Sunday service for 30 April 2023, fourth Sunday of Easter

Today’s worship service will be posted in the evening, due to video drama. Until then, the manuscript is below!

Sunday 30 April 2023, NL1-42, Fourth Sunday of Easter
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
One: God calls us together in community
All: and God calls us each to our own specific work, too.
One: God calls us together in community
All: and God reminds us that our community cannot contain God’s grace.
One: God calls us together in community
All: and God sends us out, nurtured, empowered, and supported.

Sanctuary Hymn 430: Christ Has Risen While Earth Slumbers

Prayer
Each day is a miracle, O God,
though we rarely pause to notice.
We give thanks for your generous providing,
for rain and sun, for changing seasons,
for joy and laughter, food and water,
breath and belonging.
In every ordinary moment is an opportunity,
as all creation witnesses to your goodness.
As we come to worship,
we take time to see what you have done,
to offer our praise and gratitude,
to re-set our egos and attention,
to be ready for whatever new thing you will do today.

You are in the midst of the world, Living God,
working for life in all things,
from the ordinary to the extraordinary,
and we confess that we too-rarely recognise you.
We are boxed-in by our own experience, background, traditions, and expectations.
We admit that rather than worshipping You,
we have often worshiped
our ideas about you, the places we have met you, and the people who have revealed you.
And we confess that we do not have the faith to imagine something else is possible,
so we try to stuff your new thing into our old frame.
Forgive us for not leaping to our feet and walking into the new life you offer.
Forgive us for misplacing our trust,
and then clinging to nostalgia when you are moving on from our comfortable groove.
Forgive us, shift our perspective, and open our minds and hearts to see what could be.
Put our imaginations to the service of your kingdom,
that we may truly live for your glory.
We ask in the name of our Risen Lord, Jesus the Christ.
Amen.

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Reading: Acts 13:1-3, 14:8-18
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a childhood friend of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he believed he could be healed, said in a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And the man sprang up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways; yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good—giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.’ Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

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.

Reflection

*What is something we have never done before that God might be calling us to spring up and try?

*What is the box we try to stuff God into, like the people who insisted that what they’d just seen must be Zeus and Hermes and they’d better make sacrifices or else?

*What miracles have we missed because we just took them for granted, never thinking it was God who did that?

*What would happen if we really looked at people?

Sanctuary Hymn: The Truth That Sets Us Free (text: John L Bell, tune: Blaenwern 468)

Offering (Sanctuary only)

Sanctuary Offering Response 420 verse 4 (tune: Lasst uns erfreuen)
Praise we the Father, Spirit, Son;
Praise we the victory God has won:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise we the Lamb who reigns above;
Praise we the King whose rule is love:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Blessings abound, O Lord our God, for you are good, all the time.
Your creation sings your praise,
your world turns according to your word,
your Spirit breathes life.
We thank you for revealing yourself in so many ways,
and for your constant care despite our frequent mis-use of your earth.
We pray for all people to choose compassion for creation,
that we may live in harmony as you intended.
We pray, too, for harmony among the nations,
for peace beyond our understanding to break into our consciousness
to change the way we think and act.
Give us the grace to pay attention to those around us,
to truly see them in all their humanity.
We pray for those who are suffering,
those whose bodies don’t seem to move the same way anymore,
those who live with illness,
and those who have been too-long defined by their body’s ability;
for those whose minds work differently from others,
and those who struggle with shadows;
for those whose spirits are faltering and for whom a deep breath feels impossible.
May your healing fill them, surround them, lift them up into possibility that brings joy.
You have gathered all people into your embrace, O God,
and offered yourself to us.
In gratitude and praise we offer ourselves,
to be transformed by your goodness
and to become bearers of your blessing for others.
In all things we pray with the power of the Spirit
and in the name of our Risen Lord, 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 159: Lord for the Years

Benediction
Friends, go forth with your imaginations alight to the possibility of the risen Christ.
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. Alleluia! 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

* Bowl & Blether is TOMORROW, 1 May. Come spend a bit of your May Day holiday with friends and neighbours, enjoying soup and toasties! Doors open at 11:30, soup and toasties are served from noon.

* You are all invited to a lunch celebrating the coronation of King Charles III, on Sunday 7 May at 12:30pm. All are welcome, so why not invite a friend or neighbour? There will also be sign up sheets for those who would like to help by decorating, making sandwiches or home baking. Please contact Cameron Melville, Ann Stephenson, or Fiona Mackenzie for more information.

* 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. 

* 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 meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in about a year and a half!

* Young Adult Bible Study meets in the manse on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 7pm for a meal and discussion of the gospel according to John. Everyone in their 20s is welcome! Our next meeting is 23 April.

* 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the 2nd Gourock Boys’ Brigade. Our 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 will be available soon. The benefitting Charities have been selected and will be announced shortly. 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.

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