Led by Revd George Mwaura

Gathering Music

Call to Worship

God calls each one of us by name,
before we know how to answer.
God gathers us into one family,
where every person is treasured
and every gift is valued.

Today we rejoice in the gift of new life,
and celebrate God’s covenant love made visible in baptism.
Come, let us worship the Lord,
whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

Amen

Greetings and Welcome

Opening Prayer

Faithful and loving God, you are the giver of life and the source of every good gift.
Long before we knew you, you knew us. Long before we loved you, you loved us.
Today we gather with joy to worship you, to celebrate the gift of this precious child,
and to remember that your promises are sure, your mercy is everlasting, and your love never fails.
Open our hearts to your Word, renew us by your Holy Spirit, and unite us as one family in Christ,
that together we may reflect your goodness to the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Hymn: All things bright and beautiful

All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
each little bird that sings,
he made their glowing colours,
he made their tiny wings:

All things bright and beautiful, …

The tall trees in the greenwood,
the meadows where we play,
the rushes by the water
we gather every day:

All things bright and beautiful, …

He gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is God almighty,
who has made all things well:

All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.

Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895)
CCL31580

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Confession

Loving God, we thank you for the gift of life, for children who remind us of hope,
for families who nurture love, and for the Church,
where people of every age and background belong together.
We thank you for the many gifts you have entrusted to your people,
for kindness shown, for faith shared, for encouragement offered,
and for all who quietly serve your kingdom.

Yet we confess that we do not always live as one body.
We have sometimes allowed fear to overcome trust,
self-interest to replace generosity, and impatience to silence compassion.
We have failed to value the gifts of others, ignored those in need,
and forgotten that every person is precious in your sight.

Forgive us, gracious God.
Renew our minds, reshape our hearts, and help us to offer ourselves afresh in your service,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Kyrie

Words of Grace

Hear the good news: The God who watched over Moses in the basket
who welcomed children into the arms of Jesus,
and who calls each of us by name, is rich in mercy.
In Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven, our lives are made new,
and we are invited to walk together in hope.

Thanks be to God.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Exodus 1: 8 – 2:10

Read by Rosemary Kearsey

⁸ Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ ‘Look,’ he said to his people, ‘the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. ¹⁰ Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.’

¹¹ So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labour, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites ¹³ and worked them ruthlessly. ¹⁴ They made their lives bitter with harsh labour in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labour, the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶ ‘When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.’ ¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. ¹⁸ Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, ‘Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?’

¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, ‘Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.’

²⁰ So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

²² Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: ‘Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.’

The birth of Moses

2 ¹ Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river-bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?’

⁸ ‘Yes, go,’ she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’ So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, ‘I drew him out of the water.’

NIV®

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

Hymn: One more step along the world I go

One more step along the world I go,
one more step along the world I go;
from the old things to the new
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.

Round the corners of the world I turn,
more and more about the world I learn;
all the new things that I see
you’ll be looking at along with me.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; …

As I travel through the bad and good,
keep me travelling the way I should;
where I see no way to go
you’ll be telling me the way, I know.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; …

Give me courage when the world is rough,
keep me loving though the world is tough;
leap and sing in all I do,
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; …

You are older than the world can be,
you are younger than the life in me;
ever old and ever new,
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; …

Sydney Carter (1915–2004)
CCL31580

Romans 12: 1–8

Read by Suzanne Cheng

A living sacrifice

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble service in the body of Christ

³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

NIV®

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

Reflections

By Revd George Mwaura

Musical Meditation

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God the Father,
Creator of heaven and earth, who lovingly calls each of us by name.

We believe in Jesus Christ,
God’s Son, who welcomed children, proclaimed God’s kingdom,
died for our salvation, and rose to give us new life.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who gives gifts to every believer, builds us into one body,
and strengthens us to live as faithful disciples.

We believe that we belong together
as God’s people, called to worship, to serve, and to share Christ’s love with the world.
To God be glory, now and for ever.

Amen

Prayers of Intercession

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

Baptism of Frank Powell and Amarachi Folami Nwosu

Hymn: Lord, the light of your love is shining
(Shine, Jesus, shine)

Lord, the light of your love is shining,
in the midst of the darkness, shining;
Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us,
set us free by the truth you now bring us,
shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine,
fill this land with the Father’s glory;
blaze, Spirit, blaze,
set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow,
flood the nations with grace and mercy;
send forth Your word,
Lord, and let there be light.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence,
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine, …

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness
So our faces display Your likeness.
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine, …

Graham Kendrick (b. 1950)
CCL31580

Sharing the Peace

Christ has made us one body, with many gifts, united by one Spirit.
Church, may the peace of the Lord be always with you.,
and also with you.

Let us share with one another a sign of Christ’s peace
and wave to those watching from home and far afield.

Notices and Offertory

Revd Sarah Eden-Jones’s Induction Service

7.00 pm Monday, 28 September 2026

Our new Minister, Revd Sarah Eden-Jones, will be inducted by Bishop Dave, Bishop of Buckingham, at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone on Monday, 28 September 2026. The Induction Service is scheduled for 7.00 pm. The Service will be very well-attended, so you are advised to arrive in good time. This Service will be live-streamed.

Cornerstone Baby and Toddler Group needs your help

Do you have a couple of hours to spare on Monday mornings? It needn’t be every week!

Toddlers has now been going for three years, and is a fabulous community, who meet each week in term time and have lots of fun. It’s a great way to start the week and is guaranteed to make you smile! Toddlers is an important part of the church’s outreach, creating an Oasis of Hope in Milton Keynes, but to continue we need some help – Urgently!

We are desperate for help bringing the toys down from the balcony 8.30–9.00 am, and really need some new people to support us during the session between 10.00 and 11.45 am.

Please get in touch with me or Joy Chapman and share this message with other people who may be interested.

Thank you Nerys Steeds, njsteeds@icloud.com

Screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing Film

2.00–4.00 pm Sunday, 13 September 2026 at Cornerstone

You are invited to attend a free screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing Film about the risks to British life from ongoing damage to nature and to our climate. The film presents a clear, measured overview of how the climate and nature crisis is affecting everyday life in Britain – and what the evidence says about risks and responses. This screening is for members of the faith communities in Milton Keynes. The 45-minute film will be followed by a time of discussion.

Please book your free ticket using EventBrite by clicking here and registering: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-emergency-briefing-film-for-milton-keynes-faith-communities-tickets-1995450216313?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Revd George Mwaura, Chair, Churches Together in Milton Keynes
The Co-Convenors and Committee of Interfaith MK
Dr Stuart Kean, Convenor, MK Eco Church Network

Cornerstone Covenant Renewal Weekend

Saturday–Sunday, 19–20 September 2026

Our Sunday Service at 10.00 am on 20 September 2026 will be an All Age Covenant Renewal Service.

It will be followed by a Bring and Share Lunch.

Offertory Prayers

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 electronically throughout the week in ways seen and unseen.
Receive and bless them, that they may serve your purposes,
and reflect the generous love revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord

Amen

Prayer for the Week Ahead

Living God, as we leave this place, help us to recognise the gifts you have given each one of us.
Strengthen parents, encourage children, guide teachers, support carers, comfort the anxious,
heal the sick, and inspire your Church to serve faithfully.
Where there is fear, plant courage. Where there is division, bring reconciliation.
Where there is uncertainty, renew hope.
May our homes, our workplaces, our schools, and our community
become places where your love is seen and your peace is known.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Hymn: Take my life, and let it be

Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and purposeful for thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it thine,
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.

Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879)
CCL31580

Blessing

May the God who knew you before you were born watch over you each day.
May Christ, who welcomes every child and calls every disciple, walk beside you.
May the Holy Spirit fill you with courage, wisdom, joy, and peace.

And the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Amen

Mission and Sending Out

Go into the world to cherish every child, to value every person,
and to use every gift God has entrusted to you.
Church, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

In the name of Christ we will.

Amen