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

Gathering Music

Welcome

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you welcome us, no matter how we feel.
Draw us to together; draw us to you.
Help us to forget about ourselves for a while and to focus on you.
Fill us deeply with a desire to worship you, our living Lord.

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: All hail the power of Jesu’s name

All hail the power of Jesu’s name;
let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem
to crown him, crown him, crown him,
crown him, Lord of all.

Crown him, ye morning stars of light,
who fixed this floating ball;
now hail the Strength of Israel’s might,
and crown him, crown him, crown him,
crown him, Lord of all.

Crown him, ye martyrs of your God,
who from his altar call;
praise him whose path of pain ye trod,
and crown him, crown him, crown him,
crown him, Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
ye ransomed of the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him, crown him, crown him,
crown him, Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
go spread your trophies at his feet,
and crown him, crown him, crown him,
crown him, Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue
to him their hearts enthral:
lift high the universal song,
and crown him, crown him, crown him,
crown him, Lord of all.

Edward Perronet (1726–1792) and others
CCL31580

A Prayer of Approach

Father of all, who created the heavens and the earth, thank you that we are your beloved.
Your Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove. May your Spirit meet us where we are today.
May your Spirit breathe new life into us today.
May you hold us with your righteous right hand. In Jesus’ name.

Amen

[Silence]

Confession

Dear Lord Jesus, even though you did no wrong and did not need to be forgiven,
you chose to be baptised; you chose to be like us.

We are sorry when we make wrong choices.
We are sorry when we don’t have the right attitude.
We are sorry when we choose to go our own way,
rather than following your perfect example.

We are sorry; please forgive us.
Help us to show humility and obedience as you did.
Help us to become more like you.

[Silence]

Beloved Jesus, who loves us so much, thank you
that, by your blood, we are forgiven and restored to new life in you.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Loving God and Creator of all, you have given us your only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon himself, and revealed him to us at his baptism in the River Jordan,
grant that we, who have been born again of water and the Holy Spirit,
and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit,
so that we may serve you and your church here and in the hereafter.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Isaiah 42: 1–9

Read by Brian Halstead

The Servant of the Lord

¹ ‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
² He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
⁴ he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.’

⁵ This is what God the Lord says –
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ ‘I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

⁸ ‘I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.’

NIV®

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

Hymn: On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s cry

On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s cry
announces that the Lord is nigh;
come then and hearken, for he brings
glad tidings from the King of kings.

Then cleansed be every Christian breast,
and furnished for so great a guest!
Yea, let us each our heart prepare,
for Christ o come and enter there.

For thou art our salvation, Lord,
our refuge and our great reward;
without thy grace our souls must fade,
and wither like a flower decayed.

Stretch forth thy hand to heal our sore,
and make us rise, to fall no more;
once mor upon thy people shine,
and fill the world with love divine.

All praise, eternal Son, to thee
whose advent set thy people free,
whom, with the Father, we adore,
and Holy Ghost, for evermore.

Charles Coffin (1676–1749)
tr. John Chandler (1808–1876)
CCL31580

Matthew 3: 13–17

Read by Katherine Wheldon

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’

¹⁵ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then John consented.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’

NIV®

Meditation

By Revd George Mwaura

[Silence]

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 Rosemary Kearsey

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: Have you been to Jesus

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood,
in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood, …

When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
and be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood, …

Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
and be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
there’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

Elisha A. Hoffman (1839–1929)
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

Eternal Father, we thank you for nourishing us with these heavenly gifts:
may our communion strengthen us in faith, build us up in hope, and make us grow in love;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Notices

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

18–25 January 2023

Churches Together in Milton Keynes have put together an impressive schedule of services and events across Milton Keynes on every day of the Week of Prayer. Printed flyers with the full programme are available in Reception. The programme is also on the Churches Together in Milton Keynes website at https://www.ctmk.church/2022/10/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2023.html More details will be included in the Notice Sheets for the next two weeks.

Cornerstone’s own contribution to the programme is a performance of Tippet’s A Child of Our Time at 7.30 pm on Sunday, 22 January 2022.

Volunteers needed for coffee rota

Providing coffee and tea after the Sunday morning Service creates a wonderful opportunity for fellowship when we can talk and listen to each other and so get to know one another better. However, in recent months it has become harder to provide coffee and tea after every Sunday morning Service due to a shortage of volunteers. We are looking for a few more volunteers to join the coffee rota, which only takes approximately an hour or so once a month. If you’re able to volunteer once a month or every two months, please contact Stuart Kean (stuart.kean@gmail.com).

Thank you,
Stuart Kean

Offering

Final Prayer

As Jesus came to the river
to do what God wanted,
the Spirit came upon him
to show that God loved him.

Send us out from here
as your beloved children,
filled with the right attitude
to share your love with all the world.

Amen

Hymn: We have a gospel to proclaim

We have a gospel to proclaim,
good news for all throughout the earth;
the gospel of a Saviour’s name:
we sing his glory, tell his worth.

Tell of his birth at Bethlehem
not in a royal house or hall
but in a stable dark and dim,
the Word made flesh, a light for all.

Tell of his death at Calvary,
hated by those he came to save,
in lonely suffering on the cross;
for all he loved his life he gave.

Tell of that glorious Easter morn:
empty the tomb, for he was free.
He broke the power of death and hell
that we might share his victory.

Tell of his reign at God’s right hand,
by all creation glorified.
He sends his Spirit on his church
to live for him, the Lamb who died.

Now we rejoice to name him King:
Jesus is Lord of all the earth.
This gospel-message we proclaim:
we sing his glory, tell his worth.

Edward J. Burns (b. 1938)
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