HIGH SCHOOL MEXICO MISSION TRIP

The Rock (Cornerstone’s High School ministry), in partnership with Mexico Caravan Ministries, will be taking a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico from August 2 through August 7. The total cost per student is $300, with a $50 non-refundable deposit due at sign-ups. Registration is now open with limited spots available. Registration will take place at Housegroups. Visit Cornerstone’s website for more info. on Housegroups. or visit the church office.

Recommended Resources for Parents & Children

BIBLES & BIBLE STUDY MATERIALS

The Big Picture Story Bible (Crossway, 2004)
by David Helm, Illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker.
This is the best Picture Story Bible in print today. The illustrations are excellent, and the text is simple and engaging. The author does a great job of telling the main points of the entire Story of God from Genesis to Revelation. Recommended for Parents & Toddlers –
Early Elementary Age Children.

ESV Children’s Bible (Crossway, 2005)
Complete text of the English Standard Version, 214 full color illustrations, Bible Study Helps at the back. This is an excellent Bible for young readers to use for personal reading and for following along during the Sunday Gathering. Recommended for Elementary
Age Children.

Big Truths for Young Hearts (Crossway, 2009)
by Bruce Ware, professor of Christian Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Based upon the bedside conversations he had with his daughters as they grew up, Bruce Ware has compiled a story-form book of basic Christian doctrine for parents and children to study together. This is a great tool to use to go deeper with your children into particular aspects of God’s Story. Recommended for parents to read and discuss with children of all ages.

PARENTING RESOURCES

Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Shepherd’s Press, 1995) By Tedd Tripp. Focuses on the need for godly discipline to shape a child’s heart, not just his actions.

Instructing a Child’s Heart (Shepherd’s Press, 2008) By Tedd & Margy Tripp. Emphasizes the need for parents to teach their children the Biblical principles upon which godly actions are based, and which are reinforced through discipline: God’s design for authority, sowing & reaping, wisdom v. foolishness, etc.

Everyday Talk (Shepherd’s Press, 2004) By John Younts
Challenges parents with the reality that we teach our children most effectively when we are not even trying to teach them! Our normal, “everyday” words and actions carry the most weight and will either undermine or verify the things we are trying to teach our children through instruction and discipline.

Treasuring God in Our Traditions (Crossway, 2003) By Noël Piper
A great resource of ideas for building intentional, gospel-focused traditions into your family’s (and your community’s!) daily activities and special occasions.

The Parent Project

Are you a parent of a troubled teen, or would you like insight on raising your teen from Simi Valley’s own, Sergeant Thompson? The Simi Valley Police Department is teaching a class called The Parent Project. The class will be held at Cornerstone in Rooms 11 and 12. Parents will learn tools to deal with tough kids. Class runs for 10 weeks. The cost for registration is free and materials run $20. If you need financial assistance, please contact the Simi Valley Police Foundation. Pre-register by calling 805.583.6290.

High School Summer Trips

Cornerstone has 2 summer camping trips to Santa Cruz Island with their High School Ministry. Cost is $130 with a $30 non-refundable deposit due upon registration. Registration has begun! Sign up in Cornerstone’s main office or at one of the House Group meetings. 

A registration card and Cornerstone Medical Release Form are due at the time of registration.

The Simi High House Group trip is June 29-July 2.
(registration ends June 24)
The Grace/Santa Susana House Group trip is July 24-27.
(registration ends July 19)

Theology for Today

Reading the theologians of the past can be a rich experience.
We have a lot to learn from those who have gone before us. Yet like most good things, there is a potential danger. 

As we read godly men like Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, St. Augustine, John Owen, and many others, we are drawn to the force and brilliance of their arguments. But we seldom consider the arguments and world views that they were addressing. Does it matter? Absolutely.

We admire their argumentation, we stand in awe of the impact they had on their generations, and naturally, we want to have the same sort of impact. So we imitate their argumentation and emphasize what they emphasized. But when we don’t consider what they were arguing against, we fail to recognize that we may not be called to answer the same questions.

What I mean is this. The great theologians of the past were answering questions. But the answers they gave would not have been helpful if they were not responses to actual questions—regardless of how brilliant those answers were. An ingenious explanation of the law of gravity is not a good answer to how to bake bread. So before we adopt the great arguments of the past, we must first consider which questions we have been called to answer.

Martin Luther said it like this:
“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point” (Cited by Francis Schaeffer in The God Who Is There). 

In 1863, a soldier fighting in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania would have been considered a hero. But a soldier fighting the same way in the same location today would not be a hero—he would be irrelevant. 

Should we read old theologians? Of course! We have much to learn from them. But we cannot afford to confuse their battles with our own.
If we want to impact the world as they did then we must know the Bible well and bring that knowledge to bear on the questions and erroneous thinking of the world in which live. 

And how do we know what questions need to be answered today?
We will never know until we walk out the front door and start conversations with our neighbors. Only then will we find that the Bible has answers for real life—it always has, and it always will.