Sunday service for 23 August 2026

Sunday 23 August 2026, Bloom Where You’re Planted 6
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

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Sanctuary Prelude Music (organ)

Welcome and Announcements

We Gather As God’s Family (As the Bible is brought in, we stand and sing) (praise band)
A family gathered in love,
striving for justice and joy,
blessing the broken-hearted,
and sharing the hope of God’s kingdom.

Opening Responses
1: A breath of air,
2: a drop of water,
3: a tiny seed,
4: a sprinkle of yeast
All: Small things hidden and growing the kingdom
1: An act of kindness
2: a helping hand
3: a gift given
4: a stand for justice
All: Small things hidden and growing the kingdom

Sanctuary Hymn GWA198: Let’s Walk Together For Awhile (piano/organ)

Prayer
Holy and Amazing God,
we come before you today
with gratitude and awe
for you have made yourself known to us.
You are not far-off and inaccessible,
you are in our everyday life,
real and present with love.
We confess that we have sometimes kept you at a distance,
used big words and big ideas
to keep you from getting too close,
seeing too clearly the things we prefer to keep secret,
asking too much that we aren’t prepared to give.
We admit that we like the grand gesture, the beautiful building, the big hymns
and we find it harder to be motivated for the little things.
Forgive us when we have failed to live up to what we say we believe
in our everyday moments.
Re-plant your grace in our hearts,
and your courage in our bones,
that we may live faithfully in every place,
rising up with new life not only for ourselves, but for the whole world.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Online Hymn: As We Gather (Resound)

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Scripture Reading: Luke 13.18-21
Jesus said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

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 343: The Reign of God (organ)

Sermon: mixed in
I love how Jesus talks about God with normal everyday stuff. I think sometimes we get so caught up in all the bigness of God — words like glory and majesty and awe and wonder and grace and judgment and kingdom — that we end up feeling sort of disconnected. Like God is so separate, beyond our understanding and having nothing to do with our regular human lives.

And then along comes Jesus and says: the kingdom of God is like something unexpected growing in your garden.

Now I’m sure many of you are excellent gardeners and never have this happen, but…sometimes all it takes is a tiny seed blown on the wind or dropped by a bird. Or sometimes all it takes is a seed planted by whoever lived in the house before you, and now you’ve got something you can never get rid of. Or even a tiny stray unknown seed mixed into other seeds you’re planting on purpose. You’d never notice, until it all grew together and…something unexpected is taking over.

Mustard is fast growing and kind of wild and once it’s there, it’s there. A tiny seed, hidden in the midst of the others, hidden beneath the ground, working in secret, and….surprise! Perhaps we’d call it a weed, which is just the name we give to a plant that’s growing in a place we don’t want it. This one Jesus talks about invites all sorts of other things we probably don’t want, too — birds that will absolutely eat all the berries off your bush before you get a chance, and be noisier than you prefer at times you’d rather be sleeping. But remember what Jesus said last week…look at the birds. Look at the mustard seed…it undoes all the careful cultivation and orderly planning. It doesn’t care about the perfect rows or the signs put up to say what’s growing in the garden. It’s invasive and unruly and unpredictable.

This is what the kingdom of God is like.

Jesus must have known that gardening wouldn’t be everyone’s forte, because he turns from the unruly and unpredictable weed of the kingdom to the kitchen. Jesus says that the woman hid — literally it says encrypted — the yeast in a huge amount of flour, enough for something like a hundred loaves. Think how long it takes to knead that much dough…and also how long it takes for yeast to work in that size batch. Because the thing about yeast is that most of its work is done when you’re not watching.

Much like the seed, yeast needs some time. You go away and leave the bowl and come back later to something completely different…it’s doubled in size, it’s bubbling, it smells of fermentation. You never saw it happen, but the evidence is there nonetheless…and then there’s enough bread to feed the whole village, no need to check who deserves it or who’s hungriest, there’s plenty.

The kingdom of God is like yeast.

Hidden.
Tiny.
Insignificant until mixed into something else.
Unpredictable.
Unruly.
Springing up into wild abundance.

A single mustard seed in a dish…or even a whole package of them…is nothing.
Yeast in the bowl by itself…is nothing.
But mixed with soil, mixed with flour…changes everything.
The seed needs the soil in order to open up and grow. The yeast is fed by the flour and together they create something new.

What if God’s plan for the kingdom to come on earth is exactly what Jesus said…but we are the seed and the yeast?

What if the plan for the Church is not to be the most visible, have the biggest building, shout in the loudest voice…but to be mixed in with the world around us, changing everything from the inside?

What if we are the seeds and yeast…and we’ve stayed in our beautiful bowl together and wondered why the world hasn’t changed when we set our huge gorgeous package down in the middle of the town and waited. What if we were never meant to be the biggest and best, never meant to draw attention to our packaging and hang out in it ourselves. We were meant to be mixed into the soil and the flour — both being transformed ourselves and also transforming them bit by bit. Not in controlled perfect ways but everywhere, so the kingdom rises up all over, with welcome and nourishment that no one ever could have predicted or expected.

What if God has hidden the kingdom in plain sight: by sending us to be the yeast, hidden in the world, until all of it is leavened. Until all of it is changed. Until all of it is grown into enough for everyone to have a place and a feast.

We may feel like we can’t do anything, we’re too small to make a difference to the big issues of the world…we may lament the loss of our position in society or our big crowds or big bank accounts or big voice in the public sphere…but what if God’s entire plan is actually for the Church to be small enough to be hidden in the giant bucket of flour, or in the garden of the world —and thereby to change the place we’re planted in, little by little, until at last our community has enough for everyone? The way we live — every choice, every word, every action, every prayer, every invitation, every interaction — is a chance for the kingdom to become more and more visible. The kingdom of God is like the tiniest of seeds, the littlest lumps of yeast…Only when they’re hidden do they grow and bloom where they’re planted.

May it be so. Amen.

Silence for Reflection

Online Hymn: What is the World Like
Sanctuary Hymn 522: The Church is Wherever God’s People Are Praising (organ)

Sanctuary Mission Focus: Edible Trail (Bruce Newlands)

Sanctuary Offering and Response Hymn 231: For the Fruits of All Creation, v1 (tune: ar hyd y nos) (organ)
For the fruits of all creation,
thanks be to God;
for these gifts to every nation,
thanks be to God;
For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safe-keeping.
thanks be to God.

Sanctuary Invitation to Communion

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer

Creator God, your kingdom is evident all around us—
in signs of spring, pushing their way up through the earth;
in the power of your creation, wind and wave;
in the laughter of children;
in the support of friends.
We see you at work, too, in simple things—
bread rising, seeds growing, people faithfully going about their days.
We give you thanks for revealing yourself to us in so many varied ways.
And we pray for the vision to see you, wherever we may be.

God of extravagant abundance, you have given us a world capable of amazing things.
You have shown us your kingdom way,
a way where everyone has enough,
and everyone is included in your grace.
Yet the world as it is does not yet look like your kingdom, O God,
and so we lift our prayers this day
for those who are excluded from your vision,
who do not receive justice,
who do not have enough.
We pray for your people who must fight to be seen as equals,
whose age or ability or skin colour or accent makes them a target.
We pray for our neighbours who long for even a loaf of bread,
who cannot remember the last time they had enough to eat,
who are relying on food banks and the generosity of strangers as they struggle to survive.
We remember those around the world whose lives are marked by violence,
who long for safety but find bombs, guns, knives, or bullying words instead.
May there be justice that leads to peace, filling hearts and homes and towns and nations.
We hold in your light the leaders of this world,
that they may see clearly in order to pursue plans for the welfare of all people and the earth.
Give them discerning hearts and compassionate spirits,
and then give them courage to seek the common good,
where all have enough and all are welcome.
And, O God, we pray for your church.
Often we feel as if we have been hidden in a big world that cares little for your ways.
Yet nothing is hidden except to be revealed,
and so we ask this day that you would nurture us like yeast,
and help us to work your good news through every place,
until your kingdom is growing before our eyes,
and all can taste and see your goodness.

On the 23rd day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to pray:
*For the sport and social clubs of Gourock — for bowling clubs, the golf club, the cricket club, the YAC, the archery club, the sailing club, the yacht club, Morton Supporters, Gourock Rangers, the Karate Club, the Rotary Club, Masonic Lodge, Factory Club, Royalle Club, Coppermine Community Centre, and all the other social and sport clubs. We pray for the community to be strengthened and built up in friendship, for an end to social isolation, and for the health and well-being of all as we get to know one another and work together for the common good.

*For those who use the building at St John’s — may they encounter your grace in our hospitality — and for the volunteers who keep the building clean and in good repair.

*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Nauru and the Marshall Islands, and French Polynesia (Tahiti).

You are the God of the everyday as well as the infinite,
of extravagance and of enough.
Now turn our gratitude to praise, our prayers to service, and our faith to life.
Guide us as we seek to glorify you in all that we say and do,
as we walk your kingdom way.
We pray in the name of Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit
is the source of abundant life and irresistible grace,
and he is the one 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 Communion

Sanctuary Hymn 804: You Shall Go Out With Joy (Holly’s favourite) (praise band)

Sending
Go out from this time of worship to be the yeast, hidden in amongst the world, working your way through every place and every situation you find yourself, until all of it is leavened.
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 if you thought you were 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) (organ)
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.

Sanctuary Postlude Music (praise band)

Announcements

* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and Sunday worship is also online.

* 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.

* Our youth organisations are back in session: the Anchor Boys (P1-3) are on Tuesday evenings, Junior Section (P4-6 boys) on Monday evenings, and Company & Seniors Section (P7-S6 boys) on Friday evenings; the Smurfs (girls aged 5-6) on Thursday evenings, the Brownies (girls aged 7-10) and Guides & Rangers (girls aged 11-18) are on Wednesday evenings. For more information on how to join, please speak to Teri and she will connect you with the leaders.

* Wednesday Bible Study is at 7:30pm in the manse.

* Bowl & Blether is on the first Mondays of the month, 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! We will take August off, so see you next on the 7th of September.

* Starter Packs are in need of Toothpaste, Hand Wash, Kitchen and Bathroom Cleaner.
The FoodBank are short of milk, diluting juice, biscuits, and tinned meals and meats.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Greenock Philharmonic Choir will be holding an open Choral Workshop on Saturday 12th September in Lyle Kirk, Greenock, 10am to 4pm. The cost is £15, which includes all music plus tea, coffee and home baking! All are welcome. We will sing music from around the world, finishing with Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine. Further info is on the choir’s website and Facebook page.

* 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.

* 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.