Holy Communion for Sunday, 13 September 2020
Preacher and celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Prelude: Panis Angelicus by César Franck (1872)
Welcome
Welcome in the name of Christ.
God’s mercy, grace and peace be with you.
Good morning, Living Stones, and welcome to our Holy Communion Service on the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
We begin with the Prayer of the Week.
Let us pray.
Prayer of the Week
Make us one, O God,
in acknowledging Jesus the Christ.
As we proclaim him by our words,
let us follow him in our works;
give us strength to take up the cross
and courage to lose our lives for his sake.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen
Hymn: Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
worship his holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul.
I’ll worship your holy name.
The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning;
it’s time to sing your song again.
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me,
let me be singing when the evening comes.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul …
You’re rich in love and you’re slow to anger;
your name is great and your heart is kind.
For all your goodness, I will keep on singing
ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul …
And on that day when my strength is failing,
the end draws near and my time has come,
and still my soul will sing your praise unending,
ten thousand years and then for evermore.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul …
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
worship his holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul,
and worship your holy name,
and worship your holy name.
Yes, I’ll worship your holy name.
Matt Redman (2011)
CCL31580
Gathering Prayer
Jesus said: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
Welcome to the house of God.
We have come from all the corners of the earth.
Welcome to the hospitality of God.
We come as we are; we bring our life, our stories, our journey.
Welcome, brothers and sisters.
We are the rainbow people of God.
Welcome, chosen people.
May God our companion bind us in his love.
Amen
The Confession
Forgive us for the things we have done and have not done.
Forgive us for the things we have said and have not said.
Forgive us for the life we have lived and not lived.
Beloved God, help us to reflect the image
of the one we profess to follow
in thought, word and deed,
and in discovering our true self
draw others into that light.
Amen
Kyrie eléison
Kyrie eléison
Kyrie eléison
Kyrie eléison
Christe eléison
Christe eléison
Christe eléison
Kyrie eléison
Kyrie eléison
Kyrie eléison
The Word of the Lord
Romans 14: 1–12
Read by Ian Trimnell
The weak and the strong
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarrelling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
‘ “As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“Every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.” ’
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
NIV®
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Matthew 18: 21–35
Read by Janet Trimnell
The parable of the unmerciful servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’
22 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 ‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 ‘At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.
28 ‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.
29 ‘His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.”
30 ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 ‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 ‘This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
NIV®
This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our light.
Sermon
By Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
An 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
Intercessions
By Cheryl Montgomery
Lord God, Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of us all,
we come to you in prayer for our community and our weeping world.
In confidence that you are listening, we rely on your unfailing love to join the conversation.
We give thanks for our Cornerstone Ecumenical Community with its unity in splendid diversity.
Where curiosity to learn each other’s stories and meet each other’s needs,
virtually or in person, drives everything we do.
Keep us open to new ways of being your Church here in the middle of our city.
Strengthen our connection to you and our far-flung friends in faith.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for our fellowship, especially those who cannot or dare not join us inside for worship.
Fill them with our care and support, keep them safe, keep them hopeful.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
We lift up people and places not so far away in need of compassion:
communities where the virus is creeping back,
places where violence and bigotry on the street could become part of everyday life,
people facing homelessness, destitution, despair.
Help us to show your inexhaustible love as a gift to be passed on, to be paid forward.
Lift their eyes from the dirt and fill their spirits with your hope.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for our country, forging new relationships outside of a unified Europe.
May old grudges be forgiven and set aside, may threats and angry words be left behind,
may bombast be substituted with clear language and a common purpose.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for our world beset with conflict, plague and degradation.
May the leaders, dictators and just plain powerful people
look beyond their narrow interests and stop posturing and directing war.
May the people who benefit from resourceful health systems
share their bounty with those who have little or none.
Keep us all aware of our duty to stay aware.
May we take better care of the earth, our only home.
May we treat Milton Keynes as a special place –
the soil, the air, the water, the landscape – held in trust by us for the future.
May we all join the multitude pressing for the healing and protection of our world.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
Some words from Nite Prayers to close:
Lord let our lives be a canvas of grace
upon which you paint the most amazing pictures of hope.
Let the sweep of your brush illuminate our life
so that others will see it and discover joy, forgiveness and possibility.
Amen
Hymn: Jesus, stand among us at the meeting of our lives
Jesus, stand among us at the meeting of our lives,
be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes;
O Jesus, we love you, as we gather here,
join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.
So to you we’re gathering out of each and every land,
Christ the love between us at the joining of our hands;
O Jesus, we love you, as we gather here,
join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.
Jesus stand among us at the breaking of the bread:
join us as one body as we worship You, our head.;
O Jesus, we love you, as we gather here,
join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.
Graham Kendrick (1977)
CCL31580
The Peace
Jesus says,
‘Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
neither let them be afraid.’
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
The Offering
Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9: 6–7
Thank you
To everyone who is continuing to pay us regularly through the Parish Giving Scheme.
To everyone who is continuing to pay us regularly by bankers’ order.
To people in the envelope scheme who are putting their money aside every week ready to bring in when we re-open.
To members of the envelope scheme who have already sent cheques and on-line donations.
Thank you
Holy Communion
The Thanksgiving
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.
Eucharistic Prayer
It is right to praise you, Father, Lord of all creation;
in your love you made us for yourself.
When we turned away
you did not reject us,
but came to meet us in your Son.
You embraced us as your children
and welcomed us to sit and eat with you.
In Christ you shared our life
that we might live in him and he in us.
He opened his arms of love upon the cross
and made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.
On the night he was betrayed,
at supper with his friends
he took bread, and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to them, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
Father, we do this in remembrance of him:
his body is the bread of life.
At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine,
he gave you thanks, and said:
Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins;
do this in remembrance of me.
Father, we do this in remembrance of him:
his blood is shed for all.
As we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory,
send your Holy Spirit that this bread and this wine
may be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.
As we eat and drink these holy gifts
make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.
With your whole Church throughout the world
we offer you this sacrifice of praise
and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:
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.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
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
Breaking of the Bread
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
Hymn: We have a gospel to proclaim
We have a gospel to proclaim,
good news for all throughout the earth;
the gospel of a Saviour’s name:
we sing his glory, tell his worth.
Tell of his birth at Bethlehem
not in a royal house or hall
but in a stable dark and dim,
the Word made flesh, a light for all.
Tell of his death at Calvary,
hated by those he came to save,
in lonely suffering on the cross;
for all he loved his life he gave.
Tell of that glorious Easter morn:
empty the tomb, for he was free.
He broke the power of death and hell
that we might share his victory.
Tell of his reign at God’s right hand,
by all creation glorified.
He sends his Spirit on his church
to live for him, the Lamb who died.
Now we rejoice to name him King:
Jesus is Lord of all the earth.
This gospel-message we proclaim:
we sing his glory, tell his worth.
Edward J. Burns (b. 1938)
CCL31580
The Blessing
Thank you for joining us this morning.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord turn his face towards you
and give you peace.
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
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ.
Amen
