Sunday service for 1 March 2026, 2nd Sunday in Lent
Sunday 1 March 2026, second Sunday in Lent
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
If the above video doesn’t play, please click here to view it on our YouTube channel!
Prelude Music (praise band)
Welcome and Announcements
*New members class
*Lent Wednesdays (Westburn 1pm, here 12:15-12:45 and 7:30)
*Prayer groups
*Bowl & Blether
God-sightings
We Gather As God’s Family (As the Bible is brought in, we stand and sing)
A family gathered in love,
striving for justice and joy,
blessing the broken-hearted,
and sharing the hope of God’s kingdom.
Call to Worship
Looking for the Source of Living Water,
We come, because we are thirsty!
Looking for someone who will meet our need,
We come, because we are thirsty!
Looking for grace and looking for justice,
We come, because we are thirsty!
Looking for hope in these hard times,
We come, because we are thirsty!
Sanctuary Hymn GWA 208: Where the River Flows (praise band)
Prayer
Your grace bubbles up and overflows, loving God,
in ways and places and people we can never anticipate or expect.
We give thanks for the gift of your abundant life,
filling us with good things when we most need them.
We admit we are sometimes confused
and we get so turned around we end up feeling far from you.
We try to figure things out on our own,
without your help,
and we get ourselves into more trouble.
Turn us back to your way, lead us again to the wells of your compassion.
Fill us to overflowing now, with the river of living water that never runs dry,
creating and renewing beauty and hope and wholeness,
nurturing your life wherever we go.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ,
Living Water.
Amen.
Sanctuary Sung Prayer: Kyrie Eleison
Online Hymn GWA 208: Where the River Flows
Scripture Reading: from John 7 (vv. 1-4, 8-18, 25-31, 37-46)
Last week we heard about Jesus feeding a giant crowd on the hillside with only one child’s packed lunch, and then teaching them that he is the bread of life, and when they eat his body then he abides in them and they live his life in their bodies. Many of his disciples left after that teaching, and only the core group remained. Today we hear what happened next, beginning at chapter 7 verse 1. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders were looking for an opportunity to kill him. Now the Jewish Festival of Booths was near. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing, for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”
(Jesus said to them) “Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but, as it were, in secret. The leaders were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?” And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, “He is a good man,” others were saying, “No, he is deceiving the crowd.” Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the religious leaders.
About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. The religious leaders were astonished at it, saying, “How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?” Then Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own seek their own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing unjust in him.”
Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from, but when the Messiah comes no one will know where he is from.” Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.” Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him because his hour had not yet come. Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, “When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified.
When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!”
For the word of God in Scripture
For the word of God among us
For the word of God within us
Thanks be to God
Sanctuary Hymn 722: Spirit of God, Come Dwell Within Me (organ)
Sanctuary Reflection activity: Who Am I?
Online Sermon: Who Is He?
Online Hymn 722: Spirit of God, Come Dwell Within Me
Sanctuary Hymn GWA167: A Little More (praise band)
Sanctuary Offering (organ) and Response: Hymn 392 v. 4
Were the whole realm of nature mine
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
God of all life,
Draw us near to your heart once again.
We revel in your wisdom and rejoice in your Spirit.
We give thanks for the cup of cool water you have offered us,
for the water that washes away the dust of the day and welcomes us into your life.
We are mindful today of the abundance of water in our lives,
and of the thirst of the world.
We offer our prayers for those places
that are parched by war and discontent, discord and danger.
We pray for justice to roll down like waters, rush in waves of peace and hope,
to change the landscape.
We pray for people and places
that are dried up from the stress of unemployment and underemployment;
who struggle to provide even what is basic for their families;
We pray for those whose lives are bone dry, longing for hope and connection,
exhausted by trying to push through the division.
We lift up to you those whose bodies suffer, and those whose spirits thirst.
We pray for those who suffer from addiction,
and those broken by depression, guilt, or shame.
On the 1st day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to pray
*To see your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, O God.
*For the Bible Study and Prayer Groups at St John’s, that they may encounter you, Living God, in word and prayer.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
…
We see the story you are trying to tell,
the mission you are on,
the river of your kingdom flowing by.
May we, your people who strive to be faithful,
drink deeply from the well of your good news,
May we be replenished by the communion of your love;
so that we might be the bearers of the waters of your righteousness,
and the fountain of your mercy.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, Source of Living Water for the world,
who taught us to pray together:
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 forever. Amen.
Sanctuary Hymn 158: God Moves in a Mysterious Way (organ)
Sending
May the blessing of the Spirit’s presence overflow around you. May the blessing of God’s gift of plenty be visible in you. And may the blessing of Jesus the Christ, abundant life, be fulfilled for and through you.
And as you go to live that blessing, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you. May the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion. May the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way, and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone. And may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.
Sung Benediction Response (John L Bell, tune Gourock St John’s)
Now may the Lord of all be blessed,
Now may Christ’s gospel be confessed,
Now may the Spirit when we meet
Bless sanctuary and street.
Postlude Music (organ)
Announcements
* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and Sunday worship is also online. If you are able, please enter by the front door in Bath street, and only those who need step-free access should use the back door. If you feel unwell, please worship online, to protect both yourself and others in our community.
* The first Sunday of the month at 11am is an all-age service, with different ways of encountering God’s word without a traditional sermon. All people — young and old, different personalities and learning styles, are welcome! You’ll find a more informal service with a variety of music, a Bible story, prayer, and some more interactive elements. The online service for the first Sunday will therefore also be different — there will still be a reading, prayers, and music, but usually not a sermon.
* Starter Packs are in need of Shaving Foam, Shampoo, Soap, Hand Wash.
The FoodBank are short of diluting juice, tinned potatoes, tinned sweetcorn, tinned carrots, and UHT milk.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!
* We are preparing a new member class for the spring — if you or anyone you know would like to explore becoming a member of St John’s, please speak to Teri for more information.
* During the season of Lent we will be offering two midweek opportunities for prayer, reflection, worship, and discussion: on Wednesdays from 12:15-12:45 we’ll have Lent Lunchtime Reflections in the sanctuary, and at 7:30pm in the sanctuary will be Lent Evenings. We’ll be looking at what happened on the last night Jesus spent with his disciples before his arrest, in John chapters 13-17. Everyone is welcome as we dig deeper into the last words Jesus said to his disciples!
* Bowl & Blether is on the first and third Mondays through the winter, with doors open from 11:30-1:30, and lunch served from noon. All are welcome for a bowl of soup, a toastie, a friendly chat in our warm hall! See you in a couple of weeks TOMORROW Monday 2 March.
* We are hosting the Easter Code for P6s in St John’s on Monday and Tuesday the 9th and 10th of March, from 9am – 12noon. If you could volunteer to shepherd a group of pupils around the stations, that would be very helpful! Please speak to Teri ASAP.
* The Contact Group meets next Tuesday the 10th when the speaker will be Marion McNeill from Inverclyde Skywatchers.
* We are looking for someone to help with the Easter Breakfast on Sunday 5 April— it would mean joining the kitchen team from about 6am to help with preparation, and also staying to help wash up. Please speak to Graham Bolster or Anne Love for more info.
* Free period products are available in the church toilets for anyone who might need them, thanks to Hey Girls and Inverclyde Council.
* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £3000 per week and we are currently running about £500 short? Everything we do is funded by your generous giving — all our support for young people, older people, bereavement care, community outreach, worship, study, spiritual growth, and community work is because of your offering. If you would like to set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Teri and she can give you the treasurer’s details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. It is also possible to donate to the work of the parish assistant, speak to Anne Love about how to go about directing new donations to that item in the budget.
* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email newsletter! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word and Theology Thursday on Youtube, get snippets of thought or inspiration following Teri on TikTok, and of course keep up with announcements and events on Facebook and our weekly email.
