Newsletter | January 27, 2023

Dear Church Family,

On Thursday of this week I had the opportunity to speak at Stanley Cross' funeral. My time to speak followed some words from Bill Sneed where he shared the amazing story of Stanley praying to receive Christ. Below is the homily I shared called, "It's Never Too Late!" I hope these words are encouraging to you, and maybe God will use them to encourage you to share the Gospel with someone.

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39–43 ESV)

In the year of our Lord 2023, many people do not know this story … and yet this is one the greatest stories during the time that Jesus was alive on this earth. There are lots of great stories about Jesus like: turning water into wine, healing people who were blind or very sick, and Jesus even raised a dead man to life named Lazarus!

But this story is one of my favorites because it reminds us that it is never too late to believe in Jesus!

You see, many go through life trying to live their life without God in one of three ways:

There are those who reject God and simply do not believe.
There are others who are apathetic towards God and just don’t really care about religious things.
There are those who willfully reject God by their words and their actions.

You can see all three of these examples in this story.

In the story we have before us today, we find Jesus being unjustly crucified because He was flat-out rejected by the Jews and the religious leaders of His day. They could not stand Him, and so they did everything in their power to be rid of Him. Jesus truly was "canceled."

In biblical times, Roman crucifixion was reserved for the very worst of society. This awful form of execution was used to show the watching world NOT to break Roman law or go against Roman rule. Crucifixion was the worst form of torture.

And so apparently in this story it was “crucifixion day” because Jesus was being sentenced to be crucified along with two other criminals. Some refer to one of them as the "thief on the cross."

We don’t know the exact crimes committed by the criminals, but one of them freely professed that he deserved to be there and punished for his deeds. The other criminal, who was hardened in his heart, “railed” at Jesus, taunting Him to save himself.

But not the criminal who knew he was getting what he deserved. He knew that he was not coming down off that cross because again, he knew his punishment was just. But he also knew that the one hanging next to him could save his soul from eternal punishment. And so he says to Jesus, “Remember me … Jesus, ... remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

What an amazing and simple act of faith. … And Jesus says to him some of the most amazing and comforting words ever spoken — “Truly, I say to you, TODAY you will be with me in paradise!”

This story shows us that it is NEVER too late to trust in Christ! IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO TRUST IN JESUS!

Think about it: this criminal was dying — he could not save himself. Nor did he have time to go and right all the wrongs that he had committed in his life. This criminal could not earn his freedom … and yet, we know that he is in heaven right now with the Lord Jesus because of the amazing grace extended to him.

When Jesus said to the criminal that he would be with him in paradise, it is an interesting word that Jesus chooses here to basically say, heaven. Paradise is heaven. In the Old Testament paradise is the same word used for the Garden of Eden. And so Jesus deliberately chooses this word to remind us of the way things were before the Fall, before sin entered the world, it was paradise with God forever.

You too can enter paradise as we believe that Stanley did on January 22, 2023. Not because he was a good person, not because he was a hard worker, not because he bought his freedom. No … it was because Stanley believed in the One who was crucified for His sin, and he believed in the only One who could save his soul — the Lord Jesus Christ.

If it was not too late for the criminal on the cross, and it was not too late for Stanley, then it is not too late for anyone!

Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST and you will be saved!

See you Sunday!

by His grace and to His praise,

Pastor Wilson

Preparation for Worship

JANUARY 29, 2023

This Sunday's Sermon: “The Gospel Of God: PROPITIATION”

ROMANS 3:21-26 (ESV)

Wilson’s Weekly

Pastor Wilson does not personally endorse every thing said or written in these links but hopes these articles and/or podcasts will be helpful for Christians in cultivating a biblical worldview.

Cornerstone Prayer Requests

Pray for church members caring for family - Lora Abernathy, Diana Akridge, Bryan Gassaway, Rick McCann, Randy Petcher, Mike Bayless, Bill and JoAnn Sneed, Kyle Mosier, and Susan Dupré.

Pray for healing -Mary Allen Junen, Matthew Lawrence, Wendorfs, Phil Freeze, Gail Ricks, Bob Boerner, and Beverly Park.

Pray for Gemma Cross and the Cross family in the loss of Gemma’s husband, Stanley, this past week.

Pray for our nursing home resident - Ruby Petcher

Pray for our expectant mothers - Amy Eckenrode (July), Andrea Mace (July), Ashley Collete (August), and the Kawell adoption.

Pray that the Lord would raise up an assistant pastor to serve at Cornerstone.

Pray for our Missional Partnerships - Sacred Road Ministries (Chris and Mary Granberry) and Southwood Presbyterian Church, Huntsville, AL (Pastor Will Spink).

Announcements

New Members Class - Begins next Sunday, February 5th, during the Sunday School hour in the Family Life Center. Email office@cornerstonehuntsville.org to register.

FOUNDATIONS - Join us for a meal on Wednesday evenings at 5:30pm. Afterwards discipleship opportunities for all ages are offered from 6:15 to 7:15pm. A nursery is provided. RSVP HERE

•Children’s Study: Survey of the Bible led by Paige McClure

•Youth Group Study: II Timothy led by Brian Russ

•Men’s Study: The Disciplines of a Godly Man led by Shep Park and Joey Shelton.
•Women’s Study: Confronting Jesus led by Heidi Honeywell.
•Seminar: Covenant Theology led by Ed Pendergrass.
•Leadership Training: Biblical Counseling led by Wilson Shirley.

Serving at FOUNDATIONS - We need helpers for the meal each week! If you are able to help, please sign up HERE

Cornerstone Men’s Retreat - Calling all men 18 and up, join us for a winter retreat on Spiritual Leadership in the Home, at Work, and in the Church. The retreat will be held February 24-25 at the Vision Retreat Center. Register HERE

RYM - For students 8th grade and up, RYM conference (July10-15) registration opens this week. Please email brian@cornerstonehuntsville.org to sign up and receive registration link.

Summer Mission Trips - We have two mission trip opportunities with our missional partners coming up this summer:

Joni and Friends Family Retreat (open to families) from June 25-30
- Email Paige McClure (paige@cornerstonehuntsville.org) if you are interested in attending.
Yakama Indian Reservation (ages 13 and up) from July 15-22
- We have a few spots left. Contact the church office at office@cornerstonehuntsville.org to sign up!

PLEASE SEE INFORMATION SHEETS IN THE SECTION BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS

Abounding - To learn more about Abounding initiative click HERE.

Serving Opportunity with our Covenant Children - We are in need of volunteers to care for our children in the nursery. If you are a member and would like to volunteer see Nursery Volunteer Sign-Up You may also email Christina Wendorf if you have questions at christina@cornerstonehuntsville.org

Bookshelf Ministry - Be sure to check out this resource ministry located in the Gathering Room. There are free books, tracts and other resources for you to take or give to someone.

ROOTS RETREAT 2023

UPCOMING RETREATS

Summer Mission Trip Opportunities

**CLICK TO EMAIL PAIGE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE TEAM**

Take a Hike!

Luke 5 is up and running! Training has begun. See Paul Wendorf to join the team!

Missions Moment

Each week we want to highlight one of our missional partnerships. Please take a moment to learn about these wonderful ministries that Cornerstone has the privilege of serving alongside.

This week's highlighted ministries:
Sacred Road Ministries

The Mission of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church is to be a community of Christ's followers who worship, grow, and serve together to glorify God in Huntsville and throughout the world.

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Please contact the church office by Thursday for changes or additions to prayer requests.

The Cornerstone Newsletter is a weekly publication emailed each Friday. To notify the church office of church members in the hospital or of births and deaths, or if you have a change of address or name, please contact office@cornerstonehuntsville.org or 256-489-4625.

Newsletter January 27, 2023