Led by: Revd George Mwaura
Preacher: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Gathering Prayer

Come to God and be ready to listen. Come to God and be willing to hear.
Bring your gifts and talents. Bring your hearts and minds.
Come and find a way to serve today.

Amen

Hymn: I, the Lord of sea and sky

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin
my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them,
they turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them,
my hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide,
till their hearts be satisfied,
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

Dan Schutte (b. 1947)
CCL31580

Call to Worship

God the creator of heaven and earth, as Jesus came among us in Bethlehem to raise us up to heaven,
so today we recall his departing from us at Jerusalem to be in all places.
Though he is hidden from our sight, enable us to abide in him by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit,
until his mercy and grace fill your whole creation.

Amen

Confession

Lord, we might think that casting lots is not a very spiritual way to make decisions.
But the important thing was that the apostles prayed first. They knew these men well.
They recognised their gifts and experiences. But they needed your insight and guidance.
Lord, forgive us for the times when we do not pray before we act.
When we do not pray before the big decisions. Or the small decisions. Or any time really.

Forgive us for the times we do not see ourselves as special.
When we do not let you use our unique talents.
When we do not even realise we have talents.
Forgive us, dear Lord, and help us to put our trust in you.

[Silence]

Whoever has the Son, has life.

Father God, you have given us eternal life in your precious Son, Jesus.
Thank you for the assurance of your new life in us, and the blessing of your love and compassion.
Forgiving God, we come to you and you make us whole.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Generous God, we thank you for the good gifts we receive from you:
for skills and abilities, for opportunities to serve.
We ask for the gift of discernment
that we may know our own gifts and recognise the potential in others.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 1

Read by Brian Halstead

¹ Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither –
whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

NIV®

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

John 17: 6–19

Read by Cheryl Montgomery

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶ ‘I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³ ‘I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

[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

Intercessions

Led by Joy Enenche

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

Hymn: He is Lord, he is Lord

He is Lord, he is Lord.
He is risen from the dead and he is Lord.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.

He is King, he is King.
He is risen from the dead and he is Lord.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is King.

He is love, he is love.
He is risen from the dead and he is Lord.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is love.

Anonymous
CCL31580

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.

Notices

‘Election Sunday’

At the Service on Sunday morning we shall be exploring how Cornerstone can become a Voter Registration Champion. There will be forms available on which you can indicate whether you are registered to vote, intend to register to vote or are not eligible to vote. When you have filled this in you can tear the slip off and put it in the ‘ballot box’.

Funeral of Joan Ranson

The funeral of Joan Ranson, a longstanding supporter and adherent of the Church of Christ the Cornerstone, will be held at 11.00 am on Friday, 17 May 2024, with refreshments in the Guildhall from 12.00 noon. Joan was a committed volunteer in the church, running church tours for schoolchildren, and promoting first-aid courses through her role in St John’s Ambulance.

Christian Aid Week 12–18 May 2024

This year we will be raising money to help Christian Aid in its work to push back against the inhumanity of poverty across the world. You can make a donation online now by following this link: https://fundraise.christianaid.org.uk/envelope-2024/christian-aid-week-0 or you can use your smart phone to scan the QR code below. This is Cornerstone’s ‘electronic envelope’ and money donated via this link will be recorded as part of Cornerstone’s fundraising for Christian Aid.

We are also looking for people to help organise fundraising for the week. Could you, for example, coordinate a cake sale after the Sunday morning Service on 12 May 2024? If you can offer to help, please get in touch with David Chapman: david@dachapman.free-online.co.uk.

World Café and Networking Event on Climate Action in MK

2.00–5.00 pm Sunday, 19 May 2024 at Cornerstone

Milton Keynes Climate Action Network (MKCAN) are organising an afternoon of collaboration and networking where you’ll be able to meet with local groups and individuals who are passionate about taking action on climate change. We are meeting to learn, share ideas and support each other in our efforts to create a more sustainable future. Groups attending will include: MK Eco Church Network, MK Biodiversity, MK Letnet (local trading & exchange network), MK Transition Town, Wolverton Community Energy, Extinction Rebellion, Climate Café MK and The Parks Trust.

Please come and find out more about what’s going on to tackle climate change. Booking is required: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/855393975407?aff=oddtdtcreator

Eco Church Core Group

Final Prayer

Lord, help us to know ourselves better and to reflect on your call to us.
Give us grace to use our gifts to honour you and to serve others.
Help us to work together for the good of all.

Amen

Hymn: To God be the glory

To God be the glory, great things he has done!
so loved he the world that he gave us his Son.
Who yielded his life in atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus his Son;
and give him the glory, great things he has done!

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God!
And every offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord!  …

Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher, and greater will be
our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord!  …

Fanny Crosby (née Frances J. van Alstyne) (1820–1915)
CCL31580

Blessings

The Lord Jesus tells us, as he told the apostles: ‘Go, be my witnesses to the whole world.’
Let us not stare at heaven but be his message of hope to people on earth by the way we live his gospel.
Go and obey and may the blessings of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
rest and remain upon you all.

Amen

Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.
When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying.
They were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women,
including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
Waiting expectantly for the promised Holy Spirit.
Go in the peace of Christ.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.