Newsletter | March 31, 2023

Dear Church Family and Friends,

To be honest with you, this has been a tough week. As many of you know, one of our sister churches, Covenant PCA in Nashville, suffered a horrible tragedy. Horrible does not quite capture the real meaning ... it was pure evil. Only evil and demonic forces, that the Scripture clearly speaks about, can explain why something like this would happen. I know myself and others have close connections to this church and the community. We are hurting ... we are sad ... we are looking for hope.

And then tragedy struck our own community just one day later. Lord, have mercy on us!

Of course the best and only place we can find hope is in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is in His work on the cross that we place all our hope. It was on the cross that He conquered sin and death and that He disarmed the evil powers and authorities. Christ will have the last word, not evil. The Scriptures speak very clearly about this.

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For [Christ] must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:24–26 ESV)

The best words of hope that I have heard in the midst of all this tragedy is from the pastor of Covenant, Chad Scruggs, who lost his daughter in the shooting. He said, "Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again."

THAT IS EASTER HOPE! THAT IS RESURRECTION HOPE! In Christ our hope is found! That is what we will celebrate beginning this week, Holy Week. Hosanna in the highest! Jesus has come to save us from all our sin and sorrow.

Until Jesus comes again, let's remember that "He wept." He shares our sorrows for He was a man of sorrows.

Someone reminded me of this quote this past week that I think perfectly captures the heart of Christ. It is from C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew, part of The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Up till then he had been looking at the Lion's great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory's own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.

"My son, my son,'" said Aslan. "I know. Grief is great.”

See you Sunday as we celebrate and remember this hope.

by His grace and to His praise,
Pastor Wilson

Preparation for Worship

April 2, 2023

This Sunday's Sermon: “Hosanna! Jesus is King!”

Romans 1:1-6 (ESV)

Click here to access the latest bulletins, listen to sermons and to watch the live stream.
Hymn of the week: The Power of the Cross

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, Bill and JoAnn Sneed, Kyle Mosier, and Susan Dupré.

Pray for healing -Mary Allen Junen, Matthew Lawrence, Phil Freeze, Beverly Park, Elena Lewis, Suzi Bolton, and Abby Reese Wren.

Pray for our homebound friends - Ruby Petcher and Betty Baldwin

Pray for our expectant mothers - Amy Eckenrode (July), Andrea Mace (July), Ashley Collete (August), Christina Hall (August), Sami Pottorf (August), Denia Dillon (August), Melanie Bray (September), and the Kawell adoption.

Pray for healing and mercy for our sister church in Nashville, Covenant PCA, and for their community.

Pray for the Huntsville Police Department.

Pray for wisdom and guidance on Abounding initiatives.

Pray for our Missional Partnerships - Joni & Friends and Grace Covenant Church, Athens, AL (Pastor Jeff Hooker).

MISSIONS FUNDRAISER LUNCH

SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023

Announcements

Nursery Volunteers Needed! - We need help on Sundays to care for our children in the nursery. If you are a member and would like to volunteer please sign up HERE. You may also email Christina Wendorf if you have questions at christina@cornerstonehuntsville.org

Holy Week Schedule- Good Friday Communion Service, April 7th, at 6:00pm. Easter Sunday Services on April 9th at 8:30 and 11:00am.

Easter Worship Service Sign Up - We are looking forward to having your family and guests join us for our Easter Sunday Worship Services! Please help us make plans to accommodate everybody, and avoid overcrowding at each service, by signing up for the service your family and any guests plan to attend. We also highly encourage families to ride together to help with our current parking limitations. Please sign up HERE

Flower the Cross - We will continue the tradition started last year of decorating a large cross Easter morning on the lawn in front of the sanctuary. Please bring cut flowers either Saturday afternoon (water will be available to leave them in), or Easter morning, and arrange them in the cross. This will be a beautiful symbol to remind us of the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and to show the beauty of the cross to our congregation and neighbors.

Easter Brunch - Please make plans to join us for food and fellowship at our Easter Brunch on Sunday, April 9th, during the Sunday School hour in the FLC. We need volunteers to sign up to bring a dish. Please sign up HERE

Women’s Ministry - Join us for a Spring Shower to honor our expectant mothers and benefit HPRC on Sunday, April 16th, from 2pm-4pm, in the Fellowship Hall. RSVP by April 12th to heidi@cornerstonehuntsville.org

Creative Arts Ministry - Meeting now on Tuesdays at 9:30am. No experience necessary! Contact Suzann Dolan at sdolan73@aol.com for more information.

Cornerstone’s 10th Anniversary Celebration - Save the date for Sunday, May 7th. Look for more details coming soon!

VBS - “Summer Seaquest” is June 5th-8th. Registration is open! Click HERE to register. Email paige@cornerstonehuntsville.org with questions.

Abounding - Thank you to everyone who has participated in the Abounding initiative. Whether for the past three years, or more recently, the Lord has used your generosity to fulfill our mission and vision. The initiative concludes on March 31st, however, we invite you to continue to give as we begin new projects and plan for future ones. Final results of the initiative will be shared later this spring. Plans are underway to begin renovations and parking expansion this summer. More information will come on that in the next few months. If you have any questions please reach out to one of the church officers. Visit cornerstoneabounding.org to learn more about the Abounding initiative.

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.

Click HERE TO REGISTER

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:
Joni & Friends

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.

give

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 March 31, 2023