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Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage, Part 2

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by Ryan Strydom

Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage

The second part of Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage at Bedfordview started off with Mark and Colette Meeske asking select couples a few questions to see how well they know each other. It was great fun as we saw some of the couples answer the questions horribly wrong or brilliantly on target! They were light-hearted questions that included the colour of each others’ toothbrushes, what fruit best describes their spouse, and even what fruit best describes their sex life. It was really fun to witness, especially if you weren’t up on stage answering the questions!

We then headed into the second part of the Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage DVD as Mark Gungor (the host of the series) continued to explain the differences between how men and women think. This time he focused specifically on how women can change how they analyse men’s motivations and how changing their approach helps to enrich a marriage. It was, as expected, quite funny!

The food was once again enjoyable and made me wonder what we will expect when we reach the final evening, which ends off with a romantic dinner.

There are two evenings left of Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage (the series ends on 19 August) but there is still space for anyone to join in half-way through. The cost is R200. Check out all the details below.

Note: There is childcare for ages 3 and up.

Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage
Dates: Sunday evenings of 29 July, 5 August, 12 August, 19 August
Time: 6:00pm
Cost: R200 per couple for all the evenings. Cost includes snacks and a romantic dinner for the last evening.
Where: Cornerstone Church Bedfordview –  Benard Road East, Bedfordview, Johannesburg
Info: Email info@www.cornerstonechurch.co.za or call 011-616-4073

Register: You can register for this event in the following ways:
• At the info desk at Cornerstone Church Bedfordview and paying in cash.
• By filling out the form here and sending your EFT payment confirmation to info@www.cornerstonechurch.co.za

Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage, Part 1

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Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage

 

Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage launched this last Sunday at Bedfordview, a DVD course that will run every Sunday evening until 19 August. The first week was highly enjoyable and it certainly lived up to its name!

The food was great and the facilities were kitted out nicely, with each couple given a little corner of their own to snuggle up with each other. Mark Gungor, the host of the series, delved into The Tale of Two Brains and humorously highlighted the differences between how men and women think.

The great thing about the series is that it isn’t an intense marriage course that will have you delving in constant introspection and cause you to be frustrated as you try and navigate your way through another formula for marriage that promises to make everything perfect and wonderful. Rather, it helps us take a lighter view of things so we don’t try and aim for an idealistic (and unreachable) perfection but rather just enjoy this wonderful thing called marriage – and enjoy each other.

You can still come through for the rest of the course and it’s highly recommended. The cost is R200 per couple which includes some great snacks for each of the evenings and a romantic dinner on the last evening. It’s also a great opportunity to pay and invite friends to a marriage series that’s for everyone. Please let us know in advance, however, so that catering can be sorted out – call 011-616-4073 or register here.

Note: There is childcare for ages 3 and up.

Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage
Dates: Sunday evenings of 29 July, 5 August, 12 August, 19 August
Time: 6:00pm
Cost: R200 per couple for all the evenings. Cost includes snacks and a romantic dinner for the last evening.
Where: Cornerstone Church Bedfordview –  Benard Road East, Bedfordview, Johannesburg
Info: Email info@www.cornerstonechurch.co.za or call 011-616-4073

Register: You can register for this event in the following ways:
• At the info desk at Cornerstone Church Bedfordview and paying in cash.
• By filling out the form here and sending your EFT payment confirmation to info@www.cornerstonechurch.co.za

Mandela Day: Elated to Help the Klopper Guys

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by Mpho Ntuli

It was a real privilege helping out the guys from the Klopper Friday Club on Mandela Day and giving their venue some much-needed attention!

We got there in the morning and noted the big job ahead – there were broken windows, cracking paint, dirty and broken light-fittings, dirty curtains, and much more. So we got to work, stripping everything, coating the main hall, sorting out the kitchen and the passages, cleaning the carpets, fixing the windows, taking care of the paint… the list continues.

Throughout the day a number of people stopped by to do their 67 minutes in the spirit of Mandela Day. Some of the guys from hArt (another Ukwakha Isizwe project) also arrived to do their bit. By 3:30pm the change in the building was fantastic. It was really awesome doing this for the Klopper guys and the Life Team were sweaty and tired but elated!

Some photos will be posted tomorrow.

Marcus and Glenn in New Zealand: Report-Back

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by Glenn van Rooyen
 

 

It’s honestly a privilege to be part of the work that Jesus is doing in another nation. We spent time with a number of churches and leaders over the two weeks that Marcus and I were in New Zealand, being part of what they are doing and encouraging them.

After a twenty-seven hour flight to Auckland, Marcus and I journeyed with Bruce and Josh Benge to Hamilton (about an hour south). There we had the privilege of joining their prayer meeting and connecting with the Horsham Downs community church.

For the two days that followed, we had the joy of being with a son of Cornerstone church, Cliff Cherry. Cliff has transitioned the leadership of a church and these couple of days were certainly part of God’s timing as Cliff talked us through some of the transitional steps that were soon to be announced to the church in Havlock North – these included a change of name and a new site in the city. It was an exciting time as the church completely embraced this change and rose to take hold of the inheritance our King has for them.

Next was a six hour drive up through some amazing scenery to EQUIP New Zealand in Auckland. We met many leaders and spent a fair amount of time with the leaders from Faith City, Mike and Alison Nicholas; and Gateway, Andrew and Emma Bergh. (We were hosted so well wherever we went!)

EQUIP times are such breakthrough moments. They are times when God speaks, when He clarifies things and when our King reminds us of the spiritual season we’re in. During one of the sessions, Allison Nicholas reminded us that the spiritual season we are in dictates the way we are to move forward. Every church has to hear what God is saying to them to be successful.

God personalised the conference for me, even though we were in a corporate setting and far away from home. Here are some thoughts that impacted me:

  • The Gospel is the power that changes lives – nothing else!
  • We must make time for intimacy with our King.
  • Marcus – God looks at “me” and sees nations open up.
  • Marcus – The gospel is the power of God, not social programs, they are only tools.
  • Paul Zanardo – we are to model faithfulness, passion, integrity, adventure, forgiveness.
  • Mike Hanchett felt strongly that we have three to five years to open up and set our youth up. They are busting for a purpose, a reason to give their lives to.
  • God has given us all a ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5: 18-20)
  • Mike Nicholas – An honest look at life across the globe is that change is everywhere – in some cases, so much so that people are struggling with the shock of it. (New ways to communicate, rapid change in knowledge.) We cannot afford to walk in any other way than with the Holy Spirit.
  • Mike Nicholas – The key to the presence of God in our own life is to obey and do His will. Many people struggle with unbelief and even though they see manifestations and changed lives, people are still not sure. (God, help us in our unbelief.) The antidote to unbelief is to GO and do his will. You cannot separate the Kingdom of God from the will of God.

With watching the Fathers team up, lead and encourage strongly, while relatively young, front-footed guys link arms and intentionally take new ground, my heart has been stirred and I can only fall on my knees and thank our King that he loves us so much. No matter what nation we are a part of, Jesus calls us to partner with him.

The Exchange and The Power of Dreams

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by Ryan Strydom

This last Friday’s Exchange had Bill Taylor share on the “Power of Dreams,” an encouraging morning as Bill enriched the group with his testimony and saw how God had given him dreams that God had brought to reality.

Bill is the CEO of a large and award-winning company in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. He has also been quite involved in mission / apostolic work and the local church, in addition to serving on the Board of Zambia Project, a grouping that conducts social justice projects into Zambia and plants churches.

Bill shared how, from a very young age, he used to dream of being a business person. He included a couple of humorous life stories that also taught him a lot – such as, when he was eight years old, a truck carrying watermelons had an accident near his house and he took he bashed up watermelons and made them into juice, so that he could sell the juice to the neighbourhood. It was a huge failure, but it taught him that you need to have a product of value.

Also, it taught him that you need to sell to a market that has money, as he grew up in a neighbourhood that was in most respects quite poor. Bill linked this into how, as Christians, we shouldn’t be ashamed of making a profit – it’s what we do with the profit that matters, not the desire to make a profit.

Profit comes with hard work, something Bill has had a lot of experience in. A lot of Christians aim to have a balanced lifestyle and many times this means they shun hard work. But Bill says he has struggled to find a Christian that can really define what a balanced life looks like. So while rest is important, so is work, and Christians shouldn’t be afraid to work hard.

It’s been a journey for Bill and his wife on the way to where they are now. Bill even shared how, for six months at one stage, all they really were able to eat were Koo beans and two-day old bread from the baker close by (who his wife managed to make a deal with). It’s encouraging to see that God eventually brings us out of these kinds of situations and at the same time those kinds of situations can bear tremendous fruit. It’s difficult to see that when we’re in them, but we’re not in them forever!

Blanket Drive Report Back

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The blanket drive at Caffiain coffee shop in Queens Street received 380 donations. A team from Cornerstone went out to Rosedeep Informal Settlement on Sunday morning, 2 June, to distribute the blankets. Hennie Cronje had the opportunity to address the community to explain our who we were and why we were there. The names and telephone numbers of those who received a blanket were taken down so that we can follow up on them. Our hope is to build strong relationships with the people in the community of Rosedeep, so that we can serve them in whatever way possible.

Key Women Report Back – Deborah

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by Justine Engelbrecht

Key Women 7th June 2012

Judges 4 – Deborah

Thanks Claire for an incredibly powerful teaching on Deborah. I believe each one of us took home something valuable.

Deborah was an amazing women who teaches us that God is both faithful and redemptive. She was a warrior, she was not afraid, she loved the Lord and she was courageous. She teaches us that, as women, it is time to let the “motherly-ness” in us RISE UP!

Deborah called herself the Mother of Israel (Judges 5:7). She heard God, she loved God and she loved the people. Her faith allowed her to lead Barak and 10,000 to the battleground. She was confident that the Lord would deliver Israel out of the Canaanite Depression.

Deborah teaches us that God wants us to hear Him. She feared and had reverence for the Lord. God is faithful by nature and He delights when we put our trust in Him. Trust God – God loves to prove faithful. He likes it when we ask for BIG things, and He delights in giving us the desires of our hearts.

It is time for us as women to:

  • Be Available
  • Activate our faith
  • Initiate a response to the call
  • Be Empowered by the Spirit
  • Walk in the Spirit
  • Trust God
  • Execute His commands

Find Confidence in the fact that God has called me to be who I am. “Be Still and Know that I am God”. God IS FAITHFUL AND RELENTLESS.

Deborah knew God was Faithful, Do you?

Finding Your Factor X – Casper Versluis

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Friday, 1 June 2012

Casper Versluis is a young businessman in the church. He is a partner in three Wimpy franchises in the Gauteng area. In addition to this he took on the responsibility of leading Cornerstone’s Life Team last year.

This year he returned to the business world and has joined the Exchange team. At the latest Exchange breakfast he shared on “Finding Your Factor X”. He started by telling us that there are two purposes to finding our factor X – God’s glory and extending His Kingdom. Casper then gave us five areas in which we need to take responsibility for our Factor X:

  1. Identifying our gifts and abilities.
  2. Understanding the urgency with which these gifts are to be used.
  3. Recognising the privilege of our gifts and talents.
  4. Using them with excellence.
  5. Knowing that we have and use these by God’s grace alone.

Casper finished off with an encouragement to all that we have gifts and abilities and God is waiting for us to use them for His glory.

 

 

Courageous

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Sunday, 3 June 2012

On Sunday night, 3 June, we screened the movie “Courageous” at Bedfordview. The event was very well attended by about 600 people. Thanks to all those who shared the evening with us, it was a resounding success.

Courageous tells the story of a man who, after a family tragedy, is deeply challenged by what it means to be a good father. Along with four friends, who are also dads, he starts to dig into what the Bible says about being a father. Through the circumstances that play out in each one’s life, they have opportunities to apply the things they have learned.

It is a moving film with clear challenges to all, but especially dads. I personally felt challenged to assess my role as a dad and compare it to what Scripture says. In many ways Christianity is about family, so the call to Biblical fathering is an important one. Dads, let’s take up the call and become the fathers God is urging us to be.

Report Back: Klopper Friday Club Jumble Sale

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Saturday, 2 June 2012

We had a wonderful day on Saturday at the Klopper Friday Club Jumble Sale. R6000 was raised and we made some great connections with many residents from Klopper Park and surrounding areas. We gave out flyers to all the adults who arrived, and we are expecting an increase in our numbers on Friday nights now that more parents are aware of what we are doing.

Thanks to all those who made donations and those who helped on the day. Thanks to all involved for making this such a successful event.