Service of the Word – Live streamed – Sunday, 10 July 2022

A separate video feed of the choir is available here.

Led by Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
with the Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Gathering Music

Welcome

Gathering Prayer

Lord, awaken us this morning to the needs of your world,
the pains and tensions in our communities,
the dangers and hardships in the most vulnerable areas of this warming planet.
Show us the importance of love in all the difficult choices and decisions
we are called upon to make, big or small.

Amen

Hymn: Give me joy in my heart

Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
give me joy in my heart, I pray.
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising.
Keep me praising till the end of day.

Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King of kings!
Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King!

Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting,
give me peace in my heart, I pray.
Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting.
Keep me resting till the end of day.

Sing hosanna! …

Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
give me love in my heart, I pray.
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving.
Keep me serving till the end of day.

Sing hosanna! …

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,
give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Keep me burning to the end of day.

Sing hosanna! …

Traditional
CCL31580

A Song of Jonah

I called to you, O God, out of my distress and you answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
My prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me, all your waves and billows passed over me.
My prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

Then I said, I am driven away from your sight;
how shall I ever look again upon your holy temple?
My prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

The waters closed in over me, the deep was round about me;
weeds were wrapped around my head at the roots of the mountains.
My prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me for ever,
yet you brought up my life from the depths, O God.
My prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

As my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, O God,
and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
My prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

With the voice of thanksgiving, I will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay;
deliverance belongs to the Lord!
My prayer came to you in your holy temple,
and you brought up my life from the depths.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be for ever.

Amen

With an easy swing

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Narrator

Not too fast

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Narrator

Prayer of the Week

O Lord, you are our God,
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph;
the God of Moses and Psalmists; the God of Jonah and the Prophets;
the God of Disciples and Apostles; the God of Jews and Gentiles;
the God of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Oh Lord, you are our God, you are my God,
and your promises to us are immense – beyond our imagining, beyond what we deserve.
You are our God, and we adore you
for all you are and for all your ways and for all your love, this and every day.

Amen

Peruvian Gloria

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Ministry of the Word

Jonah 1: 1–17

Jonah Flees from the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, ‘How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.’

7 Then the sailors said to each other, ‘Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.’ They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, ‘Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?’

9 He answered, ‘I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’

10 This terrified them and they asked, ‘What have you done?’ (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, ‘What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?’

12 ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea,’ he replied, ‘and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, ‘Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.’ 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

NIV®

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

Hymn: I’ve got peace like a river

I’ve got peace like a river, peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul;
I’ve got peace like a river, peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.

Traditional
CCL31580

Matthew 12: 38–42

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.’

39 He answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

NIV®

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

In a relaxed manner

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Narrator

Cheerfully

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Narrator

Hymn: All over the world

All over the world
the Spirit is moving,
all over the world
as the prophets said it would be;
all over the world
there’s a mighty revelation
of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.

All over His church
God’s Spirit is moving
all over His church
as the prophets said it would be;
all over His church
there’s a mighty revelation
of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.

Right here in this place
the Spirit is moving,
right here in this place
as the prophets said it would be;
right here in this place
there’s a mighty revelation
of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.

Roy Turner (1984)
CCL31580

Briskly

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Narrator

With abandon

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Reflection

Choral response

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

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

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 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.

Notices

Celebrating the life of Margaret Horner

Monday, 18 July 2022

Committal at Crownhill Crematorium led by Revd Dr Brenda Mosedale at 1.15 pm

For friends unable to be with us, there is a link to watch the committal live: click on this link: https://www.wesleymedia.co.uk/webcast-view. Use the PIN 750-4918 to access the webcast.

Other Webcast Viewing Instructions are available here. In case of difficulty, call 01536 314 895 and quote Event Number 1104616.

A Service of Thanksgiving celebrating the life of Margaret Horner at Newport Pagnell Methodist Church led by Revd Dr Brenda Mosedale at 2.45pm

For friends unable to be with us, we cannot live stream, but the service will be recorded. It will be available on YouTube, but only a little while after the service finishes. Click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmGyGRfAZFU.

Refreshments at MHA Westbury Grange at approximately 4.00 pm

To keep residents and staff safe, please do not attend if you have any Covid symptoms; please wear a mask when entering and leaving the building. The Bistro area where refreshments will be available is well-ventilated and opens into the garden.

We need numbers for catering, so please let Kathryn know by 10 July 2022 if at all possible if you are planning to attend, and if you have any special dietary needs. We are sorry that we cannot cater for friends unable to attend (!) but if you can have a cup of tea and remember Margaret, that would be lovely.

Other information

Please wear whatever you choose, but since the day is a celebration of Margaret ‘s life, we would be glad to see some colour in the congregation!

Family flowers only.

Donations in memory of Margaret are going to MHA Westbury Grange, where the staff cared for her so well in the last eighteen months of her life. Donations can be made on the day by cheque (payable to MHA Amenity Fund) or in cash, or you can donate online for up to four weeks after the funeral via the Funeral Director’s website: https://hwmason.co.uk/.

Thank you!

Cheryl and Heather would like to thank all who contributed food, moved tables and washed up on 26 June 2022 to make George’s going-away party such a pleasant event. Thank you to you all.

Ecumenical Council

7.00–8.30 pm Tuesday, 12 July 2022 in the Small Hall

Ecumenical Council meets this Tuesday. They have some interesting and challenging matters to discuss, so please pray include them in your prayers.

Cornerstone Prayer Network

Prayer is central to our Christian fellowship. The Cornerstone Prayer Network is here for people who have asked us to pray for them. Please send your prayer requests to cornerstonechurch.prayernetwork@gmail.com and the details will be passed on to the members of the Prayer Network. If your prayer request is for someone else, please check with them before sending details to the Cornerstone Prayer Network.

If you would like to become a member of the Cornerstone Prayer Network, please send your details by email to cornerstonechurch.prayernetwork@gmail.com, or speak to June after a Service in the church.

Nominations to PCC

The deadline for nominations is 5.00 pm on Wednesday, 13 July 2022. We have decided to implement a policy of inclusion and diversity, following the example of the Church of England, the Diocese of Oxford and the recommendation by Cornerstone Social Justice Committee. We pray that nominations will fulfil our criteria: representation of women; representation of members of our international congregation; preference for people who for the first time are willing to serve in the church.

Ann Wilson (churchwarden; acting PCC secretary)

‘God loves a cheerful giver’

Thanks to your generous giving we can be an OASIS OF HOPE to Milton Keynes.

Please keep supporting our mission!

If you are at our worship service in the church building and would like to make an offering, please place your offering in the basket at the door to the worship area. If you can’t find it, please ask the stewards.

There are many different ways to give: online, telephone banking or by cheque. For more information how to give please visit the Cornerstone website (www.cornerstonemk.co.uk) or contact: steward.cccmk@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated.

Cornerstone Children’s Choir

Final Prayer

Lord, help us to look for the good in our neighbours.
Help us to recognise that neighbourliness goes two ways.
Make us gracious as well as generous,
receptive to the ideas and perspectives, as well as the needs, of others,
remembering that as we meet them, we meet you.

Amen

Hymn: This little light of mine

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. [×3] let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

This light that shines is the light of love,
lights the darkness from above.
It shines on me and it shines on you,
and shows what the power of love can do.
I’m gonna shine my light both far and near,
I’m gonna shine my light both bright and clear.
Where there’s a dark corner in this land
I’m gonna let this little light shine.

This little light of mine, …

On Monday he gave me the gift of love,
Tuesday peace came from above.
On Wednesday he told me to have more faith,
on Thursday he gave me a little more grace.
Friday he told me just to watch and pray,
Saturday he told me just what to say.
On Sunday he gave me the power divine
to let my little light shine.

This little light of mine, …

Traditional
CCL31580

Blessings

May God the Father prepare your journey,
Jesus the Son guide your footsteps,
the Spirit of Life strengthen your body,
the Three in One watch over you,
on every road that you may follow.

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