November Newsletter

Christ Received
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”-John 1:12

“This verse is incredible. It is incomprehensible that God, the Creator of all things, the One who upholds all things by the word of his power, would enable me, one who has rejected him, to become his child. We need to hold this New Testament teaching close to our hearts at all costs. We need to marvel not only at the greatness of Christ but the absurdity of his love to us.

Being God’s ‘children’ means we can call God Father. More specifically, we can address him as ‘Abba, Father’ or ‘dearest Father.’ We can call God, if we do not say it flippantly, Daddy. That is what my children called me long ago when they toddled to the front door and I took them in my arms. It is what they call me when they are hurting. It is the word my girls used when they wanted something from me. Calling God Daddy is a precious privilege. And before Jesus came, it just was not possible.

In the Old Testament God is called Father, in reference to Israel fourteen times. Only one or two of those refer to intimacy. However, Paul, in Galatians 4:6, says: ‘And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”’ That cry is implanted in our hearts. When things are not quite right and I cannot sleep, I find myself repeating this great truth over and over and over again and finding comfort in it. We need to avail ourselves of the precious, blessed fact that God is our Father.

Jesus’ ‘name’ stands for all that he is. He is the eternal Christ who became the incarnate flesh and so displayed God. He is the One in whom we must believe in order to receive him. Once we ask Christ into our life, we can cry in our heart, ‘Abba, Father, I have come home.’”

-R. Kent Hughes from John: That You May Believe

Cornerstone and Bellefield Update
Cornerstone has been fairly productive this year. We are becoming more and more of a presence on Pitt’s campus, reaching out by both evangelism and service. Our numbers have increased because of this. We have a solid group of students who are eager to step up, and eager to talk to those they don’t know. This has been something that we’ve been working on with our students over a long period of time, and it seems that they are finally getting a vision of spreading Christ’s kingdom. It has been a true blessing. Like my students, I have become comfortable, but always trying to find new ways of challenging myself, my students, and the ministry.

In other news, I’m very glad to announce that after two and a half years of not having a pastor, Bellefield finally has one. His name is Josh Brown (funny since our last pastor was also Pastor Brown). He says that his greatest desire in ministry is to proclaim Jesus Christ as crucified and raised again, to see Him exalted in and through the lives of His people to the glory of God the Father, and to herald the Spirit-inspired Word through preaching and teaching. He enjoys investing in others, partnering with them in the ministry of the gospel, and encouraging them to live lives of faithful discipleship that hold forth the good news of Christ’s reconciling work to a fallen world.

It has been a long process in finding Pastor Josh, but a blessing to hear him speak, see his humility, and watch him interact with others. Please be in prayer for the Cornerstone Ministry and Bellefield.

Meet the Students

Meet Jeff Schallick, a Sophomore Chemical Engineering major at Pitt. Jeff, originally from Ohio, has been involved since his first weeks at Pitt (I still remember him doing his Stich impression from Lilo & Stitch) and is known for his kind personality and weird sense of humor. Read more about him…

1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? My favorite movie is Lilo and Stitch because it was such a classic growing up between me and my cousin. We might both have stuffed Stitches, no shame. Favorite book is The Hobbit since it's all the greatness of Tolkien wrapped up in a small, manageable book as compared to LOTR. Favorite music is basically anything that doesn't sound bad, such as (most) rap or country.

2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? This year I'm part of Cornerstone Leadership by being on the Freshman Ministry Team, which meant a lot of Orientation week events to welcome the freshmen. I go to a variety of Cornerstone events whenever I can, such as our Hot Dog giveaways. I also had pretty good attendance to Cornerstone as a freshman.

3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? Cornerstone has been such an important part of my life while at Pitt, from challenging and growing my faith to blessing me with a loving community in Christ. The way it has had the biggest impact on my life was during the spring break mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I've always treasured God's joy in my relationship with Him, but I never saw its power until I saw it in the Dominican children who had almost nothing. From that day I learned firsthand how God's joy is so above our circumstances, and the joy I saw in those kids is the joy I aspire to share with everyone I meet.

Financial Update

This past month was quite a low month for us, but we stand on the promise that God provides: He always has and always will, and has taught us that many times over. We are very thankful for the support given to us as well as our wonderful supporters! If you are interested in supporting this ministry, I would love to meet with you. Please contact me using the information on the navigation bar.

Moore News

Our lives lately are revolving much around school. Benjamin and Joshua are both of age (Ben in first grade and Josh in Kindergarten), and are doing really well. Josh can be a bit of a talker once he warms up to you, so we weren’t really sure how he was going to handle having to sit quietly most of the day. It turns out that talking was not the main thing we should have been concerned with, but homesickness. About three weeks into school, Josh realized that school is a permanent thing and had a rough time adjusting to that truth. We have found ways for him not to get so teary-eyed (which is an absolute heart breaker for a parent) and start school with a smile on his face. He is gaining confidence in his ability to learn, and is doing really well. It also helps that his big brother is just a few doors down.

Asher seems to be adjusting to life without two brothers through the day. In fact, he loves having mommy (and occasionally daddy) all to himself throughout the day. Unlike the other two (especially Joshua), he enjoys alone-time and playing by himself. And he loves the extra attention.

Emily also has learned to live at home throughout the day with just one child again, and (hopefully) has gotten some much needed rest because of it. But it’s always a welcome sight to see two energetic boys coming home after a full day of school.

We pray that all is well with you, and we thank you for your love and support! God Bless!

In Christ,
-Andy Moore