On Saturday, May 27, starting at 5 pm, at the Szabo home in Pinetop, there will be a party celebrating Lydia's graduation.  Mary will also be there, having had her party in the Valley.  The Cornerstone Family is invited to celebrate with the Szabos who each made their personal commitments to the Lord as their Savior while members of Cornerstone.  Mary and Lydia were born, dedicated and raised with Cornerstone as their home church.  This is truly a milestone for Cornerstone!  Praise God who does all things well!

The Blue Ridge Class of 2023 included at least three students with close ties to Cornerstone.  Aly Bloomstrand is the granddaughter of Tom and Kathleen Ensman.  Her parents are Brian and Laura who serve as worship leaders at White Mountain Bible Church.  Brian is a music teacher at BRHS and Laura also teaches at Mountain Christian School.  Aly was Student Body Vice President at Blue Ridge this year and graduated with high honors.  She is shown here with her twin sisters who attend Colorado Christian University.  Nathan Padilla is the youngest son of Bobby Padilla, now deceased, but who was an evangelist across Arizona and at Cornerstone for many years.  Nathan will be pursuing a degree in worship arts with an emphasis in media and production at Grand Canyon University in the fall.  Nathan is pictured with his sister Claire and mom Sheila. Congratulations also go to Thomas Parada, son of Staffy Syniec, both long time members.  Thomas graduated from NAU and plans to enroll in Chi Alpha Leadership Training for Christian Ministry after completing his mission trip to Alaska in June.  Congratulations to all these students and their families.  

Mary Szabo put her business and accounting skills to work early in life. She completed her Bachelor's Degree at Grand Canyon University in only three years and graduated completely debt free.  She is already at work using her degree in an internship which will transition into a full time job in the Valley. Congratulations Mary for faithfulness in your calling while exhibiting academic excellence in the pursuit of a Christian education!

Memorial Service June 24, 2 pm, at the Show Low Hampton Inn

Our dear sister in Christ, Carolyn Jenkins, passed peacefully into Heaven with her family at her bedside.  Carolyn would have been 80 on May 27.  She loved to serve the Lord in any way she could.  She helped serve our JLA students lunch,  and served communion whenever possible.  Covid kept her isolated for a couple of years but shortly after she began to attend church this year, she became ill.  She loved her Cornerstone Family with all her heart and will be missed.  She is survived by her devoted husband Jay, with whom she enjoyed 61 years of marriage, and  an extended family of children and grandchildren.

Wise Men Lessons

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” (Matthew 2:1)

We don’t know who these wise men were who came to worship Christ except that they saw “his star in the east” (Matthew 2:2). Some have speculated that they may have been Chaldeans who had some Scripture knowledge from Israel’s Babylonian captivity. Nevertheless, we can learn a few things from this verse.

First, it’s not always those who come from a religious background who give Christ great honor. Like the angelic notice to the shepherds at Christ’s birth, these men were from outside Israel. They were not of the scribes or Pharisees but came from a far country. Many of the strongest Christians are redeemed from the most unlikely and utterly lost backgrounds; “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

Second, the incredible journey these men undertook points to their determination and diligence. They had no access to modern high-speed transportation but took upon themselves a long, slow, costly, dangerous journey to get to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

And finally, these men provide a striking example of faith. They believed in a Christ whom they had never seen, and when they arrived, they worshiped a King who was still a child and had not yet performed a single miracle to convince them or given a single teaching to persuade them. Nevertheless, they “fell down, and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11).

The apostle Peter, who actually witnessed Christ’s miracles and teachings, exhorts us to a similar faith. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). JPT