From Ezekiel Hopkins (1633-1690) on God’s glory in the incarnation of His Son:
“As we give glory to God, we do not contribute anything to his glory, or add jewels to his crown, but we admire his attributes as God expresses them. So here [Luke 2:13-14], the angels sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest’-that is, let the earth behold with admiration and acknowledge the attributes of God that now shine forth in the incarnation of His Son.
The abasing nativity of Jesus Christ is the highest advancement of God’s glory.
This is a strange riddle to human reason, which is prone to judge it a most preposterous course for God to raise his glory out of the humiliation and abasement, yea, out of the very ruin of His Son.
What if God had thrown open heaven for all of the world to see his majestic throne with ten thousand flaming spirits ready to do his will: would not this be more expressive of his glory than to cloister deity up in clay? To expose him who was God to the miseries of wretched man, and to an ignoble and cursed death? The manger in which he lay, and the cross on which he hung, were not high places of any glorious appearance!
Carnal reason may think this way, but the apostle, in speaking of the incarnation of Christ, calls it the ‘mystery of godliness’ (1 Timothy 3:16). It is a riddle, and a mysterious one: not only how it should be that the eternal and infinite God would unite himself in oneness of person with frail and despicable flesh, but why it should be done!”
Glory to God in the highest!
Merry Christmas, Cornerstone Bible Church!
Christmas Card Post Office. Please be sure to pick up any remaining Christmas cards this Sunday. A big thank you to the Roots staff and students for serving the church in this way.
Holiday Calendar. There will be one 10:30 a.m. service on both Christmas Day and New Year Day. (Equipping Hour and Rock Ministry will not meet those days.)
Church-Wide Prayer. Sunday, January 8th at 9 a.m. What a privilege to pray to our Father with our brother and sisters because of Jesus’ work on the cross! Prayer is God’s chosen means to accomplish His will…and we get to be part of that.
Cornerstone Bible Institute. Launches Wednesday, January 11th at 7pm. More information on Sunday!
Women of the Word. Ladies, join us on January 14th at 9 a.m. as we continue to study the lives of the women from the Bible and their great God. Guests and students 7th grade and up are welcome.
Pre-Service Prayer Meeting will resume on January 15th at 8:15am. There will be no pre-service prayer meeting on December 25th, January 1st and January 8th.
CBC Annual Retreat. Mark your calendars and start saving for our annual CBC Retreat: February 17-20, 2023 at Oak Glen Christian Conference Center.
Order of Service
Welcome and Call to Worship
Singing
Scripture Reading (Isaiah 53)
Pastoral Prayer
Sermon
Singing