January 2015 Newsletter

Guilt and Shame
“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” –Genesis 3:7

We often see guilt as a bad thing, and it can be. I believe, however, that true guilt is a grace: it brings the guilty to seek forgiveness and to repent. We must remember that if it wasn't for guilt, none of us would have come to Christ. Guilt is the realization that we are in need of forgiveness, and if it wasn't for the realization of our wrongdoings against God, we would never realize that we need forgiveness. Guilt is a good, and at times great, thing.

But what happens when guilt becomes a bad thing? What happens when guilt escalates and becomes shame? We see a story of shame and how God deals with it beautifully in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve realized they were naked and desperately sought to cover themselves when their innocence evaporated. Guilt, fear and shame gripped their hearts. Their nakedness represents their sinful vulnerability before God. So, they tried to cover their nakedness, their shame, with fig leaves.

Leaves wither away. They crumble. They do not last. Fig leaves were a temporary solution to a permanent problem. We too, like Adam and Eve, try to cover and mask our shame with fig leaves, only to have them wither away, leaving us naked, exposed, and vulnerable. So we replace fig leaf with fig leaf, temporary with temporary, and we mask our shame.

But then God did something beautiful: he performed an act of magnificent grace. “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them”. (Genesis 3:21) Adam and Eve’s self-made attempts to cover themselves in inadequate fig leaves were replaced with clothing made by God. God's provision recognized their sin and shame, their nakedness, and covered them with grace. Just as an animal was sacrificed to cover the shame of Adam and Eve, Christ sacrificed himself to cover our shame for good. Are you suffering from shame that you just cannot let go? Quit trying to cover yourself with fig leaves, and give it over to God. He will cover you.

Spring Break
As many of you know from reading past newsletters, I took over as the advisor for Habitat for Humanity in the Fall Semester. This role has given me the unique opportunity to meet and work with students. One such opportunity is taking part in an amazing Spring Break trip to Orange Park, Florida to help work on houses. I cannot, however, do this alone. The trip costs $300, so I would like for you to prayerfully consider supporting me in this endeavor. The expenses include transportation, housing, and food for the week. If you are able and willing, I’m asking for your support or help to cover trip expenses. I realize that some of you already support me and I am thankful. So, I am asking that you to pray about giving an extra $10-$50 on top of your usual contribution. If you would like to help support me on this trip, please make a separate check out to:

Bellefield Presbyterian Church
Attn: Habitat Trip
4001 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pa 15213

Meet The Students

Meet Nicole Russo, a junior Marketing and Human Resources double major from Coopersburg, PA. I have really gotten to know Nicole through our work together on the outreach team. She has been awesome to work with. Read more about her:

1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? My favorite book is probably To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus is one of my favorite characters of all time. My favorite movie, I seriously can't pick! I love all types except horror. I watch so many movies but I could list a few of my top favorites: The Bourne Series, The Dark Knight Series, The Lion King, Inception, and The Pink Panther Series (the old ones with Peter Sellers). (I still have more favorites but the list would be too long) My favorite band/artist that's another tough one I love most types of music, but if I HAD to choose one band to listen to for the rest of my life it'd probably be The Beatles.

2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? Starting fall semester of this year I became a leader on the Outreach team and it has been such an amazing experience! We plan events throughout the semester to spread and show God's love on campus. Some of those events include: A few Saturdays during the semester handing out hotdogs at night on campus, every Wednesday selling tea for a suggested donation of 25¢, and playing hide and seek in the cathedral. I love being involved in outreach because I want to show students on campus what Cornerstone has done for me. It's an absolutely amazing community that I can lean on, be my broken imperfect self in, and grow in Christ with, and I hope to show others the love that was poured into me through these events.

3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? Cornerstone has helped me in so many ways. Freshman year I was leaning on myself and thought I was alone in my problems. Over the past year at cornerstone two of the main things I've learned are: one, giving my problems to God and letting Him lead my path is the best way to live life, and two, I'm not alone in my problems and having a community (in my case Cornerstone) to lean on and grow in Christ with is KEY. Otherwise, I probably would have fallen apart without God. So thank you to my amazing campus ministers and friends in Cornerstone for being a second family to me and helping me grow in Christ. Y'all rock!

Financial Update
Please read the following new pledge letter. Click on the link for the full picture, or on the picture itself. If you would like to donate, please use the information on the navigation bar or email me at amoore@ccojubilee.org.

Financial Pledge Full (Link)

Moore News

The Moore household had quite the wonderful Christmas! After our initial Christmas celebration, we were able to get away for a week to my hometown of Oak Hill, WV and visit my parents, and my sister, brother-in-law, and four nephews were able to come in as well. So you could say we had two Christmases. These two Christmases gave Benjamin, Joshua, and Asher seemingly hundreds upon hundreds of Pokémon cards and Star Wars paraphernalia which now litter our house. Admittedly, a good portion of the Star Wars paraphernalia is mine. It was a much needed time of relaxation, especially since I don’t get home as often as I would like. It is always cool to show the kids where I grew up…though Emily says that I tell the same stories over and over. Oh, both Emily and I added a number to our age…so, good birthdays as well.

We hope this newsletter finds you well, and that you were blessed richly over Christmastime!

In Christ,
Andy Moore