Led by Revd George Mwaura

Gathering Music

Greetings and Welcome

Call to Worship

Come, let us gather as God’s people – young and old, curious and committed.
God calls us to follow Jesus, to walk in the Spirit, and to love one another.

Let us leave behind what holds us back and open our hearts to God’s leading.
Today, may we worship with joy, ready to serve, learn, and grow together in God’s love.

Amen

Hymn: Be still, for the presence of the Lord

Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.
Come, bow before him now, with reverence and fear.
In him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.

Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around;
he burns with holy fire, with splendour he is crowned.
How awesome is the sight, our radiant King of light!
Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.

Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place,
he comes to cleanse and heal, to minister his grace.
No work too hard for him, in faith receive from him;
be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.

David J. Evans (b. 1957)
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Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Loving God, thank you for calling us to follow Jesus and for the gift of your Holy Spirit,
who helps us live in love and kindness.
As we gather today – young and old together – help us listen for your voice,
leave behind what distracts us, and choose your way of love.
Make us ready to serve one another with joyful hearts, just as Jesus taught us.
You invite each of us to walk with Jesus, no matter who we are or how old we are.
Give us open hearts to follow you wherever you lead.
Fill us with your Spirit so we can show love, patience, and joy to everyone we meet.
Help us remember that we belong to you and to one another.

But Lord, you know us and how we fail you on a daily basis.
And so, Lord, we confess that we do not always follow Jesus as you call us to.
Sometimes we hold on to selfish ways or let anger and pride get in the way of your love.
Forgive us when we turn away from your Spirit.
Help us to start again, to walk in love, and to choose your way each day.

Amen

Kyrie / Music

Prayer of the Week

Gracious God, you call us to freedom through your Spirit and to follow Jesus with undivided hearts.
Grant us the courage to set aside all that holds us back, so that we may walk in love,
serve one another, and bear the fruit of Your Spirit in our lives.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Galatians 5: 13–25

Read by Richard May-Miller

Life by the Spirit

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

NIV®

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

Hymn: Amazing grace

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, trials and snares
I have already come.
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me;
his word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.

John Newton (1725–1807)
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Luke 9: 51–62

Read by Rosemary Goldie

Samaritan opposition

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; ⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’ ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The cost of following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

⁵⁹ He said to another man, ‘Follow me.’

But he replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’

⁶¹ Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.’

⁶² Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’

NIV®

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

Reflections

Musical meditation

The Story of Daniel by the Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Affirmation of Faith

We believe that God calls us to follow Jesus and to love one another,
leaving behind what holds us back.

We trust that the Holy Spirit is with us,
helping us to grow in kindness, patience, and joy,
and to bear good fruit in our lives.

We believe that God’s love is for everyone,
and that we are called to welcome and serve each other as one family.
With God’s help, we choose to walk in love,
to forgive, and to follow wherever Jesus leads us,
today and every day.

Amen

Prayers for the World

Led 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

Sharing Peace

Jesus calls us to follow him by loving one another and living by the Spirit.
As God’s people, let us share signs of peace, kindness, and welcome with each other.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you
and also with you!

Let us share God’s peace using our agreed protocols.

Notices

Home for Good and Safe Families

Imogen Onwuka will be speaking during the All Age Service on Sunday (29 June 2025), and then afterwards at coffee in the Cornerstone Café she will be available to offer further information.

Imogen is the Church and Community Relationships Coordinator for Safe Families, currently with a focus on Milton Keynes.

She writes:

Home for Good and Safe Families, a Christian organisation, have a bold vision: Together, we hope for a society where no family feels alone, and every child has a home where they can flourish. We believe the Church is central to this vision. Our engagement focus is to connect relationally with local churches, through understanding their heart for their communities. Through this relationship, we love sharing our mission and inspiring individuals to respond and play their part through considering fostering, adoption or becoming supported-lodgings hosts.

I’m looking to connect with the Church of Christ the Cornerstone to discuss how we can support you to, in turn, support the families in your community and to raise awareness of fostering, adoption and supported lodgings.

Sunday, 29 June 2025

A Chinese festival will be using Cornerstone premises this Sunday. Setting up will start from 10.00 am in front of the church. This will not interfere with parking; only other areas close to the parking bays. In the Guildhall Car Park four parking bays will be blocked off so that street food vans can start setting up. Refreshments after the 10.00 am Service will be in the Cornerstone Café so that setting up can start in the Guildhall for the festival.

Digital Collection Plate

We live in an increasingly cashless society where, more and more, we pay for everything by simply tapping our card or our phone. So it’s high time we recognised that change in how we organise our giving in Church.

Consequently we have just taken delivery of a Dona digital collection plate to enable people to make cashless contributions to the weekly offerings. We need to work out the most appropriate way to use it – but initially it will be available at the back of the Worship Area before and after services.

The machine is very easy to use – it offers a range of set donations starting from £5, or allows you to enter your own, bespoke, amount.

Very importantly, it also offers the opportunity to gift aid your donation and we would encourage everyone who can (essentially anyone who pays income tax) to do so as it adds 25p to every £1 donated. The first time you gift aid a donation you do have to enter a few personal details – name, postcode and email – but once on the system it remembers you and should not ask for these again.

If you have any questions or concerns, please ask Peter Cope or Peter Steeds.

Wednesday Bible Study: The Letter to the Ephesians

Continues 7.00 pm Wednesdays, 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 July 2025 by Zoom

This weeks’ study (Wednesday, 2 July 2025) will focus on chapter 2. Chapters 1–3 focus on what God has done; choosing, adopting, redeeming, and uniting believers in Christ.

Congregational Meeting

Our next Congregational Meeting will be on Sunday, 13 July 2025, taking place during Morning Service. The Congregation will be invited to discuss developments in work with children and young people, and also practical ideas for fundraising. The full Agenda and documents will be emailed to everyone on the church mailing list.

Pat Kyd, Cornerstone Church Secretary

Sunday School summer break

Sunday School finishes for the summer on Sunday, 20 July and re-starts on Sunday, 14 September 2025.

Offertory Prayer

Gracious God, all abundance flows from your endless love.
We humbly present these offerings – both those given today and those already shared –
asking for your blessing as we build your kingdom through this church and beyond.
May these gifts serve your purpose and bring light to all corners of your world.

Amen

Hymn: Give me joy in my heart

Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
give me joy in my heart, I pray.
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising.
Keep me praising till the end of day.

Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King of kings!
Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King!

Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting,
give me peace in my heart, I pray.
Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting.
Keep me resting till the end of day.

Sing hosanna! …

Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
give me love in my heart, I pray.
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving.
Keep me serving till the end of day.

Sing hosanna! …

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,
give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Keep me burning to the end of day.

Sing hosanna! …

Traditional
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Sending out and Blessings

God calls us to follow Jesus and to walk in the Spirit’s way, loving, serving, and welcoming all.
As we go from this place, may we leave behind anything that keeps us from God’s love
and carry that love into the world
and may the Blessings of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
rest and remain upon you all,
today and always.

Amen

Dismissal

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

Amen