Cornerstone Community Church

04/19/2020

Drawing nearer is longing for an intimate loving relationship with God, coming into fellowship with Him as a true worshiper. When the heart submits to sovereign lordship, when a heart commits itself to worship the true and living God and longs to know Him and love Him, that heart will be moved to the recognition of its own sin. Confession of sin is part of it.

Drawing nearer is longing for an intimate loving relationship with God, coming into fellowship with Him as a true worshiper. When the heart submits to sovere...

04/05/2020

Prayer in a Place of Pain
The gospels contain an account of the time the disciples and Jesus spent in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before Jesus was arrested. In the garden Jesus prayed to his Father three times, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will
These prayers reveal Jesus’ mindset just before the crucifixion and His total submission to the will of God.

https://youtu.be/tUGPnbW6iJE

03/24/2020

https://youtu.be/fZYSxs5pS0M

Draw near to God in times of crisis. Today's message encourages you to do just that. If you would like to receive a daily devotional to help you in your purs...

03/23/2020

Sure sounds like God is trying to get our attention to REPENT. . . the CHURCH first and then our NATION!

Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

03/18/2020

Coronavirus Update
We do not know the extent to which our ministry may be affected by COVID-19, but it is the responsibility to keep each one of us safe. President Trump and his leadership team has asked everyone not to gather in groups to reduce the spread of the virus. In compliance with his request, we will be shutting down the church for the next two weeks or longer if necessary.

Also, our insurance company, Brotherhood Mutual, has made suggestions to “live stream” our services rather than gathering together which I am looking into today.

As pastor, I will prepare weekly messages and put them on our church web-site: ccbc7.org
On the main page, scroll down to Links:
You Tube Channel - Pastors Messages and click on it.
This will bring you to the videos and the weekly message.

May God Bless you and your family,
Love You.....Stay Safe!
Pastor Frank & Barb Russo

Please continue to give your tithes and offerings:
**by mail: PO Box 248, North Aurora, IL 60542

Number 6:24 The LORD bless you, and keep you;
25 The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.'
27 "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them."

03/14/2020

Dear Cornerstone Church Family,

As you know, the situation with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is fluid and changing rapidly.
We are committed to doing whatever we can to provide a safe environment for you and your family.
While God has not given us a spirit of fear, He has called us to love our neighbors and to contribute to the welfare of our community.
Exercising caution is not only wise, but it is a tangible way of expressing love toward others.

1. SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES
We will still be having services this Sunday March 15, at 10 am.
We will be disinfecting the church on Saturday the 14th
We ask if you are not feeling well, please show respect to the other members by not attending the services.
We ask that you would not shake hands or hug each other and sit at least two seats from each other.

2. OTHER ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
We will be canceling the Tuesday, March 17th Bible Study due to the volume of people who will be voting.

3. Pray
• Pray that God will intervene and stop the spread of this global pandemic.
• Pray for those who have already been affected by this disease.
• Pray for those who are working on a vaccination for this disease.
• Pray for the ones who are caring for those affected by this disease.
• Pray that Cornerstone and churches worldwide would shine the light of Christ especially in
the weeks and months to come

4.Serve those who are in need!
Be a blessing to your neighbors—bless those who are
experiencing unusual hardship because of this disease. Do you know someone who
could use a meal? Are there single parents who need childcare while their child’s school
is closed? There are plenty of ways that we can bless those in need right now.

5. Share your faith in Christ!
People are fearful right now. It’s understandable that
people are anxious, but we as Christians can take comfort in knowing that God is in
control. We can have peace during these times because He is sovereign over ALL. Be
light, be salt. People are more open to spiritual conversations when life is uncertain, and
we have Good News to share!

Remember that WE are the church…church is not the building we gather in on
Sundays.

This is a huge opportunity for us to show the world how and why we trust Jesus
especially in dark times. There is power in the church gathered AND there is power in
the church scattered.

6.Give your tithes and offerings.
If you choose not to attend, you can mail your tithe to the church:
PO Box 248 North Aurora IL 60542

12/02/2019

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
w/ COOKIES, COOKIES, COOKIES. . . . Sale
We Bake Um - You Buy Um - You'll Love Um
December 7, 2019 9 A.M. – Noon

Cornerstone Community Church
307 Banbury Rd
North Aurora, IL 60542 www.ccbc7.org

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
w/ COOKIES, COOKIES, COOKIES. . . . Sale
We Bake Um - You Buy Um - You'll Love Um
December 7, 2019 9 A.M. – Noon

Cornerstone Community Church
307 Banbury Rd
North Aurora, IL 60542 www.ccbc7.org

11/27/2019

God Cares - Helping families affected by Addiction - Part 13

Growing through Difficulty

WHY DOES God allow painful events to invade people’s lives? This is one of the hardest questions of life—and an inevitable challenge for those who have a family member with an addiction. Embarrassment, unpredictability, financial cost, betrayal, and even physical and mental abuse
frequently accompany addiction

Please understand that God did not create pain. Pain is the result of the presence of sin in the human race. Adam’s and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden created the conditions for pain to regularly, yet unevenly, affect everyone. What
God is able to do (and what He wants to do) is convert difficulty into a learning and strength-building experience

Just as physical strength is built when a person lifts weights (instead of feathers), spiritual strength comes when you push through and learn from difficulty rather than run from it. Now, to be clear, this does not mean that you should remain in the middle of a dangerous or damaging situation. In those instances, you should take refuge as soon as possible (see Proverbs 22:3). However, you can still learn from and grow stronger through every difficulty.

You can learn to rely on God more, pray more, discover which strategies work (or don’t work), which friends are helpful (and which are not), and many other lessons that will make
you a stronger and deeper person. The New Testament book of James states, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its
perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). It’s a tough truth to grasp, but
difficulties and trials are effective tools in the production of spiritual strength and maturity

Discussion
1. What helps you to choose growing stronger over becoming
bitter?
2. How have you grown through your experience with an addicted person?
3. Name some practical things you are doing when your experience becomes more difficult.
Scripture
Look up and discuss how the
Scriptures below apply to this
session’s topic.
• Romans 8:28
• 2 Corinthians 1:3–4
• 1 Peter 1:6–7

11/27/2019

The true mark of spirituality is that you control the one tongue that God has given you!

11/26/2019

Worship with us Sunday at 10 am

11/21/2019

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
w/ COOKIES, COOKIES, COOKIES. . . . Sale
We Bake Um - You Buy Um - You'll Love Um
December 7, 2019 9 A.M. – Noon

Cornerstone Community Church
307 Banbury Rd
North Aurora, IL 60542 www.ccbc7.org

11/21/2019

God Cares - Helping families affected by Addiction - Part 12

The Right Goal WE’RE GETTING too old for this.”
Those were the words of two tired parents whose thirty-something son (who was also a husband and father) had relapsed after years of sobriety. Their words were a mixture of grief, confusion, and exhaustion. Many families
run out of energy and ideas when they experience years of bouncing back-and forth between sobriety and relapse.

One of the most common causes of the sobriety-relapse cycle is the fact that many consider sobriety as an ultimate goal when it ought to be viewed as only a step toward freedom. Sobriety means that the person in your family is
clean from drugs and alcohol, which is great. However, in order to resist the relapse temptation over the long term, it’s critical to deal with and seek resolution to the underlying issues that are attached to an addiction. For instance,
some addictions are related to stress, some to boredom, some to pain management, some to reality escape, etc. Unfortunately, pride is often so strong that
some are unwilling to honestly explore underlying issues. Others declare victory over their addiction too quickly, which makes relapse almost inevitable.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” This verse is pretty clear: sobriety is not the end goal but the prerequisite for the development of a better
life—being filled with the Spirit—which takes time and humility.

As you pray for, encourage, and partner with the person in your family who has battled addiction, do all you can to see sobriety as a step toward a life of true change and
freedom.

Discussion
1. Has the addicted person in your
life bounced back and forth between sobriety and relapse?
What kind of impact is this having on you?
2. Have you noticed the way underlying issues tend to prompt
relapse?
3. What are some ways you have encouraged the addicted person in your life to deal with underlying issues?

Scripture
Look up and discuss how the Scriptures below apply to this
session’s topic.
• Proverbs 4:23
• Ephesians 4:22–24
• 2 Corinthians 5:17