Service of the Word – Live Streamed – Sunday, 12 April 2026

by Robin.Kyd · 12 April 2026

Preacher: Tom Donoghue,
Mission Development Officer URC East Midland Synod
***Led by*: Revd George Mwaura**

Gathering Music

Call to Worship

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed, alleluia!

When fear locked the doors, Christ came and stood among them.
He comes among us still, speaking peace.

When doubt clouded their hearts, Christ showed his wounds.
He meets us in our questioning and calls us to faith.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.
We come to worship the risen Lord with joy and hope. Alleluia!

Greetings and Welcome

Hymn: The strife is o’er, the battle done

The strife is o’er, the battle done;
now is the Victor’s triumph won;
O let the song of praise be sung:
Alleluia.

Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst’
and Jesus hath his foes dispersed;
let shouts of praise and joy outburst:
Alleluia.

On the third day he rose again
glorious in majesty to reign;
O let us swell the joyful strain:
Alleluia.

Lord, by the stripes which wounded thee
from death’s dread sting thy servants free,
that we may live, and sing to thee
Alleluia.

Latin, probably 17th century
tr. Frances Pott (1852–1909)
CCL31580

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Risen Lord Jesus, we praise you for your victory over death,
for the empty tomb and the promise of new life.
You have given us a living hope through your resurrection from the dead,
and an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

Yet we confess that we do not always live as Easter people.
We cling to fear when you offer peace. We doubt when you call us to trust.
We hold back when you send us out.
Like Thomas, we struggle to believe without seeing.
Like the disciples, we hide behind locked doors.
Forgive us, Lord. Breathe your Spirit upon us once more.
Open our hearts to your presence,
that we may rejoice even in trials and live as witnesses to your resurrection.
For you are our refuge and our portion, and in your presence, there is fullness of joy.

Amen

[Silence]

Absolution

Hear the good news:
This Jesus, whom we crucified, God has raised up, freeing him from the power of death.
In him, we are given new birth into a living hope. In him, our sins are forgiven. In him, we are made alive.
Therefore, I declare to you: your sins are forgiven in the name of the risen Christ.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia!

Prayer of the Week

Victorious Christ, you came among your disciples with peace and turned their fear into joy:
Breathe your Spirit into our lives this week, that we may live with courage,
serve with compassion, and trust you even when we cannot see.
Strengthen our faith, that we may rejoice in the living hope you give,
and be witnesses of your resurrection in the world;
for you are alive and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen

Psalm 16

¹ Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.

² I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.’
³ I say of the holy people who are in the land,
‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’
⁴ Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.

⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

NIV®

Acts 2: 14a & 22–32

Read by Martin Petchey

Peter addresses the crowd

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:

[…]

²² ‘Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵ David said about him:

‘“I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

²⁹ ‘Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

NIV®

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

Hymn: Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain

Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain,
wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

In the grave they laid him, Love whom men had slain,
thinking that never he would wake again,
laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain,
he that for three days in the grave had lain,
quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
thy touch can call us back to life again,
fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

J.M.C. Crum (1872–1958)
CCL31580

1 Peter 1: 3–9

Read by Kudakwashe Matare

Praise to God for a living hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

NIV®

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

Sermon

By Tom Donoghue, Mission Development Office URC East Midland Synod

Musical Meditation

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God the Father
who raised Jesus Christ from the dead and gave us new birth into a living hope.

We believe in Jesus Christ,
who came among his disciples with peace,
who was crucified and is risen, whose wounds speak both of suffering and of love.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who breathes new life into us, who strengthens our faith beyond what we can see,
and sends us into the world as witnesses.
We believe that though we have not seen, we love;
and though we do not now see, we believe and rejoice with indescribable joy.

Amen

Prayers and Intercessions

Led by Don Head

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

The risen Christ came among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
May the same peace of the risen Lord be always with you,
and also with you.

Let us share the peace of Christ and wave to those watching on the live stream.

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)
CCL31580

Notices and Offertory

Tom Donoghue

Tom Donoghue, our visiting preacher this Sunday morning, is the Mission Development Officer for the United Reformed Church East Midlands Synod. He has been leading the Synod’s two-year focus, Talking Faith, helping churches grow in confidence to engage in everyday faith conversations as part of God’s mission. Tom lives in North Derbyshire with his wife and two children. He is a member of Bakewell Methodist Church and serves as both a Circuit Steward and Local Preacher in the Peak Methodist Circuit.

Methodist Northampton District ‘Big Sing’

6.00 pm Sunday 19 April 2026 at Christ the Cornerstone
Preacher: Revd Richard Andrews – President of the Methodist Conference

All are invited to come to this service – refreshments at 5.30 pm.

We have been asked to provide refreshments and, although some people from the MK Methodistl Circuit will come to help and will be providing some cakes, I would be very grateful for help from some Cornerstone members as well.

The service will be live-streamed.

Rosemary Kearsey

Offertory Prayer

Gracious God, all abundance flows from your endless love.
We humbly present these offerings before you, those placed before your altar today
and those given faithfully throughout the week,
whether shared in person or offered electronically, seen and unseen.
Receive them all as signs of our gratitude and tokens of our trust in you.
Bless these gifts and those who give them, that they may serve your purposes, proclaim your kingdom,
and reflect the generous love revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Hymn: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord