Sunday service for 17 November 2024

Sunday 17 November 2024
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143 
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

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
One: Open your hearts and your ears
All: God has a word for us
One: As the assembly of God’s people
All: we come to turn from our hurtful ways,
to turn toward the Sovereign One.

Sanctuary Hymn GWA22: Sing Praise to God

Prayer
Holy God,
you are the sovereign one, Lord of heaven and earth,
and you call us to live in your kingdom even now.
We confess that we have often put our trust in earthly rulers,
looking to human leaders who are not pursuing your way.
We hear your word and move it up the chain,
waiting for them to interpret it so we know what we can safely ignore,
then waiting for someone else to do it so that we can follow them,
rather than responding to your call first thing when we hear it.
Forgive us, God,
when we have manipulated your word to serve ourselves.
Forgive us, God,
when we have disregarded your covenant.
Forgive us, God,
when we have hardened our hearts.
Whatever message you need us to hear today, O God,
make us ready to receive.
Whatever transformation you are working in us today,
make our hearts soft enough to stretch to it.
Whatever change you want to see in our lives today,
make us willing to put it into action.
Amen.

God has placed the good news within us, writing the covenant of love and reconciliation on our hearts. The days are surely coming when all will know that God has chosen to be our God, and we are God’s people. May you recognise the grace planted at the core of life, and live in this truth: God forgives, and remembers our sin no more.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Hymn: God of Grace and God of Glory (words: Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969); tune: cwm rhondda)

Scripture Reading: from Jeremiah 36, and then 31.31-34 (New Revised Standard Version)
In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. It may be that, when the house of Judah hears of all the disasters that I intend to do to them, all of them may turn from their evil ways, so that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
Then Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and he wrote on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words that the Lord had spoken to him. And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am prevented from entering the house of the Lord, so you go, and on a fast day in the hearing of the people in the Lord’s house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the people of Judah who come up from their towns. It may be that their plea will come before the Lord and that all of them will turn from their evil ways, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.”
In the fifth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord.
When Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber, and all the official scribes were sitting there.
And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. Then all the officials sent to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch took the scroll in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, “Sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, “We certainly must report all these words to the king.”
The king’s assistant took the scroll and
read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in his winter apartment (it was the ninth month), and there was a fire burning before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them into the fire, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was alarmed, nor did they tear their garments. Even when the scribes and officials urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. And the king commanded the arrest of the secretary Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But the Lord hid them.
Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which King Jehoiakim of Judah has burned.
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the secretary Baruch, who wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the fire, and many similar words were added to them.

And then in chapter 31 we read some of the words Jeremiah wrote on the scroll:
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

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.

Sermon: people never change?
Even after all these years as a preacher, and even more years of reading the Bible, sometimes I am still startled by how familiar these situations feel even though they happened thousands of years ago. Sometimes it’s just that shock of recognition once I get through the challenging names and old-fashioned grammar and realise that this is a story of someone hearing information and then just moving it up the chain, and up and up, hoping someone else will do something about it, only to have the person at the top of the chain destroy the evidence and try to pretend it never happened, and the subsequent disaster is definitely not his fault.

In many ways it feels like King Jehoiakim and his cabinet, and all the lower level civil servants and advisors too, could just as easily be any other political administration today, all you have to do is change the names. Some of them hear the word of God through the prophet and they are alarmed, frightened even. They know something needs to be done, but they don’t have power to do it, so they have to escalate to a higher office. Eventually it’s gone as far up the chain as possible…and once there, the king himself listens, so he knows what it says, but then uses the scribe’s knife — the tool used to correct errors — to cut up the scroll and feed it into the fire while his cabinet looks on without saying anything, just allowing him to do whatever he wants. The civil servants are alarmed and beg him not to destroy evidence, but they don’t have any power. Ultimately, it’s the king and the cabinet that decide to simply treat the whole thing as a mistake that isn’t their problem, and to pretend it never happened. If anyone ever asks, the messages have been deleted or lost, they can’t recall the details of that particular meeting, but everything is always done within the powers of their office.

See what I mean about startling familiarity?
I think often the thing that really gets me down about that familiarity is that I truly believe that by the Holy Spirit, transformation is possible — that we humans can change, and that the world can change…and yet it seems that in some ways nothing ever changes. So then I wonder…am I wrong? Is my belief that God changes things misplaced?

I have lost count of the number of times good faithful Christians have said to me “people will never change.” They say it about the political stuff, about history repeating itself, and even about our towns and community and churches, that there’s nothing we can do, people never change.

Is that true? That people never change?

And if it is true, then what’s the point of any of this? Why do we read this book, why do we pray, why do we sing, why do we get together, why do we share about the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, why do we claim that we worship a God who is always doing a new thing…if we believe that people never change, that nothing ever changes, that these stories will continue to happen over and over again for another 3000 years just like they have the past 3000? If it’s true that change is impossible, that we’re all going through the motions but have no intention of responding to God’s word, then why do we bother? It feels an awful lot like preaching the gospel and praying is…well…pointless. It’s just going to get burned up and ignored, and we’ll still be telling the same story with different names in another hundred years, and another thousand.

But also….
Nothing is impossible with God.

God who says: the days are surely coming.

God who says: I will write my word on their hearts, so that it can’t go missing, get deleted, or be destroyed. It will literally be at the core of who they are.

God who says: they will know me so well that there won’t even be any need for teaching or preaching.

Nothing here about a God who says “don’t bother teaching or preaching or praying, nothing ever changes.”

Not a word about hearts too hard to write on.

No sign of God giving up the possibility of transformation.

So if God hasn’t given up on us…why have we?

Because that’s what I hear when I hear someone say that nothing ever changes, that people can’t change, that history repeats itself, that the more things change the more they stay the same. That we have given up on us. We have given up on becoming more Christlike. We have given up on trying to implement God’s will for creation. We have given up on the kingdom of God coming on earth as it is in heaven. We have given up on the work God is doing in the world. We have given up hope, and given up on ourselves.

If that’s true, then ok. But just know this: God does not give up on us.

And in fact God’s response to the fact that we seem to be intractable, unteachable, and unwilling to be transformed is simply to get closer. To write the word within us so we can’t escape it. To chisel it onto our hard hearts so that the day our hearts finally break, it’s God’s word of love that will fall in. To breathe in our every breath until we are literally saturated, every single cell, with God’s presence. There is nothing in all of creation that can separate God from us. God does not give up.

As always, the question is: what will our response be?

The days are surely coming…and God’s promise will be true, whether we like it or not.

Will we allow God to change us?
Will we allow God to change our church?
Will we allow God to change our town, our community, our world?
Will we go along when God is at work, to see what he’s going to do next?
Will we participate when God shows us something he wants us to do?

Or will we still be here in a year, in five years, in ten years, reading this same story and lamenting that nothing ever changes?

God does not give up on us. God gets closer.

What if we did the same?

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn: Lord Reign in Me 

Sanctuary Hymn 565: My Life Flows On

Offering: choir to sing hymn 802: We Are Here To Praise You

Offering Response: The Doxology (tune: Old Hundredth)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ all creatures here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
Praise Triune God whom we adore.
Amen.

Concerns of the Church
*Wednesday Bible Study: 7:30pm in the manse
*Charlene off this week so no Conversation Corner Thursdays 11-noon
*Bowl & Blether tomorrow, 11:30-1:30
*Contact Group Tuesday 19th with Jenni Murray from the Bothy
*Next Sunday we celebrate the 100th birthday of our Brownies
*Family ceilidh for St Andrew’s Day, free for all! 12-1:30
*Bubblegum & Fluff the week of 2 December, we need volunteers

That’s a lot going on in our community! Please consider yourself invited to participate, and to pray for all the activities, ministry, and mission God is calling us to do together. And now, let us join together in prayer. We will end with the Lord’s Prayer and you are invited to join in. The version we use will be on the screen, but you are also welcome to pray by heart, if we say a few different words God can still hear us. Let us pray.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You are a God who is committed to us,
keeping your covenant even when we are not faithful.
We thank you for planting your grace within us,
writing your word on our hearts
that they may sink in and become a part of us,
at the core of who we are.
We thank you for your breath in our bodies,
your image in our faces,
your love constantly bringing us closer to you.
We pray you would take our gratitude and turn it into a way of life.
More than just coming to worship and going away to live as we always have,
make us better reflections of your grace because we have been here.
You are closer to us than our own hands and feet,
and your word is programmed into who we are,
so we pray you would reveal through us your vision for this world you so love.
It sometimes feels as if truth is hard to come by, O God,
the noise and competing claims all trying to get our attention,
trying to seduce us to alternative ways.
We pray for clarity,
that we may recognise your voice in the chaos.
All around us people are in need,
the creation struggles,
the nations rage,
injustice and violence seem to be everywhere.
We turn to you, ruler of the nations and hope of all the earth,
a refuge and strength and help in every trouble.
May your peace be not only possible but real.
May your healing fill those who suffer.
May your reconciling grace inspire us to work for justice.
May your spirit of imagination open our eyes to new ways forward.
May your courage empower those who lead in seeking the common good.
May the depth of your love be the foundation of our lives,
that your Body may carry out your will on earth as it is already done in heaven.
And on this 17th day of the month, we join our hearts as your St John’s church family to pray:
*For Inverclyde Royal Hospital, the Larkfield Unit, and Orchard View — for the doctors, nurses, and all the staff, and for the patients and families who are served there. May your Spirit of Healing be in that place.
*For the Bible Study group at St John’s, and for the Intercessory Prayer Group, that they may encounter you, Living God, in word and prayer.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran.
*And for all the joys and concerns we carry in our hearts, we bring them to you now, trusting you will hear us even before a word is on our lips, and intercede with sighs too deep for words.
…
Strengthen our hearts and our hands
to bear your word of life into the world.
We ask these and all things in the name of Christ, whose kingdom has no end
and 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: Lord Reign in Me (praise band)

Benediction
Go from this time of worship trusting God’s truth enough that you can bare your heart, so that all may read the truth of God’s love from your faithful covenant life.
And as you go, 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

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 Sunday evening service is on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. We have toasties and sandwiches together from 5:30 and the service will start at the back of 6. All are welcome for this simple meal and time of worship. The Sunday evening service is informal and reflective, with guitar-based music, Bible readings, and prayer for our parish. Come along and discover practical ways to apply the word to your life, in a chilled vibe that fosters connection and reflection.

* The first Sunday of the month at 11am is now 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.

* Bowl and Blether is on the first and third Mondays of each month through the winter, the next one is TOMORROW Monday 18 November. Doors open at 11:30am, soup and toasties are served from noon – 1:30. All are welcome to join us for lunch and a chat in our cozy warm hall. Volunteers are also needed and welcome, please speak to Teri or Charlene if you’d like to volunteer for set up, toastie-making, serving, or clean up. 

* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday 19 November when we will hear from Jenni Murray of the Bothy. Our Syllabus of Events is available for £5.

* We are hosting a free family ceilidh for St Andrew’s Day — Saturday 30 September, from 12-1:30. Come along for traditional Scottish fun, with the band Canned Haggis providing music and calling the dances! All are welcome. You can register on Eventbrite here to help us plan snacks!

* Mark your calendars for Jesus’ birthday party on 15 December from 2-4pm — all P1-P7 children are invited! We’ll celebrate Jesus’ birthday with cake, games, crafts, and songs. It’s 2 hours for grown-ups to get things done while kids have a fabulous birthday party together. If you’d like to bring a gift, please bring something for the same age as your child, labeled with gender and age, and we will pass them on to children whose families need a bit of help to celebrate this year. You can RSVP by clicking here!

* Starter Packs are in need of bathroom/kitchen cleaner, shaving foam, shampoo, hand wash.
The FoodBank are in need of diluting juice, long-life juice, tinned ham, tinned tuna, and UHT milk.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £3000 per week? 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 new item in the budget.

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to s

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study is reading the gospel according to Luke on Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm in the manse. All are welcome!

* Free period products are available in the church toilets for anyone who might need them, thanks to Hey Girls and Inverclyde Council.