A separate video feed of the choir will be available here during the service.

Preacher & Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Opening Prayer

Faithful God, we thank you for your presence with us.
In trouble and in joy, you are always there.
Help us to see where you were with us last year,
and open our eyes to new opportunities in this new year.
Faithful God, we thank you.

Amen

[Silence]

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: We are marching in the light of God!

We are marching in the light of God.
We are marching in the light of God.
We are marching in the light of God.
We are marching in the light of God.
We are marching, marching;
we are marching, Oh, Oh.
We are marching in the light of God.
We are marching, marching;
we are marching, Oh, Oh.
We are marching in the light of God.

Traditional Bantu song
CCL31580

Prayer of Approach

God outside of time, who is part of our past, part of our present and part of our future:
as we begin this new year, may we recognise and remember all that has gone before
and look forward to all that will be.
Jesus, our great Redeemer and Saviour, who journeys into this new year with us,
we come to worship you.

Amen

[Silence]

Confession

Lord Jesus Christ, there are times when we have not done as we ought:

A time to embrace, to reach out,
but we chose not to.

A time to weep with others,
but we chose not to.

A time to laugh with others,
but we chose not to.

A time to plant,
but we chose not to.

A time to build up,
but we chose not to.

A time to remain silent,
but we chose not to.

A time to speak up,
but we chose not to.

Forgive us, we are sorry.
Help us to recognise the times we need to be present, and the times we need to act.
Give us the courage to not walk away.

[Silence]

Thank you, Lord, that for you it is always time to forgive.
We are confident that you have forgiven us and restored us.
You have made us whole. You have made all things new.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

When life is hard, it’s time to trust God.
When life is full of joy and fun, it’s time to thank God.
When God seems far away, it’s time to look for God.
When God is close, it’s time to sing to God.
In all our lives it’s time to praise God.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 8

Read by Adrian Boynton

¹ Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
in the heavens.
² Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?/span>

⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honour.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
⁸ the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

NIV®

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

Matthew 25: 31–46

Read by Bob Collard

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

³⁷ ‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?”

⁴⁰ ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

⁴¹ ‘Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was ill and in prison and you did not look after me.”

⁴⁴ ‘They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or ill or in prison, and did not help you?”

⁴⁵ ‘He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

⁴⁶ ‘Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

[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 Glynne Gordon-Carter

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: O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
Bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him, the Lord is his name!

Low at his feet lay thy burden of carefulness,
high on his heart he will bear it for thee,
comfort thy sorrows, and answer thy prayerfulness,
guiding thy steps as may best for thee be.

Fear not to enter his courts in the slenderness
of the poor wealth thou wouldst reckon as thine:
truth in its beauty, and love in its tenderness,
these are the offerings to lay on his shrine.

These, though we bring them in trembling and fearfulness,
he will accept for the name that is dear;
mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness,
trust for our trembling and hope for our fear.

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
Bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him: the Lord is his name!

J.S.B. Monsell (1811–1875)
CCL31580

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 is 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

The Communion

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

Eternal Father, we thank you for nourishing us with these heavenly gifts:
may our communion strengthen us in faith, build us up in hope, and make us grow in love;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Notices

Cornerstone Christmas Appeal 2022 – Last chance to donate!

Our Christmas Charity Appeal will end on 1 January 2023. Please consider donating now, if you have not already done so!

You can donate online or by telephone banking using the following account details:
Metro bank business account number: 43302825
Account name: Cornerstone Christmas Appeal
Sort code: 23 05 80
Please write ‘Xmas’ as the payment reference.

You can also donate cash by using the envelopes available in the church Reception area and handing them in at any service.

Please make cheques payable to ‘Cornerstone Christmas Appeal’.

The beneficiaries of our appeal this year will be Advantage Africa, Citizens Advice, and the Winter Night Shelter.

Thank you
Peter Cope

Cornerstone Café

The Cornerstone Café re-opens 9.00 am –3.00 pm on Tuesday, 3 January 2023.

Urgently needed!!
Volunteers to help with live streaming of Cornerstone Services

We need to recruit a small group of volunteers who are able to run the live streaming of our services. Due to pressure of work, Ian, who has so successfully been running our live streaming up to now, is not able to continue for the time being.

We need people who are reasonably confident with IT and have access to their own PC or laptop, and WiFi connection. The live streaming can be controlled from your home computer or laptop. If you preferred, it could also be controlled from your laptop in the church building.

Ian Trimnell has kindly said he will provide instructions and ‘do a bit of hand holding’ at the start.

If you are interested to find out more, please contact Rev George Mwaura (george.mwaura@cornerstonemk.co.uk) or Peter Cope (petercope26@gmail.com).

Thank You

Offering

Final Prayer

Hymn: To God be the glory

To God be the glory, great things he has done!
so loved he the world that he gave us his Son.
Who yielded his life in atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus his Son;
and give him the glory, great things he has done!

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God!
And every offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord!  …

Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher, and greater will be
our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.

Fanny Crosby (née Frances J. van Alstyne) (1820–1915)
CCL31580

Blessing

God be in your head, and in your understanding;
God be in your eyes, and in your looking;
God be in your mouth, and in your speaking;
God be in your heart, and in your thinking;
God be at your end, and at your departing.
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

Dismissal

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

Amen