The Blessing

Have you ever received "The Blessing"? Likely most of us have not, in fact most of us are probably not all that familiar with what "The Blessing" is. I was not until preparing to preach a sermon I shared just this past Sunday with my congregation. What most of us would refer to as "The Blessing" would be the approval or better yet the affirmation we get from our parents or someone in authority over us or someone we look up to. There is more said about the blessing in the Old Testament than there is in the new but we do see Jesus blessing young children. John Trent and Gary Smalley wrote a book about the blessing, I have not read it but I am sure I will.
What I shared with my congregation is that there are five parts to the blessing we give to our children. There is the Meaningful Touch, The Spoken Word, The Affirmation of Value, The Spiritual Vision and The Prosperous Vision. We actually ended our worship service this past week with a blessing ceremony where I walked the congregation through each of these steps. It was the first time for me that I ever really looked at one of my children in the eye and expressed to them my pride in who they had become and my affirmation of the values I see in them. It was a very moving experience and one that I know I need to continue to practice not just once in a lifetime. I am not sure why in the instances of the blessing in the Old Testament we see the blessing usually given by the father at the end of father's life. It seems to me that the blessing is far to important and valuable to wait until we are almost dead to give. All of us no matter how young or old we are seek and need this blessing from our parents. I believe that the result of not receiving this blessing leads to negative consequences in our lives.
You may to be able to receive the blessing from your parents for a number of different reasons, but if you have children of your own you can draw that line in the sand and start a new practice in your family. I very much encourage you to do so. It will greatly empower your family and strengthen your relationship with your children.
God Bless!

Another Great Day!

Just a quick note to say, WHAT A GREAT DAY at Cornerstone this past Sunday. As you can see from some of the photos below this past Sunday was Family Day at Cornerstone. This is one of those special times we have together as a church family each year at Cornerstone. This year was by far the largest Family Day event in its 11 year history. I am not sure about exact amounts but I believe we were very close to 200 in attendance. Everyone had a great time I think the only complaint was that we were not able to cook the food fast enough. We just did not anticipate the large crowd so we only had one barbecue going.

We continue to have wonderful times of worship each Sunday as we continue our study on the family. This coming Sunday we will be focusing attention on The Blessing. We will even be holding a special Blessing ceremony at the conclusion of the service. If you are in town be sure to visit us or listen to the message on the sermon player at the bottom of this blog homepage.

God Bless,
Pastor Sheldon

Sorry!

I apologize that I have not written a post for a few weeks. Last week I ended up being busier than I planned. With my oldest daughter arriving from San Antonio for my youngest daughter's graduation from Point Loma Nazarene University and then an all day missions convention last week i just didn't feel I had time to sit down and post, but I do have some time today so here goes.
As I mentioned my youngest daughter Sherry graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University last Saturday. She is the one in the cap and gown (just in case you couldn't tell). It was a beautiful day in San Diego for a graduation but in the shade where we sat it got very cold. She officially begins her new job as a counselor at a YWCA in San Diego working with families of battered women. She is excited about the possibilities of assisting these women and children. I am sure she will do a great job, she has a real heart for this kind of service. My oldest daughter Shellee flies back to San Antonio on Wednesday. I know we will miss not having here around. it has been good to have the kids back int he house even if it was for a short while. We've been empty nesters for so long it feels a bit weird having people in the house.
This week we our annual Anaheim District Church of the Nazarene Assembly in Santa Ana. I will be down there for an evening and then one full day of meetings and reports. This Sunday is our terrific annual Family Day event at Cornerstone. I have photos posted for a few weeks of what this days activities are like. It is always a great time and everyone is welcome even if you are not a part of the Cornerstone Church. The food and drinks are all free. Can't beat the price. This Sunday I am continuing in my new sermon series "Family 911". This week the focus of my message will be on the topic of forgiveness. This is probably one of the most difficult steps any of us must take in restoring our family relationships. it is just not an easy thing to do when we feel that someone else owes us. I hope that if you live in the chino area that you can join us for worship. If not you can always hear the sermons on our sermon player which is located at the bottom of this blog.
I hope that you all have a terrific week in the Lord!
God Bless,
Pastor Sheldon