This Service was conducted by Zoom.
A recording of the service is available here:

Celebrant:                             Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Preacher:                               Revd George Mwaura

Introit

Welcome

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Hymn:  All glory, laud, and honour

All glory, laud, and honour
to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou art the King of Israel,
thou David’s royal Son,
who in the Lord’s name comest,
the King and blessed one:
All glory, laud, and honour …

The company of angels
are praising thee on high,
and mortal men and all things
created make reply:
All glory, laud, and honour …

The people of the Hebrews
with palms before thee went:
our praise and prayer and anthems
before thee we present:
All glory, laud, and honour …

To thee before thy passion
they sang their hymns of praise:
to thee now high exalted
our melody we raise:
All glory, laud, and honour …

Thou didst accept their praises,
accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest,
thou good and gracious King:
All glory, laud, and honour …

Theodolph of Orleans (d. 821)
tr. J.M.Neale (1818–1866)
CCL31580

Introduction

This morning begins the greatest week of the Christian year.
During Lent we prepare ourselves by works of love and self-sacrifice
for the celebration of the Lord’s death and resurrection.

With Christians throughout the world, we come together this week
to call to mind, and to express in word and action, the heart of the Easter mystery:

Our Lord’s Passover from death to life.
Christ entered in triumph into the Holy City to complete his work as Messiah:
to suffer, to die and to rise to new life.
Today we commit ourselves to walk the way of the cross,
so that, sharing his sufferings, we may be united with him in his risen life.

Amen

Blessing the palms

[Please hold the palm or paper cross you have made, or your green branch.]

Sovereign God, we thank you for these branches and crosses, representing palms.
By your blessing may they be for us signs of the victory of your Son.
May we who carry them in his name ever hail him as our Messiah
and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Prayers of Confession

Please hold up your palm cross as we say these words together:

Lord Jesus, humble King, crucified Saviour and risen Lord, we remember how you said,
if the people were silent, the stones would shout out.
With these palm crosses we shout out.
With these palms we give our thanks.
With these palms we celebrate.
With these palms we welcome you afresh into our hearts and lives.

Amen

Loving God, we are here in the name of Christ.
We are here to confess our faults and failings,
to seek your mercy and forgiveness, and to ask for grace and renewal in our lives.

Lord of life,
hear us.

Kyrie

Absolution

May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins,
and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Lenten Prayer

God who calls us on our journey, as we remember Jesus’ time in the wilderness,
help us to cast aside those things that get in the way of hearing your word.
Help us to seek you in the places of bounteous beauty and of barren bleakness.
Help us to seek you in the faces of friends and in the smiles of strangers.
Help our devotion to be made real in the actions of our lives.
When we have looked deep into our own hearts and struggled with who we are,
send angels to minister to us and draw us out from our own wilderness
to fulfil our calling to serve you.
In Christ’s name.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 31: 14–16

¹⁴ But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.

NIV®

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

Mark 14: 3–11

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ ‘Leave her alone,’.said Jesus, ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.’

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

NIV®

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

Sermon

By Revd George Mwaura

Choral Reflection

Affirmation of Faith

Let us affirm our faith.

We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us with power from on high.

We believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen

Intercessions

Led by Don Head

Let us bring our thoughts and concerns to God and ask for guidance and inspiration.

We pray for the church worldwide, marking this Holy Week and the road to Easter.
We pray for our own fellowship, preparing to return to our building
with worship and weekday activities of service to our community.

Almighty and everlasting God, who in your tender love toward the human race
sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh and suffer death upon the cross;
grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility
and also be partakers of his resurrection, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

We remember our Lord’s suffering this week and we are aware that many people in this time
are suffering like him from injustice, cruelty, political chicanery and ignorance.

Living Christ, deep within our hearts the fire of justice burns;
so we ask today for inner courage to walk in solidarity with all who are betrayed,
exploited, driven from home, violated, imprisoned without trial, held hostage,
robbed, enslaved silenced, abused.
Show us, good Lord; how to be frugal until all are fed, how to weep, until all can laugh,
how to be meek until all can stand secure, how to mourn until all are comforted,
how to be restless until all live in peace, how to claim less until all find justice.

Amen

We pray for all who are sick or infirm and all who work to heal the sick and care for the infirm.
We remember that this scourge of illness brings with it; stress and mental health problems.
We pray also for those who are affected by the social changes arising from this pandemic:
those who have lost their jobs and those whose education has suffered
from lack of school and college attendance and support.
We remember those who mourn the loss of loved ones
and those who have been unable to escape from domestic abuse.

Healer of Galilee, you come again to permeate our human condition, to take on again all that hurts us.
Accompany us when bodies are racked in pain and minds are in confusion,
when self-esteem is lost and failures overwhelm,
when our faith in you and others falters and in our loneliness we move beyond tears.
Give us grace to call upon your Spirit to comfort the places in our heart
where we hurt and then give us even more so that we can comfort others.

Amen

God of each and every new day, we offer you our lives and, in our limited words,
we affirm our faith in confidence and prayerful hope,
offering these and all our prayers in the name of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen

Hymn: You are the King of glory

You are the King of glory,
you are the Prince of peace,
you are the Lord of heaven and earth,
you’re the Son of righteousness.
Angels bow down before you,
worship and adore,
for you have the words of eternal life,
you are Jesus Christ the Lord.
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Hosanna to the King of kings!
Glory in the highest heaven,
for Jesus the Messiah reigns!

Mavis Ford (1983)
CCL31580

The Peace

It’s our Christian duty to pray for peace
and share peace in the manner our Lord taught his disciples.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you.
And also with you.

Let us offer those with us a sign of peace,
and wave our palms and crosses to those on the screen.

Holy Communion

The Eucharistic Prayer

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this bread to offer,
which earth has given and human hands have made.
It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed be God for ever.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this wine to offer,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become our spiritual drink.

Blessed be God for ever.

The Lord be with you
and also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.

Father, you made the world and love your creation.
You gave your Son Jesus Christ to be our Saviour.
His dying and rising have set us free from sin and death.
By your Holy Spirit you make us your friends.
And so we gladly thank you,
with saints and angels praising you and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

We praise and bless you, loving Father, through Jesus Christ, our Lord;send your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts, the broken bread and wine out-poured, that may be for us the body and blood of your Dear Son.

On the night before he died, he had supper with his friends and taking the bread he praised you, he broke the bread and shared it with them and said, ‘Take – eat –this is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.’

When supper was ended, he took the cup of wine, again he gave you thanks and shared it and said,
‘Drink this, all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and many for the remission of sins.  Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.’

So, Father, as we remember all that Jesus did, we plead with confidence his sacrifice made once for all upon the cross.  We proclaim his death and resurrection until he comes in glory.

Great is the mystery of faith:

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Lord of all life, help us to work together for that aim, when your kingdom comes and justice and mercy will be seen in all the earth.  Look with favour on your people; gather us in your loving arms and bring us with all the saints to feast at your table in heaven, through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honour and glory are yours, all loving Father, for ever and ever.

Amen

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 the Meal

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

Take this bread. Share this wine.

In these Christ comes to us with love from God. The gifts of God for the people of God.

Amen

Prayer after Communion

Lord Jesus, you humbled yourself in taking the form of a servant,
and in obedience died on the cross for our salvation.
Give us the grace to follow you and to proclaim you as Lord and King,
to the glory of God the Father.

Amen

Notices

Lent Study Groups

Lent Study Groups conclude this week with Session 6 ‘Passion: Anointing and Betrayal’ at 7.15 pm on Tuesday, at 11.00 am on Wednesday, and at 7.30 pm on Thursday, all by Zoom.

Maundy Thursday, 1 April 2021

Holy Communion for Maundy Thursday will be by Zoom at 7.00 pm. To join the Zoom service, go to:

https://bit.ly/ccc-maundy

Dial by your location
0203 901 7895 United Kingdom
0131 460 1196 United Kingdom
Meeting ID: 814 8414 2340
Passcode: 197852

Good Friday, 2 April 2021

Good Friday Service at 10.00 am by Zoom. To join the Zoom service, go to:

https://bit.ly/ccc-goodfriday

Dial by your location
0203 901 7895 United Kingdom
0131 460 1196 United Kingdom
Meeting ID: 848 1276 5841
Passcode: 644813

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kvvgrCA0u

Easter Day, 4 April 2021

Easter Holy Communion will be at 10.00 am by Zoom (https://bit.ly/ccc-sunday).

Offering

Thank you
to everyone who has continued giving through our regular schemes during these past months.
Your generosity has been amazing and much appreciated. We couldn’t have carried on without you.
We have various ways in which you can continue to give your offering in support of the Church.
For details please contact the Stewardship Secretary, Janet Trimnell, at steward.cccmk@gmail.com
Full details are also available on our website at: www.cornerstonemk.co.uk/giving.

Hymn: How deep the Father’s love for us

How deep the Father’s love for us,
how vast beyond all measure,
that he should give his only Son
to make a wretch his treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss –
the Father turns his face away,
as wounds which mar the chosen one
bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross,
my sin upon his shoulders;
ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held him there
until it was accomplished;
his dying breath has brought me life –
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
no gifts, no power, no wisdom;
but I will boast in Jesus Christ,
hos death and resurrection.
Why I should I gain from his reward?
I cannot give an answer,
but this I know with all my heart,
his wounds have paid my ransom.

Stuart Townend (b. 1963)
CCL31580

The Blessing

Jesus Christ, the holy one, the chosen one who comes in the name of the Lord,
enter the gates of our hearts and give us vision for the road ahead,
making us caring companions to each other.

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

Amen

The Dismissal

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

Amen