June 2021 Pastor’s Letter

From the Desk of Pastor Melissa

I had the pleasure of spending time discussing the Holy Spirit with some of Cornerstone’s youth this week - it was a joy.

So often we reduce the Holy Spirit to one Sunday, one story: Pentecost. But the Holy Spirit is so much more.

Without God’s Holy Spirit, would the disciples have ventured out into the world or would thy have gone home to fish? Would they have written the Gospels and shared the truth of Jesus’ teaching and healing, his death, and resurrection? Would they have found hope in the midst of change and strife, turmoil and suffering, and the risky unknown that is the reality of life? 

The coming of God’s Holy Spirit made everything possible, everything endurable, everything new and renewed.

It is not an easy thing to understand how God is both one and many; God the Creator, Jesus the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit the Sustainer. Perhaps it is enough to know that God in the Spirit was there in the beginning at creation, gifted wisdom and strength to the men and women of the Old Testament, blessed Jesus at his baptism, and is always there for us just as Jesus promised. 

“Peace be with you,” Jesus said in John14. “My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not let them be afraid.” The advocate, the Holy Spirit, is a guiding, encouraging presence in our lives promised to us and living in us.

In these unusual and changing times, I pray you will trust and find peace. I pray you will share your faith and hope in Christ.

I couldn’t help but notice shoulders drop, faces relax, and peace come across the faces of our youth when we talked about God’s Spirit in class. Thanks be to God!

I look forward to seeing you, your family and your friends in worship and study!

We’ll talk again soon,

Pastor Melissa