Community, News

Downtown Cornerstone is a community of communities scattered throughout the city, declaring and displaying the gospel of Jesus Christ in relationship to each other and the city. These are communities of diverse, imperfect people that are committed to living out the implications of the gospel in every sphere of life. These are communities of radical grace, sacrificial service, and joy. These are communities that eat together, pray together, laugh together, and study the Bible together – in essence, share life. These are communities that build up the church by encouraging people to faith in Jesus Christ and build up the city through deeds of justice and mercy. These are communities where you can be who God created you to be, yourself. It’s our hope and prayer that everyone who calls Downtown Cornerstone home will find a community like this.

This week, we launched a new community in North Queen Anne! By God’s grace, this is the third community living life together in Queen Anne. Tyler Ashby, who previously led the Uptown community, is now leading North Queen Anne. We asked him to answer a few questions about the people, vision, and prayer requests for the newly forming community.

What are you excited about for this North Queen Anne launch?

It’s clear that God is growing his church on Queen Anne!  It’s exciting to be part of this unique replication of two communities becoming a third. Also, since the location is right next to the SPU campus, we’re really looking forward to serving the campus and their students as a community.

Any specific ways we can be praying?

Please pray that our affections for Jesus would grow and we would trust him more deeply than ever. Pray that the Gospel would be the foundation of what we build together as a family and that we would grow as disciple-making disciples. Pray for relationships to form  (not everyone knows each other yet). Lastly, pray for more leaders to be trained and equipped to lead even more communities!

If you are not currently participating with a DCC Community and would like to be involved with North Queen Anne or another community, email .

Discipleship, Uncategorized

In light of Throwback Thursday, we’re going to the archives to bring back a favorite post from the past.  “5 Books for New and Renewed Followers of Jesus” was originally posted in March of 2014 by Pastor Adam. Hope you are encouraged and refreshed in your love for Jesus today! 

Recently, I took up the challenge of considering the top five books that I would recommend for new, and renewed, followers of Jesus. If you’ve recently begun to follow Jesus, or are coming back to him, where do you start? What are the best books to get you “up-and-running” and heading in solid, well-rounded direction? Here are my suggestions.

ESV Study Bible

I’m not counting this among my top five, but this particular bible is a must-have. Put simply, the ESV Study Bible is the best study bible currently available. You can also access it online and with apps on your phone. It has commentary from the best scholarship of our day, massive cross-referencing, extensive introductions to every book of the Bible, and over 50 articles on important topics in theology and biblical teaching. If you’re new to the Bible it can be hard to understand how everything fits together, let alone grasp new terms and tackle difficult passages. You need help. That’s where a study bible comes in. I wish this was around when I first began to follow Jesus.

#1 The Walk, by Stephen Smallman

This is a super accessible and important book for those just starting out or looking to start afresh. Walking through books of the bible (e.g. Gospel of Mark, Romans, Acts and more), Smallman covers the basics. In Part I he walks through, “What is a disciple?”, “Do I have to go to church?” and “Learning to Read the Bible and Pray”. In Part II he unpacks the gospel and its implications in our every day lives. Along the way he introduces important theological terms and influential thinkers throughout church history, all through a solidly gospel-grounded framework.

#2 The Reason for God, by Tim Keller

This is the best modern day apologetic for the general populace, much like how CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity and GK Chesterton’s Everlasting Man served in their day. This is an important read for new followers of Jesus because Keller addresses many of the big questions you likely have and don’t know how to answer, such as “How could a good God allow suffering?” or “How can a loving God send people to hell?” In the second half, Keller builds a compelling argument for God’s existence by examining an array of evidences or, as he calls them, “clues”.

#3 A Praying Life, by Paul Miller

As you begin to follow Jesus, you’ll likely experience questions and frustrations when it comes to prayer (i.e. talking to God). What is prayer? Why is it so hard? Is this normal? Do I have to do this? Should I pray even when I don’t feel like it? Given the essential nature of prayer to your ongoing relationship with Jesus, this should go in the top five. Miller has written the best book on prayer currently available – humble, helpful and hopeful. You’ll actually want to pray after you’ve read this book.

#4 God’s Big Picture, by Vaughan Roberts

In this book, Roberts, traces the story-line of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I know this may not immediately sound compelling. However, understanding the overall flow of the Bible will grow your understanding of God’s unfolding story and enrich your reading of the Bible. Even more, you will come to better grasp your place within God’s story today. You should read this book with a friend or two because it’s mind-blowing – and you want your mind to be blown with others. And, its super short.

#5 You Can Change, by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

This book is important because it will introduce you to dynamics of personal change. Jesus not only came to forgive us (justification) but to make us new people (sanctification). So, what does that process look like? Do people have problems like me? How do I go about changing? What’s my role and what’s God’s role? Why do certain sins seem to have such a hold on me? This book addresses these and many more by pointing us back to the biblical truths that God is good, great, gracious and glorious – and how Jesus is the supreme demonstration of each. While there are a number of solid books available that deal with this topic, this is the most accessible. By the time you’re done working through it, you’ll think, “I can change”. You’ll get the most out of this book, and your personal change project, if you work through it with others.

Runners-up:

What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
Gilbert helpfully and articulately clarifies the gospel – what it is and isn’t – and why it matters.

The Prodigal God, by Tim Keller
Using the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), Keller insightfully demonstrates how we can run from God by being really bad (like the younger brother) and by being really good (like the elder brother).

Counterfeit Gods, by Tim Keller
Keller devotes this book to unpacking the topic of idolatry, particularly when it comes to money, sex and power (three of the biggest idols in our culture). Even better, he walks through how Jesus supplants these, and other, idols in our life.

Living the Cross-Centered Life, by CJ Mahaney
Mahaney’s big idea in this book is how to keep the gospel the main thing in our life and how subjectivism, legalism and condemnation all threaten our experience of God’s grace.

Love you, all. Would love to hear how your reading goes if you decide to pick up any of these. You won’t regret it.

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

Discipleship, Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

It’s a common problem. How do I love God more? Every genuine follower of Jesus wants to grow in their love for God. But the question is, how? What do we do when we have a hard time loving God? We get an important clue to the answer in 1 John 4:10 where we read, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” You might want to read that again.

God’s initiating love

John is saying that God’s love, from beginning to end, is an initiating love – “not that we have loved God but that he loved us”. Whose love comes first? God’s love. Where do we see God’s initiating love? When God sent “his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (Propitiation is a fancy word for saying that Jesus redirected, and received, the wrath of God that we justly deserve for our sin. That happened on the cross.) In other words, God’s love is an initiating love and we see that initiating love most clearly at the cross. The apostle Paul says the same thing in Romans 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Even when we were running from him (i.e. “still sinners”) God displayed his initiating love by dying for His people on the cross.

Our responsive love

What does all of this tell us? This tells us that all genuine love for God finds its origin in God’s initiating love for us, in Jesus. Our love for Him is always – and only – a response to His love for us. God initiates with His love and we respond with our love. So, what do you do when you are having a hard time loving God? Answer: Reflect on God’s love for you, in Jesus. If you want to love God more, don’t begin with your love for Him, but with His love for you.

Getting it backwards

We have to be careful because our hearts have a tendency to reverse that order by prioritizing and emphasizing our love for God. We tend to (wrongly) think that God’s love for us is based on our love for him. That is not the gospel. More often than not this is the root of our struggle to love God more. Why would our love for God bloom if we’re not sure how he feels about us? It won’t. The good news of Jesus is that God sent his Son out of love for lost sinners, while we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8 above). God initiates with his love, in Jesus. We respond with our love. That order is crucial and we should be diligent to ensure it is never inverted in our hearts.

Putting it all together

So, all that said, how do we love God more?

First, we need to get the order right. God loves us first, always. Our love for Him is always a response to His love for us, in Jesus. Be sure your heart has the order right.

Second, we must keep in mind that the measure of his love for us isn’t some warm-and-fuzzy feeling or sense that He loves us. The measure of His love for us is the cross. The cross is the objective historical sign and seal of God’s love for you, in Jesus. The cross assures you that His love for you will forever be at flood stage.

Third, once we get the order right and see the cross as God’s eternal pledge of love for us, we should take time to enjoy His initiating love. When did you last take time to reflect on God’s initiating love for you? I’m not talking about his love for people generally, or his church specifically, or your friends who also follow Jesus – but for you? In Jesus, you are perfectly and forever loved by God. His love for us is full, unceasing, and unchangeable, even on our worst days. Take time to consider and enjoy His initiating love. Reflect on how your day-to-day would change if you lived in light of it.

A simple way to love God more

We can’t make our love for God grow by focusing on our love for God. Our love for God grows as we focus on His love for us, in Jesus. Ours is always, in effect, a returned love. Therefore, consider the initiating love of God for you at the cross until you see it – and feel it – and you’re love for Him will grow.

Christ is all,

Pastor Adam

Advent Drive, City Life, Foster Care, Service | by Anne Johnson

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” – Jesus (John 14:18)

As foster parents licensed through the state, my husband and I see firsthand what it is like for children to come “into the system.” Our current foster son came to us with nothing but a worn coat and the clothes he was wearing. In the midst of uncertainty in a new and strange place, the gift of comfortable clothes is undeniably reassuring.

Throughout the Foster Care Drive, I watched in grateful amazement as our living room filled with messy piles of socks, bags of sweatshirts, and boxes of sweatpants. I am astonished by God’s grace and provision through the Downtown Cornerstone community. Through the freedom to love as we have been loved, we collected over 780 articles of clothing! You can see the generosity of that collection evidenced below in photos of my car stuffed with your donations.

The bottom-right photo above is the play area at the West Seattle Visitation Center where the clothes will be distributed. When children come into care after hours, they are often brought here and given overnight bags with essentials, if any are available. Lisa, the DSHS social worker who runs the visitation center, was incredibly grateful to stock the center with our much-needed supplies.

GET INVOLVED

If you are looking for more ways to help, Lisa shared that a dream of hers is to have a supply of duffel bags. If children are lucky enough to bring their things from home, they usually carry their items around in trash bags. Just as some fresh socks can bring comfort, having a proper bag for your possessions (however few) can bring a sense of worth and value.

The Visitation Center is also in desperate need of a refresh. There is currently a project through Amara, an adoption support agency, to update the Center. For more information, visit Amara’s GoFundMe page.

If you are interested in learning more about foster and adoptive care in the State of Washington, or want to get involved through donating or volunteering, please feel free to contact me. I love sharing about these wonderful kiddos! Thank you on behalf  all of the kids who will sleep, run, and thrive in the clothing you’ve donated.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name…Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity…”
– Psalm 68:4-6

Christ is all,
Anne Johnson

You can get connected to Anne to learn more about foster and adoptive care in the State of Washington by emailing .

Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

As a church, we want to plant churches that plant churches. However, to plant churches, we need to identity and develop called and qualified men as pastors. A crucial element of that development is learning how to communicate the goodness of the good news of Jesus and its application to our everyday lives – also called preaching.

An Impossible Task

By itself, preaching is an impossible task: content, style, conviction, delivery, organization, pacing, personality, foreseeing objections, crafting vivid illustrations and offering practical application. There are also ever-changing external factors: the room, the lighting, the seating, the heat, the audio, the shifting dynamic of the gathered church and unsolicited critique. Then, there are the ever-changing personal factors in the life of the preacher: the condition of his heart, his affections for Jesus, his level of tiredness, his degree of preparation, his counseling load, personal stresses and family pressures. In my experience there is nothing more demanding nor humbling. Yet, it is God’s primary method for the heralding of the gospel of Jesus and the instruction of His people in the context of the local church.

A Necessary Task

This is why Paul exhorted Timothy to, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Tim 4:2) Teaching and preaching are gifts that Jesus has given to His church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” (Eph 4:12). It makes sense that He would assign such an important role to preaching because it is through the Bible that we become “competent, equipped for every good work” that He has prepared for us (2 Tim 3:16; Eph 2:10). In other words, we need teachers and preachers of the Bible because it is through the Bible that we learn who He is, who we are, and what it means to live in light of Him – now and forever. As an aside, that is also why it is crucial for our personal discipleship to consistently sit under gospel-centered, Jesus-saturated, Bible-tethered preaching.

A Messy Task

Therefore, to plant churches we need to create space to develop heralds of the gospel within our church; preachers who learn what it means to rightly handle the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15) and lead Jesus’ people to revel in His unsearchable riches (Eph 3:8). Heralds aren’t merely discovered, they’re forged and developed. That task can be complicated and messy. After all, it is hard to discern if you are called to be a herald of the gospel – and to grow as one, if you are – without actually heralding. We are committed to spreading the gospel through church planting, and therefore we are necessarily committed to developing gospel heralds.

A Teaching Hospital

That is why we often describe ourselves as a teaching hospital. Certain hospitals, such as many in our city, are known as teaching hospitals in which medical residents learn the science and practice of medicine. These residents spend long hours (and years) alongside more seasoned doctors learning, growing, and maturing in order to serve others. The residency serves to highlight strengths and weaknesses that can be safely worked out in the context of the teaching hospital. In the same way, our goal is to be a teaching hospital for future gospel heralds as they learn, grow and mature in their ability to declare and apply the infinite excellencies of Jesus. Along the way we will discover that some are not called to preach – their gifts and calling lie elsewhere – while others are.

If you’re new to our church family it is important for you to know that about us. I’m not jealous about the pulpit. When I step out of the pulpit it is not merely to take time off. We want to develop heralds. The process is messy, to be sure, but well worth any inconvenience, awkwardness or confusion experienced along the way. The local church was not instituted by Jesus to be a theatrical performance where only the best actors get on stage. No. The local church was instituted by God to be an outpost where the gospel is declared and and its implications are lived out. So, when I’m not preaching you’re not merely witnessing a “fill in” but a man who is discerning and working out his calling before the living God of the universe in the context of Jesus’ redeemed people. It is a beautiful sight. Let’s pray, encourage, root for and honor such men and ask Jesus to raise up even more.

For Jesus’ fame and the good of all,

Pastor Adam