Sunday service for 1 December 2024, first Sunday of Advent

Sunday 1 December 2024, First Sunday of Advent
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

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.

Lighting the Advent Candle
One: In public and in private,
All: Trust in God.
One: In the long-term and in the moment,
All: Trust in God.
One: In the hard times and the good times,
All: Trust in God.
(~candle is lit~)
One: Look! The light shines.
All: We will trust the Holy One who ignites our hope.

Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Prayer
Holy One,
we confess we find it difficult to trust only you.
We are seduced by the promise of protection or power,
and we give our loyalty away to those who cannot truly save us.
We admit we are easily tricked,
and yet we cannot see a way out either
so we simply continue, assuming that it can’t be changed.
Though we know something is wrong,
we still sign on and then go away and pray you will fix it in spite of us.
Forgive us, O God,
when we insist that change is impossible.
Forgive us, O God,
when we manufacture a problem in order to get our own way.
Forgive us, O God,
when we participate in the trickery thinking it will serve us in the end.
*Forgive us, O God,
when we too easily give up our position in hopes of fleeting safety.
Give us the hope required to see your vision and stick to it,
the faith required to trust your promise above the sweet-talk of our human leaders,
the courage required to change course when we learn how we have missed the mark.
Make our hope consistent, O God.
Give us this day the blessing of persistence in your way,
that we may practice our faith day after day,
and so be ready when the hard days come.
Keep us faithful as you are faithful.
We ask these and all things in the name of the One who is coming.
Amen.

Forgiveness is woven into the fabric of creation. The ability to turn and try again is a gift. So let go of guilt and shame, and let God’s forgiving grace take root in you, in order that the hope of new life may grow and bear fruit for God’s kingdom. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Sanctuary Hymn: 279 Make Way Make Way OR 321 Come and Join the Celebration — vote for your favourite!

Scripture Reading: Daniel 6.1-27 (Common English Bible)

Today’s story takes place during the time when the Israelites were in exile. The Babylonian kingdom had fallen and there was a new empire rising: the Persian empire. The new king was called Darius. I am reading in the book of Daniel, chapter 6, from the Common English Bible.

Darius decided to appoint one hundred twenty governors throughout the kingdom, and to set over them three main officers to whom they would report so that the king wouldn’t have to be bothered with too much. One of these main officers was Daniel. Because of his extraordinary spirit, Daniel soon surpassed the other officers and the governors—so much so that the king had plans to set him over the entire kingdom. As a result, the other officers and the governors tried to find some problem with Daniel’s work for the kingdom. But they couldn’t find any problem or corruption at all because Daniel was trustworthy. He wasn’t guilty of any negligence or corruption.
So these men said, “We won’t find any fault in Daniel, unless we can find something to use against him from his religious practice.”
So they ganged together and went to the king. They said to him, “Long live King Darius! All the officers of the kingdom, the ministers, the royal advisors, and the governors advise the king to issue an edict and enforce a law, that for thirty days anyone who says prayers to any god or human being except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a pit of lions. Now, Your Majesty, issue the law and sign the document so that it cannot be changed, as per the law of Media and Persia, which cannot be annulled.” Because of this, King Darius signed the document containing the law.
When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. Now his upper room had open windows that faced Jerusalem. Daniel knelt down, prayed, and praised his God three times that day, just like he always did. Just then these men, all ganged together, came upon Daniel praying and seeking mercy from his God. They then went and talked to the king about the law: “Your Majesty! Didn’t you sign a law, that for thirty days any person who prays to any god or human being besides you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into a pit of lions?”
The king replied, “The decision is absolutely firm in accordance with the law of Media and Persia, which cannot be annulled.”
So they said to the king, “One of the Judean exiles, Daniel, has ignored you, Your Majesty, as well as the law you signed. He says his prayers three times a day!”
When the king heard this report, he was very unhappy. He decided to rescue Daniel and did everything he could do to save Daniel before the sun went down. But these men, all ganged together, came and said to the king, “You must realise, Your Majesty, that the law of Media and Persia, including every law and edict the king has issued, cannot be changed.”
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and hurled him into the pit of lions.
The king said to Daniel: “Your God—the one you serve so consistently—will rescue you.”
A single stone was brought and placed over the entrance to the pit. The king sealed it with his own ring and with those of his princes so that Daniel’s situation couldn’t be changed. The king then went home to his palace and fasted through the night. No pleasures were brought to him, and he couldn’t sleep. At dawn, at the first sign of light, the king rose and rushed to the lions’ pit.
As he approached it, he called out to Daniel, worried: “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God—the one you serve so consistently—able to rescue you from the lions?”
Then Daniel answered the king: “Long live the king! My God sent his messenger, who shut the lions’ mouths. They haven’t touched me because I was judged innocent before my God. I haven’t done anything wrong to you either, Your Majesty.”
The king was thrilled. He commanded that Daniel be brought up out of the pit, and Daniel was lifted out. Not a scratch was found on him, because he trusted in his God. The king then ordered that the men who had accused Daniel be brought and thrown into the lions’ pit—including their wives and children. They hadn’t even reached the bottom of the pit before the lions overpowered them, crushing all their bones.
Then King Darius wrote the following decree:
To all the peoples, nations, and languages inhabiting the entire earth: I wish you much peace. I now issue this command: In every region of my kingdom, all people must fear and revere Daniel’s God because:
He is the living God.
 God stands firm forever.
His kingship is indestructible.
 God’s rule will last until the end of time.
He is rescuer and saviour;
 God performs signs and miracles in heaven and on earth.
Here’s the proof:
 He rescued Daniel from the lions’ power.

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: waiting through the night
Before getting too far into this story, can I just say how amazing I think it is that the Bible just comes out and says that the King doesn’t want to do any work, so he set up a system where other people did the work for him? “So the king wouldn’t have to be bothered with too much” might be one of my new favourite Bible quotes.

Now that I’m over that — or now that I’ve tucked it away for a later laugh, anyway — this might seem like a strange story to start off the season of Advent. In Advent, we are waiting for the coming of Christ — both anticipating the birth of the baby Jesus and also the full and final coming of Christ’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, a new heaven and a new earth. We are expectant and hopeful and longing for God to break in and change the world.

The people of God who lived in the centuries before Jesus was born were also expectant and hopeful and longing — they had heard God’s promise over and over again, but the world still looked pretty messed up. The messianic age, when peace and justice would be real, felt far away. They were trying to do their best to be faithful in the middle of cultural and political situations that made it really difficult. And they were looking for God to do something.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?


The prophets have a lot to teach us about waiting for the Messiah, because they were the first to do it. They looked at the world around them and thought “surely God will come soon.” And we too look at the world around us and think “hopefully God will change things soon.” We look for the coming of Jesus, who won’t be what we expect but will be what we need. We look for any spark of light in the dark days.

Daniel was a faithful servant of God, and also a good employee of the king. He had integrity — he did what was right whether or not anyone was looking. The trouble is that his competence and integrity made other people jealous!
His colleagues saw their jobs in government as an opportunity to make extra money by taking bribes, or to get power through unscrupulous means, using their office to serve themselves rather than to serve the common good. These government officials had just one problem: Daniel was too good at his job. He had too much integrity. He was too honest and too trustworthy, took his job too seriously. He refused bribes and wouldn’t participate in corruption, and that made them look bad. It forced them to also do the right thing, because it’s too easy to get caught if there’s someone not joining in. I don’t want to say too much about how familiar these guys sound, but…I feel like this is a pretty familiar story that’s playing out in the pages of our own newspaper these days.

So these colleagues decided Daniel had to go…and the only thing they could think to do was to bully him out because of his different religion. A different religion makes someone an easy target, still today. So they tricked the king, who was, as previously noted, not that interested in doing his job, and voila: a law was created. It was what we might now call “vexatious”…it was just a way to attack the one person. But it was signed and sealed, so the game was afoot.

Daniel wasn’t interested in the games. He knew himself, and he knew his God. He knew what was required of him: to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. He did the first with his job, and the third with his prayer life. He never missed a chance to talk to God, and to follow the directions of King Solomon back when he had dedicated the Temple — to pray toward Jerusalem. He kept the window open, so he’d never be shut away from the world he was called to practice mercy toward. He knelt before God, confessed his own failings, and asked for help. There, praying, the bullies found him just as they expected. They knew he would act with the same integrity regardless of their ganging up on him, and they were ready. And Daniel was also ready: because he trusted God, day in and day out.

When the officials brought the case to the king, he realised he had been tricked. He didn’t want to persecute Daniel. He liked Daniel, and he knew that Daniel was the only one doing the job that he was too lazy to do himself. But the realisation that he had signed a law that actually took away his own power as king was harsh. He tried to find a way out of it but ultimately, that law put him second to the piece of paper, and he was forced to do as the bullies wanted…into the lion’s den Daniel went.

And then we have no idea what happened!!

Instead of telling us what Daniel and the lions did all night, the story tells us what the king did all night! We get zero words about the hero whose faithfulness and integrity landed him in hot water…and a lot of words about the king whose laziness and naivete got everyone into trouble. He fasted and prayed, he didn’t sleep, no distractions or pleasures or fun things were brought…he just worried the whole night away until the first rays of sun broke over the horizon.

Sometimes that’s what waiting for the messiah might feel like. Worrying away, looking for a sunrise that never seems to come. Hoping against hope that the impossible might happen.

In the morning the king rushed to his private zoo and shouted…and found Daniel perfectly fine, waltzing out of the lion’s den like nothing had happened. Maybe they had all curled up for a nap, the way my cats like to sleep under the duvet. Maybe the lions were talkative and they chatted all night. Maybe they just sat at looked at each other. We have no idea what Daniel felt or thought, what the lions were like, not even how many there were! But the king was so relieved to see Daniel had not even a scratch on him — better than some nights with a house cat, honestly!

Daniel, though, seems so unperturbed. Of course God shut the lions’ mouths. God is faithful. Daniel trusted God long before he went into that pit, and his trust and hope sustained him through the whole night of watching and waiting for dawn. He had no need to worry, or to fast and pray, or to weep the night away like the king. He simply sat down and trusted in the hope that God had given him over all these years of faithful prayer and work.

The season of Advent invites us to do that too: to sit and trust in the hope God has given us. To practice trust, and practice hope, so that when the dark night is so long, we will be prepared to look for the light without the stress and worry the king experienced. To be diligent in prayer, regardless of our circumstances, so that when we find ourselves facing our fears, or suffering at the hands of another, or in a situation where our integrity is tested, we will have the connection to God that builds up inner strength.

It seems a weird story to begin Advent, but also exactly what we need: two different visions of what waiting through the night for dawn to break can look like. The king, worried and anxious, hoping against hope that the impossible might happen, rushing toward the dawn without knowing whether life or death is on the other side. Or Daniel, acting with integrity, persevering in prayer, full of hope, trusting that God will be faithful all the way through the darkest night, bringing new life with the morning light.

May we look for the light, not anxiously but hopefully.
Amen.

Online Hymn: O Come Divine Messiah
Sanctuary Hymn: 303 It Came Upon the Midnight Clear OR 315 Once in Royal David’s City — vote for your favourite!

Sanctuary Offering and Response (hymn 277 verse 1)

Lo, he comes with clouds descending,
Christ, the Lamb, for sinners slain;
thousand thousand saints attending
join to sing the glad refrain:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign.

Announcements
*Bowl & Blether
*Christmas Post
*Giving Tree / Gift Day
*Wednesday Bible Study
*Conversation Corner Wednesdays 1-2
*Bubblegum & Fluff
*Session meeting Monday 9 December 7:30pm
*Contact Group
*Jesus’ Birthday Party

That’s a lot going on in our community! Please consider yourself invited to participate, and to pray for all the activities, ministry, and mission God is calling us to do together. And now, let us join together in prayer. 

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You are the One in whom we hope,
for You are the living God who endures forever.
We come before you in awe and wonder,
with gratitude for your saving power.
Far beyond what we dare to ask,
you sustain and provide,
coming alongside us to sit with us in troubled times,
standing as our strength and refuge,
giving life when death seems all around.
We give you thanks,
and we pray for this world that needs to know the same power that closes the mouths of lions
and changes the hearts of rulers.
Come with grace that opens the minds of those leaders who can only imagine the old ways.
Come with love that turns us all toward our neighbours.
Come with compassion that leads us into generosity.
Come with vision that leads us forward.
Come with hope that empowers us to seek your kingdom.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
May a world at war finally know justice.
May neighbourhoods long neglected finally receive resources.
May families struggling in silence finally be cared for.
May those who grieve in this season finally see just a glimmer of light.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
For those who are too easily dismissed as collateral damage, we ask your strength.
For those who seek their own good rather than the common good, we ask your disturbance.
For those whose trust has been betrayed, we ask your healing.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
On this 1st day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to pray
*To see your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, O God.
*For the Bible Study group at St John’s, for the Intercessory Prayer Group, and the Sunday morning prayer group, that they may encounter you, Living God, in word and prayer.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
Fill the hungry with good things,
and lift up those whose spirits have been crushed by the ways of the world.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
Work your signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, in the smallest and largest ways.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
We look for you with hope, as we pray in your holy name,
Immanuel, God with us.
We ask these and all things in the name of Christ, whose kingdom has no end
and 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: 301 Hark the Herald Angels OR 324 Angels from the Realms of Glory — vote for your favourite!

Benediction
Practice trusting God now, that when the hard days come, divine hope may sustain you.
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

* 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.

* Charlene is available for Conversation Corner (Vestry Hour) on WEDNESDAY AFTERNOONS in December and January, from 1-2pm. Just ring the bell at St John’s Road and she’ll have the kettle on for you! Come in to chat about anything you’d like.

* Bowl and Blether is on the first and third Mondays of each month through the winter, the next one is TOMORROW Monday 2 December. Doors open at 11:30am, soup and toasties 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 or Charlene if you’d like to volunteer for set up, toastie-making, serving, or clean up. 

* The chaplaincy team is running Bubblegum & Fluff, a programme for P5 pupils to learn the real Christmas story, on Monday and Tuesday the 2nd and 3rd of December, in OGA, and Wednesday and Thursday the 4th and 5th of December in St Margaret’s. If you would be able to volunteer to help from 9-12 please speak to Teri. The volunteers we have from the local church is crucial to this outreach. Thank you!

* Greenock Philharmonic Choir have their Christmas Concert on Saturday 7th December in Lyle Kirk, Union Street, Greenock, starting at 7:30pm. Special guests will be the Riverside Youth Band and Angel Voices children’s choir from Kilmalcolm. Tickets are £12, which includes festive refreshments. Under-18s and students are free. For more information see the choir’s website or Facebook page.

* The Gourock Schools & Churches Together community carol service will be NEXT Sunday 8 December at 4pm at OGA and all are welcome! We’ll have musical contributions from all the schools, reflections from the clergy, and plenty of carol singing too.

* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday 10 December at 2pm when we will celebrate our service of lessons and carols. Our Syllabus of Events is available for £5.

* We are hosting Jesus’ Birthday Party for all children in P1-P7 on Sunday 15 December from 2-4pm in the large hall. Invite all the young people you know to come along for birthday cake, games and crafts and stories and songs! If children would like to bring a birthday gift, they should choose something for a child the same age they are, label the gift with the gender and age, and we will ensure it gets to a child who needs a bit of help celebrating this Christmas.

* The Gourock Schools and Churches Together community afternoon tea concert will be held at Clydeview Academy on the afternoon of Monday 16 December. Tickets available soon!

* Starter Packs are in need of kitchen and bathroom cleaner, cloths and kitchen paper.
The FoodBank are in need of diluting juice, long-life juice, tinned ham, tinned tuna, and UHT milk.

You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* 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. 

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study is reading the gospel according to Luke on Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm in the manse. All are welcome!

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