Sunday service for 23 November 2025, Christ the King Sunday

Sunday 23 November 2025, Christ the King Sunday
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

Sanctuary 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: Here — this place, this time, this community —
All: This is where God has placed us.
1: Here is where we are to live faithfully.
2: Here is where we are to serve.
1: Now is when we are to flourish.
2: Now is when we are to seek joy.
1: These are the people with whom we are bound together.
2: These are the people we are called to love.
One: So come, let us worship God together.

Sanctuary Hymn 449: Rejoice! the Lord is King

Prayer
Your promise is for every generation, O God.
It reaches well beyond us,
into a future we can’t even imagine.
When everything is in turmoil,
you are still at work.
But we don’t understand, O God.
We don’t understand how it happens,
we don’t understand where to see your hand in it all,
we don’t understand how you can be asking this of us.
The world is not as we wish it would be,
and we want you to fix it, ASAP.
We are so tempted by the people who tell us there’s an easy fix,
and we long for a quick win.
We want to believe that this is just a blip,
none of this is who we really are or a symptom of a bigger problem,
so we can sit back and wait for something better.
But you call us to truly live, to thrive,
and not just in our own little corner but in community with others.
You call us to learn faithfulness in this situation,
and we confess we’ve been waiting for the perfect moment or to return the familiar.
You call us to seek wellbeing for those who oppose us
and we confess we would rather blame and fight,
anything to avoid recognising our own part in the problem.
Forgive us our shallow roots, God,
and our narrow vision.
Forgive us, God,
for turning your promise into an escape hatch.
By your grace,
make us honest enough not to perpetuate our errors,
faithful enough to not just seek your will but to do it,
and loving enough to work for the wellbeing of all, not just ourselves.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Whatever the situation we have gotten ourselves into, hear this good news: God’s vision and God’s promise is for a future — and not just any future, but a future with hope. The love of God will gather us in to wholeness. Therefore, live now as forgiven people, trusting the One who restores all things, even you, even us, to abundant life. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Hymn GWA24: Your Labour is Not in Vain (praise band)

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 29.1-14 (New Revised Standard Version)
Last week we heard from the early part of the prophet Isaac, who spoke to the kingdom of Judah as they struggled to know how to respond to encroaching empires around them. Today we move forward to somewhere around 597-ish BCE, when the Babylonian empire first overtook Jerusalem and exiled the first round of people from Judah to Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah, who was still in Jerusalem, wrote to the community that had been exiled. Part of the reason for his letter was to try to counteract the false prophet Hananiah who was telling people that this situation was a temporary setback, that within a year or two all would be set right, so they just needed to sit back and wait it out, God would rescue them. Jeremiah’s rebuttal of Hananiah’s false prophecy can be found in chapter 29, beginning at verse 1, and I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams that you dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.
For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

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: hope eventually

I had a dream earlier this week that was the kind I suspect most of us have had at some point — where we are at school or work and every possible thing is going wrong and we can’t seem to do anything about it or we’re unprepared for the situation or whatever. In my dream things were happening and no one was listening to me even though I did know what to do, it was like I was speaking but either I wasn’t audible or it was a different language or something, and things just got worse and I was so upset that no one noticed or listened or did what I said, that I actually woke up crying with frustration.

And immediately when I woke up and dried my tears, my first thought was “I’ve been reading too much Jeremiah before bedtime.”

This was exactly Jeremiah’s experience — he told the truth to both the king and the people, and no one wanted to hear it. Meanwhile the people who told the king what he wanted to hear, who gave the people comforting platitudes…well, everyone just ate that up, even though it was so obviously the opposite of reality. It was like they thought that if they just kept repeating it louder and louder and soon everyone will think it’s the truth and that’s almost as good as being true.

Sound familiar?

Jeremiah must have felt like he was shouting a foreign language into a void, as he tried to speak God’s truth to people who had bought the lies. Even once the entire royal court, and the leaders of the economy, and even the artists — who we all know are the most dangerous people in a society that needs to believe the lies — had been taken away into exile and a puppet administration installed in Jerusalem, still no one wanted to believe what he said.

So he wrote a letter. Put it all in writing, so that there was no mistaking his meaning, no taking it out of context, and plenty of evidence when he would later turn out to be right.

Interestingly, in that little verse with all the names hides a fascinating detail about Jeremiah and his letter. Jeremiah had this letter written and sent by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah. Hilkiah was the high priest and Shaphan was the scribe during the time of King Josiah…they were the ones who discovered the scroll of the book of Deuteronomy hidden away in the Temple, and the reading of the scroll caused the king and all the people to return to the way of the Lord that they had long abandoned. Now, 30 years later, their sons were the ones carrying the word of the Lord to the king and people in exile…would it have the same effect as their fathers carrying a scroll to the king had?

The word that Jeremiah brought was not a hundred percent the happy news they wanted, or that false prophets like Hananiah were giving. But it was a word of hope…eventually.

Jeremiah passed on the message from God: I am with you. I will let you find me when you seek with all your hearts. I have plans for you, even though everything feels like chaos right now. I will give you a future, though you can’t see anything but the catastrophe of today. Hold on to hope.

That’s the part we love to read, and we love to hear. We need to hear it, because it is easy to lose hope when we’re looking around the world. God has a future in mind for us…where we see only closed doors and disaster, God sees a future we can’t yet imagine. Hold on to that truth.

But.

And this is kind of a big but.

God also said to the people in exile: you are not the ones who will see that future. The future I am planning is for….three generations from now.

In the meantime, what you are to do is to live toward it. Build houses, plant gardens, have families. Get yourself rooted and grounded in the community I have sent you into. Care about your neighbours. Build up the neighbourhood. Serve the common good. Be the best neighbours and best friends and best found-family for the people around you. Embed yourself in the place I have planted you. When you do your best for the community and nation in which you live, then all of you will flourish together. And your children’s grandchildren will reap the benefits of your faithfulness — I will listen to them, and hold them close, and they will live out all the plans and vision I have.

I wonder how many of us are willing to follow instructions when we are not the ones who will get the reward, see the outcome, and enjoy the benefits. It’s hard enough when we can’t control the outcome, but when we won’t even get to see it at all? When the reward isn’t for us…or for our children…or even our grandchildren…but for three generations down the line? Is it worth it to follow God’s way if we don’t personally get anything out of it?

Of course, there is benefit to living God’s way in the world. Being rooted and grounded in the community where God sent us, working for the well-being of all, is also good for us. Refusing to see our neighbours as enemies, choosing to give up our desire to live as adversaries who are against everything around us so that we can love the people God has put in our path, is good for us. Our shalom — our wholeness, our wellbeing — is found only in the shalom of the whole community together. Building a better world for the future also makes things better for us, technically, though in the short term it’s hard and sometimes doesn’t feel very good.

But the fullness of hope, the kingdom we long to see, the amazing grace vision…if that isn’t for us, are we still willing to work toward it, and to endure the hardship that comes with making those changes?

It’s the same question I think we need to ask about climate change, actually — there are things we could do, as a society, as a nation, that would make a big difference. But they would be hard going for us as consumers, with all the benefit being for the generations that come after us. So is it worth it?

It’s easy to feel like the world around us is a catastrophe. The climate, the politics, the culture…and the church. Things we value have been taken away or lost. There’s chaos and confusion and nothing seems familiar. We wish for the days when things were simpler. We really want to believe the platitudes coming at us every day even though we know they aren’t true.

But God has planted us, his people, here and now — for a future purpose.
God sent his people into exile…and they saw it as an unmitigated disaster. But God says to live a full and meaningful life — to build and plant and grow, right where they were, right where we are. Not waiting for circumstances to change, not waiting to be rescued, not waiting for it all to be over, not waiting to go back to the way things used to be…live, here and now. Sure, these aren’t the times we want to live in…but what a witness to Christ’s kingdom, what resistance to the powers that be, if we thrive when they want us to focus only on what we have lost, and get stuck in scarcity they say only they can manage!

God told his people not to see their new neighbours as enemies, or to blame them and hold a grudge, but instead to work toward shalom for them, because in that work is how they would find their own peace and wellbeing. God commands them to shift away from defensiveness, fighting, and constant vigilance, holding themselves separate, and shift toward an understanding of being interconnected, intertwined, interdependent. God instructs us not to be known for what we’re against but for how we love and serve. The people of God see neighbours to be loved, not issues to fix or strangers to keep apart from or dangers to get rid of. What a witness to Christ’s kingdom, what resistance to the powers that be, if we build a true community of mutuality and refuse to be divided and conquered.

God told the people not to be defeatist, not to just give up and give in, dwindle away. Even though they would not see the fruit of their labour. Even though they would not see the promise fulfilled in their lifetime. God is still telling us, even now, to do everything in our power to increase in number and in faithfulness, to witness to God’s goodness in the land of the living even though all around looks like disaster. Not to give up and assume that since nothing is the way it used to be, it’s all pointless. Not to give in and just go along with the way things are because it’s easier. Not to slink away into a corner and keep the word of God to ourselves until we die out. But to build…plant…live. To insist that there is a future, even if we can’t see it. God is still at work. There is hope, though we may not be the ones to see it fulfilled. What a witness to Christ’s kingdom, what resistance to the powers that be, if we refuse to cower in the face of challenge, and instead expand the reach of our message that a time is surely coming when those powers no longer hold sway.

Surely God knows the plans he has for us — plans for a future, even though we might think we have reached the end of the line; plans for hope, even though things look bleak.

God has planted us exactly where God needs us to be for the future of God’s kingdom — which may be beyond us but is still ours to hope toward and work toward, even if we don’t get the benefits and rewards.

Jeremiah’s letter was carried by the sons of the famous reformers whose preaching and teaching had changed things — hard changes, but changes people had been willing to make for the sake of becoming the people God called them to be. The world of their fathers had passed away, and the sons were in a new situation, carrying a new incarnation of the word for their time and place, inviting the people to a similar task: to live toward God’s future right now, for the sake of those who would come after them. And in so doing, they would become the people God called them to be, and make God’s kingdom visible even now.

May we be those kind of ancestors.
Amen.

Sanctuary Silence for Reflection

Hymn GWA199: Oh How Good It Is (praise band)

Sanctuary Offering and Response: Great God of Every Blessing (tune: Aurelia)
Great God of every blessing,
of faithful loving care,
you are the fount of goodness,
the daily bread we share.
How can we hope to thank you?
Our praise is but a start:
sincerely and completely
I offer you my heart.

Concerns of the Church
*flower fund
*choir rehearsal
*baptism bibles
*funeral Wendy McClure Tuesday 1pm (daughters Cindy and Gillian and the whole family)
*Wednesday Bible Study
*GSCT afternoon tea concert Monday 24th 1:30
*Coffee Morning 29th
*St Andrew’s Day Ceilidh 29th
*Christmas Post — bring cards between 30 November and 14 December, 50p
*Prayer groups

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
God of the nations,
Your kingdom knows no bounds,
Your power extends to the ends of the earth,
there is no place your love does not reach.
We give you thanks for your care,
for your persistence in making space in the chaos,
for your grace that reaches out to us wherever we find ourselves.
We are grateful for your word
passed down from age to age,
written to one time yet speaking to all times,
and for those who speak and write to inform and inspire,
to reveal your vision to us all.
We ask your blessing on those who share your good news
in word, in arts, in creativity that subverts powers
and opens avenues for new ways of thinking and being.
In places where art has been deemed dangerous,
send your creative spirit to empower possibility and hope.
In an age of tumult and strife,
we remember those who suffer most while others profit,
who bear the weight of our unjust ways and failures of compassion.
We ask your blessing on those who have had to leave their homes —
those who have fled from fear and violence and hunger,
those whose homes are no longer liveable because of climate change or war,
those who carry memories and longing but have lost all else.
And we ask your blessing on those who receive them in new homes,
those communities welcoming and hosting.
May all of us together care for each other,
seek one another’s welfare,
learn from the other,
and grow into your beloved community through all our diversity.

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 have promised a future, but not one just for us alone —
bring us together as a human family to live and flourish in your kingdom together.
We ask especially for your blessing on the next generation:
the ones who will grow up with turmoil as normal.
May they learn the ways of peace and justice that we have failed to learn in our time,
and so participate in the hopeful future you have planned.
We pray you would give us all a spirit of discernment,
that we might at last learn to recognise your work in the midst of the chaos,
your presence when so much clamours for our attention.
Save us from being deceived by those who use your name but do not bear your fruit.
And keep us from deceiving ourselves, too.
Make us faithful to your more excellent way,
and give us courage to prioritise abundant life for all, not just some;
to work for the common good, trusting that it is together we will find wholeness.
Where one suffers, we all suffer;
where one rejoices, we all rejoice.
Bind us together in your love and justice,
and gather us in the palm of your hand,
renewing us in hope and faith,
to flourish as your kingdom people, even now.
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 GWA205: Sing to God from Every City

Benediction
Go out into the world to build a faithful life here and now, to seek joy and pursue peace, for in the shalom of our neighbours, we will discover God’s future of hope for us all.
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.

Sanctuary 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.

* Every Sunday there is a beautiful flower arrangement in the sanctuary, which is then taken from worship to someone in our church family as a message of our care and love. The flowers are funded entirely by donations specifically to the flower fund. If you would like to donate flowers — perhaps in memory of someone, or in celebration of something in your life, or just as a gift to our worshipping community and our church family, please mark your donations for the flower fund. Thank you for beautifying our worship and extending that beauty to others.

* Starter Packs are in need of Shaving Foam, Shampoo, Soap, Hand Wash. Also in preparation for Christmas they are collecting hats, scarves and gloves for children and adults, selection boxes, chocolates and biscuits.

The FoodBank are short of everything except pasta, so anything you can donate will be gratefully received!
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* 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 on the 1st of December!

* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday the 2nd of December, when we will hear from Lynette Robertson talking about local church history. The syllabus of events is available from Fiona Webster or Anne Armour. The syllabus donation of £5 will go towards our charity fundraising.

* The Gourock Schools and Churches Together community concert afternoon tea is TOMORROW Monday 24 November at 1:30pm at St Columba’s High School. We have free tickets available, speak to Teri or Anne Love to get yours!

* We are again having a St Andrew’s Day family ceilidh on Saturday 29 November! Doors open at 12:30 and dancing starts at 1pm. We are excited to have Canned Haggis back leading the music and dancing! All are welcome.
The 29th is a full day as there’s a coffee morning that day as well! 10:30-12:30 in the Large Hall, with some stalls and home baking, come along and enjoy — entry is just £3.

* Our Youth Organisations will again be delivering your Christmas post — bring your cards between 30 November and 14 December, and get them delivered around Gourock and the west end of Greenock for just 50p per card! All proceeds go to support youth work in St John’s.

* 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 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.

* Have you taken home tea towels to wash, but not brought them back yet? Please do bring them back and pop them into the cupboard to the right of the hob…we really need them because Bowl & Blether involves a LOT of washing up! Thank you!