Dear Cornerstone Family,

It’s a special day in the life of our church. Two weeks ago, Mr. Matthew Michaud and Mr. Carl Ware were elected as deacons, and Mr. Sean Kelley and Mr. William Tice Jr. were elected as ruling elders by you, the membership of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. In worship today, we have the joyous privilege of ordaining and installing these men as officers of the church.

In the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America, ordination is defined this way: “the authoritative admission of one duly called to an office in the Church of God, accompanied with prayer and the laying on of hands, to which it is proper to add the giving of the right hand of fellowship” (BCO. 17.2). In other words, ordination is the way we formally recognize the call of God and the church on the lives of these men. We are affirming their qualification and gifting to carry out the functions of the office to which they are called and are conferring to them authority to carry out the ministry of their office as representatives of the church.

This formal definition of ordination is describing a practice that we witness in Scripture in passages like Acts 6:6 and 13:3, where the Apostles laid their hands on and prayed over chosen men, setting them apart for a particular ministry. Furthermore, it’s a practice Paul references and commands in the pastoral epistles thus normalizing ordination as a good and necessary practice for the existence and health of the church (see 1 Timothy 4:14, 5:12; Titus 1:5).

For today’s special service, we are reentering (finally!) the series we began in the spring, 1 Corinthians: Growing Together in Wisdom. We are reentering 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 in a passage where Paul’s concern is leadership. As we ordain new officers and reflect on leadership, be instructed by the language Paul employs to describe leaders in the church, “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (v. 1). May that always be so of the leaders of Cornerstone.

Shifting gears, we are a few weeks away from the start of Midweek at Cornerstone. Beginning on Wednesday, September 18, we will gather for a delicious meal, table fellowship, Kids Club, Youth Group, Vespers, and choir. Truly, there is something for everyone at Midweek at Cornerstone.

For our midweek Vespers series, we will take a slow walk through what is arguably the most important prayer ever uttered, the Lord’s Prayer, in a series I’ve entitled, Pray This Way: Letting the Lord’s Prayer Shape Your Prayers. Over the course of ten weeks, we will reflect on each stanza of the Lord’s Prayer in order to better understand the what, how, and why of each petition. We will also practice praying together, letting the Lord’s Prayer shape our communion with the Lord and one another. I’m really looking forward to this. Please join us!

Pray This Way: Letting the Lord’s Prayer Shape our Prayers

Sept. 18 – Our Father in Heaven

Sept. 25 – Holy is your Name

Oct. 2 – Your Kingdom Come

Oct. 9 – Your Will Be Done

Oct. 16 – Give us our Daily Bread

Oct. 23 – Forgive us our Debts

Oct. 30 – Lead us Not into Temptation

Nov. 6 – Deliver us From Evil

Nov. 13 – The Power and the Glory

Nov. 20 – A Cornerstone Prayer Meeting

Your servant,