It's All His

The Bible teaches us that those in Christ have been redeemed by His death & resurrection. We have been purchased with the price of His perfect (sinless) blood. We now belong exclusively to Him, freed from the oppression, guilt & heaviness of our sins.

Recently, Lucas preached on “Living Upside Down” (CBC 1/04/26). Christian living is indeed counterintuitive. Outside of Christ we are free to do whatever we choose…until the weight of our sins and the consequences bring us to the end of ourselves where we must choose to surrender to Christ or struggle unto death and face separation from God for eternity. Under Christ, we are now freed and joined with Him in His suffering, His death, & His resurrection.
Everything that we are—our lives, legacies, time, talents, treasures, purpose & meaning—now belong to the Master for His Glory & Kingdom building purposes. 

How then shall we now live? Obviously, we should live like Christ, but what does that mean? Everything we have must now be held loosely, surrendered completely to God. 

Total Ownership- everything is His
Completely Surrendered- we must be good stewards of all that we have been given until we are completely poured out or the Master returns
Honoring the Lord with our Hearts & Treasure- our hearts, time, talents & treasures should be freely given whenever & wherever He calls
Supporting the Ministry of the Local Church- God has planted us in His community of believers and we must support the advancement of His mission
Advancing the Gospel Near & Far- we must obey God’s call to share the Gospel through local outreach, ministry and missions—both locally & globally
Loving Our Neighbors- we are to love others sacrificially, caring for their needs & welfare
Fulfilling God’s Vision for Cornerstone- every church is called to advance the Kingdom of God and equip the church; but we have also been given God’s unique vision to reach & care for those God has placed in our lives

This year, let’s endeavor to pour ourselves out, stretching & strengthening our faith that God will bless the work that He has started. Surrender everything to Him, trusting that He will use our gifts of prayers, praise, service, volunteer time, studies, fellowship and finances to reach the lost, grow the church, bless others and bless us through our sacrifices and efforts! 
We serve a mighty God who cannot be outgiven. Let’s see what happens when we stretch for He said, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” (Malachi 3:10)
The Elder Board