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.

Preacher: Revd George Mwaura
Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Wonderful God, thank you for the sensations of sacred breath,
your miraculous gift of life to each one of us.
We lift our hearts to you. Our souls sing with joy.
May we know your presence in all our challenges, and may our thankfulness pour out of our lives.
In Jesus’ name.

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: Angel-voices ever singing

Angel-voices ever singing
round thy throne of light,
angel-harps for ever ringing,
rest not day nor night;
thousands only live to bless thee
and confess thee
Lord of might.

Thou who art beyond the farthest
mortal eye can scan,
can it be that thou regardest
songs of sinful man?
Can we know that thou art near us,
and wilt hear us?
Yea, we can.

Yea, we know that thou rejoicest
o’er each work of thine;
thou didst ears and hands and voices
for thy praise design;
craftsman’s art and music’s measure
for thy pleasure
all combine.

In thy house, great God, we offer
of thine own to thee;
and for thine acceptance proffer
all unworthily
hearts and minds and hands and voices
in our choicest
psalmody.

Honour, glory, might, and merit
thine shall ever be,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
blessèd Trinity.
Of the best that thou hast given
earth and heaven
render thee.

Francis Pott (1832–1909)
CCL31580

Prayer of Approach

Giving God, no money can buy your love,
no words can adequately express our thanks,
no actions can fully demonstrate our gratitude.
But as we sing, as we pray, as we listen to your Word,
we offer you our best, and celebrate your presence with us –
now and each moment of every day.

Amen

[Silence]

Confession

Please, forgive us, faithful God, when we fill the rooms we enter with negativity, not warmth.
Forgive us, and bless us with love like that of Mary.

Forgive us when we justify our reluctance to give and share.
Forgive us, and bless us with love like that of Mary.

Forgive us when we are slow to express gratitude, and take what we have for granted.
Forgive us, and bless us with love like that of Mary.

Kyrie

Ever-giving God, we sometimes close our hearts to you and to others;
but your heart is always open, pouring out your grace and love,
filling our lives with the fragrance of forgiveness and friendship,
wiping away our fears and our regrets, and receiving the thanks we would offer you.
May the trickle of our praise become a torrent,
and may the whole world be filled with your truth.
In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Gracious and life-giving God, you who make all things new by your saving and creative love,
you who redeem the lives of your servants and reach out to those who are lost,
come to us by your spirit we pray.
Sprinkle within our hearts the fragrance of your living word
so that we may produce scents that are pleasing to you.
Reveal to us the things that you want us to see
and strengthen us as we walk as pilgrims through this world.
We ask this humbly in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Isaiah 43: 16–21

Read by Don Head

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says –
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
¹⁷ who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
¹⁸ ‘Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
²⁰ The wild animals honour me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
²¹ the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.

NIV®

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

John 12: 1–8

Read by Cheryl Montgomery

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about half a litre of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷ ‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd George Mwaura

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

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: Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks with a grateful heart.
Give thanks to the Holy One.
Give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his Son. [Repeat]

And now let the weak say ‘I am strong’,
let the poor sat ‘I am rich’,
because of what the Lord has done for us. [Repeat]

Give thanks.

Henry Smith (b. 1952)
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

Fair Trade Easter Cards and Easter Eggs

Order your Fair Trade Easter Cards and Easter Eggs from Joy Chapman as soon as possible, please. Order forms are available in Reception.

Cornerstone Prayer Network

Prayer is central to our Christian fellowship. The Cornerstone Prayer Network is here for people who have asked us to pray for them. Please send your prayer requests to cornerstonechurch.prayernetwork@gmail.com and the details will be passed on to the members of the Prayer Network. If your prayer request is for someone else, please check with them before sending details to the Cornerstone Prayer Network.

If you would like to become a member of the Cornerstone Prayer Network, please send your details by email to cornerstonechurch.prayernetwork@gmail.com, or speak to June after a Service in the church.

Holy Week at Cornerstone

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, with a Service of the Word at 10.00 am and Sunday Evening Together by Zoom at 6.00 pm. Holy Communion is at 7.00 pm on Maundy Thursday (14 April 2022). On Good Friday there are children’s activities 9.30 am – 12.00 noon; we meet at 11.45 am in the church for prayers before the Walk of Witness, returning to the church at 12.15 pm for prayers. A light lunch will be served and 1.30–3.00 pm there are ‘Jesus’ Last Words’ – contemplative meditations with musical interludes. At 7.30 pm there will be a Musical Meditation for Good Friday with the Cornerstone Choir.

The Easter Vigil Mass is at 9.00 pm on Saturday, 16 April 2022.

On Easter Day the guest preacher at 10.00 am Holy Communion is Revd Geoffrey Clarke, Moderator of the East Midlands Synod of the United Reformed Church.

Children’s Easter Workshop

Good Friday 9.30 am –12.00 am, in the Guildhall

Join us for a fun-filled morning of craft, cooking and activities to explore the meaning of Easter. All primary-school-aged children are welcome. If you have any questions, please contact Mark Okor in the Church Office.

Nerys Steeds

‘God loves a cheerful giver’

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: Be thou my vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
naught be all else to me save that thou art;
thou my best thought in the day and the night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true Word;
I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord;
thou my great Father, and I thy true son;
thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breast-plate, my sword for the fight;
be thou my armour, and be thou my might’
thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tower,
raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
thou mine inheritance through all my days;
thou, and thou only, the first in my heart,
high King of heaven, my treasure thou art!

High King of heaven, when battle is done,
grant heaven’s joy to me, O bright heaven’s sun;
Christ of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

Irish (8th century)
tr. Mary Byrne (1880–1931)
versified Eleanor Hull (1860–1935) and others
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