Well, thank you, Pastor Milton for that gracious introduction. I appreciate that and, we are so blessed to have a pastor who loves God and who faithfully teaches about the gospel of Jesus Christ and is one who exemplifies that in his own life to us here at Cornerstone, right? Aren't we thankful for Pastor Milton? Well, I invite you if you have your Bibles to turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 51 Thessalonians chapter 5 this morning, we're gonna read this portion of scriptures kinda give us a context of what we're actually gonna be looking at this morning, but 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12 to 22, we'll just take a look at that portion this morning.
We start off by reading from verse 12 and it says that we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Verse 15 says, see that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
Verse 16 says, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophetic utterances, but examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good, abstain from every form of evil, and as our pastor says, this is the word of God. As Pastor Milton mentioned, God has, has graciously allowed my family's journey from brokenness to, to wholeness to be continued here at Cornerstone after a recommendation from a pastor friend who encouraged me to attend this church. We first visited Cornerstone in August 2014 as Cornerstone was preparing to celebrate the grand opening, opening of its occupancy in this wonderful building a few weeks later.
During our first visit, as we walked into the lobby, instantly, we were warmly greeted by Chris Kearns, Julie Jones, and Cindy Peterson, who informed us about the various ministries which are available for our entire family. I had an opportunity then to reacquaint myself with Pastor Milton and kinda share some more stories and by the way, he's a great teacher of Hebrew and he helped me get an A in the class. It wasn't me, he helped me get an A in the class and because of that, I took 2 more classes with him, so I thank Pastor Milton for his grace and his mercy there. My very first seminary teacher....
