Dear Friends,The weather is now cooler, the Fall color has been outstanding this year and that means Christmas is coming! I know it seems too early, but it's not too early for me to announce to you our Advent Sermon Series this December at Cornerstone.I love the anticipation and celebration of Christmas at Cornerstone. I think it's my favorite time of year. We have many upcoming opportunities to celebrate together and rejoice in what our Savior has done. I hope that you will take advantage of as many of those opportunities as you can.Our Advent Sermon Series will be on Names of the Messiah – a study of the four titles or names given to Jesus in Isaiah 9:6 - "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” We will begin this series on December 3rd after we have concluded our series on Romans 8.Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. These are just some of the wonderful names given to our Savior. It will be our great privilege to mediate on and study these four names that are chock full of meaning for who Jesus is and what He came to do.You will notice some new artwork and design around the church building as we get ready for Christmas. This is thanks to the vision of Jane Bise and artwork of Sarah Robins Powell. I'm thankful for their gifts to help us focus on the wonderful names of our Savior and what He came to do for us.Ultimately, Advent is about anticipating the Incarnation, a child being born who is God with us. C.S. Lewis describes this wonderful event so beautifully in his book on Miracles:
The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. Just as every natural event is the manifestation at a particular place and moment of Nature’s total character, so every particular Christian miracle manifests at a particular place and moment the character and significance of the Incarnation.In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still, if embryologists are right, to recapitulate in the womb ancient and pre-human phases of life; down to the very roots and seabed of the Nature He has created. But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him. One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders. Or one may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in mid-air, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the death-like region of ooze and slime and old decay; then up again, back to colour and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing that he went down to recover.
Let's us prepare Him room this season.by His grace and to His praise,Wilson |
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