Sunday service for 2 July 2023

Sunday 2 July 2023
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143 
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music

Welcome and Announcements

Call to Worship (bold lines to be sung to Old Hundredth)
We are a family, gathered in love to worship —
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
We are blessed and called to be a blessing:
to the broken-hearted as to the joyful,
in compassion and help, in praise and prayer.
Praise Christ all creatures here below!
God breathed life into the world, and called us to strive for justice and joy.
Praise Holy Spirit, evermore!
We aren’t perfect, but in this is love —
not that we loved God, but that God loved us first.
Praise Triune God whom we adore!
We come to worship, to be empowered to serve.

Sanctuary Hymn 198 vv 1 & 2: Let Us Build A House

Prayer
You, God, welcome us all —
with our successes and failures,
our faith and our uncertainty,
our grief and our joys and our anxiety and our wonder.
We come, though we sometimes struggle to bring our whole selves.
It feels safer to hide parts of our story,
so no one will have to know the whole truth,
because we are afraid we’ll no longer be welcome.
It feels easier to keep things back,
because we don’t want the emotions that come with sharing or with being seen.
We confess that we don’t even want you to know it all,
and definitely not others.
We hold tightly to those private things, like sadness and fear,
hoping no one will notice…and also hoping someone will notice,
because we feel so alone.
Remind us again today, O God, that your love is never in doubt.
And forgive us when we have withheld love and welcome…
for all the truth of our own lives,
and for others.
Forgive us for making it impossible for others to share their stories
because we have been unwilling to share ours.
Forgive us for the times we have unconsciously closed others out
by the ways we talk about ourselves.
Give us courage to come before you,
and into the community you have created,
with honesty and trust,
to treat one another with grace and compassion,
and so become the blessing you want to offer the world.
We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Online hymn 540: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Sanctuary Hymn 608: Spirit of Truth and Grace

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Reading: Matthew 14.13-21 (Common English Bible)
When Jesus heard about John, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. When the crowds learned this, they followed him on foot from the cities. When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion for them and healed those who were sick. That evening his disciples came and said to him, “This is an isolated place and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
But Jesus said to them, “There’s no need to send them away. You give them something to eat.”
They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves of bread and two fish.”
He said, “Bring them here to me.” He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them and broke the loaves apart and gave them to his disciples. Then the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate until they were full, and they filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. About five thousand men plus women and children had eaten.

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: bring it all
When Jesus heard about John…

Matthew’s gospel is the only one that ties these two events so closely together — though Mark and Luke also report that John the Baptiser was beheaded by King Herod, they don’t tell us what happened when Jesus found out about it. Instead, they tell us about the disciples being sent out to heal and teach, and coming back to report on what they’d done…and that is the reason that Jesus takes them away to rest. But in Matthew’s telling, he begins with “When Jesus heard about John, he withdrew to a deserted place by himself.” It seems perhaps he didn’t even take the disciples with him! Or if he did, it was almost as if he withdrew inside himself, not noticing they were there.

Isn’t that sometimes what grief is like? We get bad news, or we lose someone we love, or a door closes when we weren’t ready, and all we want to do is withdraw. Sometimes all we can do is withdraw. We go inside our houses and close the doors…or we try to get away, on a long walk or a long drive…and we go inside ourselves. We don’t really notice what’s going on around us, and our brains feel in a bit of a fog, and our bodies move on autopilot. When our hearts are broken, it’s hard to deal with people and work and details and all the stuff we’re supposed to do to just…live. That’s one of the reasons why when someone dies or a family is going through something difficult it’s so important that we bring over food, or send a card, or offer to go with people when they’re attending to details. It’s why in the Jewish tradition, when someone dies, members of the synagogue go to the house and bring food and pray together and run errands for them for seven days, because the family can’t be expected to go out. Because the withdrawing is natural, and also hard to end.

Jesus didn’t get much time to withdraw, though. The crowds followed, and when he looked up from his grief, he saw them and had compassion for them. The Greek word for compassion literally means something like “gut-wrenching” — it’s a visceral feeling, compassion. Jesus looked up and when he saw all those people, he had a visceral reaction that pulled him out of that withdrawal and into community. And so in his grief, he turned his compassion to service, and healed the people.

Isn’t it interesting how the different ways of telling the story are developing? Mark told us the people were like sheep without a shepherd, and Jesus taught them. Luke told us that Jesus both taught and healed. Matthew tells us that in the middle of grieving for John, Jesus healed others. He demonstrated the kingdom of God, perhaps without talking much, but instead with exactly what many heartbroken people need: presence and a gentle touch. He gave the very thing he most needed.

When evening came, the disciples tried to salvage the night — remember they too must have been reeling from the news about John. Some of them had known him, and all of them would have heard about him and known the significance of what Herod had done. They may have been scared along with their sadness, wondering if it could happen to them, too. And could they trust this crowd once it got dark? Who knows what might happen out in this isolated place.

When Jesus instructed them to give the crowds something to eat, notice again that Matthew tells us something a wee bit different than Mark or Luke: the disciples say “we have nothing here…except.” They knew what they had, unlike the way Mark told it. But they thought it was nothing, hardly even worth mentioning. How often have we dismissed our own gifts or assets, thinking they’re nothing really, not worth even bringing up?

Jesus’ response then is so beautiful. He says: “bring them here to me.”

Bring what you have to me.

I don’t care if you think it’s nothing, or if it’s not what’s needed, or if it’s impractical…whatever you have, bring it here to me.

I’ve been thinking so much about that tiny instruction, and how often we ignore it.

Bring it to Jesus. Whatever you think of what you have to offer…bring it to Jesus. Whatever you think of what burden you’re carrying…bring it to Jesus. Whatever you think something is worth, or not worth…bring it to Jesus.

It turns out that we are often really poor judges of what Jesus can work with. We second guess him, or decide on his behalf that it’s too much or too little, or get it into our heads that we have to work it out on our own and let him know what we’ve decided. But that’s not what Jesus instructs the disciples in the story. He tells them to get over their own self-assessment and bring everything to him.

And when they do…a miracle happens.

What blessings might multiply if we, too, bring things to Jesus?

Whatever resources we have discounted or ignored or assumed weren’t worth mentioning…what if we brought those forward and put them in his hands? And I mean even the littlest things, like a seemingly small offering, or an hour we’d be willing to offer to spend with someone who’s isolated in their house, or half an hour to make a phone call, or the ability to make shortbread or cupcakes, or the willingness to make a meal with a few extra servings and drop those extras at someone’s house when they’re struggling, or the gift of imagination or some skills in sewing or cleaning or internet researching or being detail-oriented. When we bring those things to Jesus, we may just find that he can do more with the gifts we never even thought anything about than we realised…and can use them to be a blessing to the broken-hearted, to the lonely, to the overwhelmed, to the community.

And those situations we’ve tried to manage ourselves and decided are beyond us so we’re giving up…what if we brought them to Jesus? Not only world peace or homelessness or poverty or climate change or even the presbytery plan, but closer to home things like that friendship that has fallen apart and we don’t understand why, or the way money just doesn’t stretch the way it used to, or the church activity we’ve loved for a long time but is getting harder and harder to run, or the fear we’re trying to avoid but keeps cropping up about “what will happen to us.” We so often exhaust ourselves trying to do things on our own, while Jesus is over there saying “bring it here to me.” We can’t imagine what he’ll do about it, so we just don’t bother, we just muddle through getting more and more frustrated until eventually we give up all together, and try to find something else to blame. But maybe it isn’t our job to pre-decide what Jesus can or will do…maybe it’s just our job to bring what we have and see what he says? It could be that he’d show us something we haven’t seen or considered before. Or that he’ll increase our capacity…our energy, imagination, or time. Or that he’ll show us what to prune so that something new can grow. Or something else entirely that we couldn’t have dreamed…like turning five loaves and two fish into a feast for thousands!

There are so many ways that Jesus can use what we bring. When we place ourselves and our gifts and our situations into his hands, no matter what we think about what we’ve brought and no matter how scared or sad we are about it, I can guarantee that one result will be a blessing. It may be as practical as a meal or as intangible yet meaningful as a conversation. It may be healing or filling or confusing. It may not be the blessing we expected or thought we wanted. It may be a blessing for us or one for us to offer to others…or, ultimately, as most blessings are: both.

So whatever you have, whatever you think of it…bring it to Jesus, and a miracle will happen.

May it be so. Amen.

Online hymn: You Are A Refuge (Resound Worship)
Sanctuary Hymn 540: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (Rowan Tree)

Offering (Sanctuary only)

Sanctuary Offering Response 557 verse 1
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee:
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
All we have and all we are is a gift from you, O God,
and we come with gratitude and praise for your care for us.
Your compassion reaches out to us and your love surrounds us,
your presence with us means we can face whatever may come.
We bring ourselves, and our world, to you,
trusting that in your hands,
a blessing can be found in the midst of the brokenness.
We bring to you today
those who are grieving, and feel that comfort is far off…
those who are lost, and feel they are wandering without purpose…
those who are lonely, and feel they have been forgotten…
those who are ill, and longing for healing…
those who are overworked, and longing for rest…
those whose burdens are heavy, especially those no one sees…
those who are afraid, especially of someone in their own home or family…
those who live in the midst of violence, and are losing hope for peace…
those sleeping rough in these changeable weather conditions…
those who aren’t sure how to feed their families during the school holidays…
those who are struggling with their mental health
and aren’t getting the help they need…
those who work in our surgeries and hospitals and care homes,
worrying about how to do it all…
We hardly know what to ask for, the hurts can be so overwhelming,
but we trust you when you say “bring it to me.”
And so we bring it all to you…
pain and loss, hope and dream, and everything in between…
both our desire for change and our fear of it…
demands for peace and justice, and the unwillingness to do it…
There’s so much in the world that must break your heart, O God,
and we pray that you would break our hearts of stone too…
move us with compassion, stir us from the inside out,
to become an answer to prayer for our neighbours you call us to love.
We bring our prayers to you…
and we bring ourselves to offer for your service.
May we become a blessing to the broken-hearted.
May we be companions to one another on this journey of life.
May we hold each other’s stories with grace.
And may we have open hearts and open hands to share your abundance with all,
not only in words but in actions.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, 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 565: My Life Flows On

Benediction
Pablo Picasso once said that “the meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to give it away.” Whatever gifts you have been given, bring them to Jesus and let him turn you into a blessing that can be shared with others.
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. 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 are seeking a part-time Parish Assistant! The role is 20 hours per week, in pastoral care and community work. More information is here or you can contact either John Boyle or Teri. The closing date for applications is the 7th of July. Please invite those who might be a good fit for working in our team to check it out!

* Registration is open for St John’s Summer Exploratorium, our new summer holiday club for P1- P7 children, will be from 24-28 July, 9am – 1pm. More information and registration will be available soon. If you would be interested in helping with advance preparation (decorating, advertising, etc), or during the week in the kitchen (breakfast club from 8:30am, or lunch), or during the week with the programme (which requires being added to our Safeguarding/PVG register), please speak to Teri or Graham Bolster.

* Starter Packs are short of kitchen roll, children’s & adult shampoo, and tea bags. The FoodBank are short of biscuits, UHT milk, tinned fruit, and tinned meats. You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* You can read all about the latest from the school in Venda by downloading their new newsletter, complete with stories and photos! Just click here!

* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and all Sunday worship is also online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print). 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.

* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £2700 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 new 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 share with your friends, too!

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study is on a summer break!

* Young Adult Bible Study is on a summer break!

* The 2nd Gourock Boys Brigade anniversary Grand Charity Ball will be Saturday 9th September 6.00 for 6.30pm in Greenock Town Hall. Tickets priced £50 or £500 for a table of 10 are available now! We are delighted to announce that every penny raised from ticket sales and our charity auction on the evening will go directly to our chosen charities. This event is open to all so please spread the word, book your table, put the date in your diary and look forward to what we are sure will be a Second To None evening of enjoyment and celebration. Speak to Alan or any other officer of the BB for more information.

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