Chief cornerstone church kingston

06/02/2026

Pastor thought 6-1-26

I heard a story once of a pastor. His church had supported a group of missionaries for years. The last 8 years they had brought as many as they could to there church and had them all give reports on the progress of their trips to various places.
The leadership of the church would cater to the visiting missionaries for a whole week. They would take them to eat at different restaurants. Bowling, ball games and a special banquet they set up for them just before the week ended.
About the middle of the week the pastor and leadership took several of the missionaries on a Golf outing. They were on the 7th hole and it was a long dog leg to the left. About 400 yrds. The best way to play the hole was a 230 yrd drive to the turn of the fairway. If placed correctly it would be a 145 yrd drive to the hole. The pastor was not a golf player. The only time he ever played was when the missionaries were there and every 3 years he played for a fundraiser for the local homeless shelter. So, it was the pastors time to tee off at the 7th hole. He got set up and swung hard. The ball didn’t go slightly to the left as he planed. It didn’t go to the center of the fairway like he had hoped it would if he missed his preferred spot. No. Instead it went in a direction he didn’t even think was possible. It left the tee and flew at a 90° angle straight to his right. The biggest problem was that the missionaries were all standing there and he nailed one of the men directly in the chest.
His first thought was. “Oh no! I have killed one of the missionaries!” He ran over to the man who was lying flat on his back rolling back and forth with both his hands on his chest. Everyone there was surrounding the man on the ground. Several men were already deep in prayer. The pastor asked, “are you okay?” Expecting the man to moan and groan for a moment and hopefully get up. Instead the man said a slew of insanity and cursed the pastor with his every breath. This invoked the remainder of men to start praying as well.
This might seem like it is out of character of a missionary. Many would even justify his actions as it was a freak accident and he took an unjustified lick. However, I would like to present a different take on this. I present that in that moment of extreme pain. Exactly what was inside that man is what came out of him. See he was good at keeping it down inside him. As he worked so hard at his mission work. The issue was he never dealt with the sin inside of him. He only worked on the image he has on the outside.
We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore we all have sin inside us. However, sin won’t just go away unless it is given over to the one who can wipe it away. Many folks give God a few things or maybe even most things. But he requires we give him everything. As we mature in Christ and learn to listen to the leadership of the Holy Ghost. He will reveal more and more of the things we must turn over to the lord. Once we truly give our lives to the Lord, He will begin the process of chiseling away the parts of us that He needs to, so he can make us more like him.
When you realize there is some work to be done. Don’t put it off. Allow the spirit to shape and change you. Don’t put it off. As the Lord knows what you need and when you need it. He will never let you down. So if you know Christ then he will be fine to work on you. He will never let you down. If you see something coming out of you that shouldn’t be in there because it doesn’t represent the Lord correctly. Then seek the Lord to help. What is inside of you is all that can come out. If it’s sin, then sin will come out. If it is Christ, then Christ will come out. Remember, what you feed is what survives.

05/31/2026

05/19/2026

Pastor thought 5/18/26

There was a young man who lived close to the beach and every evening about time the tide would go out, he would go down to the beach and throw star fish back into the water before they got trapped.
There was an older man who saw the boy out there every evening. He saw the boy working hard but never knew what he was up to. One evening the older man saw the boy out there and he felt up to a walk on the beach. He walked down to the beach to see what the boy was doing. He observed the boy for a moment, then he approached the boy and asked, “Son, what are you doing? I see you out here all the time and I was wondering what you were up to?” The boy replied, “ I am throwing the star fish back before they get stuck out of the water and die!” The older man laughed and through his laughter he said to the young man, “Son there are thousands of starfish along the beach and there are thousands of miles of beach. There is no way you can get them all!” He said, “son, you are wasting your time, you can never make a difference!” The young man never stopped his task. He just kept on throwing as many starfish as he could into the water. He knew they would die if they couldn’t get back in.
The older man spoke with some authority at the young man and said, “Boy? Did you not hear what I said? You are wasting your time. There are too many and you can never get to them all. So, you are wasting your time!” The young man paused and looked at the older man. He had a blank look on his face that quickly turned to a grin when he bent down and grabbed another starfish. He turned and tossed it back into the water and said to the older man. “No, I can’t get them all, but I just made a difference to that one”. He threw another and said, “and that one”. He kept his work up and didn’t let the older man hinder his work.
This is how we should live our lives. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the mass of our obstacles. It’s also easy to give up when it seems like there is just no use. After all you are just one person and what difference can one person make in anything? The truth is God rarely asks an individual to change the world, he only asks for our faithfulness in the tasks he gives us. The enemy wants to push us to the limit so that we will give up and throw in the towel. It’s easy to say, “it doesn’t matter, I’m not going to make a difference”. When the truth is, God just wants us to do our part. He will work out all the details. What you do for him may seem pointless but he sees the big picture even when we don’t. And it does make a difference to God. Know that we do what we do for the gory of God. Not for ourselves. But God.

05/12/2026

Pastor thought 5/11/26

Your works do matter!
I’m sure that statement got several folks worked up. Maybe even some of you said “I’m not even reading this after that statement.” I hope that isn’t the case as this is an important concept to grasp.
The word of God says in several locations that salvation is not by your works. Why isn’t it? Because if we could do it then that would leave room for us to boast about what we have done. That would then be faith in ourselves and not faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. So salvation comes the only way the Word of God says it can come. Through Jesus Christ and him alone. It’s his sacrifice that made it possible for us to be forgiven for out sins against a perfect and holy God. So let’s be clear. Works can not save you. It is impossible.
So what did I mean by, “your works are important”? First notice I said, “important.” Importance comes in many forms. It is important that we learn to tie our shoes. As there won’t always be someone around to do it for you. It’s also important to learn how to feed yourself. These things are vastly different, but both important. Not of the same degree. But important nonetheless. Your works in this life are much like the difference of these two examples. The amount of works is directly related to the situation in each persons life. Let me explain.
Take the thief on the cross. He believed while he was literally hanging on his cross. He couldn’t get down. He couldn’t do anything for Christ. He couldn’t knock on doors or visit with the sick. He was a few mins from his death. What could he do? He did all he could. He confessed openly in front of the soldiers and the onlookers that Jesus was the messiah and placed his faith in him. Jesus replied that, “this day ye shall surely be with me in paradise”. So, now let’s switch gears. Take the person who came to the lord in faith at an early age. They still have 30-40-50 years to live before they are called home. And they go to church but at work no one even knows they are a believer. Folks would be shocked to learn they claim Jesus as their savior. Because they never mention church, or the gospel or salvation or sin. They laugh at the nasty jokes told at the break table. And they listen to junk music, go to the parties they are invited to and have even thrown a few parties themselves. If there was an accusation against them that they were Christian; would there be any evidence to convict?
Now most claimed Christians fall somewhere between these two examples. Truly don’t have time or have waisted way to much time to do for Christ like he asks. Our works are important because when you truly receive Jesus as the Lord of your life. This means you turn over the reigns of your life. You no longer direct your own path. You are lead by The Spirit. This means when you are lead by something other than yourself, that your thoughts and desires change. You no longer desire to do or say the things you used to. The sanctification process begins and you become more and more like Christ. So, your works can’t save you. But they are evidence you have been born again. Your works are important because it is evidence you have been changed. If you can’t see evidence that the Spirit is still working on you. Then maybe the enemy has already wrote you off as “recruited”. If the enemy isn’t fighting against you then he feels like he has you and you aren’t a threat to his agenda.
Our works are important because it keeps us pressing closer and closer to Christ. It keeps us in a desire to be more Christ like. There are several more ways to explain this. But we can’t in this platform. Just know that your works can’t save you. Instead they are evidence that you have been saved.

04/29/2026

Pastor thought 4/27/26

Again it’s ball season and my son and daughter had games last night. I didn’t get home till almost 10:00. And I ran out of time. So I got it out today. Sorry for the delay.
There is a new song I am really enjoying right now. Called, “bring God back home”. It is really good and I am thinking on trying to learn it. There is one line in the second verse that says. “We’re praying for a rescue. But we shut him out ourselves” this line speaks volumes to me. So much truth in this one line.
You may ask what I mean by that. And I’ll just hit a couple things to make my point. First is simple. Yet we overlook the power and implementation of such a choice “we the people” have made. Posting the 10 commandments in and around our schools and government buildings. Yes in recent years and as late at last month. There are states (always conservative states I might add) that have passed resolutions and laws allowing them to be posted again. Some even requiring it. This is great. However now it’s kind of a last ditch effort to expand the morality of our kids and the general public as the damage has been done with the removal and outright denial of the 10 commandments for yours. See they are not just a list of do’s and don’ts. They are a moral foundation to a God fearing Life. The absence of the 10 commandments was not just the removal of a poster on a wall. As the removal went further than that. The very morality our great Nation was built on was denied, scrutinized, and abandoned. You were considered an outsider if you still believed in that “ hocus-pocus mumbo-jumbo”. That chain of thought was straight from the Devil himself.
Another example is prayer in schools. Again it was challenged by a few and the majority suffered for it. Their argument was we were forcing kids to pray to a God that just a few didn’t believe in. Or had different views on the matter. What this did was separate God from the school system all together. Teachers have been fired for speaking the name of Jesus. Coaches have been terminated for a prayer on or off the field. The only way we can ever know God is to speak to him and get into his word. Then speak to him about his word. Conversation is the tool to draw closer to anyone. And God is no different. He isn’t some mysterious, angry old man in the sky who had rather smash us with his foot as to know us. No. God is much much more. And we have removed the opportunity for our kids to get to know him during the learning part of their day. Does that even make sense when you think about it?
There is just a couple examples of how “we’ve shut him out”. So to apply this thought simply look around your life. Where are we denying God the headship in our lives. We have to stop shutting him out

04/21/2026

Pastor thought 4/20/26. W8

Today is the last week of satanic thoughts. We will cover the 7th satanic thought we can see in the fall account from Genesis 3. Today we will look at verse 6b “she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Notice how Adam gave in to the peer pressure of his wife and the serpent. Instead of standing up for what he knew to be right. He gave in. Maybe because he felt like he would have been left out? Or maybe because he was just as tempted and just caved himself. We don’t clearly know. But we do know that he didn’t put up a fight. He simply gave in.
This leads us to the satanic thought for today. “Seek the applause of man over the applause of heaven.” I think again of Ananias and Saphira in the Bible. They sold their belongings and gave it to the church. Well, they said they gave it all to the Church. But what they did was kept some in secret. They were looking out for their selves and thought they could fool God and keep some back for safety. They didn’t want to lose their status with people, if the church failed. And because of their dishonesty they both lost their lives when confronted with what they had done.
Take Judas, he sold out the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. He was most definitely seeking man’s approval over that of the Lord. We could point out many folks in the word who failed to put the Lord and his will above that of the worlds. But the real question is, “can you see where the enemy is placing this kind of thought in your life?”
The truth is if the enemy could get Judas, and Saul, and David, and Ananias and Saphira to think about what others would think about them over what God thinks about them, then who are you and I to think he can’t get us to think like that? I heard a preacher say one time. “The most important thought you can ever think is what you think about when you think of God. We must focus on what God’s will is in our lives over that of what others might think. Satan is good at his job. He will plant a satanic thought of people pleasing or peer pressure to live up to others in our minds if we aren’t ready to fight him back. We fight by understanding his tactics. He fights with satanic thoughts. Focus on the thoughts you have. Decide what kind of thought they are and then deal with them accordingly.