Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Almighty and ever living God, you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent.
May this time be one of outward focus; seeking you in those we often ignore.
Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter.
Give us hearts hungry to serve you and those who need what we have to give.

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: Lord of all hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy,
be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
be there at our labours, and give us, we pray,
your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

Jan Struther (Joyce Placzek) (1901–1953)
CCL31580

Confession

Scripture tells us that many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
With trust and humility, let us come before the Lord
who desires that we acknowledge our sin with penitent hearts.

[Silence]

Merciful God, in you we have found our inheritance
and received much more than we have ever deserved.
However, we have often squandered that inheritance,
choosing to spoil it rather than share it with others.

Forgive us for the moments when we have been selfish
and simply set our sights on our own desires instead of others’ needs.
Broaden our gaze that we might live righteous lives pleasing to you
and beneficial to your eternal kingdom.

Greet us as the forgiving father greeted his wayward son.
Welcome us home, for we long to live within your faithfulness.

Kyrie

Friends, by the grace of God, you and I have been forgiven of our sins
and invited to a renewed life with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Amen

Prayer of the Week

God of All Newness and Creation, even deep in the wilderness of Lent,
we are nevertheless new creations in your sight.
Even when we are deep within trials and tribulations,
even there we are held within your loving embrace.
In Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself.
Come, Holy Spirit, that we might be trustworthy messengers of that spirit of reconciliation.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Genesis 9: 8–17

Read by Bob Collard

⁹ ‘I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you – the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’

¹² And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’

¹⁷ So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.’

NIV®

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

Mark 1: 9–15

Read by Brian Halstead

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Jesus Announces the Good News

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵ ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriag

[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 Robin Kyd

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 the Lord be always with you.
and also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Hymn: I heard the voice of Jesus say

I heard the voice of Jesus say
‘Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast’:
I came to Jesus as I was,
weary and worn and sad;
I found in him a resting-place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say
‘Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one;
stoop down and drink and live’:
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say
‘I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright’:
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him mu star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk
till travelling days are done.

Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
CCL31580

The Thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this bread to set before you,
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 set before you,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become for us the cup of salvation.

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.

Come to this table, not because you must, but because you may,
not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little and would like to love him more.
Come, because he loved you and gave himself for you.
Come and meet the risen Christ, for we are his Body.

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

Lent Studies 2024

Our Lent Study begins this week. We are offering three evening sessions each week: Tuesdays are with Rosemary Kearsey, Wednesdays with the regular Bible Study Group and Thursdays with Stuart Kean. We shall use the series prepared by Green Christian, Calling a Wounded Earth Home, which is based on five themes: Love, Truth, Wisdom, Justice and Hope. If you are interested in coming, please send an email to Mark in the office (admin@cornerstonemk.co.uk). You can find out more about Green Christian at https://greenchristian.org.uk.

Cheryl Montgomery

Update on Cornerstone Christmas Appeal 2023

The monies from the 2023 Christmas Appeal will be paid out shortly. The final distribution will be:

Advantage Africa	£2,500
MK-ACT	£1,487
MK Money Lifeline	£1,000
Toilet Twinning	£360
Total	£5,347

Thank you all for your continued support and generosity, it is much appreciated.

Christmas Appeal Committee

Training for Readers and Intercessors

Philip Allsop (who represents Fr Francis) has made a very kind offer of training for readers and intercessors. The Catholic cluster organise such training every now and again and have two excellent people to do the training. Philip is happy to hold their next training at Cornerstone and open it up to any of our readers and intercessors. It has been scheduled for 7.30–9.00 pm on Monday, 18 March 2024 in the Worship Area.

If you are interested in honing your reading skills or would like to get some training to become a reader, please let me or June know.

Brian Halstead, brianhalstead@hotmail.co.uk

Connect with our Creator and God’s creation during Lent

Lent gives us the opportunity to reflect on the practice of fasting and commit to giving up something that brings a real benefit to nature and helps address climate change. A Rocha has produced a set of ideas and resources that we can use as a church, as families or as individuals. Take time to pray, reflect and consider these options – pick one or two or however many you’d like, for example, try to ‘Go plastic free’. Even if you can’t become totally plastic-free, make it your goal to at least reduce your use of plastic. Check the suggestions with tips here. https://arocha.org.uk/connect-with-our-creator-and-gods-creation-during-lent/.

You might also like to take a look at the Christian Aid Count your Blessings Lent resource, which has a social justice and ecological focus: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-01/count-your-blessings-2024-v1.1.pdf.

Eco Church Core Group

Offering

Final Prayer

Good and gracious God, as we begin yet another Lenten journey,
we ask for courage to follow your Son, and wisdom to walk the way.
Gather us, shelter us, protect us as we are led to the cross.

Amen

Hymn: One more step along the world I go

One more step along the world I go,
one more step along the world I go;
from the old things to the new
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.

Round the corners of the world I turn,
more and more about the world I learn;
all the new things that I see
you’ll be looking at along with me.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; …

As I travel through the bad and good,
keep me travelling the way I should;
where I see no way to go
you’ll be telling me the way, I know.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; …

Give me courage when the world is rough,
keep me loving though the world is tough;
leap and sing in all I do,
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; …

You are older than the world can be,
you are younger than the life in me;
ever old and ever new,
keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me travelling along with you.

Sydney Carter (1915–2004)
CCL31580

Blessing

May the God of Grace and Glory go with you as you follow this Lenten path.
Wherever it takes you, and to whomever it takes you,
may you go with the blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
both now and forever.

Amen

Dismissal

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

Amen