Newsletter February 14, 2025
Newsletter February 14, 2025
Dear Church Family and Friends,
I was recently asked a very good question, "What is Biblical Counseling"?
At face value, we can break those two words out and define them pretty easily. Biblical Counseling is taking the words of Scripture and applying them to our lives in a way that helps us live wisely.
In the world of Biblical Counseling, it has been helpful to use more precision when trying to explain the mechanics of Biblical Counseling. So here is another way to define it. Biblical Counseling is knowing the person, praying for the person, and applying Scripture to minister to their particular needs. Hopefully, from these definitions, you can see that this type of counseling is different from secular therapy.
At Cornerstone, we seek to practice Biblical Counseling in the way we offer pastoral care to one another. We truly believe that the Word of God has real answers to minister to our souls. Many times this type of counseling is informal ... it happens while we are in the community together. It looks something like this, "Tell me about how you dealt with your particular illness or surgical procedure, I'm dealing with the same thing." Another example would be, "We are getting ready to send our child off to college, what are some things that you found helpful as you sought to give wise counsel to your children when you did the same thing?" Even more precise would be, "What are some passages of Scripture that have been helpful to you when you grieve?"
As you can see there are all types of situations in which we are equipping one another, building one another up, and speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:11-16). But sometimes there are acute needs that arise and you need some specific help and some very direct counsel. Where can you go for help? ... This is where being in the body of Christ can be tremendously helpful. At Cornerstone you have access to some very wise and godly elders and leaders who are ready to shepherd and help you.
But maybe you feel like you need something very specific. Perhaps if you are a woman, you feel that talking with another woman would be more helpful to you. Maybe your marriage needs a tuneup and you are not sure where to go for help. Whatever the case may be, if you are part of the Cornerstone family, the Lord has been working in our congregation now for many years and he has raised up a group of people who are being trained and equipped in Biblical Counseling and they are ready to serve you. If this is something you would like to take advantage of, please reach out to counseling@cornerstonehuntsville.org and we would love to connect you with someone who might be able to help you in our particular situation.
If you don't feel comfortable doing that, then pray that God would open up your eyes to seek out someone who perhaps has had similar experiences, similar struggles, a faithful Christian friend who can walk with you and offer you wise, biblical counsel.
No matter what situation you are in, know that God has already been gracious to you by allowing you to be a part of a church community that has as one of its core values as caring for one another.
Stay tuned for more ways in the future that your Session is seeking to equip and offer resources for our church to have access to Biblical Counseling.
See you Sunday!
by His grace and to His praise,
Pastor Wilson
Wilson’s Weekly
Pastor Wilson does not personally endorse everything said or written in these links but hopes these articles and/or podcasts will be helpful for Christians in cultivating a biblical worldview.
Preparation for Worship
February 16, 2025
This Sunday's Sermon:
“The Sermon on the Mount: Costly Love”
Matthew 5:43-47
Click here to access the latest bulletins, listen to sermons, and watch the live stream.
Prepare your heart for Praise and Adoration with our Spotify playlist.
Cornerstone Prayer Requests
Pray for church members caring for family - Diana Akridge, Susan Dupré, Kyle Mosier, Randy Petcher, Mike and Carol Wellfare, and the Barkleys (foster child).
Pray for healing - Susan Hoyt, Bob and Kathy Cassis, Dawn Chenault, Earl Myers, Tim and Gayle Ricks, Ruby Petcher, Marc Goldmon, Kathy Slaten, Butch Taylor, and others.
Pray for our homebound friends - Ruby Petcher, Betty Baldwin, Bill and Suzi Bolton.
Pray for our expectant mothers - Ashley Colette (March), Abby Junen (April), Andrea Mace (May), Rebecca Nunley (June), and the Kawell family (adoption).
Pray for our Missional Partnerships - Lincoln Village Ministry and Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church (Athens, AL).
Announcements
Foundations - Continues this Wednesday, February 19. Dinner begins at 5:30 pm, and discipleship classes for children, students, and adults start at 6:15 pm. “What is a Presbyterian, Anyway?” This adult class, taught by John Summers, will introduce the topic of Presbyterian Government and History and why it is important for the local church. Officer training will take place in the FLC Classroom. RSVP here.
New Members Class - Continues this week during the Sunday School hour in the classroom by the stairs.
Communicant’s Class - Begins this Sunday, February 16 in the Children’s Assembly Room. If your child is interested in becoming a communing member of Cornerstone, please contact Pastor Brian.
Men’s Retreat 2025 - February 21-23 at Alpine Camp for Boys in Mentone, AL. Register today here. The deadline to register is Monday, February 17.
Quiet Waters Family Retreat - June 8-13. Come join our interest meeting on Sunday, March 2 after the second service in the FLC. Please email morgan@cornerstonehuntsville.org to RSVP or with any questions.
Ladies’ Prayer Group - Resumes on Thursday, March 6. We’ll gather for a time of prayer at 10:00 am at the home of Micki Smith.
VBS Upward Bound - Save the Date! June 2-5. More details to come!
Lost and Found - Are you missing items? Check our Lost and Found on the west side of the building, across from the kitchen.
Hurricane Helene Donation Information - To donate to affected churches, you can give to our benevolence fund or directly to MNA Disaster Response here.
Workday at MNA
Disaster Response Warehouse
This Saturday, February 15, Andes Hoyt is leading a group to work at the MNA Disaster Response Warehouse in Rome, GA. Arrival time at the warehouse is 9:00 AM Eastern Time (8:00 AM Central). If you are interested in the workday or other disaster response opportunities, please email Andes Hoyt.
For additional information on the warehouse, click here.
The address for the warehouse is:
MNA Disaster Response Warehouse
4063 Martha Berry Highway
Rome, GA 30165
When paying online, please select “Men’s Ministry - Praying the Bible” under Giving Type.
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 ministry:
Join Lincoln Village for Saturday Serve Day on March 8!
Click the image below to learn more and sign up to volunteer!
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.
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.
1413 McClung Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35801
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