Preacher: Revd Michael Burns
Led by: Revd George Mwaura

Gathering Music

Call to Worship

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the Lord’s name is to be praised.
Let us worship God!

In the light of Christ, we are called to new life
We come seeking renewal and transformation.

Greetings and Welcome

Gathering Prayer

Almighty God, who in your Son Jesus Christ has given us a light to lighten the darkness of this world,
grant that, as we journey with him through the discipline of Lent, we may daily be renewed in your Spirit and walk in the radiance of your love, through His Mighty Name.

Amen

Hymn: As the deer pants for the water

As the deer pants for the water,
so my soul longs after you.
You alone are my heart’s desire
and I long to worship you.

You alone are my strength, my shield,
to you alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart’s desire
and I long to worship you.

I want you more than gold or silver,
only you can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy-giver
and the apple of my eye.

You alone …

You’re my Friend and you’re my Brother,
even though you are a king.
I love you more than any other,
so much more than anything.

You alone …

Martin Nystrom (b. 1966)
CCL31580

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Confession

Assurance of forgiveness

Kyrie

[Silence]

Prayer of the Week

Life giving God, who calls us to listen and invites us to drink deeply of your grace,
go with us into this new week. When we grow weary, refresh us. When we grow stubborn, soften us.
When we encounter strangers, make us bold in love.
Let the living water of Christ flow through our words and actions,
so that our homes, workplaces, and communities may glimpse your truth and mercy.
We ask this in the name of the Christ who is the Living waters.

Amen

Proclamation of the Word

Psalm 95

Read by Martin Petchey

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

³ For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
⁵ The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
⁷ for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
⁸ ‘Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
⁹ where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
¹⁰ For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.”
¹¹ So I declared on oath in my anger,
“They shall never enter my rest.”’

NIV®

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

Hymn: Christ is our Cornerstone

Christ is our corner-stone,
on him alone we build;
with his true saints alone
the courts of heaven are filled:
on his great love
our hopes we place
of present grace
and joys above.

O then with hymns of praise
these hallowed courts shall ring;
our voices we will raise
the Three in One to sing;
and thus proclaim
in joyful song,
both loud and long,
that glorious name.

Here, gracious God, do thou
for evermore draw nigh;
accept each faithful vow,
and mark each suppliant sigh;
in copious shower
on all who pray
each holy day
thy blessings pour.

Here may we gain from heaven
the grace which we implore;
and may that grace, once given,
be with us evermore
until that day
when all the blest
to endless rest
are called away.

tr. John Chandler (1806–1876)
CCL31580

John 4: 5–42

Read by Kate Abrahams

Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman

⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’

¹¹ ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?’

¹³ Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’

¹⁵ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.’

¹⁶ He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’

¹⁷ ‘I have no husband,’ she replied.

Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.’

¹⁹ ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.’

²¹ ‘Woman,’ Jesus replied, ‘believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.’

²⁵ The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you – I am he.’

The disciples rejoin Jesus

²⁷ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could this be the Messiah?’ ³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way towards him.

³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’

³² But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’

³³ Then his disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought him food?’

³⁴ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵ Don’t you have a saying, “It’s still four months until harvest”? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying “One sows and another reaps” is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.’

Many Samaritans believe

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I’ve ever done.’ ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.’

NIV®

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

Sermon

By Revd Michael Burns

Musical Response

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God, the Creator of light, who calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light, and reveals himself to all nations and peoples. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, manifested to the Gentiles, baptized in the Jordan, tempted in the wilderness, yet without sin. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who walked the way of the cross, who died that we might live, who rose in triumph over death, and who reigns in glory with the Father. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who descended like a dove upon Jesus, who leads us through times of testing, who illuminates our path, and empowers us to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.

We believe we are called to journey with Christ, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him, to turn from sin and turn toward God, to be transformed by his light, and to shine as beacons of hope in a broken world. We believe in the Church, the Body of Christ, a community of disciples on pilgrimage, called to worship, witness, and service, until Christ comes again in glory. This we believe, and to this we commit our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Prayers and Intercessions

Led by Maggie Kean

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

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you.
And also with you.

Let us share peace in the agreed protocols and wave to those watching on the live stream.

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

Notices and Offertory

Our guest preacher: Revd Michael Burns

Our preacher this Sunday (8 March 2026) is Revd Michael Burns. Michael was appointed to Christ the Cornerstone in March 1992 as the fourth member of the Ministerial Team, joining David Goldie, Elizabeth Welch and Sister Maureen. In this newly created post, his role was to work among the younger people of the church and city (everyone under thirty!). Among his responsibilities were organising school visits to the church (some four thousand students per year), helping to run a teenage youth group, involvement in housing and information services in the city for young people, as well as links with MK Police, MK Youth Council and acting as Chaplain to MK Air Cadets.

After eight years the funding for this post ended and he moved to be Vicar of King Charles the Martyr, Potters Bar, where he worked from 2000 to 2017, including a term as Area Dean of Barnet. His final post was as Vicar of Christ Church West Wimbledon, from where he retired in 2023 on reaching his 70th birthday, moving to live in Norwich where he currently assists in a city-centre church. He is pleased to be able to return to Cornerstone to join the Sunday congregation for the first time in twenty-six years!

Prayers for the City at MK Rose on Friday, 13 March 2026

Our lunchtime prayers for the City of Milton Keynes next Friday (13 March 2026) will be held at the Cornerstone Pillar at MK Rose in Campbell Park. This is the anniversary of the dedication of our building on 13 March 1992, and we have invited the rest of the City to join us in prayer that day. We meet at 12.30 pm – bring an umbrella if necessary. If anyone needs a lift there from the church, please see Cheryl at coffee after the Service on Sunday morning.

Journeying with Jesus – Week 3: ‘Set free by Jesus’

We continue our Lenten Bible study this week looking at Luke 13: 10–17, where Jesus heals a crippled woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

Annual Congregational Meeting 2026

Sunday 22 March 2026 after morning service in the Worship Area

Everyone is invited to this meeting, which will reflect on the church’s achievements in 2025 and look forward to our plans for 2026. This Friday 6 March 2026 the Annual Reports and Accounts 2025 will be circulated to all on the church mailing list. For those who aren’t able to view it on screen, hard copies of the booklet will be available from the Reception desk. The Agenda for our Congregational  Meeting on the 22  March together with the Minutes of last year’s Annual Congregational meeting, will also be available. If you have questions for the meeting, please contact me by email or in person after a Sunday service.

Pat Kyd, Church Secretary
pat_kyd@yahoo.co.uk

Milton Keynes City Council elections on Thursday, 7 May 2026

Tell us over coffee after the Sunday morning service in the Guildhall (or send an email) what you think are priorities to ask of the candidates ahead of the Milton Keynes Council elections that will be held on 7 May 2026. Remember that due to re-organisation this is a particularly important election in the city, with sixty seats up for grabs!

Please think about:

• what is the most important climate-related action that we should ask candidates to pledge to support if they are elected?
• what is the most important social justice action that we should ask candidates to pledge to support if they are elected?

Stuart Kean stuart.kean@gmail.com and David Chapman dachapman9@gmail.com

Fair Trade Big Brew

This Sunday (8 March 2026) in the Guildhall after Morning Service

Please join us after the Service for our usual refreshments with a difference! There will be Fair Trade treats to sample, a stall where you can browse and buy new products and clearance bargains, and a collection for Transform Trade (cash or card). Any offers of cakes or biscuits made with Fair Trade (and/or organic) ingredients gratefully received (sugar/chocolate/coffee can be provided). More information from Joy Chapman 07854762676 or cjoy.chapman9@gmail.com.

In the Guildhall we will also be introducing the 26 in 26 campaign organised by Church Action on Poverty and Christian Aid: 26 ways our Church can work for justice and tackle poverty in 2026. See https://give.church-poverty.org.uk/page/181225. Which ones can you support?

Social Justice Group
Stuart Kean stuart.kean@gmail.com and David Chapman dachapman9@gmail.com

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: Jesus shall reign where’er the sun

Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
does his successive journeys run;
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.

People and realms of every tongue
dwell on his love with sweetest song,
and infant voices shall proclaim
their early blessings on his name.

Blessings abound where’er he reigns:
the prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
the weary find eternal rest,
and all the sons of want are blest.

To him shall endless prayer be made,
and praises throng to crown his head;
his name like incense shall arise
with every morning sacrifice.

Let every creature rise and bring
peculiar honours to our King;
angels descend with songs again,
and earth repeat the loud Amen.

Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
CCL31580

Blessings

The peace of God, which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among us, and remain with us today and always.

Amen

Dismissal

Church, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ, we will.