Pastor's Corner - Happy New Year!

Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! It is good to be in a new year to worship our Lord together and to look forward to all that God will do in 2016!
As we begin a new year, I wanted to highlight a few ministries at Cornerstone.
  • Ministry of the Word.  This Sunday we will begin a new sermon series in Ephesians called Sovereign Grace. Ephesians is my favorite book in the Bible. It has had and will continue to be one of the most influential things that I have ever read or studied. Martin Lloyd-Jones called Ephesians the most majestic expression of the Gospel - he calls it simply sublime. Ephesians is about God – that is the first and foremost thing we learn from this letter. The Apostle Paul gets to it right away. But most especially we will see that Ephesians is about God’s Sovereign Grace. Join us as we study this profound biblical book that teaches us the theology of the Christian life and the application of that theology to the Christian life.
  • Ministry to Women. I'm very excited to be taking part in our women's ministry "mini-conference" that begins this Tuesday. All the women of the church and guests are invited and encouraged to join the study that begins January 12th* for food, fellowship and words of wisdom from four guest speakers. We will meet on Tuesday mornings from 9:15am to 11:15am at the church. The sessions include:
  1. Jan. 12:   "How To Share Your Faith" - Reverend Ralph Keel (Dir. of Coaches Ministry, FCA)
  2. Jan. 19:   "How To Pray" - Reverend Wilson Shirley (Sr. Pastor Cornerstone PCA)
  3. Jan. 26:   "How To Know God Through His Word" - Gretchen McKee (Women's Ministry Speaker, Christ PCA)
  4. Feb. 2:     "How To Minister to Women" - Julia Freedman (Women's Ministry Speaker, North Shore Fellowship PCA)
              *Please note that the evening edition will start on January 19th.
  • Ministry to Students. This is an exciting announcement from the student ministry team: We are excited to announce Roots Winter Retreat coming up this February. We will be joining with some churches in our Presbytery for a big retreat February 26-28 at Camp Toknowhim. Our theme for the retreat is "Identity." Reid Jones will be our speaker. The cost for the retreat is $100. This includes food, lodging, transportation, and a t-shirt. The retreat is for both junior and senior high students. This is a great opportunity for our students to be challenged in their faith and growth in the Lord.
Looking forward to worshipping with you on the next Lord's Day.
Your pastor,
Wilson
Worship Notes: January 10, 2016
  • This Sunday we will begin our new year sermon series, Sovereign Grace: A Study of Ephesians, Ephesians 1:1-2.
  • In preparation for the sermon: Martin Lloyd-Jones called Ephesians the most majestic expression of the Gospel. He calls it simply sublime.
  • A new hymn for the week: Beautiful Savior
  • Click here for this week's bulletin.
  • We are podcasting! Catch up on sermons on iTunes.

Wilson's Weekly

  • Practically every single story in the headlines these days has a theological root to it - wether we realize it or not! Al Mohler, in his daily briefing, offers some VERY interesting theological incites on the Bundys standoff in Oregon. Click here to read source article. 
  • Justin Taylor over at the Gospel Coalition put together a VERY informative article on reading through the Bible in a year along with a ton of resources. Click here.
  • Donald Witney, author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, has a new book out called Praying the Bible. I'm currently reading this book and hoping include into may daily walk with God this discipline this year.Click here.
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