Hi Cornerstone family,
As I’m sure you heard, the Governor has declared an emergency (https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/gov-reynolds-issues-a-state-of-public-health-disaster-emergency) and all gatherings of over 10 people are required to be cancelled. So in compliance with that order, and for the health and well-being of our church family, we will not hold a public meeting this weekend and we will continue to be in compliance with this order.

We will be sending more information on Friday about how you can still participate in the life of the body while we are absent physically. The elders want to be in prayer for you, so please send any prayer needs to theelders@cornerstone-marion.org (if they are private prayer concerns, please let us know so we don’t pass them along).

The Chinese Church has for many years had to meet in secret. We’re not doing that, but even this gives us a glimpse of what our brothers and sisters in Christ might face. Praise the Lord that we can communicate via email, text, facebook, etc. God is good and even in this crisis He is on His throne.Be of good cheer!

Randy – for the Cornerstone Elder Board

Last week’s question was:

What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?

Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in worship of God. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother.

Our memory verse was Lev 19:3 – “Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.”

This week’s question is:

What does God require in the sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments?

Sixth, that we do not hurt, or hate our neighbor, but be patient and peaceful, pursuing even our enemies with love. Seventh, that we live purely and faithfully. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else.

This week’s verse is:

Romans 13:9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Stephen Um: “Christians are obligated to obey the Ten Commandments, because what we find in the Ten Commandments are the laws of God. What we find in Jesus’ interpretation in the Sermon on the Mount is that the standards of the law are much higher than we had assumed.”

This week the laws get very personal. These speak directly to how we treat each other. And Jesus took these laws and expounded on them. The Apostle Paul said all of these laws are summed up in love your neighbor as yourself (Romans 13:9).

Have a conversation with your kids this week about the difference between the words of the law and the spirit of the law. Pharisees prided themselves on keeping the letter of the law, but Jesus showed them they were far from the spirit of it. We can fall into that same trap when we take our eyes off of the real purpose of the law, which is to draw us to God and recognize our unworthiness. Ironically, those that “keep” the law in word are often the farthest away in spirit. May it not be with us.

Q10: What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?

Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in worship of God. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother.

Our memory verse is Lev 19:3 – “Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.”

Tim Keller: “It’s also true, however, that the New Testament shows us that the Sabbath day points to a deeper kind of rest. Hebrews 4 in particular says that when we believe in Christ and the gospel, we rest from our works. Which means the great burden of having to prove ourselves and having to earn our salvation is lifted from us.”

Keeping a day for rest and honoring our parents is antithetical to the culture we live in. Our modern culture has no time for resting. Work, work, work. Strive to prove yourself worthy and valuable. At the same time, as soon as you are old, you have no value. Parents are dismissed rather than listened to. It is hard, when the culture says strive, for your family to say rest.

But God calls us to rest once a week so that we can focus on the rest that is found only in Him. We don’t have to prove our worth. He calls us worthy, because of his sovereign choice. You don’t have to find your identity in what you can accomplish. Find it in what Christ accomplished already for you. I found this video on my facebook feed last week and it is a great reminder of where we find our place in Christ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=C4C0JhLf-Fw&feature=emb_logo&fbclid=IwAR2jUPMueVT4iYO-q_U4Kzrof5HZT8cLo-pliWKpUNM9n5fFselllsvmCes

This week’s question is:

What does God require in the first, second and third commandments?

First, that we know God as the only true God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence.

Our memory verse is Deut 6:13-14 – “It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the people who are around you.”

John Lin – “If we are always trying to change who God is or replace him with something else, we’ll never be at peace. We’ll never experience true comfort, true significance, or true joy. We’ll never be whole.”

The first three commandments set the boundaries for our relationship with God. We worship him, and him alone, and with the respect that He deserves. These rules set the boundaries so that we can have freedom to worship him with all we are. Without these boundaries in the first 3 commandments, we end up making up our own god instead of living with the actual God of the universe. A god that we can make up is a god that will only disappoint and will only fail us. But the God of the Bible, the God of our fathers, the God revealed as Father, Son and Spirit, will never fail and will never leave us.

What is the law of God stated in the 10 commandments? You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

John Yates: “The commandments are our treasure. We cherish them. They’re a great gift, a love gift from God. They guide us. They warn us. They protect us. When we keep them, we show others what God is like. When we fail to live them, we bring great harm to ourselves and we dishonor our Maker.”

This week’s answer is quite long, but don’t fret, we’ll be spending several weeks on these commandments. So you’ll get plenty of time to learn them. This week focus on the fact that there are 10, that the first 4 deal with our relationship with God and the last 6 deal with our relationship with each other. Here’s a nice video about God’s law from the Bible Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BGO9Mmd_cU&feature=youtu.be

This weeks question is:
What does the law of God require? That we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Our memory verse is Matthew 22:37-40
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

John Wesley: “And the second commandment is like unto this; the Second great branch of Christian righteousness is closely and inseparably connected therewith…Thou shalt love…Thy neighbor; – this is not only they friend, thy kinsman, or thy acquaintance; not only the virtuous, the friendly…but every child of man…”

Last weeks question focused on “that” we should obey, but it didn’t tell us “how” to obey. This week’s question goes hand in hand with the other. In fact, without this weeks question and answer, you might misunderstand God completely. Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment. A common question among rabbis of the day. If you could distill the law down, what would it be. The Talmud, a collection of Jewish writings from just after the time of Christ, captures how many different rabbis answered this question. (Here’s an interesting article on the Talmud: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24367959). Jesus said it this way: love God and love people. If you want to know how to obey God’s law, love God and love people.
Jesus would spend all of his life, and even to death, showing us what that simple message meant. He would love God so deeply and perfectly people would be in awe of his devotion. And He would love people so deeply that He would meet them right where they were, and give His very life for them.
Kids often get obedience confused with oppression. Obeying isn’t fun, so it must not be good. But obedience to God’s law is not a daily ticking off of rules. It is love. Talk to your kids this week about how loving God and people is obedience to God’s law.

This week our question is:
How can we glorify God? By loving him and by obeying his commands and law.
Our memory verse is Deuteronomy 11:1
“Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.”

Bryan Chapell: “I’ll walk with him and love him in all he requires, because in doing so, I will actually enjoy the path that he has designed for the best life that he desires to give me.”

Sometimes obedience gets a bad rap in our culture. We think if we obey then we’re somehow giving up freedom. And there is no greater value in our culture today than being free. But that kind of freedom is actually bondage. Here’s an interesting article on the bondage of too many choices: https://www.fastcompany.com/3031364/why-having-too-many-choices-is-making-you-unhappy
Like having too many choices actually makes us miserable, having too many choices to turn against God makes us miserable too. Only when we obey God and his ways are we truly free, because then we are fulfilling God’s purpose for our life.
Talk to your kids this week about how choosing what God wants for our life and following his ways actually makes us free.