August 2015 Newsletter

Essay on Forgiveness
We say a great many things in church (and out of church too) without thinking of what we are saying. For instance, we say in the Creed “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” I had been saying it for several years before I asked myself why it was in the Creed. At first sight it seems hardly worth putting in. “If one is a Christian,” I thought, “of course one believes in the forgiveness of sins. It goes without saying.” But the people who compiled the Creed apparently thought that this was a part of our belief which we needed to be reminded of every time we went to church. And I have begun to see that, as far as I am concerned, they were right. To believe in the forgiveness of sins is not nearly so easy as I thought. Real belief in it is the sort of thing that very easily slips away if we don’t keep on polishing it up.

We believe that God forgives us our sins; but also that He will not do so unless we forgive other people their sins against us. There is no doubt about the second part of this statement. It is in the Lord’s Prayer; was emphatically stated by our Lord. If you don’t forgive you will not be forgiven. No part of His teaching is clearer, and there are no exceptions to it. He doesn’t say that we are to forgive other people’s sins provided they are not too frightful, or provided there are extenuating circumstances, or anything of that sort. We are to forgive them all, however spiteful, however mean, however often they are repeated. If we don’t, we shall be forgiven none of our own.

-C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Meet the Students

Meet Will Rabuse, a sophomore Biology major from Chesapeake, VA. Will, the son of a retired Navy Captain, and has made a home here in Pittsburgh. When you are around him, you can’t help but feel encouraged by his warm, caring personality. Read more about him…

1. What is your favorite childhood memory? My favorite childhood memory is relaxing on the beach and watching the jets fly over. I would also always love playing in the water with my brother, and sitting in the hot sand eating chips and cold PB&J’s.

2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? In Cornerstone, I was introduced to freshman bible study during the fall of my 1st year. After enjoying the bible study, and meeting many great people, I decided to start going to regular Cornerstone meetings on Wednesday nights. Here I got to know older students and started to become a part of the community. Following my familiarization with how Cornerstone worked, I volunteered to put my percussion skills to use and play drums in the worship band on Wednesday nights. I have now become part of the freshman ministry team and am preparing to work with fellow Cornerstone friends and welcome freshman to college and share/live the gospel with them.

3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? Coming to PITT was different for me, because I was the only one here from my High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, and I also had no idea where to look to be involved in a community or place of worship together with others. It was an answered prayer from God that I looked across Fifth Avenue one day and saw a big “CORNERSTONE COLLEGE MINISTRY” sign at a Presbyterian church. This is the exact thing that I had prayed to find. It took me a while to adjust to the new environment of Pittsburgh, eight hours away from home, but I met some wonderful people who were just as interested in seeking the Lord and living like Jesus, just as much as I was. It also brought me to a realization that even in a secular place like college, there is still a way to be devoted to God and bring the joy of Jesus Christ to those that you meet and commune with.

Financial Update

It was a good month financially for us! Thank you all so much! AS you can see from the chart, we made $3,471 which is 89% of where we need to be. We thank you for upping your donations, new donors, and those who are praying for the ministry. This has all been very helpful as we are working towards our raise. If you too would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. This is what helps makes ministry possible. Now that I have gotten a raise, this is more important than ever! If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through gift and/or prayer. I am asking that my current supporters give an extra 10% on top of their usual giving. This will help to make up the difference from what I currently make and from my goal. Remember that any gift is a good gift. Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

With the start of the school year very rapidly approaching, it means things will be busier than ever. We will get to meet hundreds of new freshmen and their families, as well as welcome the veteran Cornerstone students back. It also means that my work week hours will double…for a week at least. Sometimes it’s hard to let summer go, but I am honestly excited for what is to come.

With a new college school year also come a new school year for my kids. Benjamin will be going into the third grade, Joshua will be going into the 2nd grade, and Asher will be (gasp) going into Kindergarten. Both Ben and Josh are excited to get back to school (as I am sure Emily is as well), and Asher is thrilled to be joining his big brothers at Fulton Academy. I asked him if he was afraid at all, and he responded, “A little bit. I’m afraid of not being with Mommy and you.” Asher is such a social butterfly that I am sure he will forget about us within a matter of minutes. We just pray that he will be able to not talk through all his classes.

Emily is preparing to be an “empty nester.” I’m sure it will be a hard adjustment for her, but a welcome one. She has done a great job preparing the boys for school that they all seem to have adjusted and excelled. Now she will be looking for part time work, which could also be another big adjustment. So please be in prayer for her with all of this transition.

I pray that this letter finds you well. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:7

In Christ,
Andy Moore

February 2015 Newsletter

He Claims All
For it is not so much of our time and so much of our attention that God demands; it is not even all our time and all our attention; it is our-selves. For each of us the Baptist’s words are true: “He must increase and I decrease.” He will be infinitely merciful to our repeated failures; I know no promise that He will accept a deliberate compromise. For He has, in the last resort, nothing to give us but Himself; and He can give that only insofar as our self-affirming will retires and makes room for Him in our souls. Let us make up our minds to it; there will be nothing “of our own” left over to live on, no “ordinary” life. I do not mean that each of us will necessarily be called to be a martyr or even an ascetic. That’s as may be. For some (nobody knows which) the Christian life will include much leisure, many occupations we naturally like. But these will be received from God’s hands. In a perfect Christian they would be as much part of his “religion,” his “service,” as his hardest duties, and his feasts would be as Christian as his fasts. What cannot be admitted—what must exist only as an undefeated but daily resisted enemy—is the idea of something that is “our own,” some area in which we are to be “out of school,” on which God has no claim.

For He claims all, because He is love and must bless. He cannot bless us unless He has us. When we try to keep within us an area that is our own, we try to keep an area of death. Therefore, in love, He claims all. There’s no bargaining with Him.

-C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Trip

This past year, I took over as the advisor for the Pitt Habitat for Humanity. 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 Nick Bersin, a freshman from Long Grove, Illinois with a dual major in German and International & Area Studies who is on the Russian & East European Studies track with minors in Polish and linguistics…quite the mouthful. Nick is quite the friendly person, speaks fluent German, and loves to give hugs. Read more about him…

1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? Favorite movie: Monty Python & the Holy Grail. Favorite book: I really want to put something like Lederach's The Moral Imagination to seem thoughtful and worldly. Or C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain to show I know something beyond the main works of the greatest Christian thinker of the century. Or Goethe's Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers so you know how thoroughly versed I am in German literature. But, I only read 30 pages of the first and haven't even touched the last, so I'll just tell you I'm tied between The Bone People by Keri Hulmes and Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Richard Wright's Black Boy is a close second. Favorite music: Ellie Goulding, Macklemore, Matisyahu, German stuff (especially Casper), melo-death, folk metal, Rend Collective, Mumford & Sons, and black metal.

2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I've been coming regularly on Wednesday nights and came to Freshman Bible Study first semester and am now being trained to lead that Bible study next semester as part of the Freshman Ministry Team. I am so, so excited to be able to get to know even more people and welcome them to Pitt and Cornerstone -- I love people and building new relationships. That's why I learn languages and study other cultures -- language is how you access a person on an intimate level, and the better you can speak their language the closer you can get to them. Particularly if it's one few people learn (like Polish or Serbo-Croatian). By studying how people view themselves through the examination of their literature, history, institutions, religion, personal stories, and social structures, you can gain a more holistic view and build a stronger relationship with them, along with getting a better perspective on yourself.

3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your year at Pitt? My first full day of orientation, I was leaving my advising appointment and still thinking about everything new that was happening. For some time I have had the thought of finding a ministry in the back of my mind, but after looking through the list of organizations on Pitt's website, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of them and had no way to distinguish on from the other. As I was walking in search of new adventures for the day, I saw a group of people in red shirts (or maybe pink -- I don't really know since I'm a bit colorblind) handing out water bottles. Having also once done campus outreach, albeit in high school, I immediately knew what kind of group this was. I approached them and asked when they met, and they gave me the info on all their activities that week. I went to each one, and from the very first, I knew that I had found home. I could tell that I was going to form some very special bonds with these people over the coming semester(s), and I was right. Never do I feel like I have to go through something alone, or that I don't have real friends here, because I have this massive, awesome family.


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

This month I had the privilege to fly out to San Diego, California to be a groomsmen in Sean Keefe’s (my best friend from college) and Melissa Covert’s wedding. It was an awesome time, and I enjoyed every single minute. About eleven years ago, Sean flew out to Colorado for Emily and my wedding, so it was really nice to return the favor. It was honestly one of the more beautiful weddings I have ever seen, and I’m so incredibly happy for them. It was also my first time to California, which was amazing. I can honestly say that I now realize why people fall in love with California when they visit. It was such a good time! I only wish that Emily and the boys were there to experience it with me.

All the boys are doing great. Both Benjamin and Joshua are excelling in school, both receiving the award of High Honor Roll as well as many other awards. Asher is really eager to start school and join his other brothers. I think it will be a tough transition, however, because he is such a homebody. Let’s pray that it is not.

Emily will be starting a new job soon. Our neighbor, Doug Graham, owns an online auction company, and Emily will be helping out with it. She hasn’t had a job outside the home since Ben was born, so I know she’s excited to try something new.

I hope this newsletter finds you well, and that God is blessing you richly!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

The Theology of Disney

As you may have read in my last newsletter, my family and I just spent a week in Disney World. What a wonderful time it was! From riding the Star Wars ride, Star Tours, five times to exploring the different worlds of EPCOT to feasting on the wonderful food the park had to offer. Despite the thrills and organized chaos that come with a Disney vacation, it was a wonderful time to spend with my entire family. Would I go again? In a heartbeat. It was that good of a time.

There was one thing that stuck out with me in the trip in particular. Throughout the small city that is Walt Disney World, there are various quotes from Walt Disney himself. One reads “I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the Park. I want them to feel they’re in another world.” I casually read this sentence, not paying it any mind as I hustled to our next ride. But there was something about this quote that kept impaling my brain. It just would not leave me alone. Finally I started to mull the questions, “Why do people need an escape from reality?” and “Why should they escape to Disney World?”

Disney World might be the closest thing that we can get to a Utopia on Earth. Think about it. The parks are immaculately clean. You are constantly entertained…even waiting in line can be entertaining. The workers (called Cast Members) are care free and happy, even if it is synthesized. And most importantly, the parks are rid of a perceived notion of evil. When you go there, you escape the atrocities that are the rest of the world. It may be the closest thing we have to a utopia on this earth. So, is this escape truly why people flock there and are willing to shell out money for a temporary euphoria?

Being a minister, I have a tendency to look at the world through a biblical perspective. In the creation account in Genesis 1, we see God’s perfect order creating a world that is without evil or blemish. It is a world that is perfect for the pinnacle of God’s creation: mankind. “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31a, emphasis mine). God made a world that was perfect for us, and this world is what man was meant and wired for. It was very good. It was shalom, or peace as it was intended to be: full and complete.

In Genesis 3, we see the quick and decisive fall of mankind that cursed everything that was once good. Man, who was created perfectly human and was already told by God they were “very good,” was told by another being they could be better...that we didn’t need God, for we could be our own God. Lies we still believe today. The serpent said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4b-5). How was it possible for people who were created perfectly human to become even greater? It was not, but that did not stop us from believing the lie. And so the fruit was picked, and the rest is sad, sad history. The world is now corrupt and evil.

So why is there a need to escape this reality? If we were indeed made to live in that shalom, if we were created for a world that was perfect for us, then it is no wonder that we are crawling and fighting to get back to a world that we were wired for. This is why people, I believe, are so eager to get to Disney World; they are pining for a world that they were meant for. Disney World is a generic Eden, where you forget that the world is harsh and cold. (This is not a knock on Disney World. I would gladly go again.) We are yearning for a world that is free of tears, death, mourning, and pain. Disney tries to offer that. The only thing is that at some point you have to pack up and leave, and eventually you are left with the “Disney Down.”

C.S. Lewis says it much more eloquently in his book Mere Christianity. He says, “The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.'”

If this was the end of the story, it would be a sad world that we live in. Jesus Christ, in his glory and compassion, saw that we were broken people attempting to work our way back to perfection, but failing miserably. In his love, he reached to us, by taking those imperfections and impurities and making us realize that we are in desperate need of God, and that our attempts at self-salvation have also failed. And he cleansed us. He declared us righteous. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the true savior of the world, then we are part of his story. What is that story? God is making all things new. He is restoring the broken, and making them whole again. We now get to participate in this epic narrative. God is restoring shalom. So when we yearn for a world that is free of tears, death, mourning, and pain, we must remember that redemption and restoration are God’s desires, also. As it says in Revelation 21:4-5, "He (Jesus) will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he (Jesus) who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" Amen.