June 2014 Newsletter

Finding Your Identity
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” –John 1:12

Who am I? This is the question that freshmen college students often ask themselves. Everything they once identified themselves with (friends, family, town, etc.) are now gone, and they are no longer sure who they are and what they believe. Their identity has been shattered.

After this shocking realization, students go on a path of self-discovery to decipher who they are. They look to others to identify them. They look toward their schooling to identify them. They look toward anything that would make them feel worth. Whatever gives me value, that’s where I identify: friends, family, school, work, alcohol, sex…the list goes on. Where does my value lie? Who am I?

Friends, family, school, those are not identifiers. Those are characteristics that help make you who you are, but they do not define you. Christ defines you. Who am I? You are one who is made in the image of God and is deeply loved. You are a child of God, and no one can take that from you. When Christ looks at you, he says, “Mine.” Christ defines you. He is your identifier. You are his.

Summertime
Summer break is here, and the church seems much more quiet…much more empty. My work load, has become much lighter and I can feel myself relaxing a bit more. But, there is still quite a bit to do.

During the summer, as you may remember, we have our weekly meeting called Common Ground. Common Ground is a large group fellowship where various students from Pittsburgh campuses merge for a summer ministry sponsored by the CCO. Like every year we meet at the park, eat, and play various games. Last year we did a video series by Tim Keller, and this year we are doing a bible study through the book of Philippians. It should be a great time.

Elsewhere, In Ocean City, New Jersey, we have five students involved in the Ocean City Beach Project (OCBP). OCBP is a summer-long community living opportunity for Christian college students to develop further as campus leaders. The Project provides the opportunity for students to grow personally in faith and to develop a deeper vision for life. The students going are Danny Churchill, Shelby Scott, Katie Smith, Kayla Bloodgood, and Lindsey Ericson. Please be in prayer for them.

Meet the Students

Meet Keito Hoshitsuki, a first year Pharmacy Student at Pitt. I met Keito at the first freshmen bible study of his freshmen year, and have had the honor of discipling him. He is a great man of God. Listen to what he has to say…

1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? Favorite movie: Top Gun; Favorite book: The Giver; Favorite band/music: I don't really have one. I listen to everything from classical to pop.

2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I came to cornerstone fall of my freshman year and I've been involved since then. I did leadership for a year on Freshmen Ministry Team, went to Jubilee, and got baptized with 4 other Cornerstone students during my sophomore year. I also became a member of Bellefield Presbyterian Church.

3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? The biggest thing Cornerstone has done for me is give me a new purpose for my education and daily actions. Through the weekly messages, individual mentorship from staff, and fellowship with other students, my faith life has grown and developed, and I now see how my vocation and my faith are not separate things. I have matured so much in the last 3 years and want Christ to be the focus in everything I do. This change happened in me because of Cornerstone.

Financial Update

We received full donations for the month! Praise God for these gifts and for the givers! We know that God is faithful, and always will be. We are very thankful for the support given to us as well as our wonderful supporters! This past month’s giving has been a real blessing, and we are asking for something BIG from everyone for this month: we are asking that you tithe (give 10%) of one of your paychecks this month to help support our ministry. Don’t worry, we won’t be asking this every month. If you are interested in supporting this ministry, I would love to meet with you. Remember that any gift is a good gift. Please contact me using the information on the front of this newsletter or email me at amoore@ccojubilee.org.

Moore News

Well, baseball season is officially over. I enjoyed every single second of being a coach, but I am a bit relieved that it is done. Benjamin had an outstanding first year. His team, the Mariners, unfortunately lost in the semi-finals in a real heart breaker. His final batting average was .770, and he was especially good defensively. Joshua also had a great season on the Grasshoppers, learning all the ends and outs of baseball in his league. He is a natural hitter, and is starting to get the defensive parts down. Both he and Ben will be in the same league next year, which will make things easier on us. I have started to teach Asher how to play baseball, and he seems to really enjoy it as well.

Emily is probably more relieved than anyone that baseball season is over. Coordinating schedules, including mine, is quite a tough job to handle. I’m sure this will open up quite a bit of free time for both of us. I know she could use a bit of a break. Now, we are preparing for our annual visit to Colorado. Out with one task, and in with another.

I hope that this letter finds you well, and that you are enjoying your summer. May God bless you all.

In Christ,
Andy Moore

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