The Church of Christ the Cornerstone
Baptist Union / Church of England / Methodist Church / Roman Catholic Church / United Reformed Church
Good Evening Living Stones.
Tonight we will take prayers from the Celtic tradition,
some from a book by David Adam, Edge of Darkness.
Join me in this song of praise from Psalm 136:
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Good Morning, Living Stones.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not perish but have eternal life. It was not to judge the world that God sent his Son into the world, but that through him the world might be saved.
We come to you this morning, Lord, like the disciples in the upper room:
locked in and fearful, dressed up with only downstairs to go to.
Strengthen our faith in your eternal love that we may be bold to pray.
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Good evening, Living Stones. I trust that your day has been well spent in spite of the enforced isolation. So let us join with one another in this time of prayer to emphasise our togetherness. Christ the healer, thank you for the variety and richness of our individual stories and the weaving of your presence through...
Good morning, Cornerstone friends. Let us draw aside together to give thanks for this new day. Be conscious of nothing except your own breathing: in — out slowly, in — out a natural rhythm. I was on retreat many years ago in Lee Abbey,...
Let us pray. Please, may we have a peaceful night. Amen Our thoughts and prayers are made in Jesus’ name. [Reflection on the day] Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on...
O, Lord we come to praise you.
As the night ends, so a new day begins.
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Living God, long ago, faithful women proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, and the world was changed for ever. Teach us to keep faith with them, that our witness may be as bold, our love as deep, and our faith as true.
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Call to worship Good morning my dear brothers and sisters on this second Sunday of Easter, wherever you may be, as we continue to worship and fellowship in exile. God is good! All the time. Indeed, God is good all the time, even in this time of pandemic. This is the Good News which we proclaim...
Show me your hands
I heard of a funny incident involving a child of one our ministers during these days of lockdown. A few weeks ago, his five-year-old son rushed in from playing outside at dinner time and sat at the table. His mother looked at him and said, ‘Young man, let me see your hands.’ The poor boy attempted to rub the dust and muck off on his khaki shorts before he held them up. His mother looked at them and asked, ‘How many times do I have to remind you that you must wash your hands before you eat? When your hands are dirty, they can carry corona germs and you could get sick. After we say grace, I want you to go to the kitchen and wash them.’ Obediently, after grace the little boy got up and headed to the kitchen, but halfway there, he stopped, turned and said to his mother, ‘Jesus and germs; Jesus and germs; that’s all I hear around here and I haven’t seen either of them!’
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Risen Lord, as we gather today, may we see you and hear you,
may we feel you and touch you, may we know your presence with us now.
As the disciples in the locked room reached out and touched you,
let us reach out and touch you today, living Lord Jesus.
Let us feel your scarred hands and feet.
Let us put our hands in your side.
Let us be still and know that you are our conquering Lord even in these troubled times
Amen.
Hymn: Now the green blade riseth Played and sung by Adrian Boynton, Director of Music 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...
The Lord appears to Elijah 11 The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the...
Dear Lord, like Mary we are sad and confused. Help us to look in the right place to find you: not in the empty tomb, not in the empty building that we think of as our church. You are everywhere, all about us, and in us. Help us to recognise you, when you come to meet us. When you call us by name, may we, like Mary, recognise you and turn to you. May we, too, like Mary, spread the good news: Jesus lives!
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I thought it might be helpful to turn our thoughts to John’s Gospel chapter 20, in preparation for our Gospel reading this coming Sunday morning.
Thomas said, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails on his hands, unless I put my finger into the place where the nails were, and my hand into his side, I will never believe it.’ Later, Jesus came and stood among them, saying, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here; look at my hands. Reach your hand here and put it into my side. Be unbelieving no longer, but believe.’ Thomas said, ‘My Lord and my God.’
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This lockdown period has given me renewed appreciation of how fortunate we are in Milton Keynes to have so many beautiful green spaces right on our doorstep. Here in Two Mile Ash we have woods, fields, gentle streams, a lovely park and within five or six minutes’ walk, the beautiful Lodge Lake.
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Registered charity number: 1202248
Address: 300 Saxon Gate West, Central Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes MK9 2ES
Email: admin@cornerstonemk.co.uk
Phone: 01908 237777 (answered when the Cornerstone building is open)
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