Ethnic Harmony, Event, Teaching | by Pastor Justin Keogh

Downtown Cornerstone,

Conversations on topics of race, justice, and racial reconciliation can be challenging, even within the church. It can be hard to know where to start, hard to approach sensitive topics that are politically charged, and hard to love those whom we disagree with. Yet, such conversations are an essential step in growing in our ability to bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2) and building one another up in love (1 Thes. 5:11), and especially so, as we are an increasingly diverse people in an increasingly diverse city.

Over the last few years, we've had many opportunities to engage topics of racial injustice and racial reconciliation, including pastoral notes, forums, writings, sermon illustrations, and book studies. We want to continue creating space for us as a people to think biblically about these topics—understanding the sins of racism (Jas. 2:8-9), understanding the equality and value of all humans as God's image-bearers (Gen. 1:27), and understanding God's heart for the marginalized (Isa. 58:6-11). We want to grow in our ability to speak the truth in love with each other (Eph. 4:15-16) and seek to demonstrate love toward one another as brothers and sisters in Christ (Jn. 13:34-35).

A Forum on Racial Harmony | This Sunday at 1PM

This Sunday, as part of our New Year Essentials sermon series, Pastor Adam will be preaching on 1 John 4:13-21, highlighting the need for God's love to shape our racial reconciliation. That afternoon at 1pm, we're going to host a Forum on Racial Harmony, as an opportunity to continue the conversation with one another, anchored in the text and sermon that morning. This forum will be a combination of small group discussions and larger Q&A with some of our elders. Whether you've been engaging in this conversation for decades or you're just getting started, I'd highly encourage you to join us on Sunday.

REGISTER HERE

Additional Opportunities to Engage With Us

#1 Book Study
Following the forum, in February, we will be starting a new book study discussing Dr. George Yancey’s book Beyond Racial Gridlock. This book has been helpful to many in our body as we seek to understand each other’s perspectives on racial issues and work together to create a distinctly Christian approach. If you’re interested in joining this study, please fill out this brief form by Friday, 1/29.

#2 Church Center Group
We have a Racial Reconciliation group on Church Center to help us connect, share and discuss content, and ways to take action together. Join the conversation by signing up here.

#3 Racial Reconciliation Resources
We've also assembled a number of helpful resources on our Racial Reconciliation page. You can find past DCC sermons, pastoral notes, and blog posts on topics of race, as well as recommended books, podcasts, and articles from a variety of gospel-centered voices.

I am praying that our church would be built up through this event and our continuing dialogue as we listen, love, and act together. I hope you’ll join the conversation!

In Christ,
Pastor Justin

Mercy Ministries, Mercy Update | by Pastor Justin Keogh

The Mercy Ministry Updates are a regular snapshot of our Mercy Ministries in DCC, where we are working to serve and uphold the value and dignity of God’s most vulnerable image bearers in our city. For more regular updates in each focus area, please request to join our Mercy Focus groups in Church Center (linked below).

Gospel Framework

The Bible, as God’s inspired word, displays God’s good design and our radical need for a savior, found only in Jesus, and calls us to live out our new identity in Christ as we engage the world around us.

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard."
– Isaiah 58:6-8

In this passage in Isaiah, God is rebuking the people of Israel for their platitudes of worship. They had been fasting and "going through the religious motions" without a heart set on God nor a life lived according to his instructions.

Israel was God's chosen people—chosen not because of their works but because of God's grace—and God gave them a clear picture of how he wanted them to live as a shining example among the nations, which was characterized by their worship of God (celebration of their vertical reconciliation with God) as well as their care for their neighbors (a demonstration of love in their horizontal relationships).

Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandment, replied similarly, saying that the first thing we must do is to love God with our whole being, and the second thing, inextricably linked, is to love our neighbor as ourselves (cf. Matt 22:34-40). We too, as God's adopted sons and daughters, freely given grace upon grace, are called to love others, even our enemies, in word and deed, as an overflow and reflection of God's love for us in Christ.

MERCY MINISTRY TRAINING: This Sunday, January 17th @ 1PM

Scripture is full of imperatives for us to serve others—not to earn God’s love, but in response to God’s lavish and gracious love for us. But how exactly are we to go about serving those around us in our city? With so much need, where do we start? How can we serve in this challenging Covid season?

In this training, we’ll look at the imperatives in Scripture to serve others as a response to God’s love for us in Christ. We'll introduce our current mercy ministries, discuss ways to serve and pray for those most vulnerable in our city.

If you’ve not had a chance to connect to our Mercy Ministries yet, or perhaps want to learn more about how we’re serving in this challenging season, this training is for you! This will be a live, virtual session, so please register below.

Register

CARENET FUNDRAISER: Through Saturday, January 23rd

This year, coinciding with our annual focus on the sanctity of human life, we are hosting a fundraiser to support our pro-life partner Care Net of Puget Sound—to help assist with the essential needs and services they provide to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Contributing to Care Net helps them operate their many services, from ultrasounds and STD screenings, to prenatal and parenting classes (and much more!)—to anyone who needs them, free of charge.

Our prayerful hope is to be a tangible blessing to Care Net through this fundraiser, helping them as they seek to help women facing unplanned pregnancy choose life for their babies.

Donate

All contributions are tax-deductible, and Care Net will receive 100% of your donation, less any processing fees (if applicable). Please select CareNet Fundraiser as the fund when you donate. A gift acknowledgment will be included in your year-end giving statement.

Stay Connected

Learn more about our Mercy Ministries HERE. Join the focus area city groups in order to hear more regular updates, events, and opportunities to serve:

• Mercy Focus: Foster Care & Adoption
• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Juvenile Detention
• Mercy Focus: Life Project
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

For the Kingdom,

Pastor Justin

Onward Building Campaign | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Downtown Cornerstone,

By now you’ve heard that, by God's grace and kindness, we bought a building in Belltown! A permanent home is another step towards fulfilling our vision of becoming a faithful gospel presence in our city for, Lord willing, generations to come.

Therefore, we created this short video to share more about the building and how you can participate to see it renovated as our future gospel outpost.

As you can imagine, buying and renovating a building in downtown Seattle is quite expensive. While we are certain that God is going before us in this unique opportunity, it will require all of us to participate financially for it to become a reality.

Will you prayerfully consider giving towards the onward spread of the gospel in our city? You can learn more by visiting our Onward landing page.

Whether your contribution is an end-of-year gift or a monthly pledge, a sacrifice of your monthly coffee budget line or a donation of stock, it all goes towards achieving the end of preparing this building as a future stage for God’s unfolding story in our beloved city. Just imagine the lives that will be changed through our collective sacrifice and generosity!

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact our team at .

Merry Christmas!

The King has come and is coming again,
Pastor Adam