Dear Cornerstone Family,
Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you’re a visitor with us today, we want to thank you for taking time to worship with us. We sincerely hope you are warmly welcomed by those around you, and that your time in worship today will be a great blessing.
If this is your first time with us, you might notice it’s pretty tight in here. We want you to know we see that. As a partial answer to the good problem of growth at Cornerstone, we’re in the process of finishing a complete renovation of the bottom floor of our educational space. Once that space is finished, we’ll have a brand-new fellowship space and a greatly expanded overflow. We trust this expansion will give us a bit more elbow room in the Chapel.
By the way, renovation is moving along. Sheetrock is hung and painted. Sinks and toilets are in the bathrooms. It’s getting close! I’m not a prophet or a son of a prophet, but IF the renovation stays on schedule, we’ll be in the new space by April. Exciting!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The latter half of March will be chock full of opportunities to worship, reflect, and celebrate together. As hard as it is to believe, we’re one week away from Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. In order to help you be fully engaged with Cornerstone during Holy Week, I want to take a few moments to talk about upcoming services.
The Maundy Thursday communion service will be at 6:30 p.m. this year. The word “maundy” is an abbreviated form of the word mandate. It refers to the powerful display of Christ’s love as he washes his disciples feet and charges them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:35). This beautiful communion service lays important historical and theological foundations for all that will follow on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Speaking of Good Friday, we will gather for two services this year—at 5:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. This service is a powerful reflection on the Passion of Jesus Christ. Complete with choir and chamber orchestra, this service leads the worshiper into Christ’s darkest hour as together we survey the wondrous cross. Given the significant turnout for this service the last few years, we are asking you to register for either the 5:00 or the 7:00 service. Once we reach critical mass in a service, registration for that service will close. Please don’t delay!
Then, on Easter morn, we’ll gather three times—7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 10:45 a.m.—and rejoice in Christ’s victory over the grave. With three services, we will have plenty of space for family, friends, and neighbors to join us. If you haven’t done so yet, please take time this week to consider who you might invite to join us for Easter. I am already looking forward to preaching about our victorious Christ!
Your servant,
