Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

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

Loving Lord, together we wait on you:
embrace us.
Lifegiving Lord, we hunger for you:
change us.
Lord of the Way, we often feel lost:
direct us.
Lord of our time, forgive our misuse:
redeem us.

Amen

[Silence]

Welcome to the house of God.
We have come from all the corners of the earth.

Welcome to the hospitality of God.
We come as we are; we bring our life, our stories, our journey.

Welcome, brothers and sisters.
We are the rainbow people of God.

Welcome, chosen people.
May God our companion bind us in his love.

Amen

Hymn: Take my life, and let it be

Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let the move
at the impulse of thy love love.
Take my feet, and let the be
swift and purposeful for thee.

Take my voice, and let it sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it thine,
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.

Frances R. Havergal (1836–1879)
CCL31580

Prayer of Approach

God of grace and growth, in this season of Lent and with spring blossoming all around us,
we bring to you in word, music and prayer, our desire to change for the better,
trusting in your patience, rooting ourselves in your Scriptures,
believing in your love, appreciating the limitations of time,
and celebrating the gift of life and all that there is to look forward to.
In Jesus’ name.

Amen

[Silence]

Confession

Lord God, forgive us when we are slow to change, but quick to judge;
when we take more from life than we give back;
when we give up on others too soon and offer support too late;
when we deny others the opportunity to grow, and uproot their dreams.
Forgive us and grant us your patience, perseverance and vision,
and inspire us to care for all you have made.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Kyrie

Loving God, in whom all things are possible,
for giving us time enough to change and grow:
we thank you with all our heart.

For giving us the desire to change and grow:
we thank you with all our mind.

For giving us the opportunity to change and grow:
we thank you with all our soul.

And for forgiving us when we rush, judge and
deny others those same opportunities:
we thank you with all our strength.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

God of the wilderness, your Spirit leads us to face the truth, unprotected and exposed:
in our times of trial help us to resist the worship of empty power
so that we may find our true food in Jesus Christ, the broken bread.
Grant us, Almighty God, that through this yearly observance of Lent
we may enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ
and draw upon its power in the conduct of our lives.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Isaiah 55: 1–9

Read by Robin Kyd

Invitation to the Thirsty

¹ ‘Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labour on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendour.’

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,’
declares the Lord.
⁹ ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

NIV®

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

Luke 13: 1–9

Read by Pat Kyd

Repent or Perish

¹ Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’

⁶ Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig-tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. ⁷ So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?”

⁸ ‘ “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilise it. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” ’

NIV®

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

Meditation

Choral Response

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in the Creator:
the maker of all things

We believe in the Son:
the redeemer of our broken world

We believe in the Spirit:
The sacred wind that binds all things together in the family of God.

Creator Father, beloved Son and living Spirit.

Amen

Prayers and Intercessions

Led by Adrian Boynton

The Peace

Peace to you from God, who is our Father.
Peace from Jesus Christ, who is our peace.
Peace from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life.

The peace of God be always with you.
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Hymn: Be still my soul

Be still my soul: the Lord is on your side;
bear patiently the cross of grief and pain;
leave to your God to order and provide;
in every change he faithful will remain.
Be still my soul: your best, your heavenly friend,
through thorny ways, leads to a joyful end.

Be still my soul: your God will undertake
to guide the future as he has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake,
all now mysterious shall be clear at last.
Be still my soul: the tempests still obey
his voice, who ruled them once on Galilee.

Be still my soul: the hour is hastening on
when we shall be for ever with the Lord,
when disappointment, fear and grief are gone,
sorrow forgotten, love’s pure joy restored.
Be still my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Katharina von Schlegel (1697–~1768) tr. Jane L. Borthwick (1813–1897)
CCL31580

Holy Communion

The Thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this bread to offer,
which earth has given and human hands have made.
It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed be God for ever.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this wine to offer,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become our spiritual drink.

Blessed be God for ever.

The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.

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.

Almighty God, good Father to us all, your face is turned towards your world.
In love you gave us Jesus your Son to rescue us from sin and death.
Your Word goes out to call us home to the city where angels sing your praise.

We join with them in heaven’s song:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

We bless the name of Jesus, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh,
whose brokenness and suffering makes love real,
who on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,
gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying,

Take, eat. This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

After supper he took the cup saying,

Drink from this, all of you, this is my blood given for you.
Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.

This is the mystery of our faith.

Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.

Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup,
we acknowledge brokenness as a path to truth.
We long for the bread of tomorrow: eternally broken and so able to nourish.
We long for the new wine of the kingdom: continuously poured out that thirst may be quenched.

Send your Spirit on us now,
that by these gifts we may feed on Christ with opened eyes and hearts on fire.
May we and all who share this food offer ourselves to live for you
and be welcomed at your feast in heaven, where all creation worships you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours forever and ever.

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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

The Communion

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread.

Amen

Post Communion Prayer

Return to God with all your heart:
remove the burdens of the poor,
let the oppressed go free,
and speak evil no more.
Offer your food to the hungry and care for the afflicted,
and your light will break forth like the dawn.

Amen

Notices

Milton Keynes Mission Partnership General Meeting

7.00 pm Tuesday, 29 March 2022 at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone

Following the General Meeting of the Milton Keynes Mission Partnership held at Cornerstone on Wednesday, 9 March 2022, there will be another General Meeting of the Milton Keynes Mission Partnership at 7.00 pm on Tuesday, 29 March 2022. For legal reasons this meeting cannot be held on Zoom and must be held in person.

Our Mission Partnership representatives will be asked to vote on the following resolution:

The members of Milton Keynes Mission Partnership (Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1159204) (the ‘CIO’) hereby resolve to dissolve the CIO and, after the payment of all outstanding debts and liabilities, any remaining funds will be passed to ‘Churches Together in Milton Keynes Trust’ or to any other charity with objects similar to the CIO to be used for the following purposes:

• Promoting Ecumenical Mission in Milton Keynes”

More information on this meeting is available on the Mission Partnership website at: https://missionpartnership.org.uk/mk-mission-partnership-general-meeting-29th-march-2022/.

Annual Congregational Meeting:
Election of Members of Ecumenical Council

12.30 pm on Sunday, 3 April 2022 by Zoom

Details of Nominees will be displayed in the church for the Sundays up to 3 April 2022. There are five vacancies to be filled. To date (16 March 2022) there have been three nominations. It would be good if all five vacancies could be filled.

Willen Hospice Memorial Service

Sunday, 24 April 2022 at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone

Willen Hospice is planning a Memorial Service on the afternoon of Sunday, 24 April 2022. This service is for all those who wish to remember a loved one who had died in the past year.

As the host church we are invited to provide stewards for the service. If you would like to offer your services please contact Robin Kyd (robin_kyd@yahoo.co.uk).

Offering

‘God loves a cheerful gover’

Thanks to your generous giving we can be an OASIS OF HOPE to Milton Keynes.

Please keep supporting our mission!

If you are at our worship service in the church building and would like to make an offering, please place your offering in the basket at the door to the worship area. If you can’t find it, please ask the stewards.

There are many different ways to give: online, telephone banking or by cheque. For more information how to give please visit the Cornerstone website (www.cornerstonemk.co.uk) or contact: steward.cccmk@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated.

Final Prayer

Lord God, you look for growth and fruit;
help us this week to grow closer to you,
and to be patient when we have to wait –
as you are patient with us.

Amen

Hymn: A new commandment I give unto you

A new commandment I give unto you,
that you love one another as I have loved you,
that you love one another as I have loved you.

By this shall all men know that you are my disciples,
if you have love one for another.
By this shall all men know that you are my disciples,
if you have love one for another.

A new commandment I give unto you, …

You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Without my help you can do nothing.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Without my help you can do nothing.

A new commandment I give unto you, …

I am the true vine, my Father is the gardener.
Abide in me: I will be with you.
I am the true vine, my Father is the gardener.
Abide in me: I will be with you.

A new commandment I give unto you, …

Anonymous
CCL31580

Blessing

God be in your head, and in your understanding;
God be in your eyes, and in your looking;
God be in your mouth, and in your speaking;
God be in your heart, and in your thinking;
God be at your end, and at your departing.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you today and always

Amen

Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ,

Amen