Presiding Minister: Revd George Mwaura

Please note that the video feed will go live from around 9:50 am and will be switched off after the service.
A separate video feed of the choir is available here.

Gathering Music

Welcome and Greetings

Prayer of Approach

Gracious and generous God, your Living Word gives us light for our path,
your Spirit provides us strength for our journey,
and your Love binds us together and makes us whole.
We praise and we thank you this day for your many mercies.
Help us as we come before you at this time to open our hearts and minds to you,
and to claim for ourselves – and for all your people – those things you have stored up for us
as we ask it in the name of Jesus.

Amen

Hymn: Teach me, my God and King

Teach me, my God and King,
in all things thee to see;
and what I do in anything
to do it as for thee.

A man that looks on glass,
on it may stay his eye;
or, if he pleaseth, through it pass,
and then the heaven espy.

All may of thee partake;
nothing can be so mean
which, with this tincture, For thy sake,
will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause
makes drudgery divine;
who sweeps a room, as for thy laws,
makes that and the action fine.

This is the famous stone
that turneth all to gold;
for that which God doth touch and own
cannot for less me told.

George Herbert (1593–1633)
CCL31580

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Lord, you have gifted the Church through the goodness of your Grace
to be your hands and do your work,
to be your voice and share your words,
to bring healing to a fallen world and broken lives make whole.
We pray for confidence to share your Word with others and for the opportunity to proclaim it.
Forgive our reluctance, our timidity.
We pray for wisdom to know what should be said and the moment in which to say it.
Forgive our reticence, our anxiety.
Forgive our ignorance, our self-reliance.
Be the centre of all we are, the Light by which we walk…

Amen

Kyrie

Prayer of the Week

Generous God,
whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power.
You turned the ordinary into the extraordinary at a wedding in Cana
and so we come to you this morning,
ready for you to transform our ordinariness into something extraordinary.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Isaiah 62: 1–5

Read by Cheryl Montgomery

Zion’s New Name

¹ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
² The nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
³ You will be a crown of splendour in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
⁵ As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.

NIV®

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hymn: In heavenly love abiding

In heavenly love abiding,
no change my heart shall fear;
and safe in such confiding,
for nothing changes here:
the storm may roar without me,
my heart may low be laid;
but God is round about me,
and can I be dismayed?

Wherever he may guide me,
no want shall turn me back;
my Shepherd is beside me,
and nothing can I lack;
his wisdom ever waketh,
his sight is never dim,
he knows the way he taketh,
and I will walk with him.

Green pastures are before me,
which yet I have not seen;
bright skies will soon be o’er me,
where darkest clouds have been;
my hope I cannot measure,
my path to life is free;
my Saviour has my treasure,
and he will walk with me.

Anna Laetitia Waring (1820–1920)
CCL31580

John 2: 1–11

Read by Bob Collard

Jesus Changes Water into Wine

¹ On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’

⁴ ‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’

⁵ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’

⁶ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from eighty to a hundred and twenty litres.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim.

⁸ Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’

They did so, ⁹ and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰ and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’

¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

NIV®

This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our light.

Meditations

By Revd George Mwaura

Musical Meditation

Prayers of Intercession

Led by Don Head

Hymn: Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face

Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face;
here would I touch and handle thing unseen;
here grasp with firmer hand the eternal grace,
and all my weariness upon thee lean.

Here would I feed upon the bread of God
here drink with thee the royal wine of heaven;
here would I lay aside each earthly load,
here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.

Mine is the sin, but thine the righteousness;
mine is the guilt, but thine the cleansing blood;
here is my robe, my refuge and my peace —
thy blood, thy righteousness, O Lord, my God.

I have no help but thine; nor do I need
another arm save thine to lean upon;
it is enough, my Lord, enough indeed;
my strength is in thy might alone.

Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
CCL31580

The Peace

Our Saviour Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Table Preparation

The Eucharistic Prayer

The Lord be with you,
and also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.

Father, we give you thanks and praise through your beloved Son Jesus Christ, your living Word,
through whom you have created all things.

By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh as your Son.
Born of the blessed Virgin, he lived on earth and went about among us.
He opened wide his arms for us on the cross;
he put an end to death by dying for us;
and revealed the resurrection by rising to new life.
So he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.
And now we give you thanks because, in the incarnation of the Word,
a new light has dawned upon the world,
that all the nations may be brought out of darkness to see the radiance of your glory.

Therefore, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven,
we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness;
grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit,
these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who, on the night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks as we now do.
He broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body which will be broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.
After supper, again taking the cup he gave you thanks and gave it to them saying:
Take and drink from it all of you;
this is my blood of the new covenant between you and my father,
which will be shed for you and for many the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you can in remembrance of me

Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.

And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross,
his perfect sacrifice made once for the sins of the whole world
and rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension,
we offer you our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
As we bring before you this bread and this cup,
we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you.
Send your Holy Spirit on your people gathered here and these simple elements of bread and wine
so that they become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ –
Holy food for God’s broken people.

Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

Breaking of the Bread

We break the bread of life.
and that life is the light of the world.

God here among us,
light in the midst of us,
bring us to light and life

Christ is the true bread, which has come down from heaven.

Lord, give us this bread always.

Post Communion Prayer

Loving God, the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
may we who, with the wise men, have been drawn by your light
discern the glory of your presence in your Son;
the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Notices

Wednesday evening Bible Study

Unfortunately, the Bible Study session scheduled for this Wednesday (19 January 2022) has had to be postponed. The next Bible Study session with Revd George will be by Zoom at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 26 January 2022, when we shall study chapter 10 of Nehemiah. If you have not joined these Bible Study sessions previously, but would like to start now, please contact Pat Kyd (pat_kyd@yahoo.co.uk) for the details to access the Zoom sessions.

Cornerstone meetings

This week the Ministerial Leadership Group meet by Zoom at 10.30 am on Tuesday (18 January 2022). The Cornerstone Strategy Development Group meets in the Small Hall at 11-00 am on Friday (21 January 2022).

Ecumenical Council meets by Zoom at 7.00 pm on Tuesday, 25 January 2022. The next Congregational Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, 13 February 2022 at 12.30 pm by Zoom. If there is any matter that you would like to be discussed at the Congregational Meeting, please contact David Chapman, our Clerk (david@dachapman.free-online.co.uk), as soon as possible so that Ecumenical Council on Tuesday, 25 January 2022 can consider it for inclusion in the Agenda for the Congregational Meeting. This will be the last Congregational Meeting before the Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, 3 April 2022.

Volunteer vacancies

Stewards and readers for Church Services

More volunteers are needed to join our team of Stewards for Cornerstone Church Services. Full training will be provided. Volunteer stewards play an invaluable service ensuring the smooth running of our services and are particularly important as we maintain good safeguarding practices in response to the pandemic. Without sufficient stewards we are not able to conduct services in the church building. We also need more readers to read the Bible at Sunday morning services. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Kate Abrahams or Mark Okor, Church Administrator (email: admin@cornerstonemk.co.uk; tel: 01908 246480) or speak to one of the Stewards or one of the Ministers after a Service.

Volunteers for Cornerstone Café and Reception

In order to fulfil our mission to the people of Milton Keynes and to be an Oasis of Hope in Central Milton Keynes, we need to keep the church building open throughout the week.

The Cornerstone Café plays an important role in providing a welcoming environment to everyone who comes to our building during the week. The Cornerstone Café needs more volunteers to help in the preparation and serving of food and drink, and taking payments at the till. The Café is open 9.00 am – 3.00 pm Monday–Friday. If you are able to offer a few hours, either on a regular basis or as support when regular volunteers are away, please contact our Catering Manager, Marianne Cockburn (marianne.cockburn@cornerstonemk.co.uk) to discuss what is needed. Volunteers will have the opportunity to study for a Food Hygiene qualification.

Volunteer Receptionists are the welcome face of the church, and ideally we need two people in Reception whenever the building is open to the public. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet people and contribute in an important way to our outreach to the people of Milton Keynes. Volunteers each cover a morning, afternoon or evening ‘shift’. The hours are 9.00 am – 1.00 pm, 1.00–5.00 pm and 5.00–8.00 pm. Please contact our Administrator, Mark Okor (admin@cornerstonemk.co.uk) or speak to him in the Church Office either in person or by phone (01908 246480). Mark’s office hours are 9.00 am – 1.00 pm Monday–Friday.

Hymn: Through all the changing scenes of life

Through all the changing scenes of life,
in trouble and in joy,
the praises of my God shall still
my heart and tongue employ.

O magnify the Lord with me,
with me exalt his name;
when in distress to him I called,
he to my rescue came.

The hosts of God encamp around
the dwellings of the just;
deliverance he affords to all
who on his succour trust.

O make but trial of his love,
experience will decide
How blest are they, and only they,
who in his truth confide!

Fear him, ye saints, and you will then
have nothing else to fear;
make you his service your delight,
your wants shall be his care.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
the God whom we adore,
be glory as it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.

Nahum Tait (1652–1715) and Nicholas Brady (1659–1726
A New Version of the Psalms of David Psalm 34
CCL31580

Sending out and Blessings

In the power of the Holy Spirit, we now go forth into the world,
to fulfil our calling as the people of God, the body of Christ.
So, go in peace, love and care for one another in the name of Christ,
and may the fullness of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
rest and remain upon you all, today and always.

Church, go in peace.
Proclaim the Word made flesh.

Glory, thanks and praise to God!

Amen