Preacher: Revd Lisa Kerry, Regional Minister Team Leader, Central Baptist Association
Service led by: Revd George Mwaura

Gathering Music

Call to Worship

God of time and space, bigger than we can ever imagine,
awesome and mighty, and yet so close to us.
Open our eyes to all that you have for us.
Open our ears to hear your call to us.
Open our hands to receive all that you have for us. Meet us in this place today.

Amen

Welcome and Greetings

Opening Prayer

God of each day and each moment, you call us to make choices
choices about how we will live, how we will use our time and resources,
who we will look out for, and what we will commit to.
As we come before you now, bless us with wise discernment and loving compassion,
that we may serve after the example of Jesus.

Amen

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

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Loving God, we praise you for being you – beyond our understanding
yet made known to us through your prophets and in your Son.
We thank you for your mysterious ways, which are always working for our good,
leading us to grow in knowledge of you.
But Lord we confess that we often put you in a box.
We like to think we know you, and that we know exactly what you want from us.
We have pigeon-holed your character and packaged your personality –
you would barely recognise yourself!
We repent of this behaviour, for your might and majesty cannot be quantified.
We beseech your forgiveness and release you from the bonds of our ignorance,
to be what you have always been

[Silence]

Assurance of forgiveness

There are times when we think we cannot be forgiven.
Unable to forgive ourselves, we don’t believe that you will either.
But you, O Lord, are not like us, and your ways are not our ways.
Your promise of forgiveness is strong and true, when we accept it, and let you be you.

Amen

We humbly accept your pardon, Lord.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

We come before you with hearts full of gratitude and praise.
Your steadfast love endures forever, and your faithfulness reaches to the heavens.
We thank you for being our strength and our song, and for becoming our salvation.
Lord, just as the psalmist rejoiced in your deliverance,
we too rejoice in the victory you have given us through Jesus Christ.
When we are pushed hard, feeling as if we are falling, you, Lord, are our help.
You are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
We will not fear, for you are with us all the days of our lives.

Amen

Cornerstone Gloria

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 118: 13–24

Read by Bob Collard

¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my defence;
he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
‘The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
¹⁶ The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!’
¹⁷ I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
¹⁸The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

²² The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

NIV®

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

Hymn: How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer’s ear!
It sooths his sorrows, heals his wounds,
and drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
and calms the troubled breast;
’tis manna to the hungry soul,
and to the weary rest.

Dear name! the rock on which I build,
my shield and hiding place,
my never-failing treasury filled
with boundless stores of grace.

Jesus! my Shepherd, Brother Friend,
my Prophet, Priest and King,
my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
and cold my warmest thought;
but when I see thee as thou art,
I’ll praise thee as I ought.

Till then I would thy love proclaim
with every fleeting breath;
and may the music of thy name
refresh my soul in death.

John Newton (1725–1807)
CCL31580

Acts 4: 1–12

Read by Rosemary Goldie

Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

¹ The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

‘“the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.”

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd Lisa Kerry, Regional Minister Team Leader, Central Baptist Association

[Silence]

Choral Music

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 Grace Hunting

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

Sharing Peace

Christ is the architect of our peace and commands us to speak peace, preach peace and share peace.
And so, I say to you my dear friends: may the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

And also with you.

Notices

Cecilia Collard

We are saddened to learn of the death on Thursday, 27 June 2024 of Cecilia (Celia) Collard, who has been a member of Cornerstone and a regular volunteer for a great many years. Her funeral will be at Cornerstone at 11.00 am on Tuesday, 16 July 2024, followed by a private family committal at the crematorium. Refreshments will be available in the Guildhall after the Service. The Service will be live streamed from the Worship Area. Please remember Bob and all of Celia’s family in your prayers.

Wednesday Bible Study: St John’s gospel: Week 5
‘Festal Controversies’ (John 7 & 8)

Theme: ‘Living Water’ and ‘Light of the World’
Focus: Jesus’ teachings at the Feast of Tabernacles and the encounter with the adulteress
Key verses: John 7: 37–38; 8: 12, 24 & 58

Study questions

What does ‘living water’ symbolise in Jesus’ teachings?
How does Jesus embody ‘the light of the world’?
What does the encounter with the adulteress reveal about Jesus’ mission?

Congregational Meeting and Cornerstone Church Picnic

Sunday 21 July 2024

The next Congregational Meeting will be on Sunday, 21 July, immediately after the morning service (and before the church picnic). There will be live-streaming for those at home and questions can be asked by phone. One topic will be introducing the Pastoral Friends scheme, which will bring us closer together as a church. Please bring any questions you might have about the scheme, which will be entirely optional.

Pat Kyd, Cornerstone Church Secretary

The Cornerstone Church Picnic in the Fred Roche Gardens at the back of the church will also be on 21 July 2024 after the morning service and Congregational Meeting. The picnic will be an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the gardens and will be a fun time. If it is wet the picnic will be held in the Guildhall. Please do put the date in your diary as we hope as many people as possible will attend. Please will you let Christine Mwaura know if you’re intending to come to the picnic and also if you would be willing to help with organising the picnic.

Eco Church Core Group

Offertory

[During the collection the choir will sing.]

Closing Prayers

Closing Hymn: The church’s one foundation

The church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the Word;
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride,
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

Elect from every nation,
yet one o’er all the earth,
her charter of salvation
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.

’Mid toil, and tribulation,
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace for evermore;
till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blest,
and the great Church victorious
shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
with God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is one:
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.

S.J. Stone (1839–1900)
CCL31580

Blessings

God of all, send us out into the world you have made.
Help us to be the people you want us to be.
Help us to live in ways that show your love for us and for all people.
Friends, go in peace and may the blessings of God Almighty,
Father Son and the Holy Spirit rest and remain upon you all today and always.

Amen

Sending out

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

Amen