Sunday service for 6 September 2026
Sunday 6 September 2026, Bloom Where You’re Planted 8
Gourock St John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
If the video doesn’t play, please click here to view it on our YouTube channel.
Today’s sanctuary service is an all-age service partially led by our youth organisations. There’s no manuscript for the full online service but the responses, reading, and prayers are printed here!
Opening Responses
God welcomes all, strangers and friends
God’s love is strong and it never ends
Whoever we are and wherever we come from,
God welcomes us here.
With lots of experience, or here for the first time,
God welcomes us here.
Sure what we believe, or still figuring it out,
God welcomes us here.
Prayer (Brownies)
Dear God, you created the world good and taught us how to look after each other.
We have not always done a good job of following your instructions.
Sometimes we say one thing and then we do something different.
Sometimes we are greedy, or unkind.
Sometimes we hurt others — whether we meant to do it or not.
Forgive us, God.
Help us to put your word into action.
Show us how to help others, and how to care for the world,
so that everyone can live life to the fullest.
We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture Reading: James 1.22-25, 2.14-18 (New Century Version)
Do what God’s teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves. Those who hear God’s teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror. They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like. But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.
My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith by itself—that does nothing—is dead.
Someone might say, “You have faith, but I have deeds.” Show me your faith without doing anything, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
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.
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer (Junior Section)
God, we thank you for your love.
We thank you for all the ways you care for us,
for our families and friends,
for the wonderful world,
for helping us when we are struggling.
There are a lot of people who need your help right now,
so we ask that you would fill them up with your Spirit.
Give them courage and hope and strength to face the challenges.
We pray for people who have lost loved ones,
and for people who have lost their pets.
We pray for people who are unwell,
and especially people going through treatment for cancer.
We pray for people who have been injured,
and have to learn to live with a disability.
We pray for people who are being bullied,
and for people who feel like they are different or don’t belong,
and for people who struggle to learn.
We pray for people who are hungry and don’t have enough to eat.
And we pray for ourselves,
that we would become people who help,
people who put your word into action,
people who make the world a better place for everyone.
Give us wisdom and strength and love
so that we can share your goodness with others.
We ask in the name of Jesus,
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.
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.
* 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! See you TOMORROW on the 7th of September.
* On Wednesday 9 September at 7pm in the Lyle Kirk Union Street, we have the opportunity to hear from people who work with the Hebron International Resource Network about life and work in the West Bank. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the situation in Palestine from people who live it, and to find out how we can help.
* 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.
* We are moving into a time of Harvest, and turning our attention to how God’s faithfulness ensures our flourishing, through every season. To help us celebrate that He keeps His promise to be with us always, no matter the circumstance, you might like to bring to church a photo capturing what this has meant to you, personally. The photo could be of a person who has been a particular help or encouragement to you, or of an occasion or point in time that has been important to you in your faith.
Please place your photo in an envelope with your full name written on the front and give this to Anne Love. Anne will photocopy the photo, and return the original to you. These pictures, over a period of weeks, will form a collage of gratitude on the board we have put up on the wall: a visual testament to how we form part of a living story, a legacy, blessed by many hands to be fruitful, that we may in turn bless others.
* Starter Packs are in need of Bathroom/Kitchen Cleaner, Washing Up Liquid, Shaving Foam, Hand Wash,Toothbrushes for Adults.
The FoodBank are short of Biscuits and Juice as well as the usual items: Meals, Beans, Vegetables and Soup.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!
* 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.
