Can We Still Have Hope?

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CORNERSTONE CHRONICLES BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER Cornerstone Bible Fellowship

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April/May 2017

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Can We Still Have Hope?

Pastor Scott Schaefer

A recent national survey by the Barna Research Group shows that Millennials, born from 1985-1999, ages 18-32, are more than twice as likely as previous generations to be socially, politically and spiritually liberal. Younger adults have historically held less conservative values than their elders. The concern, Barna says is “Today’s millennials have moved so far to the left of center that even a typical amount of repositioning over time will leave this young generation considerably more distant from traditional norms than has been the case over the last century.” Barna said only one in every 25 millennials holds to a Biblical Christian worldview today, which does not bode well for our nation’s future. He said 14% of Millennials self-identify as LGBTQ, which is about three times as much as the rest of society. Barna said, “Our nation is now deeply divided in its beliefs and behaviors. We have a canyon gap of epic proportions that seems to be widening each year. It ought to set off alarm bells, as this is the stuff of civil wars. Millennials are redefining moral values that go against Biblical traditions, and they prefer socialism over capitalism.” Barna said, “A resolution to what plagues America seems impossible.” Inside: I am currently preaching through the book of Ezekiel,  Upcoming Events where we see God’s judgment on His own beloved nation of  Holy Week Activities Israel, and in particular, the southern kingdom of Judah. God  Quarterly Congregational Meeting—April 30 moved slowly, as His judgement on His people being taken  Adult Sunday Fellowships captive into Babylon happened in three installments over 20 years. But with all of God’s warnings, His people became more  Children’s Ministry—Awana stiff-necked, more wicked, and unrepentant. In the end, God  PowerSource Youth Ministry sent the Babylonian army to destroy His people, His city of Jeru All Church Work Day-May 7 salem, and His temple. Those not killed were taken captive into Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:15-19). God does not want anyone to perish, but for everyone to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). But, if we are selfishly defiant to not follow God, we will reap the consequences (Gal. 6:7). If God would judge and destroy His own beloved nation, then who are we to think that America could escape God’s judgment? If God is removing His hand of blessing and favor on our nation, preparing to judge us, our response to find a solution is not through politics, but through prayer and repentance of our sin. I’m looking forward through the invitation of State Senator, Larry Alley, in leading our state legislature in prayer before they convene on May 2. Our National Day of Prayer is Thursday, May 4. Let us be sure to pray for our nation, as we repent and seek God with all our heart (Jer. 29:13). The future of America hangs in the balance. The One who has the answer for our needs has proven His all-sufficiency by rising from the dead, conquering death and the power of sin (1 Cor. 15:5657). We must seek, serve and share Him like never before! The reality of the resurrection of Christ is evident in that He was seen alive in His resurrection body by over 500 eye-witnesses (Cor. 15:6). 1 Cor. 15:3-4 has been shown to be a statement recited by the early Church, as soon as a few years after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. The original disciples suddenly and sincerely came to believe that Jesus Christ was risen from the dead despite their having every pre-disposition to the contrary. Their lives were immediately transformed, and the rapid rise of Christianity cannot be explained unless Jesus truly rose from the dead, transforming lives. If Jesus really is risen from the dead, it means He is alive and is Lord and can be known (continued on next page)

APRIL/MAY 2017

experientially. For me, Christianity ceased to be just a religion and became a relationship with the eternal living God of the universe when I gave my life to trust and follow Jesus Christ back on October 22, 1977, becoming born again, as Jesus said must happen if we want to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3). He is where we find hope no matter how hard life gets. So, let us stand firm in Him, always giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, knowing its never done in vain (1Cor. 15:58). The crucifixion and resurrection of Christ rank as the most important and revolutionary events in history, by which lives are still transformed today, including mine. Has He changed your life? Come and worship our Savior at our special Easter week services with communion on Good Friday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m., and our Easter Sunday services with Sonrise Service at 7:30 a.m., followed by breakfast at 8:00 a.m., a children’s egg hunt at 9:15 a.m. and Resurrection Sunday service with our Easter Choir at 10:30 a.m. Life is hard, but God is good, and we have hope, because we serve a living and risen Savior who has defeated death, and conquered sin and Satan! It’s been said, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Therefore, let’s make sure that we are making a difference. Invite and bring others to our Easter services, and lovingly stand for God's truth and gospel, serving and sharing Him! It will be worth it in the end as you stand at heaven’s gates! In our Risen Cornerstone,

Pastor Scott

Important Dates in April & May in our Church Family Birthdays: April

3 5

7 12 15 16 17 18 20 23 24 25 27 28 29

Shawn Mugler Steve Ruggles Luke Spencer Cadie Edmonds Joy Jaeger Ruby Tran Asher Heim Acacia Weeks Rocio Peirce Isaac Swanson Chris Law Thatcher Myers Oliver Dailey Wanda Smith Steve Graham Jacob Ruggles Jasper Tatum Jerry Johnson Caden Jones Ayden Law Ella McGathy Jarrod Chrisman Brent Hogue Nancy Miller Brenna Dailey

Anniversaries: May 1 2

5 7 8 12 13 19 20 21 22 23 24 28 29

Laurynn Jones Ethan Lenker Grace Lenker Chet Smith Barry Thompson Adrianna Irvin Zoey Young Asher Willmoth Simeon Cola Monica Hidde Jarred Havner Lois Bogner Max Handlin Gracie Mugler Rich Smith Gideon Chittwood Jeff Gann Korban Benavides

April 8 10 16 30

May 2 21 23 28

Gunar & Diana Myers Web & Tatta Roth Ray & Lana Thayer Vance & Marna Handlin Michael & Iva Chrisman Dennis & Shelly Willis Ralph & Gwen Fox Stan & Grayce Abel

If your special date for April or May is missing, please notify the church office at 221– 2722.

Upcoming Events Join Our Easter Choir! Do you enjoy singing? If so, you are encouraged to join our Easter choir, as we make a joyful noise in celebrating our risen Savior! Our Easter choir will be singing the cantata: “May We Never Lose the Wonder,” and Sara Weinert will accompany our choir on piano, with practices on Thursdays of April 6 and 13 from 7:00-8:30pm, and Saturday, April 15 from 2:00-4:00pm.

Holy Week Activities

Be sure to invite others to come with you to our Easter festivities! Sunday, April 9 10:30am Palm Sunday. Children process with palm branches at the beginning of the service. Children will meet in the foyer at 10:25 before the service begins. Friday, April 14 7:00pm Good Friday Communion Service, sanctuary. Sunday, April 16 7:30am Sonrise service, at the outdoor cross next to the church parking lot, led by our Student Ministry. 8:00-9:05am Free Easter Breakfast, Family Life Center. 9:15am

Easter Egg Hunt, devotion and craft for children in the courtyard, and Youth and Adult Sunday School classes as usual.

10:30am

Worship our Risen Lord with Easter choir, and children’s chat and gift for all children.

Baptism Service on Sunday, April 30

Have you been baptized since you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ to identify yourself as His follower? If not, a baptism service is being planned at the end of the 10:30am worship service on Sunday, April 30. Please contact any of the pastoral staff by Wednesday, April 26 if you would like to be baptized.

On Sunday, April 30, we will have our Quarterly Church Business meeting in the sanctuary at 1:00 p.m. That will be preceded by an all-church fellowship dinner at 12 noon in our Family Life Center. Please bring a main dish and a side dish or dessert to share. We will be voting on new members, and will also vote on an amendment regarding the deaconesses, which is on the foyer table. All Church Fellowship Meal followed by All Church Spring Cleaning Work Day on Sunday, May 7

On Sunday, May 7, plan to take part in our all-church fellowship meal right after the worship service at 12 noon. Please bring a main dish and a side dish or dessert to share. Then right after the meal we will get to work! We will help clean and spruce up our church facility, both inside and out! Please bring your own tools ready to help. Plan to help & join in the fun, as we work and fellowship together to keep our facility looking nice to the glory of God! The National Day of Prayer is on the first Thursday in May. This year it is on May 4. This year’s theme is “For Your Great Name’s Sake! Hear Us... Forgive Us...Heal Us!” and the Bible verse is from Daniel 9:19, which says, “O Lord, Listen! O

Lord, Forgive! O Lord, Hear and Act! For Your Sake, O My God...”. A prayer gathering will be held outside the north entrance of the County Courthouse at 311 E. 9th Ave., in Winfield on Thursday, May 4 from 12:15-12:45pm. Everyone in attendance will receive a prayer guide, as we pray for our government leaders, military, businesses, educators, media, churches, and our families. Come and ask others to come with you, as our community prays for our nation at this crucial time in our nation’s history. As our nation is plagued with many challenges that have no easy answers, there is nothing more important we can do than pray. Praise & Prayer Needs Pray for yourself and each of us to reach out and bring others to worship the Lord with us. Pray for Gretchen Reed, MaryLou Hillman and Rex Bonesteel battling cancer. Pray for more of us to participate in a small group or Sunday School class to grow in relationship as Christ’s disciples. Pray for our shut ins: Marie Butler, Lois Bogner, Leona Reynolds and Wilda Shay. Pray for healthy pregnancies & babies and safe deliveries for Joy Jaeger and Janell Williams due in May. Pray for Susan Camp recovering from a broken foot. Pray for the family of Nancy Miller who passed into glory recently.

Winfield High School Graduation Sunday– May 14th

Please let the church know if your child or family member is graduating from High School, Home School or College. We’ll recognize seniors at the beginning of our worship service on May 14. In addition, a High School senior dinner to honor our high school graduates with their families planned for Friday, April 21 at 6:30pm at Montana Mike’s Restaurant.

New Contact Numbers for Chris Law: Home: 620-222-0301 and cell phone: 620-705-8338 Please update your church directory! Updated Church Directories are available on the back foyer table.!

Current Adult Bible Fellowships-9:15am Sanctuary Adult Bible Fellowship Through the months of April and May, the Sanctuary Adult Bible Study Class will continue the DVD study by David Jeremiah, "Is This The End?". "We have almost become immune to the reality of today's headlines: from terrorism to natural disasters to political upheavals to refugees to disease to normalizing immorality to nuclear threats to failing economies...and the list goes on. People are thinking and asking… “Is this the end?” These events bring to mind the apostle Paul's words about "birth pangs" before the end of the age. In this series, Pastor David Jeremiah looks at ten major developments in America and the world that almost defy imagination. Just a decade ago, nobody could have imagined the things we now hear about daily in the news. We need to understand these events: what they are, what the Bible says about them, and how we should respond as followers of Christ. If you are not currently attending a class, we welcome you to join us, as we search the Scriptures and what they have to say regarding today's events. Gregg Little is facilitating this class.

‘Master God's Book’ Adult Bible Fellowship Genesis, “origin,” is a fitting title for the Bible's first book. The beginning of the cosmos, the earth, plant and animal life, mankind, human sin, the promise of redemption, marriage and the family, nations, and God's chosen nation are some of the topics introduced in this book. Genesis is critical to understand the rest of the Bible. It “is the seed-plot of the Word of God” (“What the Bible Is All About” by Henrietta Mears). “Genesis is the foundation for the rest of the Bible. All biblical doctrines are founded directly or indirectly in Genesis” (Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis). Join us as we continue our study of this extremely important book. We meet in the southwest corner of the Family Life Center.

‘Last Sunday of the Month’ Separate Men’s and Women’s Fellowships We have separate men’s and women’s classes that meet on the last Sunday of each month (with occasional exceptions) during the school year. Men’s: This class is facilitated by Terril Mettling and will meet in the Sanctuary. Women’s: This year's Women's Study class is led by Yvonne Marcotte and will meet in the Family Life Center.

U.S. Postage

Cornerstone Bible Fellowship 3725 East 9th Avenue Winfield, KS 67156

Phone: Fax:

620.221.2722 620.221.1196

PAID Winfield, KS 67156

www.winfieldcbf.org

Permit No. 305

Our Mission: To help individuals become fully devoted followers of Christ!

Address Service Requested

Scott Schaefer, Senior Pastor – e-mail: [email protected] Michael Chrisman, Director of Children’s Ministries—e-mail: [email protected] Jeff Schaefer, Youth Staff – e-mail: [email protected] Administrative support staff – e-mail: [email protected]

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