2026 Wk 2

WORSHIP SET 1

Great Things

GREETING to WORSHIP

Unity.

Activity:

Individual vs Pen between index fingers

Group vs Pen, index fingers to index fingers

Meaning:

Corporate Worship is a moment based on unity not individual performance.

Psalm 133:1–3 NASB95

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.

WORSHIP SET 2

How Can I Keep from Singing Your Praise

I Love You Lord

Evidence

CELEBRATION & GENEROSITY

Big Thank You to Dia Grant for putting away Christmas decor.

Our gifts and tithes make Christmas all year round…

In 2026 Cornerstone still plans to Be Here For You

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 NLT

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Here For You

We are still committed to “Bringing Hope to Find and Follow Jesus”

When people fall down

When people are cold and need a warm hand

And when people need someone to defend them when they are being attacked.

Jesus is our help in times of trouble

Psalm 46:1 NLT

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

Let’s PRAY

UPDATE

MidWeek

Next week, State of the Church, with a shared meal following the service.

SERIES: AlteredLIFE

Stacey Irvine, chicken nuggets…15 years…ER tongue swelling…couldn’t breath…starving herself to death.

Change her diet was a must…

according to Kenneth Berding In his book Bible Revival: Recommitting Ourselves to One Book. 2013

Like Stacey Irvine, I think the church is headed in that same direction…

We are loosing our breath,

our voice for truth is weakening, and

our lack of returning to God’s Word leaves us dry and weak.

You might say we’re killing ourselves spiritually.

It’s surely not for lack of resources;

Church on every corner

The Bible still the best seller

APPs everywhere

nevertheless, in our culture, we seem to be starving ourselves to death spiritually.

Amos 8:11–12 NLT

11 “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border* searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.

Famine In The Land

Why?

God was looking for REPENTANCE and he saw their COMPLACENCY…

This Famine was seen as both

punishment and opportunity

Suffering opened the door for repentance and an opportunity to change.

Thus we ask…

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. What does it mean when we say that Christians are to be “people of one book”?

Don’t we read other books?

That God’s Word is not just my final authority, but all followers’ final authority. (Eph. 4:5-6 One Lord, one Faith, one baptism… ONE BOOK).

We do read other books for they are encouraging but they must hinge on the Book.

Other books cannot preoccupy our time more than the Book.

2. What do you think are the main reasons for the sharp decline in Bible knowledge among Christians during recent times?

Stewart said last week that there is a decline in reading period— thus the Bible reading and comprehension is declining.

Busyness and increased opportunities

Talking to Harlan Stensaas his like stepping back in time when he was a teenager

today we have so many distractions, pleasure seeking, technology advancements, self-gratification, and lack of self-control.

Could it be that we are “Amusing Ourselves to Death.”?

These opportunities are compounded by attitudes and experiences that leave a “just get by—mediocre life” or a distaste for trusting God.

If we knew the Real God of the Bible— the one who made you— maybe our attitude of being distracted would be different?

Misplaced Priorities

Priorities are not as simple as “God first, family second, and church third.”

What does that expression mean anyway?

Every time I have to choose between reading my Bible and spending time with my children, should I read my Bible? No.

Priorities aren’t based upon a simple hierarchy; they require the proper balance of activities in relationship to one another.

But it is a fitting question to ask:

for a person who is working full-time, what is the appropriate quantity of time that should be spent (on average) with one’s spouse or children, in house or yard work, exercising and resting? 

How much time should you devote to building relationships with unbelieving neighbors or serving in your church? 

It is not as simple as “God first, family second, church third.” Priorities need to be weighed.

People’s expectations are miss guided, thus, we seek pleasure over a focus to develop our spiritual relationship with God.

We have believed the lie that, it is too difficult to know God.

Jesus said, “To know me is to know the Father,” thus we should shift our focus to knowing Jesus—and we do that through the a Word for he is the Word made flesh.

Unwarranted Overconfidence

Unwarranted overconfidence means having more confidence in your abilities, judgments, or knowledge than the evidence actually supports.

In simple terms, it’s being sure you’re right when you shouldn’t be.

We might say…“We already know more of the Bible than we put into practice anyway.”

It may be true along with the fact that we know a lot about the Bible because we grew up going to church, but it might be misguided. 

Someone who comes to know Christ later in life and devotes himself to reading and learning God’s Word will quickly surpass the person who relies upon the passive “learning” that he thinks he acquired from hanging around the church when he was young.

Yes, we may know a lot of Bible stories and facts— but have we come to a real knowledge who God is?

Like we mention—

Jesus said, “To know me is to know the Father,” thus we should shift our focus to knowing Jesus—and we do that through the a Word of God.

3. Look at Psalm 1:1–3. What are the characteristics of a person who meditates day and night on God’s Word?

According to Psalms 1, a person who

doesn’t follow the world,

doesn’t try to be like ungodly people, or

doesn’t refrain from taking on the attitude of those who mock God are people who value God’s Word thus they meditates day and night.

This action brings about many blessings.

4. How can we deal with the distractions of modern society?

Set boundaries and goals to value God’s Word daily—throughout the day.

Develop a love in spending time in the Word before other activities such as food, fun, family etc.

Honoring God and His Word is my number one job, obligation—because we love Him. We must see Him as “The Air I breath.”

5. How does a Christian go about setting priorities?

Make God’s Word a priority before other things along with setting goals in reading, pondering, and memorizing scripture.

Can we say what David said in Psalms 119:11

“I have hidden Thy word in my heart, that I may not sin against thee. … Thy word have I laid up in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Example:

Maybe, I need to seek God?

What measures would I go to hid God’s word in my home if our nation was over ran by ungodly people.

I remember how in Russia—they hid pages of the Bible and Christian songs inside potatoes.

If the Bible was restricted would you distribute pages of a Bible you own to others.

What would be your response if the Church was Closed next Sunday and a Soldier was stationed at the front door…?

Would you miss church or would you secretly. Try to meet with others.

Would God and God’s Word be a priority before other things?

6. Do you think that people who have grown up in Sunday schools and church youth groups sometimes possess an unwarranted overconfidence about their understanding of the Bible?

What should a person do who discovers that he or she is in this category?

Yes—

Do you believe that one could grow up in the church and it’s surroundings and be left full of knowledge about the book without a full fledge relationship with the Author.

Just because we can recall or recount stories May edge us towards feeling “I Got This”, when in all actuality we need the breath of God to bring His restoring Life every day.

7. Is busyness ever a legitimate excuse for not reading the Bible? Why or why not?

Not a really good excuse—it comes down to increasing the value of God’s Word above our busy schedule and reprioritizing our daily activities.

WHAT KIND OF THOUGHTS ARE YOU HAVING?

Could we be in a Famine of God’s Word?

Are you prepared for the future?

Does Psalm 1 seem daunting or is your appetite increasing to know God More?

Please stay on this journey with me on this Altered Life

Not to get more blessings

But to know the One who made us!

Plugged into Life is to be Plugged in to Jesus’ Life, eternal life.

Next Week

we will attempt to describe where our underlying distrust of the Bible comes from and

why we sometimes question its clarity and even doubt that it can speak a message to our complex twenty-first century setting.