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Acts 2:1-14 2000 years ago, the Holy Spirit fell upon a group of believers on the Day of Pentecost.But by the end of the day, more than 3000 people had given their lives to Jesus Christ. The church experienced the power of God in a way that had never been experienced before. When I read… Continue reading A Fired Up Church

Preparation for Reopening Hello my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, It has been a few months now since the COVID-19 caused disruptions in our lives, leaving regular worship and other church ministries at CUMC to close.  On May 11, 2020, the Relaunch Team (All Committees and Ministries Chairperson, the Lay Leader, a Nurse,… Continue reading Preparation for Reopening Cornerstone

“Because Christ Is Raised from the Dead” Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,  On April 12, 2020, people will celebrate all over the globe the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why all the attention for an event that happened some 2,000 years ago? Why is Easter that big of a deal? Easter is important for… Continue reading Pastor’s Easter Letter

Mark 11:1-10 As we prepare to take this journey with Jesus through the Holy Week, I just want to highlight what this journey will look like for all of us. I. PALM SUNDAY (TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM) Palm Sunday starts off a week of remembrance for Christians, often referred to as Holy Week. The week… Continue reading “Journey with Jesus: Holy Week”

Effective immediately all meetings, activities, Sunday worship, and Sunday school classes at Cornerstone UMC are cancelled for the next two weeks. This also includes Dinner Church service. We hope to resume worship after April 16th (updated March 28th) and will announce all changes via email and Facebook as well as our website. This decision is in accordance with the social distancing… Continue reading Cornerstone Cancellations – Need Prayer?

“Lent: Soul-Searching” Luke 9: 23-24Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. INTRODUCTION Lent is a forty-day period… Continue reading 2020 Lenten Season

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”                                                                        Matthew 28:19b Do we know what this is? This is one of the final statements Jesus made to His followers before His ascension back to the Father. We call this statement the Great Commission? But really what it is our calling card – our purpose statement – our elevator… Continue reading Making Disciples

Luke 9:23Please read the scripture linked above before reading this month's article! Are we just followers, or true disciples of Jesus? There is a difference! If we are a true disciple, then we have rewards in heaven. If we are just followers, we may not.  William Barclay said, “it is possible to be a follower… Continue reading The Price of Discipleship

 Matthew 24: 44: “So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him”. December 1, 2019 is the first Sunday of the Advent Season in the church year. The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” Jesus is coming – His arrival is just… Continue reading Be Ready

I Thessalonians 5:16-18: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. INTRODUCTION When some think about thanksgiving they generally think about 3 things: Family, Food, and Football! WHAT? Yes, I’m serious. When they think of that 4th Thursday in November, those are the first things that pop… Continue reading Thanksliving

“Stewardship: Joyful Generosity” Philippians 4:10-20 It seems that some people refuse to give no matter what. I believe more people would give to God’s work through the Church if they just knew how fun it is! There is a great benefit to giving not only to the recipients of the gift, but to the givers,… Continue reading Joyful Generosity

Joshua 6:1-20 Seven times on the seventh day the children of Israel marched around the city. The seven priests marching before the ark of the Lord blew their trumpets and the people shouted and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. They marched into the city and destroyed every living thing. It was a victory… Continue reading Living in Victory

Acts 12:1-11 In his book on “Prayer”, E. M. Bounds emphasizes that a praying church is a successful church: “Success is sure to follow a church given to much prayer. The supernatural element in the church, without which it must fail, comes only through praying. More time in this bustling age must be given to… Continue reading When the Church Prays

All we need to do as a church is to let Him be our Shepherd. May God bless us as we strive to serve Him by serving others.

It is with the strange mixture of emotions that often comes with transitions that I share I have been appointed to another church in the Oklahoma Conference. June 16th will be my last Sunday as the pastor of Cornerstone UMC in Oklahoma City, and on June 23rd I will be beginning a new appointment at… Continue reading Season of Transition

By Pastor Chris Symes Twice in the last month or so the Holy Spirit has showed up in worship and interrupted my sermon.   The first time occurred in the Branch service some weeks ago. Brad, as he usually does at the beginning of the service being the worship leader, greeted us gathered there in… Continue reading The Wild Goose

Just A Toy   This summer the fourth Toy Story movie is coming out. I'm sure it will be great, but the first movie will always be my favorite. Toy Story, the first full-length Pixar film, tells the story of a group of toys belonging to a little boy named Andy, and Andy doesn't know… Continue reading To Mortality…And Beyond! (Ash Wednesday Sermon)

     Edwin Friedman, famous writer and sociologist, explains that for the longest time in the racing world no one could run the mile in four minutes or less. Many great runners had tried it. The great Swedish runners such as Gunder Haag and Arnie Anderson couldn't break it. Many sports writers were beginning to… Continue reading The Four -Minute Mile

The black mark lays in the middle of the parking lot at the church I had previously served as pastor, the remnant of a tire peeling out. It’s not very big, but it will certainly be there for a long time. I never heard one remark, complaint, or cry about it, but it is unavoidably… Continue reading Tread Marks