July 31, 2022

*Call to Worship | Psalm 73:25-26 | Blake Arnoult

God invites and calls us into his presence to worship him.

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Leader:  Whom have I in heaven but you?

People: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

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*Song of Adoration | Arise O God and Shine

We begin by responding with praise to God for who he is and for what he does.

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Arise O God and shine in all Thy saving might

And prosper each design to spread Thy glorious light

Let healing streams of mercy flow

That all the earth Thy truth may know

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Bring distant nations near to sing Thy glorious praise

Let every people hear and learn Thy holy ways

Reign mighty God assert Thy cause

And govern by Thy righteous laws

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Put forth Thy glorious power, that everyone may see

And earth present her store, in converts born to Thee.

God, our own God, His Church will bless,

And fill the world with righteousness.

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To God the only wise the one immortal King

Let hallelujahs ring from every living thing

Let all that breathe on every coast

Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost

Music and Lyrics: William Hurn, Chris Miner

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*Confession of Faith | Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch.15 Of Repentance Unto Life

With the church in history we confess a basic statement of what Christians believe.

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Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace, the doctrine whereof is to be preached by every minister of the gospel, as well as that of faith in Christ.

By it, a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature, and righteous law of God; and upon the apprehension of his mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk with him in all the ways of his commandments.

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*Song of Confession | Come Boldly To The Throne Of Grace

Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs are simply prayers that are sung. We respond in repentance and praise for God’s redemptive work in Christ.

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Come boldly to the throne of grace

Ye wretched sinners come

And lay your load at Jesus' feet

And plead what He has done

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"How can I come?" some soul may say

"I'm lame and cannot walk

My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth

I sign but dare not talk"

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He makes the dead to hear His voice

He makes the blind to see

The sinner lost He came to save

And set the prisoner free

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Come boldly to the throne of grace

Though lost and blind and lame

Jehovah is the sinner's Friend

And ever was the same

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Poor bankrupt souls who feel and know

The hell of sin within

Come boldly to the throne of grace

The Lord will take you in

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Chorus

Music and Lyrics: D. Herbert, Brian T. Murphy, Clint Wells

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Confession of Sin | Psalm 32:1-4 | Blake Arnoult

We fight the temptation to hide our sin and instead acknowledge it openly to God, but we do so in light of the grace offered in Jesus.

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1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

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^{Assurance of Pardon | Psalm 32:5 | Blake Arnoult}

The good news of the gospel is that we are forgiven in Jesus Christ. This assurance is based on God’s words of promise and it is therefore certain.

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5 I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

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*Song of Response | Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

We respond in repentance and praise for God’s redemptive work in Christ.

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Dear refuge of my weary soul,

On Thee, when sorrows rise

On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,

My fainting hope relies

To Thee I tell each rising grief,

For Thou alone canst heal

Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,

For every pain I feel

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But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,

I fear to call Thee mine

The springs of comfort seem to fail,

And all my hopes decline

Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?

Thou art my only trust

And still my soul would cleave to Thee

Though prostrate in the dust

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Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,

And shall I seek in vain?

And can the ear of sovereign grace,

Be deaf when I complain?

No still the ear of sovereign grace,

Attends the mourner's prayer

Oh may I ever find access,

To breathe my sorrows there

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Thy mercy seat is open still,

Here let my soul retreat

With humble hope attend Thy will,

And wait beneath Thy feet,

Thy mercy seat is open still,

Here let my soul retreat

With humble hope attend Thy will,

And wait beneath Thy feet

Music and Lyrics: Anne Steele, Kevin Twit

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Prayer of Thanksgiving

We offer our gratitude to God in prayer in response to his gifts and blessings to his people and ask that he make us faithful managers of these gifts.

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Song of Thanks | Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

As we offer our prayers so we also offer up our thanks in song.

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Jesus, I my cross have taken,

All to leave and follow Thee.

Destitute, despised, forsaken,

Thou from hence my all shall be.

Perish every fond ambition,

All I’ve sought or hoped or known.

Yet how rich is my condition!

God and heaven are still my own.

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Let the world despise and leave me,

They have left my Savior, too.

Human hearts and looks deceive me;

Thou art not, like them, untrue.

O while Thou dost smile upon me,

God of wisdom, love, and might,

Foes may hate and friends disown me,

Show Thy face and all is bright.  

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Soul, then know thy full salvation

Rise o’er sin and fear and care

Joy to find in every station,

Something still to do or bear.

Think what Spirit dwells within thee,

Think what Father’s smiles are thine,

Think that Jesus died to win thee,

Child of heaven, canst thou repine.

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Haste thee on from grace to glory,

Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.

Heaven’s eternal days before thee,

God’s own hand shall guide us there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission,

Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,

Hope shall change to glad fruition,

Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

Music and Lyrics: Henry Lyte, Bill Moore

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Prayer for Christ’s Church

We lift up our requests to God knowing that he hears us when we pray.

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*Reading of Scripture | 2 Corinthians 7:5-13 | Blake Arnoult

God reveals himself and his work and speaks to us his people through his Word.

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5 When we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are comforted.

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Pastor: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

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The Preaching of the Word | Rev. Blake Arnoult

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“Good Grief”

2 Corinthians: The God Of All Comfort

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Pastoral Prayer

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Sacrament of Communion

Sacraments are visible signs of the invisible grace of God - what Christ does by his Holy Spirit within us. Communion (also called the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist), as the distribution of the elements of bread and wine, symbolizes a meal. Communion is a sign of fellowship. That sign signifies more than just the future heavenly fellowship that is to come. The outward sign signifies the inner reality that sinners already experience fellowship with God in the Spirit because of Jesus. Communion is not a meal for good people. It functions as a renewing seal to desperate sinners of that fellowship we have with our holy and gracious God.

You will be invited to come forward. If you are not a Christian we encourage you to spend this time in reflection on what you’ve seen and heard in the worship. Children who have not received their first communion are welcome and encouraged to come forward with their families to witness their partaking. We invite children who are ready to make a public profession of faith in Christ to arrange a meeting with the elders, and thus become “communicants” at the Lord’s Table.

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Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Lift up your hearts!

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

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Prayer of Thanksgiving and Words of Institution

Pastor: Let us proclaim the mystery of the faith:

People: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Hallelujah!

Pastor: Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us. Hallelujah!

People: Therefore, let us keep the feast.

Pastor: The gifts of God for the people of God.

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Please let an usher know if it is difficult for you to come forward. We would be happy to serve you at your seat. All communion bread is gluten-free. All communion wine is grape juice.

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A communion prayer for those searching for the truth:

Lord Jesus, you claim to be the way, the truth and the life. If what you claim is true, please guide me, teach me, and open to me the reality of who you are. Give me the ability to follow you no matter what it might cost me. Give me an understanding for you that is coherent, convincing, and leads to the life that you promise. Amen.

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Communion Song | Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

We celebrate our communion in faith and song.

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Come Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

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Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Hither by Thy help I’m come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

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O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above

Music and Lyrics: Robert Robinson

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Departing Song | Doxology

We begin to end in faith and song.

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/ Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. /

// Amen //

Music and Lyrics: Thomas Ken, Thomas Tallis

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*Benediction | 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 | Blake Arnoult

God sends us out with his blessing. A benediction is not a prayer. We don’t bow our heads. We lift them up and even lift up our hands to receive his blessing as we are sent out as participants in his mission to the city of man.

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16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. `

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Fall Kick-off Party

August 21, directly after the service

Join us for our fall bash where we gather to kick off the start of our fall ministries! More details will be coming soon!

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Mailing Address Update

Our mailing address has changed! Please send any mail for Cornerstone to our new address below!

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Cornerstone Houston

1415 S Voss STE 110 #148

Houston, TX 77057

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Fall Ministries Coming Soon!

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Men and Women’s Bible Studies

Beginning Wednesday, September 7

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Adult Teaching

Sunday, September 11

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Youth Teaching

Sunday, September 18

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Children’s Sunday School

Sunday, September 18

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Check out our website to see all of our events for the fall and subscribe to our calendar!

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