News, Teaching | by Pastor Craig Sturm

“How can you know anything for certain?” Have you ever been asked that or perhaps even wondered it yourself, particularly in connection with spiritual truth?

On July 3rd, we will launch a twelve-week journey through the book of 1 John. Though it is a short letter (just five chapters), the Spirit of God has packed it full of Gospel-centered, truth-establishing, righteousness-inducing, love-living-out words!

The Apostle John wrote to churches in crisis when he penned this letter. False teachers were causing the young church to wrestle through some very important issues: Who exactly is Jesus Christ? Can I have confidence that I am a follower of Jesus, a child of God? Do I really need to pursue holiness in my day-to-day life? What impact does God’s love for me have on how I love other people in the church?

In the midst of this fog and confusion, John writes to correct false teaching, not by point-by-point arguments, but instead by clearly and passionately presenting the truth of the Gospel and its implications for living.

Our prayer is that Jesus would use this book to stir our affections for Him, invite us into deeper levels of trust in Him, and move us to align our lives around Him. Additionally, let’s be praying for the men who are already prayerfully preparing to serve you well. One of our hopes and prayers as a church is to become a teaching hospital in order to train, develop, and equip future pastors and church planters.

Christ is all,

Craig Sturm

Community, Uncategorized

From time to time, we want to share stories of how God is working in the lives of those who are participating in community. Recently, we sat down with Luke and Lynn Davis, members of the Belltown Community, to asked them a few questions about their experience with community.

What was your first experience in community like?
We had just flown into town from Florida midweek to interview for the job I now have. It was the middle of November. The city seemed cold, dark, and strange. Our nerves were on edge over the forthcoming interview process. As a result of earlier email communication, Pastor David invited Lynn and I to visit their community that evening. Not knowing a soul in the city we followed directions into an unknown building, up the elevator, and down a hallway. Before us stood an open door spilling out light, warmth, and happy voices. We entered in and were received with interest, engagement, conversation, Jesus, and the Word. It was beautiful.

How has participation in community helped connect you to your new home?
Moving to Seattle meant leaving the only home we had ever known. We could feel the roots being pulled up. We anticipated DCC being our new family, but I can’t imagine how that would have happened apart from being connected to our local community. It was people from our community that helped us unload our moving truck, ate meals with us, babysat our children, gave us advice on where to go out to eat, and much much more. We became connected to our new home through our community. We became known through our community. We had a people with whom we could share our weaknesses, rejoice in God’s goodness, and receive gospel encouragement.

What sort of spiritual growth have you experienced through community?
We have come to better know, really know, Jesus in our community. How? Through the members of the community honestly and openly relating to the Father through Jesus. We share hurts with one another. We ask questions of each other. We talk about the Word with each other. Shoot, we even feast with each other. Lynn and I have been directly encouraged through our Discipleship Groups to rely on Jesus. The community invites us into humble living. Clearly, we don’t have it all together. And neither does anyone else in Belltown. But we are on a joint endeavor to gospel one another during our weekly meetings, Discipleship Groups, get-togethers, etc. We’re family.

Thanks for sharing Luke and Lynn!

About Cornerstone Communities:
Cornerstone Communities are at the heart of who we are as church. We aren’t simply interested in holding events – we desire for people to connect, share life, and form communities that are deeply rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Cornerstone Communities are neighborhood-focused and typically meet for a weekly dinner, while also sharing life throughout the week. You can learn more about our communities here and email to request more information.