Holy Communion will be live streamed today

There are two cameras, one faces the Dais, covering the altar and lectern. The other camera faces the organ and choir area. The live feed from these cameras will be shown below. You may watch both or just one, depending upon the size of your device (two may fit on a laptop screen but may not on a phone’s screen).

You may need to adjust your sound volume to hear the service – this should be a temporary measure as we adjust the sound levels to suit the new cameras.

Please note that the feeds will go live from around 9.45 am and will be switched off after the service.

Altar Camera

Organ Camera

Living Stones

Introit

Welcome

O God, your Word became flesh and lived among us.
Thank you that you moved into our neighbourhood, that you are present with us right now,
dwelling in our hearts and our homes.
Holy God, you are worthy to be praised.
Holy Spirit, we worship you.
Living bread, we adore you.

Amen

[Silence]

Welcome

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

Hymn: How great thou art

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
how great thou art, how great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, …

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die – I scarce can take it in:
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, …

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home – what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, …

Russian hymn
tr. Stuart K. Hine (1899–1989)
CCL31580

Prayer of Approach

Lamb of God, giver of life, ultimate sacrifice:
we bow at your throne.
We draw near to worship you.
Draw near to us, make yourself known to us today – in all that we think, say and do.

Amen

[Silence]

Confession

Let us confess in silence our own struggles to love others, to love ourselves,
and to love God with all our being.

Kyrie

Holy One we recognise the ways we have brought pain to you,
to others and to ourselves.
Forgive us and send your living Spirit to renew us, inspire us, sustain us,
and encourage us in our journey.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Jesus, our living bread, we have an appetite for you,
and we come wanting to feed on your word.
Jesus, you offer life to the world, eternal life, raising us up on the last day.
Keep us hungry for you, with the anticipation of a feast of the finest food –
food that brings life.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Ephesians 5: 15–20

Read by Richard May-Miller

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV®

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

John 6: 51–58

Read by Rosemary Kearsey

‘… ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’

⁵² Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’

⁵³ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.’

NIV®

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

Meditation

Choral Response

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

Led by Adrian Boynton

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.

Hymn: And can it be that I should gain

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died he for me, who caused His pain?
for me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine!
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
let angel minds inquire no more.

He left his Father’s throne above –
so free, so infinite his grace –
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam’s helpless race.
’Tis mercy all! immense and free;
for, O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ, my own.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
CCL31580

Holy Communion

The Lord here.
His spirit is with us.

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.

Almighty God, good Father to us all, your face is turned towards your world.
In love you gave us Jesus your Son to rescue us from sin and death.
Your Word goes out to call us home to the city where angels sing your praise.

We join with them in heaven’s song:

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 bless the name of Jesus, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh,
whose brokenness and suffering makes love real,
who on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,
gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying,

Take, eat. This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

After supper he took the cup saying,

Drink from this, all of you, this is my blood given for you.
Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.

This is the mystery of our faith.

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

Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup,
we acknowledge brokenness as a path to truth.

We long for the bread of tomorrow: eternally broken and so able to nourish.
We long for the new wine of the kingdom: continuously poured out that thirst may be quenched.

Send your Spirit on us now,
that by these gifts we may feed on Christ with opened eyes and hearts on fire.
May we and all who share this food offer ourselves to live for you
and be welcomed at your feast in heaven, where all creation worships you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours forever 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

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.

Amen

Post-Communion Prayer

After being fed by you, Jesus the living bread, send us out to feed others.
Now that we are filled with your Holy Spirit, guide our hands as we offer your life to others.
Now that we have the promise of eternal life with you, Lord God,
give us your love to share with the world.

Amen

Notices

The Food Bank

Cornerstone is a collecting point for donations of food to the Food Bank. Now that the Cornerstone Reception area is open throughout the week, the Food Bank is resuming collecting these donations weekly on Wednesday morning.

Please consider donating generously to the Food Bank. Here are some of the products that are particularly needed at the moment: sugar; cereal; spreads: jam, peanut butter etc.; long-life fruit juice; long-life milk (whole milk is best for families with children); pasta sauce. You will find more detailed information about food donations on the MK Food Bank website, particularly on the Give Food page (http://mkfoodbank.org.uk/support-the-food-bank/help-the-food-bank/give-food/).

Although the Food Bank cannot handle fresh food, many of the Community Fridges around Milton Keynes will gladly accept fresh food. If you have more fruit or vegetables from your garden or allotment than you can use yourself, please donate them to one of the Community Fridges.

Countdown to COP26: Climate Sunday, 5 September 2021

The Climate Sunday initiative is calling on all local churches across Great Britain and Ireland to hold a climate-focused service before COP26 (https://ukcop26.org/), and our Climate Sunday will be 5 September 2021. Revd George will be preaching about climate change in the morning, and then at 3.00 pm there will be an Ecumenical Service which will also focus on climate change. This service will be led by Rt Revd Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford, who is a member of Lords Select Committee for Environment and Climate Change, and all the Presidents have been invited: Rt Revd David Oakley, Bishop of Northampton; Revd Geoffrey Clarke, Moderator of the URC East Midlands Synod; Revd Geoff Colmer, Regional Minister of the Central Baptist Association and current President of the Baptist Union; Revd Canon Helen Cameron, Chair of the Northampton District of the Methodist Church; Rt Revd Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham.

This will be an opportunity for us to hear what Revd George and Bishop Steven have to say, to show our commitment to tackling climate change, and for us to lobby those in senior positions within all of our parent churches to speak out and tackle climate change. Please make a note in your diaries to attend these services and also check out the Climate Sunday website (https://www.climatesunday.org/), which includes resources and activities with which to get involved.

David Chapman

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: Christ is alive! Let Christians sing

Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.
His cross stands empty to the sky.
Let streets and homes with praises ring.
Love, drowned in death, shall never die.

Christ is alive! No longer bound
to distant years in Palestine,
he comes to claim the here and now,
and conquer every place and time.

Not throned above, remotely high,
untouched, unmoved by human pains
but daily, in the midst of life,
our Saviour, with the Father reigns.

In every insult, rift and war,
where colour, scorn or wealth divide,
Christ suffers still, yet loves the more,
and lives, though ever crucified.

Christ is alive! His Spirit burns
through this and every future age,
till all creation lives and learns
his joy, his justice, love and praise.

Brian A. Wren (b. 1936)
CCL31580

The Blessing

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

The Dismissal

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

Amen