Equip Podcast

Cornerstone Church of Ames
  • 4.8 (121)
  • Christianity
  • Weekly

Produced by Cornerstone Church of Ames, The Equip Podcast is designed to provide insight, resources and Biblical wisdom to help us live faithful and fruitful lives together. 

  1. 1d ago

    Why Christians Should Vote: A Christian Guide to Election Season

    In this special solo episode of the Equip Podcast, Mark explores what the Bible says about government and why Christians have a responsibility to vote. He unpacks government as God's tool of common grace, the Christian's dual citizenship, and why no election should be treated as the end of the world. Episode Highlights 01:06 — Equipping you to think biblically about voting 02:06 — Does government matter if eternity matters most? 03:42 — Government as God's tool of common grace 04:22 — Romans 13 and Proverbs 21:15: government as God's servant 05:43 — Saving grace vs. common grace 06:53 — Restraining sin: why government can't make your wildest dreams come true 09:05 — Promoting righteousness through good laws 10:26 — Every law is a legislation of morality 11:46 — God's special charge to protect the poor and vulnerable 15:33 — Fear God, honor the emperor: our posture toward government 17:49 — Dual citizenship and the Christian duty to vote 19:30 — Choosing well: how to evaluate candidates 21:02 — Not every election is an existential threat 25:17 — Praying for Governor Kim Reynolds and her family Resources Cornerstone Sermons: Listen Online Choose Well by The FAMiLY LEADER Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

  2. Oct 22

    Why and How to Read the Old Testament

    Most Bible reading plans include an Old Testament column, but strange names, ancient customs, and unfamiliar history can make it the hardest part to read well. In this episode, Mark and Emily explain why the Old Testament is essential for understanding God, the gospel, and the New Testament. They also share practical tools for reading it with depth, from cross-references and study Bibles to paying attention to genre and the bigger story pointing to Christ. Episode Highlights 00:40 — Why the Old Testament column in the Spiritual Workout Plan feels so challenging 01:52 — Reason #1: It's part of the Bible God wrote 02:47 — Why you can't fully understand the New Testament without the Old 04:56 — The Samaritan woman and what Jesus meant about worship 05:36 — Reading someone else's mail: the point is who it's from 06:41 — What the Old Testament teaches us about God and human dignity 07:54 — New Testament words as "hyperlinks" to the Old Testament 09:45 — Best practice: Let people who know it well help you 11:34 — Reading by genre: law, history, wisdom, poetry, and prophecy 13:01 — Narrative describes, it doesn't always prescribe 14:33 — David and Goliath in the bigger story of 1 Samuel 16:20 — How the Old Testament points forward to Christ 17:35 — Echoes, not allegory: Song of Solomon and Ephesians 5 19:26 — Encouragement for the lifelong work of digging into God's Word Resources Cornerstone Sermons: Listen OnlineSpiritual Workout PlanThe Bible Project: Old TestamentThe Bible Project: New Testament Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

  3. Oct 15

    Grow to Go: What Does Healthy Church Growth Look Like? w/ Alex Tuckness

    Mark sits down with Alex Tuckness, Iowa State professor and longtime Cornerstone elder, to talk honestly about church growth. They trace Cornerstone's history, talk about church growth, and unpack why big isn't necessarily bad, but growth isn't always good. Episode Highlights 00:26 — Introducing Alex Tuckness, Iowa State professor and longtime Cornerstone elder 01:17 — Alex's history at Cornerstone, from Ames Middle School to the South Auditorium 02:07 — Early growth and years of constant building campaigns 04:24 — Remembering the era of five services 05:52 — The last auditorium and becoming a multiplying church 07:19 — Recent growth and reaching the limits of the property 09:47 — A feasibility study for growth 12:45 — Meeting real needs in rural Iowa 13:45 — Why Cornerstone doesn't treat online church as church 14:33 — Local elders and a compassionate approach to multisite 17:07 — Are there bad ways to grow? 20:00 — The danger of pursuing growth for growth's sake 21:08 — There is no perfect church size 22:18 — Spectators and the call to real community 24:31 — Different sizes, one body: gospel churches across Ames Resources Cornerstone Sermons: Listen Online Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

  4. Oct 8

    Essentials of the Local Church: Leadership

    In the final episode of the Essentials of the Local Church series, Mark and Emily talk about church leadership. Mark explains why Cornerstone is led by a plurality of elders, what the Bible says elders actually do, and how church members can be a blessing to the people who shepherd them. Episode Highlights 00:26 — Wrapping up the Essentials of the Local Church series 01:09 — Cornerstone's distinctive: elder-led, congregationally approved 02:32 — Other models of church governance: single elder, congregational, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Catholic 06:01 — Why faithfulness to a model matters more than the model itself 06:54 — How elders are chosen at Cornerstone 08:35 — What elders do: model Christlikeness, guard doctrine, shepherd, and lead 11:19 — Biblical qualifications for elders 12:07 — Why a growing church needs a small, consistent elder team 12:44 — Is administrative oversight too "businessy"? 14:19 — How to bring a concern to the elders at a big church 15:58 — View, voice, and vote: the layers of leadership at Cornerstone 18:36 — How the elders protect Mark from trying to be everything for everyone 19:59 — How church members can bless their elders 22:12 — Becoming a "grace detective" 23:50 — Five tensions every church leadership team navigates 25:16 — Why the aim is faithfulness, not growth 31:26 — The biggest takeaway: character over structure Resources Cornerstone Sermons: Listen Online Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

  5. Oct 1

    Essentials of the Local Church: Communion

    Mark and Emily continue the Essentials of the Local Church series by digging into communion. They explore why a God who loves remembrance gave his people a repeated meal, what Paul's warnings actually mean, who should take it (including kids), how different traditions understand the bread and the cup, and why Mark wishes Cornerstone could celebrate it every single week. Episode Highlights 01:01 — Baptism happens once, communion is repeated remembrance 02:11 — Reading 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 and the Passover roots of the Lord's Supper 03:15 — Baptism as initiation, communion as a gospel rehearsal 03:41 — What the early church practiced 06:19 — How often should a church take communion? 07:37 — Who is communion for? 08:52 — Eating and drinking judgment: Paul's warning to believers, not outsiders 10:33 — Should a believer ever abstain from communion? 12:19 — Kids and communion: should they wait until baptism? 16:21 — Mark's communion cup confession from the Cornerstone stage 18:02 — Who should administer communion? 18:46 — Four views of the elements: transubstantiation to mere symbolism 22:16 — Why Mark wishes we took communion weekly 23:03 — Communion outside the local church: small groups, conferences, and weddings Resources Cornerstone Sermons: Listen Online Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

  6. Sep 24

    Essentials of the Local Church: Baptism

    Mark and Emily continue the Essentials of the Local Church series by digging into baptism: what it is, why the church practices it, and what the Bible actually says about it. Mark walks through the biblical case for baptism by immersion upon a credible profession of faith, unpacks the differences between paedobaptism and credobaptism (including the Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed views on infant baptism), and gets practical about who should be baptized, when, and by whom. Episode Highlights 01:36 — Mark's core phrase: baptism is the New Testament way to say "I believe" 02:43 — What the Greek word baptizo actually means: full immersion 04:12 — Romans 6: the picture of dying and rising with Christ in the water 06:11 — Defining the terms: paedobaptism vs. credobaptism 07:42 — Cornerstone's position: credo baptism upon a credible profession of faith 10:12 — Comparing the Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed views of infant baptism 16:30 — Comparing baptism to a wedding: taking it seriously without over-formalizing it 19:56 — The Ethiopian eunuch's story and why context matters for readiness 21:05 — Wisdom around timing: why Cornerstone doesn't rush a 13-year-old to the tank 24:01 — Walking kids through the decision: Mark and Emily's own family experiences 29:01 — Why a tank instead of a natural body of water 29:56 — Why there's no such thing as private baptism 31:28 — Who should baptize you, and why it's not always the pastor 34:00 — Mark's take on rebaptism: "you're only baptized once" 39:33 — Stories of transformation from Cornerstone's baptism services Resources Get Baptized at CornerstoneBaptism StoriesCornerstone's Guidance for Children and BaptismCornerstone Sermons: Listen Online Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

  7. Sep 17

    Essentials of the Local Church: Prayer

    In this episode of the Essentials of the Local Church series, Mark and Emily get personal about prayer: naming the excuses, fears, and false theology that keep even seasoned believers from a vibrant prayer life. They unpack why prayer flows from who God is rather than how eloquently we speak to him, and Mark closes with news of upcoming nights of prayer and worship at Cornerstone. Episode Highlights 00:59 — Why prayer is hard even when we know we're supposed to do it 01:17 — Mark: What prayerlessness reveals about the heart 02:00 — Two things prayerlessness exposes: self-sufficiency and a distant view of God 04:01 — A hard confession about the American church's prayerlessness, compared to believers in Africa 05:41 — The theology question underneath it all: do you believe God actually wants to give you what you need? 06:02 — Why the first thing you think of about God shapes your entire prayer life 06:35 — The Lord's Prayer: coming to a Father who is both holy and generous 09:00 — "Start with God": prayer flows from who you're talking to, not how you talk 09:26 — Emily: Losing childlike softness with God as life gets busier and more task-driven 11:53 — Why Jesus ties real prayer to childlike dependence 13:14 — Emily: God doesn't need a "put-together" church, he wants a praying one 13:54 — Romans 8 and the Spirit of adoption crying out "Abba, Father" 16:17 — Why it's worth praying "awkwardly" instead of staying comfortable and silent 18:34 — Announcing upcoming nights of prayer and worship at Cornerstone Resources Cornerstone Sermons: Listen Online Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

  8. Sep 10

    Essentials of the Local Church: Gathering on Sundays

    In this episode of the Essentials of the Local Church series, Mark and Emily dig into a question every Christian eventually asks: why do we actually gather on Sundays, and what makes that gathering distinctly biblical rather than just a cultural habit? They unpack the difference between what Scripture commands and what it simply describes, walk through the non-negotiable essentials of a healthy church gathering, and make the case for why showing up in person still matters in a digital, AI-saturated world. Episode Highlights 00:27 — Continuing the Essentials of the Local Church series: why we gather on Sunday 00:59 — Prescriptive vs. descriptive: not everything the early church did is a command for us 01:40 — The "casting out demons" test for telling command apart from example 03:03 — Reading the whole New Testament together instead of proof-texting single examples 03:32 — Transcultural essentials vs. the culturally shaped ways churches gather 04:21 — Language, buildings, and church merch: culturally fine vs. actually anti-biblical 06:39 — The essentials: the Word, worship, and prayer when the church gathers 08:16 — The ordinances: baptism as initiation, communion as ongoing remembrance 09:09 — Spiritual gifts and the tangible sense that God is present when his people gather 09:54 — Why gathering is vertical before it's horizontal 14:53 — What embodied gathering offers that even the best sermon on YouTube can't 16:40 — Supplement, not substitute: using online church well 19:10 — "Get to church": real compassion for real barriers, no patience for excuses 20:21 — Why the "weaker" parts of the body are indispensable to the gathering 21:44 — Come to give, not just to receive — and watch for the person sitting alone Resources Cornerstone Connection GroupsCornerstone Sermons: Listen Online Ask Mark a Question! Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!

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About

Produced by Cornerstone Church of Ames, The Equip Podcast is designed to provide insight, resources and Biblical wisdom to help us live faithful and fruitful lives together. 

Information

  • Creator
    Cornerstone Church of Ames
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    360
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Cornerstone Church of Ames
  • Show Website
    Equip Podcast

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