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

Preacher:      Revd George Mwaura
Celebrant:     Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Music

Welcome

Opening Prayer

We come to meet you,
Lord, the keeper of our lives.

We come to hear you,
Lord, the wisdom in our lives.

We come to follow you,
Lord, the guider of our lives.

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

Prayer of Approach

Step out of fear, and into the safety of God’s house.
Step out of sorrow, and into the comfort of God’s arms.
Step out of pain, and into the healing of God’s presence.
Step out of doubt, and into the reassurance of God’s promise.
Step out of despair, and into the joy of God’s love.
Come, step in with God’s people today.

Amen

Confession

Living God, forgive us when we have been muddle-headed and not paid attention to your words.

Forgive us
when we miss the point, or not tried to understand your ways.

Forgive us
when we have not had the courage to bring our faith into the open.

Forgive us
when we have stifled our curiosity and questions
because we fear the answers we may get.

Forgive us
when we have created more stumbling blocks than steppingstones.

Make us new again.

Amen

[Silence]

The Lord shall keep you from all evil;
it is the Lord who shall keep your soul.
Know that those who repent are forgiven,
though the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

As a gathered church, we approach the maker of heaven and earth,
with love in our hearts and hope in our minds.
We who live on earth approach the God who breathes the creative wind
across our world, and praise the name of Yahweh.
We who live as a fallen humanity approach the God who lives in perfect harmony,
and seek love, forgives and guidance in the name of Jesus.

Amen

Ministry of the Word

Genesis 12: 1–8

Read by Pat Kyd

The Call of Abram

¹ The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

² ‘I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.’

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

⁶ Abram travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

⁸ From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

 NIV®

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

John 3: 1–21

Read by Robin Kyd

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

¹ Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’

³ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’

⁴ ‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’

⁵ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.” ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’

⁹ ‘How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ ‘You are Israel’s teacher,’ said Jesus, ‘and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man. ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

NIV®

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

Meditation

By Revd George Mwaura

[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: 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

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

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.

During the communion we sing:

Hymn: We come as guests invited

We come as guests invited
when Jesus bids us dine,
his friends on earth united
to share the bread and wine;
the bread of life is broken,
the wine is freely poured
for us in solemn token
of Christ our dying Lord.

We eat and drink, receiving
from Christ the grace we need,
and in our hearts believing
on him by faith we feed;
with wonder and thanksgiving
for love that knows no end,
we find in Jesus living
our ever-present friend.

One bread is ours for sharing,
one single fruitful vine,
our fellowship declaring
renewed in bread and wine:
renewed, sustained and given
by token, sign and word,
the pledge and seal of heaven,
the love of Christ our Lord.

Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926)
CCL31580

 

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

All Age Service on Baptism: 10.00 am Sunday, 12 March 2023

Do you remember your Baptism day? What memories do you have? If you still have items from your Baptism would you be happy to bring them on Sunday,12 March 2023 and show them to the Church as we learn about Baptism?

Farewell Service for Revd Tim Norwood, Milton Keynes Area Dean

6.00 pm this Sunday (5 March 2023) at Cornerstone

Revd Tim Norwood is taking up a new role as National Adviser on Local Ecumenism for the Church of England, based in Lambeth Palace, starting on 1 May 2023. Tim will be leaving his post as Area Dean of Milton Keynes, a post which he has held for sixteen years, during which time he has been a great friend to the Church of Christ the Cornerstone.

Tim’s final service as Area Dean will be Choral Evensong at 6.00 pm this Sunday evening (5 March 2023) at Cornerstone. There will be a presentation to Tim, and after the Service there will be refreshments. All are invited to attend. Please come and let Tim know how much his dedicated service to Milton Keynes and to Christ the Cornerstone is appreciated. The Service will also be live-streamed.

Rt Revd Robert Thompson

Bishop Robert, retired Bishop of Kingston, Jamaica, died in February. His life was celebrated in a Thanksgiving Service held on Monday, 27 February 2023 at St Andrew’s Parish Church, Kingston.  In 2013, when Bishop Robert and his wife Charmaine attended the Lambeth Conference, they accepted an invitation to worship with us. Bishop Robert preached an inspiring sermon. He was a dynamic and visionary minister of the gospel and will be greatly missed. The Church of Christ the Cornerstone extends deep sympathy to Charmaine and family on Bishop Robert’s passing. May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory.

Glynne Gordon-Carter

Offering

Final Prayer

Let us go out with courage.
Let us go out with love.
Let us travel the world together,
held safe by our Lord above

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.</span

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 strength of God sustain us;
may the power of God preserve us;
may the hands of God protect us;
may the way of God direct us;
may the love of God go with us this day and always.
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