Sunday service for 23 February 2025

Sunday 23 February 2025
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

Prelude Music (praise band)

Welcome

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: Come in — the power of God is in this place.
All: With gratitude and praise, we come into the presence of the Holy.
One: Come in — Jesus welcomes all who seek him.
All: With trust and hope, we come as we are.
One: Come in — the Spirit of love is here.
All: With joy we come to worship the One who calls us into life.

Sanctuary Hymn 623: Here In This Place

Sanctuary Children’s Time
(Amazing Grace)

Prayer
You are our God and we are your people, Gracious Holy One.
You have called us by name,
chosen us before we could choose you,
and you welcome us in your presence and renew us to live in your way.
With love and gratitude we come before you,
acknowledging that we have not lived up to your instruction,
in so many different ways.
We know in our hearts how we have fallen short.
(silence)
We know in our minds how we have assumed that others have fallen short.
(silence)
We know, too, how the society we have inherited, and which we perpetuate,
is contrary to your kingdom.
(silence)
We stand before you,
our hands empty,
admitting our failure and weakness,
offering all we have to give: our hearts and spirits turned to you.
Overwhelm us with your loving presence today, O God,
that we may let go of trying to control you,
and allow your grace to transform us,
to move us toward compassion, hospitality, and vulnerability,
toward a life of overflowing gratitude and joy,
growing ever more into your likeness.
Your forgiveness is beyond our imagining,
and yet we are bold to ask for it,
and to commit ourselves to living by your grace,
in the name of Jesus the Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit.
Amen.

In Christ, God looks on us with love. In Christ, God meets our brokenness with wholeness. In Christ, we are made new. The one who is forgiven much is best known by how much they love — live as God’s forgiven people, a life overflowing with joy and gratitude. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Online Hymn 623: Here In This Place

Sanctuary Special Music: GWA152 The Mind of God (choir, congregation to join in at v3) (by John L Bell)

Scripture Reading: Luke 7.36-50
Last week we heard about Jesus’ answer to those who wondered if he was the One they had been waiting for: the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. He ended the conversation by reminding them that when John the Baptist fasted and separated himself from society, they thought he was demon-possessed, and now Jesus feasts and they call him a glutton who socialises with sinners—their expectations obscured their ability to hear his message of grace. Today’s reading, in Luke chapter 7, beginning at verse 36, picks up at the end of that conversation.

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.’ Jesus spoke up and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Teacher,’ he replied, ‘speak.’ ‘A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’ Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’

One: For the word of God in scripture
For the word of God among us
For the word of God within us
All: Thanks be to God.

Sermon: what’s your story?
One of my pet peeves when I’m reading a novel is when characters don’t just talk to each other honestly. It’s such an irritating and lazy way to create tension in the plot: misunderstandings that could have been cleared up in a five minute conversation get more and more convoluted and take a hundred pages to resolve.

This is a story that feels like each character has made assumptions about the others. Simon the Pharisee has assumed he knows this woman’s story. He thinks he knows what her life has been like, what she does, what has happened to her, and what her experience of Jesus has been. On the other side perhaps she also assumed she knew his story, what his life was like, what his experience of Jesus was. We don’t get to hear what other people at the dinner party thought, but it’s entirely likely they too were making assumptions about both the host, the guest of honour, and the woman, thinking they knew enough about them to anticipate their actions and reactions, what’s important to them or not, and so on.

Jesus is the only one in the story who actually knows the stories of these two people — the host and the party crasher. He knows their background, their fears and joys, their traumas and hopes, their family history and the stuff they would never tell another soul. At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, Simeon said about the baby Jesus that he would be here “revealing the inner thoughts of many” and here he is living that out.

But as I read the story I can’t help but wonder a couple of things….
first how often we actually do the thing that drives me nuts in books: how often do we think we know someone else’s story? And think we know it enough to decide how they should be treated, how we will speak to or about them, and what we will share of our own story? Have we actually decided to, for instance, keep our experience of Jesus to ourselves because we assume that someone else doesn’t want to hear it, doesn’t need to hear it, would react badly to it, or something like that? We learned last week that when Jesus is near, lives are changed and people can’t stop talking about it…but if we think we know that no one wants to hear it, then we wouldn’t talk about what a difference he made, would we?

And the second thing I wondered was whether we actually even know our own story all that well? What has Jesus done for us? What difference does it make to our everyday lives that we follow Jesus? Do we know what he’s been up to in us and around us and through us?

So today I’d like to just take a moment to think about that. I’m going to sit down for a couple of minutes and I’d like each of us to just think about our own life stories, and where God has been at work in your life, what difference has Jesus made in your life, where has the Holy Spirit moved in your life. What changes have happened because you follow Jesus? What has God done for you? How is your life today different than it would be if you weren’t a Jesus follower in this church family?
…
…
…
…
Share? — practicing with people who care for us and with us,
Encouraging each other with stories of God’s good news, and learning how to do the same for those who maybe haven’t seen how God makes a difference in real people
Asking God each day who might need you to be a listening ear to hear their stories — not assuming you know them, but just asking and listening to what they say, and maybe getting the chance to share a snippet of yours.

The woman who crashed the dinner party did so because she had experienced such incredible love, such amazing grace, she could not keep it to herself. She had to pour herself out in response. Simon thought he knew what she was about, but he actually had no idea…and he didn’t yet know that amazing grace for himself, so he showed nothing on the outside. His assumptions were stopping him from experiencing the love and encouragement being shared by another, blocking him from experiencing the transformation of Jesus’ work in his own life, and preventing him from sharing gratitude for God’s presence and grace.
We who have experienced the goodness of God are also meant to be people who share it — not assuming we know their stories or that they don’t need to hear the encouragement of our story, but just asking the Holy Spirit to guide us to listen and to speak, to share the hope of God’s kingdom.

A few minutes ago we sang along with the choir that God is unchanging in this way:
transforming those who are met by Jesus,
the love of God never, ever ends.

May we indeed be transformed by meeting Jesus, and share that good news with others.
Amen.

Hymn GWA173: Goodness of God (praise band)

Sanctuary Offering and Response GWA148, chorus
I will sing a song of love
to the One who first loved me,
and I’ll sing it as a child of God,
who is named and known and free.
For the love of God is good,
it is broad and deep and long;
and above all else that matters,
God is worthy of my song.

Concerns of the Church

Please consider yourself invited to participate, and to pray for all the activities, ministry, and mission God is calling us to do together.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
God of amazing grace,
God of unconditional love,
God who accepts us and makes us whole,
we come with joy despite our flaws and failings,
with gratitude despite our cares,
with hope that overflows our fears.
Thank you for bringing us to you,
for welcoming us into your presence
and freeing us from all that harms us.
We ask your healing help for all who are still caught in shame,
those who cannot see how much you love,
those whose anxiety overwhelms and whose spirits bear burdens.
Give them a tangible sense of your love for them,
lift the weight and let them see the gentleness of your light.
We ask your transforming help for all who are caught by control,
those who are stuck in the ways they have always done things,
those who are so sure of their rightness that they miss seeing you in unexpected people and places,
those whose judgment is near the surface but whose graciousness is deeply buried.
Set them free from self-importance,
give them vision to recognise your hand at work,
and soften their hearts to receive your good news that is for all.
We ask your blessing for those who are caught by labels,
those who live with the assumptions or judgment of others,
those who get gossiped about, pushed to the margin, or shunted off out of sight.
May they know themselves beloved and whole and worthy of dignity,
and give them courage to stand up in your image.
On this 23rd day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to ask your blessing
*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).

Your love is powerful, O God,
and in your presence we know the joy and hope of your kingdom.
As your love pours out on us,
we pray you would also love others through us,
that all might see your word made flesh.
We ask in Christ’s name, and we pray together as he taught us:
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 683: Go to the World (tune: Sine Nomine)

Benediction
Go from this place to show great love, as you have been loved.
And 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.

* Conversation Corner with Charlene is on Wednesdays in February from 1-2pm, in the Vestry.

* The Contact Group is hosting a fundraising concert with special guests the Wherries THIS AFTERNOON Sunday 23 February at 3pm, tickets available for £10 at the door.

* Bowl and Blether is on the first and third Mondays of each month through the winter, the next one is Monday 3 March. Doors open at 11:30am, soup and sandwiches 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, Graham Bolster, or Charlene if you’d like to volunteer for soup making (9-11:30am), toastie-making (11:30-1:30), serving (11:15-1:45), or clean up (1:15-2:30). 

* Starter Packs are in need of handwash, soap, kitchen/bathroom cleaners, washing up liquid and tea-bags
The FoodBank are in need of diluting juice, tinned carrots and other vegetables, tinned meat & tinned meals.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Next Sunday 2 March is the last Sunday before Lent, when traditionally we observe Transfiguration Sunday — and this year we are celebrating it as Pancake Sunday, rather than Tuesday! It’s also an all-age service and a communion Sunday, and all are welcome!

* Teri will be leading a Lent book group on Monday evenings in the Spinnaker beginning Monday 10 March at 7pm. The book is Jesus For Everyone, Not Just Christians. All are welcome — come along and have your dinner, or a drink, or just come for the discussion!

* 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 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 on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. 

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study is at 7:30pm in the Manse and we are reading Luke!

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