we cover the 2nd letter in our P.A.S.S. acronym for spiritual growth, ACT. I hope you’ll read 2 Timothy 2 in preparation.

Here are a few ways we can intentionally come together as soldiers at Cornerstone:

1) Get In A Group!
Starting this weekend, Cornerstone is relaunching groups!
There are two primary types of groups launching:

In-home groups -
Many in-home groups will relaunch or continue in the next couple of weeks. If you are interested in meeting in homes with others, our team would love to connect you with an existing group that has room for more folks on virtually any day of the week.

On-campus groups –
We are trying something new and launching on-campus groups in alignment with our next sermon series, "Soul Keepers." It will be a 12 week small group experience. If you are not in a group, I strongly encourage you to get in one of these groups!

On-campus groups will meet as follows:
Shiloh: Sundays following the 12:00pm service/lunch with childcare and Wednesdays during Student Ministry and Kid’s Club.
O’Fallon: Sunday nights during Student Ministry with childcare

Volunteers will be available at both campuses over the next few weeks to help connect you with the right group. My encouragement is simple: Get in a group! Take this step to grow together during this critical season of spiritual focus for our church. No more rogue.
Ready to sign-up now? Check out available groups here.

2) Prioritize Worship!
I know, I’m a broken record. But as we start this new year together, if you are healthy and feel comfortable in public, prioritize worshiping together! We launched a new service at Shiloh last week at 12:00pm, and it was a great launch. Come this week at 12:00pm and hang around for some pulled pork and build new relationships. I hope to see you there!

I’m praying for you EVERY DAY, as I know you are praying for Cornerstone and your Ones as well. God is moving, and he will honor our prayers. May this season be all for him and all about him! See you Sunday!

Yours & His,
Chris VandeLinde