Sunday service for 18 August 2024

Sunday 18 August 2024
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143 
Email Teri: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music (praise band)

Welcome & Announcements

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: We come together from many places—
All: from north and south, from east and west, just as God calls.
One: We come together in one spirit—
All: piece by piece, becoming the Body of Christ.
One: We come together in one spirit—
All: not always understanding, not always courageous, not always ready,
One: and the Spirit rushes in!
All: Let us rejoice, and proclaim God’s power!

Sanctuary Hymn: As We Gather (Resound Worship — praise band)

Prayer (Adapted from fifth morning service in Common Order)
Holy and Gracious God, we come this day to worship you—
You, who are closer than we imagine, though by ourselves we could never know.
On our own, our human wisdom, logic, and enterprise can never reveal you,
but still you reveal yourself to us, in the folly of human life and breath.
We praise you for your foolishness that is wiser than human wisdom,
and for your weakness that reveals true strength.
Yet even as praise falls from our lips,
we confess that we often think that’s well and good for you,
but we need to be strong, and proud, and careful, and clever.
We admit that we would prefer to cling to the ways we’ve always known,
rather than to trust your way of the cross.
We confess that we are often closed off from your voice, and from others,
choosing instead to seek our own fortunes and rely on our own strength.
For your wisdom is unsettling, O God.
It upsets our values, our traditions, our desires.
And so we do not want to see.
Forgive us, Lord.
Forgive us for our closed minds and hearts,
for our eyes clouded by self-seeking, turned in the wrong direction.
Take from us any thought that does not glorify you,
and fill us instead with the desire to search for your truth,
to serve your Body,
to love your kingdom,
and so be agents of your transformation in the world.
May we live as the people you have made us to be:
people of grace and peace, drawing ever nearer to you and to each other.
We pray in the name of Christ,
who met our human need and saved us with your holy foolish wisdom
and gifted us by your Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Online Hymn: As We Gather (Resound Worship)

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Sanctuary Hymn 204: I am the church, you are the church vv. 1 & 2


1st Scripture Reading: Exodus 18.5-9,13–27
Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God, bringing Moses’ sons and wife to him. He sent word to Moses, ‘I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, with your wife and her two sons.’ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed down and kissed him; each asked after the other’s welfare, and they went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had beset them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the Egyptians.
The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?’ Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.’ Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do. You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace.’
So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any minor case they decided themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went off to his own country.

2nd Scripture Reading: Acts 6.1-7
Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’ What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

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: Internal Organs
When we think of Moses, most of us probably think about things like going up the mountain to receive the ten commandments, or standing before Pharaoh and saying “let my people go!”, or parting the sea with his staff. All of those are great examples of Moses’ spiritual gifts — he was gifted to be a leader, a prophet who spoke truth to power, a teacher who explained God’s word to the people so they could live faithfully.

We don’t often think of this story where Moses’s spiritual gifts are actually kind of getting him into trouble, leading him toward burnout because he appears to be trying to do it all without any help. It’s a trap that can be easy to fall into, thinking we have to do it on our own simply because we have been gifted for a particular role or task in the Body. But remember: the Body is one but has many members, and they’re all meant to work together! So enter Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law.

Now sometimes in-laws can be a complicated relationship…I sometimes wonder what Moses thought when he got the message “your in-laws are coming for a visit”! It feels like there’s a lot being left unsaid when the Bible reports that the two men went into the tent and “Moses told him all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had beset them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced…” I hope it wasn’t a case of Moses feeling he needed to prove himself somehow, but rather a chance for two generations to share the story of God’s power together.

But then the next day…having watching Moses at work, Jethro pulled him aside and was about as blunt as only your in-laws can be: “what you are doing is not good. You should do it this way instead.”

Lots of us might hear that and get defensive, resisting the idea that they know better than we do how to do our jobs. But Moses must have recognised that his father-in-law had a spiritual gift that he himself did not have: the gift of Administration. It’s a completely different gift than Moses had, because the gift of administration is about organising people and resources for the work of God’s kingdom, planning and delegating, managing details, and most of all it’s a behind-the-scenes gift. It’s the kind of thing that’s most noticeable when we don’t have it in the Body, because when the gift of administration is being used well, it means everything runs more smoothly — as Jethro says to Moses: “you will be able to endure and everyone will go home at peace.” And when we don’t have it…well…nothing runs smoothly, there’s confusion and duplication and dropped balls and poor communication and general chaos, which is exactly how I imagine the crowds milling about all waiting for Moses himself, whose gifts were leadership and prophecy and teaching to a whole community, to manage all their individual issues.

Thankfully Moses wasn’t offended by Jethro offering his gift, and they worked together to set up the system Jethro could see so clearly even though Moses couldn’t have seen it at all until someone else suggested it.

The same thing then happened again thousands of years later, in the earliest days of the Church. The twelve disciples were trying to lead a community that was growing faster than they could handle, but they also didn’t have all the spiritual gifts they would need just among themselves. They were clearly gifted with wisdom — as Jethro also must have been — to be able to apply God’s word to everyday life. The gift of wisdom keeps us focused on God and God’s word and helps us make connections between our knowledge, our experience, and God’s work. And it’s an important behind-the-scenes gift! But it also isn’t a gift that lends itself to noticing the practical issues that arise in a community, especially one that is growing and bringing in people with lots of different backgrounds, needs, and gifts. So when they started to hear that there was a problem among part of this new church community, the disciples were wisely able to recognise it was an important issue, and that they did not have the gifts to do all that work themselves: they would need a system much like the one Jethro set up for Moses.

In both the earliest days of the Israelite community in the wilderness and the earliest days of the Church, as is still the case today: that system relied on finding many people whose spiritual gifts were also behind-the-scenes type gifts: especially gifts of discernment and helping.

Discernment is about being able to recognise what is important and what is a distraction, what is God’s voice and what is some other voice. And Helping is about doing the practical tasks that need doing in order for the community to function well and fulfil God’s will. Usually those tasks are things not many people will love doing…and people with the gift of helping can actually see the spiritual value in those things, like setting the tables or moving the chairs or cleaning the bathrooms or all that behind-the-scenes stuff that again, many people don’t even notice until it isn’t done.

Too often the people who have these kinds of gifts that don’t get seen also end up overlooked. We forget to thank the people who see their helping as an act of faith, or who know how to create and work a system that makes everything else run smoothly. We sometimes take for granted those like the people who Moses and Jethro appointed to manage the community, or those seven people selected in the early church to make sure that everyone got fed. Not unlike how often we take for granted our liver or our veins and arteries or our digestive system. Until it doesn’t work, we just assume all the pieces will fit together and the Body will happen without much attention required.

Often people who have these internal-organs type gifts don’t want a fuss made, they want to get on with the tasks that God has given them to do, they don’t want to be in the limelight or brought to the front and applauded. But that does not mean they don’t deserve or need gratitude and appreciation. Sometimes we might joke that our stomach or our liver needs a break, but that’s also true: sometimes they do, and sometimes the people who serve so faithfully need a rest as well, so that they can keep serving with joy.

Perhaps you’re out here thinking that helping or administration might be one of your gifts, and you’re currently sitting there desperately hoping I’m not about to call your name or ask you to come forward or show your picture on the screen. Don’t worry, I do love a chance to say thank you and celebrate all of you with these gifts that keep us going…but I also don’t want to embarrass you today! Please hear this, though: we do see and love you, not only because of the gifts you offer but for who you are. We value you for you, and we also appreciate what you do here to make the Body run smoothly. Quite literally, we couldn’t do it without you because it would be like a Body trying to run with no internal organs!

And maybe you’re sitting there thinking that you can’t possibly have gifts of wisdom or discernment, because we’re not allowed to think of ourselves as wise or discerning in case it sound like we’re being arrogant or egotistical. But I know perfectly well that some of you have incredible gifts of wisdom and discernment: you see truth and recognise God’s voice and understand the connections between real life and God’s word, and we need you to speak up. You’ve been given those gifts so that God can use your voice to help guide the Body in the life and work we’re called to, and if you keep it to yourself it’s like disconnecting your veins and arteries from your organs. You carry the nutrients — the word of God and the awareness of God’s will — that keep everything healthy and functioning!

In the Acts reading, the people chosen to serve the community and make sure everyone was cared for no matter what their background was — those people were given a name. They were called Deacons, and the word deacon means “to minister to.” They were the ones who ministered to people, while the disciples devoted themselves to prayer and the word. Stephen and the other deacons went out to serve the community, feeding the poor and visiting the sick and protecting the widows and bringing together the people who had come to follow Jesus from both Hebrew and Greek-speaking families, and the twelve disciples spent their days praying and teaching and preaching, sharing the word of God with as many people as they could. It’s a fascinating division of labour that we actually still have today — a reminder that no one leader has all the spiritual gifts, and like Moses, none of us can do it by ourselves. We need each other, we need the people who have those up-front gifts and the people who have the behind-the-scenes gifts, if we are going to be a functioning Body. Though the internal organs may be hidden, we can’t live without them! And as Paul said when he wrote of the church as a Body: no one part of the body is more or less important than another, and none can say they wish they were another part. Each and every part matters, even the ones we can’t see.

So maybe take the time this week to think if any of these stories and gifts sound like you…and also please take a moment this week to thank a person who has gifts of helping, administration, discernment, or wisdom. You matter, and we are all grateful! It’s only all together that we can be the Body of Christ we are made to be, doing God’s kingdom work here in the world.

May it be so.
Amen.

Online Hymn:

Sanctuary Hymn: We All Are One In Mission (words: Rusty Edwards b. 1955 tune: Ellacombe or Aurelia)

Sanctuary Offering and Response: We Are An Offering
We lift our voices; we lift our hands;
we lift our lives up to you:
we are an offering.
Lord, use our voices; Lord, use our hands;
Lord, use our lives; they are yours:
we are an offering.
All that we have, all that we are,
all that we hope to be,
we give to you, we give to you.
We lift our voices; we lift our hands;
we lift our lives up to you:
we are an offering;
we are an offering.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
God our creator, provider, sustainer —
You have given us all we have and all we are,
You have made us in all our diversity and called us together to be your Body.
We thank you for the way your mind works,
putting together gifts and talents, personalities and experiences,
to create the Body of Christ so beautiful and so intricate
in order to do your work in the world.
We are especially grateful for all those who put their faith into action behind the scenes,
for those whose helping hand keeps our community going,
for those who show their love for you by ensuring that all that we need is organised and ready.
Thank you, God, for those with the gift of seeing how things work,
and how they can work better,
and for those with the gift of recognising
your voice and your direction in the midst of all the noise in the world.
Thank you for those who give of their time and energy,
their physical labour and their mental powers,
to minister to others, to care for them and ensure there’s nourishment for all.
May they be filled with your joy and delight in their work,
and know the importance of their place in our community.
And, O God, we pray today for those who are in need of being ministered to —
those struggling to find their place,
those uncertain of how to move forward,
those who are not safe in their homes,
those who hunger for food and for justice,
those longing for something they can’t put their finger on,
those who are lonely or isolated,
those suffering in body, mind, or spirit.
May we recognise their need, and meet them with your grace.
We lift up today all who are attending the Candidate’s Gathering,
those training for different ministries in the Church,
and those teaching and guiding them,
especially for Charlene, Tamsin, and Rob,
whom we carry in our hearts and minds as we have shared this journey of faith and life together.
May they know your presence beside and within and in front of them,
may they hear your voice clearly and be strengthened in their faith and in their call.
Help them recognise the gifts you have given,
and to trust that you will equip them for every task you have ahead of them.
We hold before you today all who are starting school —
pupils and students, teachers and professors and support staff.
After the excitement of the first day has worn off, and the work of the term ahead sets in,
give them minds bright and open to learn together,
compassionate hearts and willing spirits to build a gracious and loving community together,
strength and perseverance on the hard days
and joy and wonder at encountering all your world has to offer.
May they know themselves blessed to be a blessing to others.
And on this 18th day of the month, we join our hearts as your church family to pray
*For the Gourock Health Centre and for our local Dental surgeries — for doctors and dentists, nurses, pharmacists, specialists, and other staff. May they be calm and compassionate. May people treat them with kindness and respect. May they seek always to be agents of your healing grace. And may those who seek their care experience your help through their hands.
*For the Contact Group and other fellowship groups at St John’s, that they may learn and deepen friendships together in your presence.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
May all people be empowered to use the gifts you have given
for the building up of your kingdom on earth.
We ask these and all things through the power of your Holy Spirit and in the name of 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: Called as Partners in Christ’s Service (words: Jane Parker Huber; tune: Blaenwern)

Benediction

Friends go from this time of worship to recognise those gifts that God has given — not only that God has given to you, but also gifts given to others. Take some time to be grateful — to God for your gifts and those of others, and to others whose gifts are different from yours, so together we can be the Body. 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.

Postlude Music

Announcements

* Youth Organisations are starting the new session — please contact us or come along to register for the Boys’ Brigade: Anchor Boys Tuesdays 5:30pm, Junior Section Mondays 7pm, Company Section Fridays 7pm (email 2ndgourock@inverclydebb.org.uk)  or the Girl Guides: Smurfs Thursdays 6pm (contact Teri for info), Brownies, Guides and Rangers on Wednesday evenings (go to girlguiding.co.uk and select “information for parents” to register for the 4th Gourock and a leader will contact you).

* 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’ll 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.

* Starter Packs are in need of Shampoo, Soap, Shaving Foam, Cleaning Cloths and Soap Powder.
The FoodBank are in need of diluting juice, cereal (but not porridge), tinned potatoes, pasta sauce & tinned meat. 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 Training Day on Saturday 24th August in Old Gourock & Ashton Parish Church from 10-30am to 5pm. The cost is £15, and all music is provided plus tea, coffee and home baking! All welcome. For singers at any level. Explore the rich world of choral music ranging from Brahms’ Requiem to non-Western traditions to build your confidence as a singer. Further info on the choir’s website and Facebook page. ​Email –  info@greenockphilharmonic.co.uk, or contact Lynne on 07802 780468.

* 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 new item in the budget.

* 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 on the 28th of August and 4th of September at 7:30pm in the manse.

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