Led by Revd George Mwaura

Opening Prayers

Prayer of the Week

God in three persons, on this Trinity Sunday
we’re struck by the perfect unity and diversity within your nature.
We, as your image-bearers, are called to reflect this in our communities.
Just as you three persons work together in harmony,
teach us to value and celebrate the unique contributions of those around us.
May our differences be a source of strength, not division.
As the Father, Son and Spirit share the same essence,
remind us that our shared identity in Christ is greater than any earthly distinction.
Help us build each other up, rather than tear down with comparison or competition.

Amen

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert and art and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy, there is none beside thee
perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
all thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;
holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

Reginald Heber (1783–1826)
CCL31580

Topic: Identity – Who are We?

1 Peter 2: 4–10

Read by Adrian Boynton

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.’

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,’<>/span>/em>

⁸ and,

‘A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

NIV®

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

Ephesians 2: 10

Read by Chibby Chima-Okoro

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

NIV®

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

Galatians 4: 4–7

Read by Peter Steeds

⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

NIV®

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

Hymn: Abba Father

Abba Father, let me be yours and yours alone.
May my will for ever be evermore your own.
Never let my heart grow cold, never let me go,
Abba Father, let me be yours and yours alone.

Dave Bilbrough
CCL31580

Ephesians 2: 19–22

Read by Nerys Steeds

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

NIV®

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

Psalm 139: 1–18

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
^{3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4} Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,’
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand –
when I awake, I am still with you.

NIV®

Hymn: How deep the Father’s love for us

How deep the Father’s love for us,
how vast beyond all measure,
that he should give his only Son
to make a wretch his treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss –
the Father turns his face away,
as wounds which mar the chosen one
bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross,
my sin upon his shoulders;
ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held him there
until it was accomplished;
his dying breath has brought me life –
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
no gifts, no power, no wisdom;
but I will boast in Jesus Christ,
his death and resurrection.
Why I should I gain from his reward?
I cannot give an answer,
but this I know with all my heart
his wounds have paid my ransom.

Stuart Townend (b. 1963)
CCL31580

Final Reflections

Hillsong: Who you say I am

Who am I that the highest King would welcome me?
I was lost, but he brought me in.
Oh his love for me;
Oh his love for me.

Who the Son sets free,
Oh, is free indeed.
I’m a child of God, yes, I am.

Free at last, he has ransomed me.
His grace runs deep:
while I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me.
Yes, he died for me.

Who the Son sets free,
Oh, is free indeed.
I’m a child of God, yes, I am
In my Father’s house
There’s a place for me
I’m a child of God, yes, I am.

I am chosen, not forsaken,
I am who You say I am.
You are for me, not against me,
I am who You say I am.

I am chosen, not forsaken,
I am who You say I am.
You are for me, not against me,
I am who You say I am.
I am who You say I am.

Who the Son sets free,
Oh, is free indeed.
I’m a child of God, yes, I am.
In my Father’s house
there’s a place for me.
I’m a child of God, yes, I am.

In my Father’s house
there’s a place for me.
I’m a child of God, yes, I am.

I am chosen, not forsaken,
I am who You say I am.
You are for me, not against me,
I am who You say I am.

I am chosen, not forsaken,
I am who You say I am.
You are for me, not against me,
I am who You say I am.

I am chosen, not forsaken,
I am who You say I am.
You are for me, not against me,
I am who You say I am.
Oh, I am who You say I am.
Yes, I am who you say I am.

Who the Son sets free,
Oh, is free indeed.
I’m a child of God, yes, I am.
In my Father’s house
there’s a place for me.
I’m a child of God, yes, I am.

Reuben Timothy Morgan and Benjamin David Fielding
© 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing
CCL31580

Intercessions

Lead by Robin Kyd

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

Notices

Palestinian Embroidery Workshop

2.00–5.00 pm this Sunday (26 May 2024) in the Guildhall

Nawal Slemiah, founder and director of the Women in Hebron cooperative, is visiting Milton Keynes and will be holding this tatreez embroidery workshop.

Everyone is welcome to come to learn some simple stitches, and to maybe make a bookmark or something similar. There will also be the handicrafts from the cooperative available for sale.

Women in Hebron is a cooperative that seeks to economically empower Palestinian women and their families, as well as encouraging the passing down of Palestinian culture and traditional handicraft products to younger generations. See https://womeninhebron.com/.

World Environment Day Prayer Vigil

5.30–6.00 pm Wednesday, 5 June 2024 at MK Rose, Campbell Park

Churches Together in Milton Keynes will be holding a prayer vigil to mark World Environment Day on Wednesday, 5 June2024 between 5.30 and 6.00 pm at the Milton Keynes Rose. Please join us.

Eco Church Core Group

Oxford Diocese Celebration of Creation Care

1.30–5.00 pm Saturday, 8 June 2024
Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford OX1 2DH

The Oxford Diocese will be organising a ‘Celebration of Creation Care’ on Saturday, 8 June 2024 from 1.30 to 5.00 pm, which is being held in the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, New Inn Hall Street Oxford OX1 2DH. The keynote speaker is Dr Ruth Valerio, environmentalist, theologian, social activist and author. Bishop Steven will lead a time of worship within this afternoon of recognising and celebrating the amazing work happening in the diocese. The event will be celebrating all aspects of Creation Care, from community gardens to wild churches, ‘Creation Crews’ to carbon cutters, and from local advocates to energy champions. Many actions will be recognised, including Cornerstone Church, which has been nominated for an advocacy award. Please do come and join the celebration. Sign up at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/celebration-of-creation-care-tickets-827135623917.

Eco Church Core Group

Christian Aid Week 2024

Thanks to everyone who donated, we raised a total of £449.35 (£408.75 donated online through our e-envelope and £40.60 cash), in addition to any donations made directly to Christian Aid. Christian Aid will use this to fight against the inhumanity of poverty across the world. For more information on the work of Christian Aid see the website: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/.

David Chapman

Updated plans for phase one of Campbell Park Northside

A public consultation on the updated plans for phase one of Campbell Park Northside has launched. Developers are proposing:

🏘️ Around 400 homes spread across six to twelve-storey apartment blocks
🥗 Canalside bistro
🚲 Pedestrian and cycle link and cycling facilities
🚗 Car club

You can take a look at the plans and have your say here:

https://buff.ly/410YPnj.

If anyone would like help to see the plans, please talk to Cheryl over coffee after service on Sunday. Campbell Park is part of our parish and 400 houses could be another 1200 people for us to serve.

Cheryl Montgomery

Offertory

Prayers for the Offertory

Hymn: In Christ alone

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this cornerstone, this solid ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
fullness of God in helpless Babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
scorned by the ones he came to save
till on that cross as Jesus died,
the wrath of God was satisfied,
for every sin on Him was laid;
here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground his body lay,
light of the world by darkness slain,
then bursting forth in glorious day,
up from the grave he rose again!
And as he stands in victory
sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
for I am his and he is mine –
bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
this is the power of Christ in me;
from life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
can ever pluck me from his hand;
till he returns or calls me home,
here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!

Stuart Townend (b. 1963)
CCL31580

Blessings

Sending out