The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known, but least understood and least followed, of all the teachings of Jesus. It is challenging and yet refreshing. We all are called to live differently from the world around us. As citizens of the Kingdom, we represent the King. That means our conduct, our character, and our heart should be different. This week at Cornerstone, I will be starting a 12-week series on The Sermon on the Mount.

I tried to find good graphics for the series, but I couldn’t find what I wanted. I finally decided to make my own. I got design inspiration from a church in Winston-Salem, and then came up with a title and video opener for our series. I’m calling the series Flipped, because Jesus uses this sermon to turn everything upside down. Here’s our opening video.

If you want to find out how I created the video, keep reading.

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For the last two years, our church has partnered with Water Missions International to participate in Water Sunday. It has been a great opportunity to bring awareness to a global crisis. Throughout this past year I have been inspired by one of our Cornerstone Kids. Mia was troubled last year as she heard about the lack of clean water. So she decided to do something about it. Here is a video of her story.

Water Missions International is doing a great job around the world. They understand the roots of poverty and they use community development and involvement to solve the problem. If you are a pastor, I would encourage you to consider holding a Water Sunday at your church.

 “What if the American Church came together and said ‘We want to end this crisis?’” Water Sunday is an initiative of Water Missions International, inspiring a movement within The Church to respond to the global water crisis. Together, we can be the solution. Water Sunday is the start.

Every day is a disaster, as nearly 884 million people lack access to safe water, and nearly 2.6 billion people do not have adequate sanitation.Since 2001, Water Missions International has responded to the world’s largest natural disasters and daily tackles the world’s single biggest cause of illness – lack of safe water and adequate sanitation (U.N. Report, 2005) by providing safe water to more than two million people in 49 countries.

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I’ve enjoyed a great week at home and at church. Last Sunday we wrapped up our Christmas Mystery sermon series. On Monday we celebrated the Lord’s Supper as a family at Cornerstone, and the rest of the week has centered around celebrating the birth of Christ with plenty of food and family.

We’ve started a new tradition at Cornerstone to take up a love offering on the Sunday before Christmas for a local ministry. Last year, we were able to bless our local Free Medical Clinic with a large financial gift, and this year we chose to support the S.O.B.E.R. House, which is a ministry that we have worked closely with the last few years. Our special offering totaled $9431 last week! And Cornerstone matched the amount and was able to present a check for $20,000 to this special ministry. I love that our church is radically generous. Cornerstone has been quick to support other churches and ministries, and I believe that is one reason we have been so blessed this year.

I was able to step back this week and slow down. One of our elders preached this morning, and I was able to serve and volunteer in other areas of the church. I ran the sound board for our first service and I taught a Children’s class during the second service. It’s great to step back from preaching and just observe and help. I’m excited about all the ministry that happens each week that I don’t even know about! I truly believe that great things are ahead for our church in 2013!

We have officially launched a new mobile app for Cornerstone. With the rising use of smartphones and mobile devices, we felt this was a great way to keep people connected with the ministry of our church. The app has current news, sermon audio and video, facebook and twitter integration, a map of the church, our service times, online giving, sermon notes for the current week’s message, an online church directory (coming soon), and more. To download the app, visit our app page, scan the QR code attached, or search on iTunes or Google Play for Cornerstone Galax.

Now for the interesting part, I did the app myself. Instead of using a company to create the app for us, I used an online app creator to build the app using the information we already had available online. By cutting out the middle man, I was able to save significant money and create an app that really stays true to the vision and mission of our church.

The best part, the standard cost is only $29 per month. If you want to find out more about the creation process, continue reading after the break.

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I just returned from a mission trip to New Jersey. Cornerstone sent a team of 24 people to help with relief work for the Hurricane Sandy victims.  We had an incredible week, so I wanted to share what I’m thankful for.

• I’m thankful for a team of Christ-followers who were willing to sacrifice their Thanksgiving break to travel to New Jersey to serve those in need.
• I’m thankful for my wife doing an awesome job of organizing the trip through many emails, phone calls, and last minute changes.
• I’m thankful that the church can come together as the Body of Christ. We stayed with host families from Fellowship Bible Church in New Jersey, and they showed amazing hospitality and grace towards our southern crew.
• I’m thankful that families were able to serve together, and I’m thankful that all three of my children were there serving. The younger children from our team stayed with several of the moms and served at the church sorting and organizing hurricane relief supplies that were donated. Our older youth worked with the rest of the adults to serve on the coast cleaning out damaged houses.
• I’m thankful for the great work that Samaritan’s Purse is doing around the world. We were able to work with them and I came away impressed by their leadership and by their organization. I’m looking forward to serving more with them in the future.
• I’m thankful for leaders at Cornerstone who were able to step up and serve while I was gone. I’m especially thankful for the great message that Travis shared, and for his love and ministry to a hurting family in their time of need.
• I’m thankful that our family was able to spend time together touring Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Amish Countryside, Hershey’s, and Gettysburg on our trip home. I love making memories with my children.
• I’m also thankful to be home after a long week. I’m encouraged by the friendships formed during our trip, and I’m thankful to be home once again in the land of sweet tea!

Here are some pics from our trip.

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I wanted to introduce you to one of my site sponsors this month. Lightstock is a new stock photography website devoted to Christian images. I’ve tried out many different stock photography sites, and I’ve had trouble finding images that work well with church websites and print material. Lightstock looks very promising because of the quality of the images. As I browsed through their collections, I found several great pictures on baptism, on prayer, and on Bible study.

These aren’t free images, but they are affordable. The site works similar to other stock photography sites. You buy credits, and then you select and purchase photos. Photos are available at multiple resolutions, and the higher-res option require more credits. They have the photos sorted by collections, and you can even request a picture if you are looking for something specific.

I like using real images from our church for our website, but these are really great quality. I’m already thinking about how these can be used. It’s always great when people see a need and meet that need. Here are some sample images. Check them out at lightstock.com.