Presiding Minister: Revd George Mwaura
Preacher: Krou Assoua, Licensed Lay Minister

Gathering Music

Call to Worship

The Lord is our light and our salvation.
Whom shall we fear?

Like a mother hen gathering her chicks,
God’s love shelters and protects us.

One thing we ask of the Lord, one thing we seek:
to dwell in God’s house all the days of our lives.

Though dangers surround us and adversaries rise against us,
we will be confident in the steadfast love of God.

Come, let us seek God’s face together.
We will wait for the Lord with courage and hope.

Let us worship God!

Welcome and Greetings

Opening Prayer

Loving God, you are our light and our salvation, our refuge in times of trouble,
our shelter in the day of storm.
Like a mother hen gathering her brood, you long to draw us close to your heart.
Even when we resist your embrace, even when we turn away from your protection,
your love remains steadfast and sure.
Teach us to seek your face with courage,
to wait for you with patient hearts,
to trust in your deliverance with confidence.

Amen

Hymn: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him,
for he is your health and salvation.
all you who hear, now to his altar draw near,
join in profound adoration.

Praise to the Lord, let us offer
our gifts at his altar,
let not our sins and transgressions
now cause us to falter,
Christ, the High Priest,
bids us all join in his feast,
gathered with him at the altar.

Praise to the Lord, who will
prosper our work and defend us;
surely his goodness and mercy
here daily attend us;
ponder anew all the Almighty can do,
he who with love will befriend us.

Praise to the Lord, oh let all that
is in us adore him!
All that has life and breath,
come now in praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from
his people again,
now as we worship before him.

Joachim Neander (1650–1680)
tr. Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878) and others
CCL31580

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Living God, we thank you that you are our light in darkness,
our refuge in trouble, our shelter in the storm.
Like a mother hen gathering her chicks, you spread your wings of protection over us.
Even when we wander, your steadfast love remains.
Even when we lose our way, your light guides us home.
For your patient love and constant care, we give you thanks.

But Merciful God, like Jerusalem, we too have turned away from your protecting love.
We have sought safety in our own strength,
refused the shelter of your wings, and ignored your calling voice.
Forgive us when we resist your embrace,
when we choose our own way over yours, when we let fear overcome faith.
Draw us back to you, gather us in your love, and make us whole again. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

[Silence]

Prayer of the Week

Gracious God, as we gather in your presence this day
 remind us that you are the One who has brought us this far,
who shelters us under the shadow of your wings, who calls us to dwell in your house for ever.
Open our eyes to see your light, open our hearts to receive your love,
open our lives to follow your way, even when that path leads through difficulty.
Like Jesus, who set his face toward Jerusalem despite the dangers that awaited him,
make us faithful to your calling.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Psalm 27

Read by Don Head

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation –
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life –
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Saviour.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.

¹³ I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

NIV®

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

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 folk 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 …

Thy sorrow and thy triumph
grant us, O Christ, to share,
that to the holy city
together we may fare:
All glory, laud, and honour …

For homage may we bring thee
our victory o’er the foe,
that in the Conqueror’s triumph
this strain may ever flow:

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

Theodulph of Orleans (d. 821)
tr. J.M. Neale (1819–1866)
CCL31580

Luke 13: 31–35

Read by Richard May-Miller

Jesus’ sorrow for Jerusalem

¹ At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.’

² He replied, ‘Go tell that fox, “I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.” ³ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

⁴ ’Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ⁵ Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”’

NIV®

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

Reflections

By Krou Assoua, Licensed Lay Minister

Meditative music

Affirmation of Faith

Intercessions

Led by Cheryl Montgomery

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 Peace

In Psalm 27 we hear these words: ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart’.
As those who dwell in God’s house of peace, let us share that peace with one another.
May the peace of Christ be with you;
and also with you.

Hymn: Let us break bread together on our knees

Let us break bread together on our knees.
Let us break bread together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

Let us drink wine together on our knees.
Let us drink wine together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

Let us praise God together on our knees.
Let us praise God together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

Traditional
CCL31580

Holy Communion

The Great Thanksgiving

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 our thanks and praise.

It is truly right and our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise,
O Lord our God, our light and our salvation.
Like a mother hen gathering her brood, you spread your wings of love over your people.
Though we often turn away, your steadfast care never fails.
Therefore, we join our voices with all who seek your face, singing your praise 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 the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Holy God, we thank you for Jesus Christ, who set his face toward Jerusalem,
despite the dangers that awaited him.
In his life, we see your light.
In his death, we find our refuge.
In his resurrection, we discover eternal hope.

On the night he was betrayed, he was at super with friends
when he took bread and gave you thanks as we do now Lord.
Then he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying,
‘Take and eat. This is my body that is given for you. Always do this to remember me.’
After super he again took the cup of wine and once again gave you thanks.
Then he gave it to his disciples saying,
‘Take and drink from it all of you.
This is my blood of the new covenant between you and God
sealed in my blood that will be poured out for many for the forgives of sins.
Always do this in remembrance of me.’
As we share this bread and cup, gather us under your wings of grace.
Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to the world.

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

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we might be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour are yours, almighty God, now and for ever.

Amen

The Breaking of the Bread

The bread we break is the light of Christ.
The cup we share is our refuge in God.
These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.

Post Communion Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you that you have gathered us at your table of grace.
You are our light and our salvation; in you we find our refuge and strength.

Send us forth to share your light and extend your sheltering love to others,
until that day when all are gathered in your eternal kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Notices

Lent Studies week 2

We hold three series of sessions, one this week on Monday, and two on Wednesday. The materials we shall be studying are from ‘A Search for Peace’ by John Birch from Faith & Worship (www.faithandworship.com).

This week we are following Study Two: ‘The Human Destruction of Peace’.

7.15 pm Monday, 17 March 2025 by Zoom led by Rosemary & John Kearsey
7.00 pm Wednesday, 19 March 2025 by Zoom led by Don Head
7.30 pm Wednesday, 19 March 2025 led by Stuart Kean

The further study sessions are:

Study Three: ‘God, Peace, and the Old Testament’
Study Four: ‘God, Peace, and the New Testament’
Study Five: ‘Peace in the Lives of Believers’

It’s not too late to sign up for this year’s Lent studies if you haven’t already done so. Please contact Rosemary Kearsey or Robin Kyd for the Monday/Tuesday sessions, Robin Kyd for the Wednesday 7.00 pm sessions by Zoom or Stuart Kean for the Wednesday 7.30 pm sessions.

Support Earth Hour

Saturday, 22 March 2025 8.30–9.30 pm

Earth Hour is an annual event organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), when people and organisations all over the world switch off their lights for one hour ‘to help raise awareness on the most urgent issues facing our planet.’ As part of our activities as an Eco Church we invite Cornerstone members, if they can, to participate for one hour on Saturday, 22 March 2025 from 8:30 pm until 9.30 pm. This would involve switching off some lights and devices and perhaps taking time to pray. In addition, WWF is encouraging people to spend 60 minutes doing something – anything – positive for our planet, perhaps simply finding out more about climate crisis across the world: https://www.earthhour.org/about/the-biggest-hour-for-earth.

Cornerstone Eco Church Group

Thursday Morning Coffee

We continuing regular weekly gatherings for coffee (or other drinks), fellowship and chat in the Cornerstone Café from 11.00 am every Thursday. This is an informal drop-in session, so feel free to come and go as you wish. So far there has been no take-up for the Zoom session, but if you wish it to continue, please contact me by email: robin_kyd@yahoo.co.uk.

Offertory Prayer

Gracious God, all abundance flows from your endless love.
We humbly present these offerings – both those given today and those already shared –
asking for your blessing as we build your kingdom through this church and beyond. May these gifts serve your purpose and bring light to all corners of your world.

Amen

Hymn: Be thou my vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
be all else but naught to me save that thou art;
be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
both waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true Word;
be thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord;
be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;
be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;
be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might;
be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my high tower:
O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise:
thou mine inheritance now and always;
be thou and thou only the first in my heart;
O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art!

High King of heaven, thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys after victory is won;
great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.

Irish (8th century)
tr. Mary Byrne (1880–1931)
versified Eleanor Hull (1860–1935)
CCL31580

Blessings

May the God who is our light and salvation give you courage for the journey.
May the Christ who set his face toward Jerusalem give you strength for the path ahead.
May the Spirit who gathers us like a mother hen keep you under the shadow of grace
until we gather again in God’s presence.
And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father Son and Holy Spirit,
rest and remain upon you all today and always.

Amen

Sending out

Church, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

In the name of Christ, we will.

Amen