September 26, 2021
Today ➔
Good morning, Cornerstone! We’re excited to continue our Fall sermon series, Membership for THE Mission. Today, Pastor and Elder Christian Burkhardt will walk us through our 3-part definition of Covenant: a formalized relationship based on promises of ongoing faithfulness in pursuit of a common mission.
We look forward to fellowshipping with you at our All-Church Picnic & Back 2 School Bash tonight!
Meetings ➔
Student Ministries: Impact (Middle School) and The Rock (High School) meet Wednesday nights. Meeting locations vary. Visit our student ministries and events pages for more information on time and location!
Cornerstone Communities: We have several groups that are meeting on Sundays and throughout the week. If you’re interested in joining a group, see our community page for more information.
Sermon overview & Questions ➔
Membership for THE Mission: A Covenant Relationship
Christian Burkhardt | September 26, 2021
Synopsis: Last week, we talked about how the foundation of our understanding of church membership is “the commitment to be a disciple and to make disciples...in partnership with the other members and elders of Cornerstone” (Membership Booklet, p. 11). This week, we focus on why we believe it’s healthy to formalize that commitment through a covenant of membership. By describing membership at Cornerstone as a covenant relationship, we are seeking to follow the example that we see in Scripture: “A covenant is a formalized relationship based upon promises of ongoing faithfulness in pursuit of a common mission” (Membership Booklet, p. 7).
When God entered into a covenant relationship with people, it was initiated in a visible, formal way (Gen. 15; Ex. 19-20; 24). In this relationship, each member makes promises about how they will continue to be faithful to the relationship into the future (Gen. 12:2-3; 17:9-14; Ex. 20:1-17). And the reason for the formality and promises is because a covenant is about more than just being in a relationship; it’s about accomplishing something through the relationship. It’s a partnership to pursue a common mission (Gen. 12:3; Ex. 19:5-6).
If you are a follower of Jesus, God has called you into a relationship with him through Jesus, which the Bible calls the “new covenant” (Luke 22:20; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:6-13). The mission of the new covenant, as we saw last week, is to be disciples and to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20). And the New Testament says much about what it means for us to be faithful to God and each other within this new covenant: for instance, the over 30 “one another” commands in the New Testament (John 13:34; Rom. 15:7; Gal 5:13, etc.). Therefore, the purpose of membership at Cornerstone is nothing more (or less) than the commitment to live according to the relationship, promises, and mission of the new covenant within this local church. Rather than assuming that we are committed to each other, we seek to follow the example we see in Scripture by making a visible, formal commitment to each other.
Questions: For questions related to today’s sermon, please see our community guide.