Preacher: Krou Assoua LLM
Led by: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Gathering Prayer

Amazing and loving God, as we meet together –
inspire us by your word, renew us with your Spirit and unite us
as we worship you, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

Amen

[Silence]

Praise the Lord! Come, praise the Lord!
Everything in heaven and earth, praise God!

Praise the Lord, all creation – sun, moon and shining stars,
everything in heaven and earth, praise God!

Praise the Lord, sea and land, animals, birds and all nature,
everything in heaven and earth, praise God!

Rulers and nations, young and old together,
everything everywhere, praise the Lord!

Amen

Hymn: Alleluia! … This is the day

Alleluia!  [×8]

This is the day the Lord has made,
let us rejoice, be glad and sing!
Thanks and praise be to our God,
for his mercy endures for evermore!

The right hand of God has come with power,
the Lord, our God, is lifted high!
I shall not die, but I shall live
and rejoice in the works of the Lord.

The stone which the builders once denied
now has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done,
it has brought wonder to our eyes!

Marty Haugen (b. 1950)
CCL31580

Confession

O guardian of our hearts, so often we have focused on the wrong things
and turned away from those who need our help.
Whether through thoughtlessness, presumption or fear,
we have not embodied the abundant life you offer us.
Re-tune our hearts to your Spirit and your perfect love,
motivate us to find ways of helping, even when we feel limited or without resources.

May we never turn away from doing something because we cannot do everything.
Help us be light wherever we are,
not keeping it to ourselves but working together to show your generosity.

Forgive us, restore us, and guide us, we pray.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Holy God, as we try to live our lives as Jesus did,
fill us with a longing for justice, and give us generous hearts.
Help our actions to show that we really do want your kingdom to come,
here and now, and not just in heaven.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 146

Read by the Congregation in two groups.

¹ Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

² I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³ Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them –
he remains faithful for ever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
⁸ the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

¹⁰ The Lord reigns for ever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

NIV®

Hymn: Alleluia, sing to Jesus!

Alleluia, sing to Jesus!
his the sceptre, his the throne;
alleluia, his the triumph
his the victory alone:
hark, the songs of peaceful Sion
thunder like a mighty flood;
Jesus out of every nation
hath redeemed us by his blood.

Alleluia, not as orphans
are we left in sorrow now;
alleluia, he is near us,
faith believes, nor questions how:
though the cloud from sight received him,
when the forty days were o’er,
shall our hearts forget his promise,
‘I am with you evermore’?

Alleluia, bread of angels,
thou on earth our food, our stay;
alleluia, here the sinful
flee to thee from day to day:
Intercessor, Friend of sinners,
earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
where the songs of all the sinless,
sweep across the crystal sea.

Alleluia, King eternal,
thee the Lord of lords we own;
alleluia, born of Mary,
earth thy footstool, heaven thy throne:
thou within the veil hast entered,
robed in flesh, our great High Priest;
thou on earth both Priest and Victim
in the eucharistic feast.

William Chatterton Dixon (1817–1898)
CCL31580

Luke 16: 19–31

Narrated by members of the Sunday School

Narrator

Jesus told this parable to the money-loving religious leaders.

Rich man

[Bold and loud] Hello everyone, I’m a fabulous rich man. You can see I wear expensive clothes, eat lots of lovely food and generally have an amazing and expensive time. Wonderful me! I have it all – and more.

Lazarus

[Diffident] Hi there. I’m Lazarus. I wouldn’t take much notice of me. I’m so poor that most days I sit at the door of that rich man and hope that I might get thrown some scraps to eat. Sometimes I do, but mostly I don’t. My legs are so sore; I seem to have ulcers all over them. It’s not helped by the pesky dogs licking them. But to be honest I haven’t the strength to chase them away. I think they’re after the scraps too.

Narrator

Both the rich man and poor Lazarus died. Now, Lazarus…

Lazarus

Wow! I didn’t expect to be here – I died you know and, as I died, some angels came and brought me here. Yes, here! I’m here with our ancestor Abraham. It’s wonderful. No pain at last.

Narrator

The rich man also died. To his surprise he found himself in another place. It was terrible, awful. He was really suffering.

Rich man

Oh dear! Oh dear! This is terrible, awful. I’m really suffering. I’m in pain and it’s sooo hot. And I’m really thirsty. And did I say it was awful?

Narrator

Looking up he could see Abraham and Lazarus…but he couldn’t reach them.

Rich man

Father Abraham, please be kind to me! Could you send Lazarus down here to dip his finger into some water and cool my tongue. It’s so, so hot. And I’m in agony.

Abraham

My son, remember when you were alive you had all the good things, but Lazarus didn’t. He had nothing but bad things. Now, he’s here. And he’s being looked after. But you…in case you hadn’t realised, you’re in agony. In any case, I can’t send Lazarus. There’s a huge, great, bottomless, very wide, very deep, huge, uncrossable chasm between us – no one can go from one side to the other. Not from us to you, or from you to us.

Rich man

Oh no! Oh goodness – then, Father Abraham, let me ask you a different favour.

Abraham

What is it, my son?

Rich man

Please send him to my family, to my five brothers. Please warn them. Let them know so that they won’t end up here in such an awful place and in so much suffering. Do you know I’m in agony?

Abraham

Ah, but they have the Scriptures to warn them, it’s all in there. They should listen to Moses and the prophets.

Rich man

Of course, of course, I know they should, Father Abraham. But they’re not listening. But if someone came back to them from the dead, then they would change their ways.

Abraham

If they haven’t listened to Moses and the prophets, they’re not going to be convinced even by someone who rises from the dead. Sorry. Bye for now.

Meditation

By Krou Assoua LLM

[Silence]

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

Prayers and Intercessions

Led by members of the Sunday School

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

The Peace

Peace to you from God, who is our Father.
Peace from Jesus Christ, who is our peace.
Peace from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life.

The peace of God be always with you.
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Notices

Bible Study with Revd Hannah Akibo-Betts: ‘The Gifts of the Spirit’

Our Wednesday evening Bible studies with Revd Hannah Akibo-Betts will resume on Wednesday, 28 September 2022. Further details will be sent to registered participants when they are available.

Next Sunday, 2 October 2022: Cornerstone 30th Anniversary Service followed at 12.45 pm by Congregational Meeting by Zoom

Next Sunday we have our Service for the 30th Anniversary of the Dedication of Christ the Cornerstone. It will be a special day, and after the service there will be celebratory cake (thanks to Heather Hughes) and sparkling drink, as well as tea and coffee. While you are enjoying these you can view a small exhibition of photos and memorabilia about the building of the church and the visit of the Queen for the Dedication Service in 1992.

The Congregational Meeting will be by Zoom at 12.45 pm, as agreed by Ecumenical Council. This is to enable participation by as many people as possible. The link to the Zoom meeting will be sent out in an email with the Agenda and Papers for the meeting

Service for Black History Month

10.00 am Sunday, 9 October 2020

In celebration of this event on Sunday, 9 October 2022 Mr Anthony Reddie will be our guest preacher. He is Director of Justice and Inclusion of the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. In August, Mr Reddie published his latest book Race for Justice: The struggle for equality and inclusion in British and Irish churches. We are pleased that Miss Maureen Onwunali, a member of our Church, will read some of her poetry.

After the service, we are having a bring-and-share lunch in the Guildhall. We hope that you will contribute towards this as we want the cuisine to reflect the international make-up of our Church. Also, we are planning to have a display of artefacts from different countries. It will make the day even more special if members wear outfits that reflect their heritage. We hope that you will come and be a part of the entire morning’s fellowship.

Glynne Gordon-Carter

What’s going on?

We all like to know what activities and events are being planned and arranged for our church community. One good way to spread the news is to place a Notice in this weekly Notice Sheet. Not only is it handed out at Sunday services but it is also sent to over two hundred people by email.

Notices should be sent to our Administrator, Mark Okor (admin@cornerstonemk.co.uk) to arrive by 5.00 pm on Wednesday, and it would be helpful if they were copied to Robin Kyd (robin_kyd@yahoo.co.uk), who will also post the information as appropriate on the Cornerstone website.

Offering

‘God loves a cheerful giver’

Thanks to your generous giving we can be an Oasis of Hope to Milton Keynes. Please keep supporting our mission!

If you are at our worship service in the church building and would like to make an offering, please place your offering in the basket at the door to the worship area. If you can’t find it, please ask the stewards.

There are many different ways to give: online, telephone banking or by cheque. For more information how to give please visit the Cornerstone website (www.cornerstonemk.co.uk) or contact: steward.cccmk@gmail.com. Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated.

Final Prayer

Lord, we know that your kingdom exists wherever injustice is challenged,
wherever the oppressed are set free, wherever the hungry are fed,
wherever the helpless helped and foreigners welcomed.
Help us to work for this, wherever we are this week.

Amen

Hymn: Immortal, invisible, God only wise

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we raise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light;
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might –
thy justice like mountains high-soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all laud we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

William Chalmers Smith (1825–1908)
CCL31580

Blessings

May God the Father prepare your journey,
Jesus the Son guide your footsteps,
The Spirit of Life strengthen your body,
The Three in One watch over you, on every road that you may follow.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you today and always

Amen

The Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ.

Amen