Sunday service for 12 February 2023

Sunday 12 February 2023, NL1-26
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
Teri: The kingdom of heaven is a like a story —
1: a story with characters we recognise and identify with, and some we are surprised by;
2: a story that could happen in the midst of anyone’s day;
3: a story that opens and closes, twists and turns, as we look from different angles.
Teri: The kingdom of heaven is like a story —
1: not just a straightforward statement of fact,
2: not a closed question with only one right answer,
3: not something you can memorise to pass the test.
Teri: The kingdom of heaven is like a story —
All: inviting us to join in.

Sanctuary Hymn: O God in Whom All Life Begins (text: Carl P Daw Jr, tune: 340 Seven Joys of Mary)

Prayer
O God the master gardener,
you have planted good seed in the field of your world,
and invited us to tend the field, whatever may grow.
We confess that we have opinions about what belongs in your garden,
and we are passionate about weeding out those who don’t seem to fit in.
Forgive us for overstepping the bounds of our calling,
trying to take on tasks that are not ours to do.
O God the master gardener,
you have planted unexpected seed in your world,
and allowed it to be itself even when we want it to be different.
We confess that we want everything to be useful or desirable for ourselves,
without thought for how it affects other parts of the creation or community.
Forgive us for refusing to see the breadth of possibility
you have placed in even the smallest of seeds.
O God the master baker,
you have mixed and kneaded and waited
to see your love rise and fill out in your Body.
We confess that we have often tried to remain separate,
not realising that love kept for ourselves can never grow.
Forgive us for misunderstanding our purpose.
Small or even invisible though we may feel,
in your hand amazing things happen.
Open us to your possibility
and help us to bear fruit for your kingdom of heaven come on earth.
We live not by bread alone, but also by every word you speak.
Entering your story
sometimes feels like biting off more than we can chew,
yet we come back for more,
as there’s nothing more beautiful or satisfying than the feast you lay before us.
Open your stories to us today,
and give us ears to hear,
that we may come in and see your world anew,
and find our place, shining like the sun in your kingdom.
Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn: Sisters and Brothers, With One Voice vv. 1-5 (text: John L Bell, tune: 412 Vulpius)
Online Hymn: God Whose Giving Knows No Ending (text: Robert L Edwards, tune: 252 Beach Spring)

Sanctuary: Children’s Time

Reading: Matthew 13.24-43 (Common English Bible)
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his field. While people were sleeping, an enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away. When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
“The servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?’
“‘An enemy has done this,’ he answered.
“The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’
“But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you’ll pull up the wheat along with them. Let both grow side by side until the harvest. And at harvest time I’ll say to the harvesters, “First gather the weeds and tie them together in bundles to be burned. But bring the wheat into my barn.”’”
He told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.”
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough.”
Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables, and he spoke to them only in parables. This was to fulfil what the prophet spoke:
I’ll speak in parables; 
I’ll declare what has been hidden since the beginning of the world.

Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
Jesus replied, “The one who plants the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. And the good seeds are the followers of the kingdom. But the weeds are the followers of the evil one. The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the present age. The harvesters are the angels. Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the present age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause people to fall away and into sin. He will throw them into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Those who have ears should hear.”

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: Hidden
Why would anyone hide yeast in flour?

Remembering that yeast wasn’t little dried granules but a handful of something like sourdough starter…hiding it in 20 kilos of flour seems strange. I’ve done some research on no-knead bread, where you just mix everything together and then leave it alone for several days, and somehow the ingredients interact in ways that cause rising and falling and essentially that motion develops the gluten without any human effort. But that’s not what Jesus’ parable seems to be about — it’s about a woman who hides — enkrypto is the word Matthew uses — the lump of leavened starter in a giant jar of flour, and it grows and grows until eventually the entire container of flour is leavened. It’s a little like feeding the sourdough starter without ever using it, until you have enough to make like 60 loaves of bread.

Of course, the yeast on its own doesn’t do much. It has to be added to flour in order to become anything. And flour on its own doesn’t do much either, it has to be mixed with something and cooked in order to become edible.

But why hide it? And why hide it somewhere that will cause such an abundance of food, enough for the whole town?

It would take a while for the yeast to work through that much flour. Maybe the woman thought she’d be back to get it later, and forgot. Maybe she didn’t have a nice dark cool place to store it and that was the best option. Maybe she was hiding it from the kids who were trying to stick their fingers in because it looks like a science project. Maybe she was hiding it from a neighbour who had a propensity for taking other people’s things instead of just asking.

The kingdom of God is like a woman who hid — enkrypto — yeast in 18 kilos of flour and it worked its way through the whole jar, silent and unseen until the day it spilled over and demanded to be baked into a feast for the whole neighbourhood.

Maybe it doesn’t matter why it was hidden. Maybe it only matters that it was secretly growing, gathering more and more surrounding flour into its influence, spreading yeastiness out and out, until the only thing to do was feed everyone.

The mustard seed, too, was hidden. For those who haven’t experienced mustard plants before…it only takes one seed for the stuff to take over your garden. It’s under the ground for a long time, nothing noticeable happening…until the day it’s overflowing and making a home for all sorts of creatures, some of which you may not want in your garden. After all, birds and small animals that enjoy the shade and the underground structure provided by the roots are also eating other things in the garden, and sometimes digging, or chewing…but they’re also transplanting seeds and pollen from one place to another, they’re also creating a fuller ecosystem, they’re also enjoying the fruits of creation and playing a part in it. That one little seed couldn’t do anything on its own, but hidden in the garden where it can interact with dirt and water and bugs and light, it grows and grows until the only thing to do was make room for all sorts in it.

And the weeds were hidden…perhaps maliciously, even. They too grew in secret, intertwining their roots with the wheat, and even looking just like wheat up until the fruit began to ripen. Wheat and darnel, or tares, look identical until the fruit matures — and then you know them by their fruits. Wheatberries turn golden and are heavy enough to weigh down the stalk, bending over to signal they’re ready to harvest. Tares, or the formal name Bearded Darnel, remains greener and upright…and even a little ground into your flour can ruin the whole batch. But below ground, they’re all growing together.

And yet, the farmer says to leave it where it is, because the regular everyday workers in the field don’t have the skills needed to tell them apart and separate them safely. Instead, they are to tend the whole field — the weeds and the wheat. They are to water, and fertilise, and hoe, and look after all of it. Only the harvester, the one with the knowledge and ability to be absolutely certain which is which, will have the task of separating them at the very end of the season. Because who’s to say that some stalks that aren’t golden or bowed down aren’t just late ripening? And who’s to say that some that are bending over aren’t just stuck under the weight of a neighbouring stalk? And what damage would be done to the field if tearing up some bad stuff also tore the roots of the good? So the workers in this kingdom field are to tend it all. Take care of every inch of the field, and the One who is qualified to tell the difference will do the separating work himself.

All these things — working away in secret, growing and expanding until they force us to pay attention. The kingdom of God is like this.

Which suggests that the kingdom of God is currently present, hidden in plain sight. Where are we tempted to do God’s job in the field, taking care of the undesirables and making sure there’s only what we want to grow here? Perhaps it’s a kingdom check on our job description as God’s workers, not God. Where do we see unexpected combinations of people? Perhaps it’s kingdom mustard, gathering a diverse group into its shade and nourishing. Where is there a bubble of pressure against the confines of the containers we have put the church in? Perhaps it’s kingdom yeast, growing hidden under the raw ingredients we haven’t used in a while. If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, it turns out that everyday life is bursting with grace and possibility— and it grows best when interacting with things around it, like the flour and the soil that provide the space for the yeast and seed to grow. The kingdom of God is like this.

And so is a parable. Jesus says he tells these stories in order to reveal what has been hidden. A simple “do this, don’t do that, God is x and we are y and together the people of God are z” wouldn’t reveal much of anything. We have commandments and instructions and descriptions, but Jesus chose stories — stories that open in different ways each time we hear them, stories that look different from different angles, stories that circle around but never come out and say a single definitive thing, stories that offer opportunities for us to participate in learning rather than just ticking off a list, stories that get stuck deep in our minds and hearts and grow in secret until they expand into enough to share…food, and shelter, and nurture even for those we don’t really want to share garden space with.

The kingdom of God is like a story that was hidden away in someone’s mind, interacting with their other stories and knowledge and ideas, expanding, breaking open, putting out shoots, reaching outwards until the host was transformed into something new and nourishing and welcoming, shining so all can see God’s goodness and come to experience it themselves, something that bears fruit for God’s kingdom.

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn: Thrive (Casting Crowns)

Sanctuary Hymn 343: The Reign of God

Offering

Sanctuary Offering Response 808 (old hundredth)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God all creatures here below;
praise God, the Trinity of love,
before, beneath, around, above.
Amen

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
In the mystery of your love,
you reveal what has been hidden.
In the clarity of your teaching,
you invite us to deeper wonder.
We thank you for the blessing of exploration,
for the journey of seeking
and finding anew your grace
in the familiar and the unexpected.
We pray this day for those
whose exploration has been curtailed,
who have been closed down
and taught to believe there’s only one way to see and to be.
We ask for the wind of your Spirit to work into the cracks,
to blow open hearts and minds with possibility.
We pray this day for those who live in the midst of monoculture —
in creation and in community.
For those places where the earth is forced into one way,
biodiversity falters, and the ecosystem is dying,
to serve our appetites at any cost.
For those places where families, churches, schools, business, neighbourhoods, nations
think it’s best to be all the same, and difference is squashed,
to serve our sense of security at any cost.
We ask for your Spirit to drop seeds of new life, even unseen and unknown,
and we ask for the courage to water them ourselves.
May little changes make a big difference,
until there is a place for all to find shelter and home in the branches.
We pray this day for those who cannot imagine the abundance of your stories,
for those who long for even a bite of bread, and yet there is none,
those who go to school hungry while down the street we waste food without thought,
those who work long hours to feed others but get paid nearly nothing for themselves.
We ask for your Spirit to leaven your people with generosity,
that we might rise to the occasion,
and that the abundance you provide might be shared so all may be fed.
We pray this day for our neighbours in Turkey, Syria, New Zealand, Zambia,
and other places where natural disasters have struck,
and people are grieving, struggling, searching, fearful, hurt, and needing help.
And we pray this day for our neighbours in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Peru, Moldova,
and other places where politics, violence, unrest, and economic anxiety are heavy burdens
and people are weary, frustrated, worried, or scared.
May they experience safety and hope, peace and prosperity, justice and joy.
Make your kingdom visible on earth, O Lord our God,
and help us shine the light that reveals your love to the world, even now.
We ask 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: God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending

Benediction
Go out into the world, letting your light shine that all may see God’s kingdom growing right here in our midst, welcoming and nourishing 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.

Postlude Music

Announcements

* 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.

* The choir rehearses in the sanctuary immediately after the service, and finishes before 1pm. All who enjoy singing are welcome!

* Did you know that it costs us about £10,500 per month to do the ministry we currently do at St. John’s? That includes heating and lighting the building and keeping it in good repair for church and community groups, programming and pastoral care for people of all ages, our contribution to minister’s stipends, and other ministry costs. The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already 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 Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please be safe!

* 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 slightly more than a year!

* 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!

* The Contact Group meets on 21 February, at 2pm, with guest speaker Clare Cunning about Smalls for All.

* Smalls for All: During January and February the Contact Group is facilitating this year’s Smalls For All appeal, and everyone is invited to contribute packs of pants for ladies, girls and boys. There is a box for contributions at the Bath Street entrance to the church building. Thank you for your generosity.

* Pancake Tuesday, 21 February, Connect will have a pancake tuesday event with pancakes, activities, and a service to lead us into the season of Lent. The evening will start at 7pm at St Margaret’s Church Hall in Finch Road.

* Our Lent study this year will be with all of Connect, meeting in the Lyle Kirk for five Thursday evenings, beginning 23 February. We gather at 7pm for tea and coffee and then start at 7:30pm. We’ll be studying “Another Story Must Begin” based on the musical Les Miserables. All are welcome, no experience necessary!

* This month, on 23 February, we celebrate our Guide company’s 100th anniversary. Congratulations, 4th Gourock Guides! Watch for more information about celebration activities over the coming year.

* 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the 2nd Gourock Boys’ Brigade. Tickets are available now for two anniversary events: the Reunion Dinner Saturday 18th March 6.30 for 7pm in Masonic Hall John Street, tickets are £20 for a 3 course dinner menu and programme. Places are filling up fast so please get in touch to reserve your place as soon as possible. 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.

* The Stedfast Silver Band is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and is keen to contact as many former members as possible. To launch a year of festivities the Band is hosting a Birthday party at 2pm on Sunday the 12th of March in Westburn Parish Church hall for all members past and present and would like as many people as possible to attend. There will be displays, photos, music and birthday cake and a chance to reminisce and catch up. If you are, or you know, any former members of the band, please let them know. For more information or to RSVP, please contact stedfastbandsecretary@outlook.com or find them on Facebook: Stedfast Silver Band: Greenock.

Sunday service for 5 February 2023

Sunday 5 February 2023, NL1-25
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
Teri: The living word speaks:
1: offering nourishment for growing life,
2: pointing toward the narrow gate,
3: firming up our foundation.
Teri: The living word calls:
1: do unto others…without making it about you,
2: use your energy where it matters, for good,
3: be doers of the word, not only hearers.
Teri: The living word promises:
1: seek God’s kingdom and you will find,
2: God is the giver of every good gift,
3: building up in love creates a new world.
Teri: Come to hear and follow the living word.

Sanctuary Hymn 187: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

Prayer
Loving God, we come asking and searching and knocking,
longing to see your kingdom of heaven come on earth.
Open to us today the goodness of your word;
feed and strengthen us for the journey ahead.
Then walk before us on the narrow road,
and surround us with companions on the way,
that we may both receive and share the blessing.
Holy One, you created the world in love,
and yet we so rarely reflect it.
We confess that we have built a house on the foundation of
our favourite traditions, our likes and dislikes,
a rose-coloured view of history,
and a sense of being more right than “they” are.
We admit that we have judged other houses without ever being inside,
and resisted too much scrutiny of our own.
Forgive us, for we have not treated others as we would want to be treated.
Forgive us, for we have repeated your words but rarely acted on them.
Forgive us, for we have blamed the music and the decor when the real problem was far deeper.
You are our rock, O God,
and we pray you would help us in the storm
to move from shifting sand to firm foundation,
even if it means letting go of the old life and building anew,
going beyond lip service and putting your love into action.
We ask in the name of the One in whom all authority dwells, Jesus the Christ.
Amen.

Online Hymn: How Firm a Foundation

Sanctuary: Children’s Time

Reading: Matthew 7.1-14, 24-29 (New Revised Standard Version)

‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.
‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’
Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

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: Only Love Fits Through
Around this time of year, 23 years ago, my minister suggested to me that I should spend the summer volunteering on Iona. I was looking for something to do with the summer, since I would be off from uni, but flying across the ocean to Scotland was not on my radar of possible options. Aside from the fact I’d never heard of Iona, and it didn’t have anything to do with my music degree or advancing my career, I didn’t have the money for that anyway. I told him all those things and asked for other suggestions, and went on my merry way.

And then, I swear, it was like all of a sudden Scotland was everywhere. Someone left a box of walkers shortbread in the student lounge. I turned on the radio and there were bagpipes. I was babysitting and I put the kids to bed and grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch to settle in to watch some exciting TV I didn’t have at home and when I turned over the edge, the label said “made in Scotland.” That last one was the moment that I was like “oh for goodness’ sake, fine! I’ll fill out the application.”

Have you ever experienced this? Where one little thing is suddenly noticeable everywhere, like some kind of sign? Of course we know, psychologically, how this works. But when it happens, it feels an awful lot like the Holy Spirit — and it probably is. After all, God breathed the Spirit into humanity, and here we are!

Well this last few weeks, it has happened to me again, but with this passage. Danny mentioned it when we were talking about the things we hold onto or that help ground us in God’s way when we’re struggling. I knew then it was coming up in the lectionary but hadn’t really put much thought into it yet…and then it started appearing everywhere. The chaplaincy team planned an assembly for Clydeview using Burns poems, and the scripture our resident Burns experts chose to go with things like “a man’s a man for a’ that” and “to see ourselves as others see us” — which is, of course, a poem about church people thinking they’re better than everyone else — was this – do not judge, first pay attention to the log in your own eye. We just did those assemblies this past week. I was talking to funeral directors, driving to a funeral, and one of them mentioned that people from Greenock used to look down on the Port and say they’d never go there, and now it’s turned round with all the shopping in the Port and people looking down on the shell of central Greenock, like the measure you give will be the measure you get. And — as you know I’m part of the presbytery planning committee so I hear a lot of things from a lot of people about their church and what they’re doing — I heard church members say that they’re not doing more in their neighbourhood because the people who live there are bad, undeserving, and would just ruin it all anyway…their own neighbours were not worthy of the missional energy or investment of the church. And the voice of Jesus rang in my ears: do not judge, for with the judgment you make you will be judged. Would it appropriate or inappropriate for the presbytery mission planning committee to judge the church the way the church judged its neighbours? I was at a primary school assembly where the staff were trying to address the fact that some children are being excluded by others, and they’re alone on the playground…and it turns out that some parents have said things about other children that their children are then putting into action at school, leading some to be intentionally left out. And then I have seen a lot of things on the internet this week that clearly judge some people — mainly people who look like us or sound like us — as worth helping, and others only worth sending back wherever they came from, or neglecting because they’re not our problem. And then I had a phone call from an angry person who identified themselves as a member of another flavour of Christian, and in the course of their rant about something we were doing, told me that Americans don’t belong here and since I’m not from here I should stop interfering in their neighbourhood.

If the Holy Spirit wanted me to pay attention to this text, it worked. It’s been everywhere, every time I open my eyes or ears, for the past few weeks.

The thing is, if it’s true what Jesus says, that hearing his words and not acting on them is like building on sand, then many of us who wear the name Christian have houses just waiting to be swept away. Because frankly the judgment I see and hear from my fellow Christians — judging that our neighbours are not worth loving, though we’ll protest all day long that isn’t what we meant the reality is that’s what our actions say — is appalling. And I’m aware that I do it myself, as I catch myself sometimes and try to correct my thinking, we’re all complicit here, this isn’t about finger pointing — which would be the opposite of Jesus’ intention! The things I have encountered these past few weeks have made me ever more aware of the log in my own eye, too.

As all this was happening, I was praying about what Jesus means when he says “enter by the narrow gate.” Because in some ways that felt like the opposite of do-not-judge…if we know that God’s kingdom and God’s love is more expansive than our human misjudgment, what could it mean that we’re supposed to go to this narrow gate, which makes it sound like some people won’t be good enough to get in?

And then I realised: the gate is indeed wide, and the way easy, that leads to destruction. There are a million and one ways for me to tear down another person, to imply or to say outright that they’re not good enough, not worth helping, too messed up to belong, too different to include, that they’re not one of us and so our lowest priority. Choosing that way, one of the numerous options for dismissing, marginalising, minimising, traumatising, oppressing, hurting another person or group of people, that’s easy. It’s a very wide gate, and it’s a smooth road. Everybody’s doing it, after all. It’s just popular opinion. It’s just majority rule. It’s just the way things are. Those destructive words and actions are numerous and easily accessible, and you can’t take them back. And they don’t only tear down the other person — whether or not that person ever hears them. They also tear down my own spirit from the inside out. It corrodes my heart, and opens up brokenness and darkness, when I choose that way. And then it’s easier the next time, and easier, and easier…to move from just posting something online to saying it about people who won’t hear me anyway to saying it to someone’s face. It destroys people, it destroys community, and it destroys us.

The gate is narrow that leads to life. Because there’s actually only one choice available. When we encounter a person, whether in the flesh or online, whether it’s someone we know or someone we only see on television or someone we’ve just heard talked about, whether it’s an individual or a whole class or race or nation or category of people, there’s literally only one choice. It’s a very narrow gate indeed: a gate that lets only one way in.

The narrow gate that leads to life only admits love. Love your neighbour. Love your enemy. Love people the same way you want to be loved. Love as I have loved you. Love because God loved you first.

The narrow gate is too narrow for our judgment. Too narrow for the wide range of things we say and think about our neighbours who are human beings like us. Too narrow for the “just a joke.” Too narrow for keeping things for ourselves and not letting others have any. Too narrow for our assumptions about what other people are like. Too narrow for our Facebook memes and our rulebooks and our name calling. It’s too narrow for anything but love.

The paradox, of course, is that the wide gate and easy way seem so attractive, so simple because it’s what everyone else is doing, and yet it literally eats us away from the inside until we’re just a shell. A mean, angry, hurt shell that can do nothing but tear others down in order to get a shred of triumph before we fall back into despair at the world we have created. It’s a gate that leads to death before we die. And the narrow gate, which is a very hard road, swimming upstream, insisting on being different, insisting that we don’t call politicians names… and we don’t categorically decide that whole swathes of people are criminals… and we don’t allow other people to gossip around us… and we don’t write off neighbourhoods because of their past problems… and we don’t repeat lies even if they’re funny… and we don’t condemn people who are different to a life of constant danger and difficulty simply because we don’t want to do the work of changing our habits. It’s a hard road. But.

This is a big but.

BUT: that hard road and that gate that is so narrow only love can get through…that road leads into the kingdom of God, which is the most expansive, most beautiful, most loving, most inclusive, most generous, most hopeful kingdom of belonging, of compassion, of peace and justice, of community, of abundance. The narrowest of gates leads to the biggest and widest welcome. And it’s there that our spirits and minds and bodies and communities and families can flourish. It’s there that we find life in all its fullness — right now, not in some post-apocalyptic heavenly utopia, but the kingdom of heaven here on earth, embodied in the Body of Christ.

Or not — and when the Body of Christ chooses the wide gate of destruction instead, it’s a real punch of extra disappointment, too. GK Chesterton once wrote that “The problem with Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has been found difficult and left untried.”

For those who try to stop doing the things that won’t fit through the narrow gate, who persevere in love despite the cost, who insist that a better world is possible and we have to be the ones who build it… for those who try to put Jesus’ words into action, rather than just parroting words we have no intention of practicing, they’ll find that the storm life sends their way may well be bad but it won’t be a disaster, because they’ll be standing firm in the community of the kingdom of heaven — a community where everyone is valued and loved and looks out for each other as we build on the solid rock of Christ’s love. And for those who think “it’s too hard to change my ways now,” well…the shifting sand of popularity isn’t a very good foundation for a life.

It may be difficult. But also Jesus says that when we seek the kingdom of God, we will find it. When we ask for help in living his way, we will get it. When we are finally ready to knock on the door that only love fits through, it will open for us.

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn: If I Speak Words of Wisdom (Resound Worship)

Sanctuary Hymn 533: Will You Come and Follow Me

Offering (Sanctuary only)
God pours out every good gift and promises that when we use those blessings to bless others, all we need will also be provided. Doing the ministry we already do here at St John’s costs over £10,000 per month, and our ability to continue to join in God’s mission here in this place is because of your trust in that promise. Our generosity is our response to what God has done for us, and we trust that God will use our offerings to reveal the kingdom of heaven here and now. Your morning offering will now be received.

Sanctuary Offering Response 808 (old hundredth)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God all creatures here below;
praise God, the Trinity of love,
before, beneath, around, above.
Amen

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You love us into a new way of being, O God.
From the beginning your love has transformed —
from chaos into clarity, from wilderness to flourishing, from death to life.
We thank you for your grace that meets us and calls us, fills us and guides us.
Today we offer ourselves to you,
in gratitude for your teaching,
in trust that you will receive our commitment and use it for your glory.
We are grateful today for people who have modelled your way of love for us,
and for those we have the privilege of being role models for.
We are grateful today for small things like longer daylight
and birds singing outside our windows.
We are grateful for your love for us,
and we pray that we might learn to pass it on,
to love others the way you love us.

We know, Lord, that you know us better than we know ourselves,
that you hear us before we can even ask,
and when we don’t quite know what to say, your Spirit intercedes for us.
We come today searching, asking, knocking,
on behalf of our neighbours and the world around us.
We ask your mercy for those who have been judged harshly, and felt the sting of betrayal,
for those who have been given a short measure, and expected to make do,
for those who have been taught that they will never be good enough to join in.
May they experience your unconditional love.
We ask your mercy, too, for those whose default attitude is judgment,
those who will not choose the good measure for others and so cannot receive it themselves,
those whose vision is so obscured by self-righteousness that their world has closed in.
May they too experience unconditional love, and discover the possibilities of a new way.
We ask your Spirit of companionship
for those who have had to learn to depend only on themselves, or on one or two others,
and whose relationships are strained by that weight.
May they learn the blessing of interdependence,
practicing the image of your Triune life.
We ask your Spirit of empathy
for those struggling to love others as themselves,
for those whose self-image or self-confidence is so low they don’t know how to love,
for those who can’t imagine how others want to be treated,
and for those who have been marginalised, oppressed, and abused until they no longer want to try.
May they be blessed with compassion, with a listening ear and an open heart,
and imagination to see your image in themselves and others.
We ask your Spirit of courage and peace
for those who are in the midst of the storm,
for those surrounded by violence and feeling unmoored by grief.
May they be strengthened and empowered to embody your promise in this life.
We ask your Spirit of truth
for your church, called to be Christ’s Body,
to build on a firm foundation and to carry on his work.
May we be honest with ourselves and with you,
and choose to walk the narrow road that leads to life,
that all may see your hand guiding and your love reflecting
through us into this world.
We ask these and all things in the name and authority 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: How Firm a Foundation

Benediction
Go from this place to take your part in creating the world anew, reflecting the kingdom of heaven on earth. Since God is good, do good to others. Since God is generous, open your hands and heart. Since God is love, put love in action.
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

* The choir rehearses immediately after worship, in the sanctuary.

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in slightly more than a year!

* 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!

* Bowl and Blether is here in St. John’s on Monday 6 February, from 11:30am, and in St Margaret’s on Saturday 11 February from 11:30.

* The Contact Group meets on 7 February and 21 February, at 2pm. On the 7th they’ll hear from Ros Gallacher about Ukrainians in Scotland, and on the 21st from Clare Cunning about Smalls for All.

* The chaplaincy team will be doing Firm Foundations workshops for Primary 7 pupils the week of 6 February. If anyone would like to be the hot-chocolate-maker-and-deliverer for Moorfoot on Tuesday 7 February, please let Teri know ASAP. All the supplies except milk will be delivered to you, and you make hot chocolate and then deliver the flasks to the school at 10:15am.

* The Kirk Session meets on Thursday 9 February at 7:30pm for a regular meeting.

* Smalls for All: During January and February the Contact Group is facilitating this year’s Smalls For All appeal, and everyone is invited to contribute packs of pants for ladies, girls and boys. There is a box for contributions at the Bath Street entrance to the church building. Thank you for your generosity.

* 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the 2nd Gourock Boys’ Brigade. Tickets are available now for two anniversary events: the Reunion Dinner Saturday 18th March 6.30 for 7pm in Masonic Hall John Street, tickets are £20 for a 3 course dinner menu and programme. Places are filling up fast so please get in touch to reserve your place as soon as possible. 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.

Sunday service for 29 January 2023

Sunday 29 January 2023, NL1-24
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: In the kingdom of heaven,
All: there is plenty.
One: In the kingdom of heaven,
All: everyone and everything is in God’s care.
One: In the kingdom of heaven,
All: no one is out on their own.
One: The kingdom of heaven has come near,
All: and we come to re-orient our lives in it.

Hymn 716: Come and Find the Quiet Centre

Prayer Reflection
Today, O God.
Just today.
We come to this place carrying multitudes,
but we pray you would focus us just on today.
In our deep breath, help us slow down,
for we have been rushing about and borrowing worry.
…
Silence
…
In our exhale, help us let go,
for we have been holding more than we can carry.
…
Silence
…
In this pause, give us a glimpse of your more excellent way.
…
Silence
…

Provider God, you created a world with enough,
and some of us wanted more than enough.
We confess that we have no answer to “how much is enough”
because we are never quite secure, never quite satisfied.
We hold on to what we have, and we gather more —
more stuff, more accomplishments, more money,
more opportunities, more education,
more social media friends, more gadgets,
more more more.
We admit that the more we have, the more we want,
and we can’t seem to stop.
Forgive us.
Not so we can add forgiveness to our list of achievements or possessions,
but so we can experience freedom.
Set us free from always trying to get ahead:
ahead of others, ahead in the business, ahead of the bills, ahead of ourselves.
In that freedom may we learn to trust,
and so turn our eyes and hearts and hands first to your work,
to find your care is enough for us all.

Clear the chaos and clutter,
that in this space, you might move freely in us.
…
Silence
…
Quiet the plans and the lists and the what-ifs,
that we may know what it is to be satisfied,
even for a moment.
…
Silence
…
Amen.

This is love: that before we could do anything right, or anything wrong, God loved us and chose us as God’s own people. Without our effort, God loved us and saved us. And even now, God loves us enough to want more for us: not more stress or more expectations or more to-do lists, but more life, more grace, more truth, more depth, more wonder, more trust. In Christ, we are made new so that we can experience God’s abundance. Let this love and forgiveness bring you into new abundant life. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sanctuary Special Music: Alleluia by S Albrecht (choir)

Reading: Matthew 6.24-34 (New Revised Standard Version)
‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?* And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

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.

Sanctuary Hymn 641: Seek Ye First

Sanctuary Reflection/Testimony: Charlene Mitchell

Online Sermon: Getting our priorities in order

Easy for Jesus to say, right? He knows what’s coming and has people around him ensuring that he and his disciples are provided for. Most of what we worry about is the unknown, and Jesus doesn’t have unknowns.

Of course lots of Jesus’ teachings would be easy for him and hard for us! So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised when he tells us to do something that feels frankly impossible. How are we supposed to simple not be concerned about taking care of ourselves or our futures?

As usual, I think the important bit is in the details — two, in particular, this time.

The first of those is the word “therefore.” As in “therefore, do not worry…” — therefore is a signal that we should look at what he said just before! And the sentence before “do not worry” is “you cannot serve God and wealth.” It is impossible to be fully committed to them both at the same time, and trying to multitask them doesn’t work very well… so we’ll have to choose which one will occupy our hearts, minds, and lives: God? Or the pursuit of money? And once we have made that choice, then Jesus says: therefore, do not worry. Of course that assumes we choose to serve God! Because if we choose to serve wealth, then all our lives will be about worry since it will be impossible to ever have enough, we’ll always think we need just a bit more to really feel secure.

The second detail I want us to notice is in the word that is here translated as “worry.”

The Greek word that’s used here literally means “to be pulled apart in two directions” or to be “distracted from your purpose.” Which is what worry feels like sometimes, isn’t it? To be distracted and pulled apart by conflicting feelings and desires and information. Or, given the previous sentence: to be pulled apart by wanting God’s way on the one hand, and wanting the security of wealth on the other hand. We may even think that we can focus better on God once we have our security taken care of…once we know we have enough for today and tomorrow and retirement and to pass on to our children, then we can put our energy and attention to God. But Jesus says that will pull us apart, tearing our lives into pieces we can commit to one thing or another, instead of being whole-heartedly invested in anything.

The struggle here is real and probably familiar to most of us — do we spend ourselves, our time and energy and resources, in acquiring things, making ourselves comfortable, projecting an image that makes us look good to others, cultivating networks and relationships that help us or our families get ahead in this world? Or do we spend ourselves, our time and energy and resources, in seeking God’s kingdom? After all, Jesus says that God knows we need those things — God knows we need food and shelter, God knows we need to feel we belong and fit in to a community, God knows we need a sense of security for the future. And Jesus promises that when we seek God’s kingdom first, and God’s righteousness — which remember is a relational word, righteousness is about having our relationships with God and each other and ourselves in the right order and right size priority — when we seek God first, we’ll find those other things happen as well.

This promise tells me two things.
First, that if seeking God’s kingdom means God will also provide those other things, then God’s kingdom must be a place where there is enough food and water and shelter and clothing, enough community and belonging and acceptance and inclusion for everyone. Because we aren’t supposed to be pulled off course trying to seek those things separately means they must be a core part of God’s kingdom…and that also means that when we work for everyone to experience belonging and love and having enough, in God’s name, we are part of making God’s kingdom visible here on earth.

Second, I think this is a clue that Jesus isn’t only, or maybe even mainly, speaking to individual people here. When he says “do not be pulled apart in these conflicting directions, trying to give half your attention to God and half to money and the security it can buy you,” I think he’s actually talking to the whole community.

Imagine Jesus saying to the church: do not worry about what you will eat or drink or wear. Do not be torn apart by some of you focusing on the building, and some of you focusing on the attendance and offering numbers, and some of you focusing on the security of having a minister. Especially do not be distracted by what other churches are doing or what they’ll think of what you’re doing. All of that is fleeting and ephemeral anyway, and it isn’t the point, and that will pull you off course. Do not be pulled apart, do not let your attention be divided. Seek first the kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you as well.

Seek first, foremost, primarily, only: God’s kingdom. God already knows you need places and leaders and resources. But those things are all tools for kingdom work, and if you’re not doing kingdom work then you don’t need the tools.

Just to round out my sets, I think this all leads me to two conclusions.
First, that our usual meeting agendas and reports and concerns are backwards. We put a lot of time and effort into trying to figure out how to save our buildings and finances and leadership. And if we were to question that agenda, the answer would be “but we have a responsibility to manage our resources well.” Which is true…but also where do those resources come from? What is their purpose in our life? And to whom is our primary responsibility?

Second and related, that perhaps the reason we are where we are as a church, nationally and locally, is because we haven’t made a clear choice to seek God’s kingdom first. We have talked about trusting God but lived as if we have to trust ourselves. We have believed that if we prioritise our security, our tradition, the image of what a church should look like, the things we remember from the past, the ABCs — attendance, building, and cash — then we’ll be able to somehow force that empire worldview into serving God’s kingdom. In other words, our energy and attention has been divided, and we have been pulled off course. Jesus could not be more clear that it doesn’t work that way, it only works the other way round. We have to pursue God’s will and then — and only then — the tools we need to do the work will be provided. We have to trust that God will take care of his church, and follow God’s lead rather than trying to get God to follow our lead in taking care of our church.

And that, friends, is a day by day practice. Just as Jesus says that today’s trouble is enough for today — today’s disrupting of the world’s attempt to pull us off course is enough to deal with today. Pausing and taking a deep breath when we begin to fret, insisting our agendas turn round to focus on what God is doing and what God is inviting us to do, choosing to be together as a community rather than trying to go it alone, asking where we have seen God’s kingdom emerging and how we can help…we have to do it every day. Because tomorrow there will be more attempts to divide our attention and our community and our energy, more attempts to pull us down another path of comparison to other places or nostalgia for a bygone era, and we will need to take a breath and remember Jesus’ promise and re-focus again. And again. And again.

No one can serve two masters, or we’ll never ever be satisfied. Therefore: seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and the Spirit will provide all these other things that God knows you need, so that you, the Body of Christ, may live trusting his promise and doing his work.

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn : God of Justice

Sanctuary Hymn: Never Once (praise band)

Sanctuary: Offering
God pours out every good gift and promises that when we use those blessings to bless others, all we need will also be provided. Doing the ministry we already do here at St John’s costs over £10,000 per month, and our ability to continue to join in God’s mission here in this place is because of your trust in that promise. Our generosity is our response to what God has done for us, and we trust that God will use our offerings to reveal the kingdom of heaven here and now. Your morning offering will now be received.

Sanctuary Offering Response 808 (old hundredth)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God all creatures here below;
praise God, the Trinity of love,
before, beneath, around, above.
Amen

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You, O God, are our creator and sustainer.
You continually offer yourself and your world,
and you call us into community that reflects your image.
In this world where the birds of the air are cared for,
we pray that our neighbours might also experience that care.
You have given enough that no one need go hungry,
and so we ask for the humility to take only what we need,
and the compassion to share what we have,
and the courage to demand equity even when it costs us.
May the day come when indeed no one is in want.
In this world where the flowers of the field are lovelier than the highest-fashion label,
we pray that we would recognise beauty in our neighbours.
You have made us in every shape and size and colour and accent,
and so we ask for the grace to accept one another, and ourselves,
and the desire for our community to reflect the diversity of your meadow,
and the peace that comes from truly knowing one another in all our glory and thorns.
May the day come when indeed we live together in unity and it is more beautiful than royal robes.
In this world where there is so much to worry about,
so much to prepare for, though we are never truly ready,
so much to keep up with,
we ask for the blessing of community committed to one another’s well-being,
for a sense of responsibility for others, not only ourselves,
and for a deep trust in your promise to provide.
May the day come when the kingdom of heaven is lived on earth.
We ask in the name of the One who calms the sea, and us, with a word, 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: God Beyond Knowledge (words: Pat Bennett; tune: Slane)

Benediction
One day at a time, focus on Christ’s presence and promise. One day at a time, seek first God’s kingdom. One day at a time, the Spirit will give you all that you need. May you know and live the blessing, one day at a time.
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.

Announcements

* The choir rehearses immediately after worship, in the sanctuary.

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in slightly more than a year!

* 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!

* Bowl and Blether is here in St. John’s on Monday 6 February, from 11:30am, and in St Margaret’s on Saturday 11 February from 11:30.

* The Kirk Session meets on Sunday 5 February at 10:15am to attest the records, and on Thursday 9 February at 7:30pm for a regular meeting.

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

Sunday Service for 22 January 2023

Sunday 22 January 2023
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
Teri: What is a blessing?
1: More than just a good thing that makes us happy,
2: not exactly a sign that we’re God’s favourite,
All: a blessing reveals God’s priorities and God’s presence.
Teri: Who is blessed?
1: Not only people with plenty, and more than enough,
2: not just people who have it all together, photo-ready,
All: blessed are those this world looks down upon, overlooks, and tramples over.
Teri: What does it mean to be blessed?
1: To see the kingdom of heaven,
2: to choose to live in it, risks and all,
All: and to know God is with us, come what may.
Teri: Blessed are we when we recognise God’s presence and live for God’s glory.
Let us worship God together.

Prayer
Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
for you pour out your grace
and bring forth a people to reveal your love for the world.
Fulfil your word, even now,
that even the familiar may lead us to unexpected blessing,
and we may find ourselves
living in your kingdom on earth.

Every word you speak
can be sustenance for those who would live today in your kingdom, O God.
We confess that we would prefer to skim over some, though.
Every blessing your pour out
brings light into the shadows of this world, that all may see.
We confess that when we see what comes along with some blessings, though, we would rather not.
Every person you call into your way of life
changes the flavour of the world, until everyone can taste and see that you are good.
We confess that we feel too small to make much difference,
so we’d rather just be more palatable and blend in, please.
Forgive us, Holy One, when we choose to opt out of your kingdom of heaven come on earth.
Forgive us when we choose the world’s shallow blessing instead of your deep grace.
Forgive us when we ignore the little things in your word, even as they add up.
Re-light our lamps and re-salt our lives
that we may recognise ourselves in your image
and join again in revealing your presence and purpose.
Amen.

Hymn 543: Longing for Light

Sanctuary: Children’s Time (song: This Little Light)

Reading: Matthew 5.1-20 (New Revised Standard Version)
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

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: structure of blessing
Many of us love these words — the beatitudes often seem to sum up what makes Jesus’ teaching different than the world we live in. The way most people talk about blessing is as a good thing that happens to us, while Jesus seems to be saying that people who are experiencing difficult things, and those who are doing difficult things, are the ones who live in the state of blessing — not exactly something happening to them, but rather their state of being. Blessed are…the poor in spirit, whose poverty has led them to the brink of despair, those who recognise the world is not as it should be and grieve that gap between God’s vision and our current reality, those who have power and choose not to use it to force their way, those whose bodies cry out, grumbling and gasping for righteousness. Blessed are those who put compassion into action, those who focus on God’s way, who work to create peace, whose way of life following God’s commands brings about judgment or nastiness from others.

Those things don’t sound that much like blessings, when we put it that way. But in saying these things that may well have been as surprising then as they are now, Jesus both described current reality that we couldn’t yet see, and also spoke that blessing into being. Those he blessed that day on the hillside were given a promise that he was already fulfilling — to them belongs the kingdom of heaven, which is embodied right there in front of them.

It’s from this foundation that Jesus gives the whole rest of the sermon on the mount. These nine statements underpin everything else that will follow. Just as the ten commandments begin with “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt” — claiming the people as God’s treasured possession, declaring God’s care for them, before getting into how we are supposed to live in response to God’s liberating love — so too the beatitudes give us the introduction before launching in to how we are to live because they are true. Not so that we can earn those blessings, but because these blessings are.

Somewhere along the way, though, especially as the usage of the English language has shifted a bit, we have gotten into a wee bit of trouble with one word in particular, and it has coloured our understanding of the beatitudes and of the rest of the story, too. And that word is “righteous.” When we hear Jesus talk about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, or those who are persecuted for righteousness, or having righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we 21st century English speakers almost always default to what is better called “self-righteousness.”

The very fact that it has that modifier on the front should tell us what we need to know about the real meaning of the word “righteous”, which is that it is not about self, it’s a relationship word. Righteousness is about how we are in relationship — to God, to others, and to ourselves. Self-righteousness puts the focus on us and on what we think and on getting what we want or think we deserve. We might also describe someone who’s self-righteous as arrogant, self-centred, and absolutely certain they are right and everyone else is wrong. The difficulty with the way we have conflated the English word “righteous”, which comes from the Hebrew word “tsedeqah”, with attributes of self-righteousness, is that it makes people think that they’re being persecuted for righteousness when in fact they’re being held accountable by the community for self-righteousness. Because true righteousness, tsedeqah, is a relationship word. It’s a communal word. It is not in any way a personal piety or personal perfection word, it’s about how we are in community. Which means that in this context of talking about blessing, it’s both about the blessing we receive and the blessing we give, the blessing we are to the people and the world around us.

I think that’s why Jesus’ first examples of how to live as God’s people, once he lays the foundation of the beatitudes, is to say “you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” We’ve talked before about how salt’s purpose is to enhance other flavours, not really to be tasted or eaten for itself. And similarly light’s purpose is to reveal other things, not to be looked at for itself. They are relational things — the goodness of salt and light is found primarily in their relationship to other things around them, not in and of themselves. And when that relationship is out of order, then things go wrong. Lots of salt overpowers and makes things inedible. Overly bright light makes it hard to focus and can cause pain. Too little and things are bland and indistinct. When the relationship between the salt or the light and the things around it is just right, then it all just pops into focus and flavour and colour and life. And it might actually take less than you think.

Sometimes I hear people bemoaning the ways the world has changed. Our communities feel less cohesive than they used to, and we lament that we don’t know our neighbours the same way we used to, or people don’t look out for each other anymore, or there just feels like a breakdown of society. We can see it in rates of addiction and of loneliness, along with homelessness, all of which are symptoms of a bigger issue: a lack of connection. The social web that had held us together, and which was sticky enough to catch most people and bind them together in one way or another, has been unravelling, and so we have people who are sitting alone in their homes for days on end with no human interaction, people who end up homeless because they don’t have anyone they can lean on for help or support, people who fall into addiction because it’s the only way to numb that isolation or to feel connected to something, anything. And the problems grow and we feel smaller and smaller in the face of them.

You know what else is really small?

Salt.

And it doesn’t take all that much of it to make a difference.

A couple of weeks ago I was with the Contact Group, making bread, and I talked about how salt is a crucial ingredient in bread baking. It isn’t only about the flavour, though that does matter. Salt helps to tighten up the strands of gluten when you’re kneading the dough, which makes the structure of the dough hold together so that it can rise properly. Without salt, the gluten will usually stretch too much so it will rise fast and then collapse, unable to hold its weight. Salt is necessary for a cohesive loaf to form and to keep its shape.

You are the salt of the earth.

Imagine if we decided to enact the kind of community we want to see. If we reached out to our neighbours, even the ones who’ve never spoken to us. If we made it our business to care for our neighbourhood. If we dreamed up ways to bring people together. If we shared our own lives in a way that invited other people to share theirs, so they didn’t feel so alone. If we spoke and lived a blessing into being right here, where people least expect it, and strengthened the connections that bind us together, building up the kingdom of heaven in this place. We could be the ones who live from a structure of blessing that allows community to flourish and expand.

It only takes a dash of salt to change everything. Maybe it also only takes a handful of Christ-followers to change the flavour of a community, and to hold it together so it can grow into something beautiful and nourishing. And if we have decided not to do that role anymore, if we have lost our saltiness, then no wonder the community collapses. Or if we have decided that it needs to be about us instead of about others, if our righteousness is self- rather than relational, then we inhibit the yeast from growing and leave a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.

Jesus declared blessings as the foundation, the structure, of community in God’s kingdom…and then called us the salt and light who are meant to make those blessings visible and flavourful in our relationships, to strengthen the bonds that hold our community together in that structure of blessing. To those who live the truth of the blessing, the kingdom of heaven belongs.

The world is desperate to taste and see that God is good. We have received that blessing, and we have been given as that blessing, set as a beacon on the hill — it’s time to let it shine, that all may see the kingdom of God embodied in our community.

May it be so. Amen.

*Hymn: Salt and Light (praise band)

Sanctuary: Offering
God pours out every good gift and shows us how to use those gifts to be a blessing to others.
When we are generous as God is generous, when we give from our own resources as a way of giving glory to God, the kingdom of heaven is revealed here and now. Your morning offering will now be received.

Sanctuary Offering Response (text: hymn 808; tune: Old Hundredth)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God all creatures here below;
praise God, the Trinity of love,
before, beneath, around, above.
Amen

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Source of all blessing,
Giver of every good gift,
we bring before you today our neighbours
who are having a hard time seeing your goodness in the land of the living.
We lift up those who mourn, with comfort far off,
those who hunger and thirst even in this world of abundance,
those who long for peace yet are surrounded by the violence of hate, abuse, war, and oppression.
We pray your peace and hope and providing may surround and enfold and protect.
May your blessing be made tangible for them —
and may we become bearers of that blessing for others in our community.
We lift up those who have set themselves aside to serve, and lost themselves in the process,
those who have worked so hard for purity they’ve lost sight of your grace,
those who find themselves in the wilderness, feeling lost and alone, unable to recognise your light.
We pray your love and truth and call may reach out and take them by the hand.
May your blessing be made tangible for them —
and may we become bearers of that blessing for others in our community.
We lift up your church,
meant to be salt that calls attention to your flavour,
yet so often caught between fear of being an irritant
and desire to be the main dish.
We pray you would re-season your church, O God, to fulfil your purpose.
May your blessing be made tangible for us —
and may we become bearers of your blessing for the world.
We ask these and all things in the name of Christ,
who bears the kingdom of heaven in the flesh,
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 683: Go to the World! (Tune: Sine Nomine)

Benediction
Go into the world, people of God:
Go bearing God’s blessing, counterintuitive though it may be in this world.
Go to be salt and light, small but significant, making Christ visible.
Go strengthened by the Spirit to choose the kingdom life, here and now.
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.

Postlude Music

Announcements

* The choir rehearses immediately after worship, in the sanctuary.

* Would you be interested in joining the readers rota in 2023? Whether you read in the sanctuary or online, or both — whether recording yourself or being recorded by Teri — we’d love to have your voice bringing God’s word to life in our community! There is a wee training to help you feel confident. Let Teri know if you’d like to join in. Even if you have previously been on the rota, please reply as this is a brand new list for the new year.

* 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!

* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday the 24th at 2pm with guest Peter Hempsey talking about Inverclyde League of Hospital Friends, a group of volunteers who raise money for IRH with Teabar at hospital.

* The Kirk Session will meet on Sunday 5 February at 10:15 for two items of business: attesting the records in advance of the Presbytery’s inspection of records, and receiving a new member.

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in slightly more than a year!

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

Sunday service for 15 January 2023, Baptism of the Lord Sunday

Sunday 15 January 2022, NL1-22-23, Baptism of the Lord Sunday
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: The day is here, the way is revealed —
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.
One: The path is prepared and Christ leads us on —
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.
One: The Spirit pulls us close to whisper God’s love and God’s call —
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.
One: In our worship and in our lives, we proclaim:
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.

Sanctuary Hymn 167: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Prayer
Holy Spirit of love,
Your blessing is always active,
calling, pushing, leading, driving,
at the riverside and in the wilderness,
in our homes and our work,
strengthening us to face the adversary
within ourselves and out in the world.
You have told us, O God, what is good.
And we confess that we have strayed from your path,
we have turned away when your way is difficult, or inconvenient, or uncomfortable.
And we also confess that it’s easy, week after week,
to admit those purposeful diversions and ask your forgiveness,
but harder to truly commit ourselves to turning back to you.
For if we are fully honest, it is inattention and apathy that draw us away.
You lived in the strength of God’s love,
the knowledge of God’s word,
and connection to God in prayer,
and stood firm through trials and triumphs.
We confess that when we cannot see your abundance, we settle for a trade-off,
believing we can separate body and spirit without consequence.
We confess that we sometimes spiritualise needs instead of feeding hungry people,
and that we sometimes forget there’s more to justice than a single meal.
Forgive us, and remind us that neither bread nor word alone will suffice,
and your promise is that we will thrive with both.
We confess that we long for proof of your love, or proof that your word is true,
and we test one line to justify ignoring the rest.
We confess that we’d love everyone to recognise that you love us best,
so they’ll come to our way, our interpretation, our tradition.
Forgive us, and remind us that you are love, and those who abide in love abide in you.
We confess that we long to have a voice in the halls of power,
and to extend our reach beyond our own circles of influence.
We confess that we sometimes believe the end justifies the means,
if we can just find an in then we’ll be the only ones to use it wisely.
Forgive us, and set us free from the trap of trading away your purpose in pursuit of our goals.
Connect us to the deep wells of your word today,
that we may draw courage and discipline, faith and love,
and so offer a vision of your kingdom and an invitation to your Way.
Re-orient us once again this day,
and strengthen our resolve to put your love into action.
We ask in the name of Jesus, who embodies your word for us. Amen.

Online Hymn 622: We Sing A Love

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Reading: Matthew 3.1 – 4.17 (New Revised Standard Version)
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ’Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ’You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
‘I baptise you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ’I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’
But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’
Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptised, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered,
‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you”,
and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God,  and serve only him.” ’
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
’Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.’

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

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: Trade-Offs
I don’t know about you, but this isn’t exactly how I remember my own baptism going. You may not remember your own baptisms, if you were baptised as children, claimed for God’s family as a sign of grace. But you’ll no doubt have witnessed many a baptism since then, and been part of the community welcoming and promising to show God’s love to others. For those of us who were teens or adults when we were baptised, it may have been a memorable experience — I can tell you what I was wearing, what the weather was like, where I was sitting in the sanctuary, how cold the marble steps were, how I wondered about my hair once it got wet, even the voice of the minister and the way his hand rested on my head at the end, and the feeling of turning around and seeing the whole church looking back at me with welcoming smiles. I couldn’t tell you what hymns we sang or what the reading was or what the sermon was about….but I can say with certainty that it wasn’t “you brood of vipers, who told you to come here?” And there was no literal clouds-parting-voice-from-heaven on that particular day.

Even without all the details of the day, we hopefully recall the feeling of welcome, of grace, of belonging in the midst of God’s people. At a baptism I say that the one being baptised always has a home with us, on good days and bad days. Because of God’s love, we love one another. And though the heavens may not literally open to let God’s voice speak directly, through the voice of the Body of Christ, we nonetheless hear “you are mine, I love you, and your life brings me pleasure.”

Now normally when we read about the baptism of Jesus, we stop there and hear the rest of the story weeks later, disconnected from the baptism. But what happens next, immediately after Jesus comes out of the river, is so important for us to pay attention to, because it is also what happens to us as we go about living our baptised Christian life.

Matthew tells us Jesus came up from the water and heard God’s voice claiming him as Beloved, and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove and basically sat on his shoulder…and then there’s not even time for cake afterwards before the Spirit takes Jesus from the water and ushers him out into the dry desert. From that experience of love and commitment, he is moved straight into an experience of isolation and challenge.

Isn’t that what it feels like sometimes? We have moments of deep spiritual connection, and then everything else feels lacking. We feel fed and nurtured and supported, and then wonder why sometimes praying feels difficult or worship doesn’t give us the same good feelings it used to. We hear affirmation of God’s love and then the world tells us what others think about our worthiness or competence, and we start to waver.

Immediately after his baptism, hearing God’s love and joy, being filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was out on his own having to face the temptations of the world. And so are we. Our lives are not lived standing in the river waiting for the next time the clouds part — they are lived as baptised people in the world having to face the challenges of choosing God’s way in the midst of everything.

The tempter offered Jesus three solutions to problems — solutions that we too may be tempted by.

First, the opportunity to feed himself, and maybe even to feed others too — turn these stones into bread. The world is full of stones, of course, and if this was a way forward then surely Jesus could solve hunger, his own and the world’s?

But as with any easy answer, there’s a trade off. Jesus knows we live not by bread alone, not by word alone, but both*. To take this easy answer, he’d have to separate body and spirit, choosing between bread and word. How often have we been tempted by this same trade-off? Sometimes it happens with the tangible need, and we think we can meet that and get back to God later. Sometimes it happens with the word — we think if we offer God to people, that’ll be good enough even though they’re still starving or homeless or addicted or grieving or cold. Not by bread alone, but by both bread and word. Relying on the belovedness he’d experienced at his baptism, Jesus stood strong and insisted that he would not separate body and spirit, solving one problem by creating another.

Next came the opportunity to show everyone just how beloved he was. It would be a quick way to ensure that people listened to him, since they’d all know he was that guy God rescued from falling off the Temple! And bonus, it would reinforce the idea that God was extra present in this building, too.

This quick and easy solution also comes with a trade off. Trying to prove someone’s love with tests actually leads to more insecurity, not less*. Jesus knew one test would lead to another and another, because those who need them can never be satisfied without one more. Instead he, and we, would have to trust God’s love and let our lives — the things we do and say — be the proof of God’s love, presence and care for us and for the community, in and outside the special building.

Third came the chance to accomplish his whole mission in the blink of an eye, without any of the pain or difficulty. Just one little bent knee and bowed head, and Jesus could be master of all the kingdoms — lord of all.

The biggest shortcut comes with the biggest trade off though. Jesus could have the power over all the kingdoms, but he’d have to abandon God, and his identity as God’s beloved son, to get it*. The tempter offers Jesus the opportunity to skip to the end, to reach the goal immediately. It’s an opportunity I suspect many of us would think twice about — to get all the benefits without any of the work! To have a central seat at the table in the halls of power! But to trade away our identity and purpose to gain power is…well, that’s a devil of a choice, if you will. Jesus knows he belongs to God. He knows his purpose is to embody God’s love. And knowing those two things, he also knows that there are no shortcuts. The purpose he is meant to pursue is to make the kingdom of heaven visible on earth…there’s only one means to that end, and it is for love to give itself away, not to take power over.

We know these temptations to make these trade-offs. We know the desire for the easy answer or the quick solution. The question, then, is…are we grounded in God’s love, God’s word, God’s presence with us so we can remain committed to live for God’s pleasure when faced with these challenges? Do we have at our fingertips the things we need to rely on when we’re out in the world feeling alone? Are we clear about God’s purpose for us, so we can pursue it without getting distracted by the other options on offer? Do we know ourselves as God’s people, beloved and belonging?

The grace and love and grafting into Christ’s family declared at our baptism will be the strength we need when the Spirit leads us into the wilderness — that landscape of grief, confusion, change, uncertainty, aloneness. The wilderness is uncharted territory and we are all in it, and the beacon that lights the way is the voice proclaiming “you are my child and I love you and you belong here” — a voice we hear through scripture and song and prayer, through the church’s voice, through reminders we can see and touch when we feel alone and can’t hear anything at all.

Today I invite you to hear it again: you are God’s beloved, and you belong, and when you live as if that is true, it not only makes the kingdom of heaven visible on earth, it also brings God pleasure and joy.

May it be so. Amen.

(*thanks to the Bibleworm podcast for insights that led to this week’s sermon)

Sanctuary Hymn 622: We Sing a Love

Online Hymn: Lord Reign in Me

Offering

Sanctuary Offering Response
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God all creatures here below;
praise God, the Trinity of love,
before, beneath, around, above.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Your kingdom come, O God, we pray.
We ask yet rarely look for the answer,
consigning heaven to some other time and some other place.
Today we pause in that prayer,
asking first for the blessing of meaning what we say.
Your kingdom come on earth, O God.
For the world needs us to pray with purpose, and to listen when you answer
by calling us back to your way.
The situation is urgent, we are struggling to keep up with all the needs,
and we may finally be ready for the upheaval that will come when you break in,
disrupting our systems of domination and control and greed.
Reveal your kingdom of justice,
where your abundance is enough for everyone,
where no one starves while others gorge themselves,
where all are loved for themselves and not for how they can serve another,
where who we know or where we went to school or what people think of our names
no longer determines our station or worth.
Reveal your kingdom of peace,
where no parent needs to flee with their children,
where the air is filled with birdsong instead of sirens and guns,
where homes are safe and each person is respected,
where our words build up rather than tear down.
Reveal your kingdom of compassion,
where community cares for each other,
where we hold one another accountable with grace,
where there is space for each person to let go of what holds them back
as they grow and bear fruit you have made them to bear.
Reveal your kingdom of love,
where we can face difficult things by standing in your strength,
where we value your priorities even when they are not profitable,
where blessing flows in every direction.
Gather us in to the kingdom of heaven
and give us what we need
to step into the role you have for us.
We ask these and all things in the name of Jesus the Christ,
fully human and fully divine, tempted and resilient,
who is the way for us, 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: Lord Reign in Me (praise band)

Benediction
Go from this place knowing you are God’s beloved, and wherever the Spirit sends you, carry your belovedness with you. As you go to live Christ’s way, may you be filled to overflowing with blessing that reveals the kingdom of heaven come near.
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.

Postlude Music

Announcements

* The choir rehearses immediately after worship, in the sanctuary.

* 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!

* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday the 24th at 2pm.

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in slightly more than a year!

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

Sunday Service for 8 January 2023, Epiphany Sunday

Sunday 8 January 2022, NL1-21, Epiphany Sunday
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music

Welcome and Announcements

Call to Worship
What star is this, with beams so bright,
more lovely than the noonday light?
’Tis sent to announce a newborn king,
glad tidings of our God to bring.

Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, soften your gaze…
Make some space in your mind…
In the midst of the busy-ness, pause and listen…
Sometimes we may miss God’s voice, drowned out by noise…
Sometimes we resist because our minds can’t take it in…
Today, for a moment, may there be spaciousness in us:
that whispers in the shadows might be heard,
that a new world might slip into our imaginations,
that starlight might lead us.

Hymn: We Three Kings

Prayer
You reveal yourself, O God —
in our approved ways and in unexpected channels.
You set your star in the sky,
you speak in dreams,
you send outsiders to greet your Messiah.
And yet we do not all see.
We pray today for the gift of paying attention,
that we may recognise your revelation
whatever the source.
Because your presence changes things, God-with-us.
You come into our lives and turn us upside down,
shifting our priorities, our worldview, our time, even our bodies.
We confess that while we pray for your coming,
and we teach the ways you make everything different,
we also sometimes hesitate,
uncertain what it would mean for our comfort, our position, our way of life
if what we read and pray were fully true in practice.
We admit that it can be easy to ignore politics or controversy,
and even easier to fall prey to outrage without understanding;
it can be easy to follow our assumptions, and even easier to just fit in to the way things are;
easy to push share without thinking of consequences,
and even easier to simply say we meant well, regardless of how it turns out.
Forgive us when our desires create a conflict of interest,
for you call us to pursue your desire.
Forgive us when we accidentally or with good intentions
lend the power of your word to those who twist it to their own ends.
Forgive us when our desire to keep our faith private and separate
leads to outcomes we chose not to foresee.
Show yourself to us today,
and then send us out by another way,
to live differently having seen your power of life and love face to face.
We ask in the name of the Christ child whom we seek.
Amen.

Sung Prayer (tune 451 Puer Nobis Nascitur)
While outward signs the star displays,
an inward light the Lord conveys
and urges us, with tender might,
to seek the giver of the light.

O Jesus, while the star of grace
impels us on to seek your face,
let not our slothful hearts refuse
the guidance of your light to use.

Star Words
We seek you, God-with-us,
for we have seen the signs and our hearts and minds are curious,
longing to know you and what you have in store for us.
May these words be our guide,
revealing ever more and more of your vision
for us and for your world.
Give us the grace to recognise your star, O God,
beckoning us toward another road,
leading us into life.
Amen.

Reading: Matthew 2.1-23 (New Revised Standard Version)
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:  “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,  are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler  who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
 ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,  wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children;  she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’

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: The Epiphany We Need
An epiphany is a revelation, a new understanding, a moment of insight or clarity that helps us see something we hadn’t seen before. The story we call “epiphany” in the church calendar — which we celebrate after the 12 days of Christmas — is indeed a revelation. Normally we talk about it as the moment when Immanuel, God with us, is revealed to the nations, who are represented by the magi who come from the east and recognise God’s anointed one. Sometimes we talk about the star as the epiphany, revealing that God was doing a new thing and drawing people to see it. But I wonder if today we might think about the story itself as a vehicle for our own epiphany. What new understanding, what moment of insight, what revelation might we see if we look really closely at the whole of the story as Matthew tells it?

One of the first things to notice is that normally when we tell this story, we cut it off in the middle. We stop at verse 12, when the magi go home by another way, which means we never read about the consequences of their choice. Reading the whole story at once gives us a little bit different perspective. All week I couldn’t help but hum that verse of “Once in Royal David’s City” that says “for he is our childhood pattern, day by day like us he grew” — and then to think about all those children of Bethlehem. He was just like them, having that beautiful babyhood and toddlerhood, with proud parent moments when they get teeth, eat real food, learn to walk, speak their first words…day by day along with them, just like them, he grew. And then one day they didn’t anymore. Not everyone gets to have that childhood pattern. And if we are horrified by the way the empire, the political and religious elite, the very leaders who are supposed to shepherd the people, instead kills the children to protect its own power, then we should be horrified by the lengths to which the powers of our day will go to protect their own interests. When people in power think that other people are inconvenient or a threat to the established order, they will do their worst. Matthew’s epiphany story reminds us to pay attention to how it’s still happening today.

The next new thing I noticed when I read this story all together rather than in smaller chunks is that while yes, it was God’s instruction to Joseph to take his family and flee, it was also fear that sent them to their new home. We normally think we’re supposed to get over our fear, or smush it down, or ignore it. But sometimes fear gives us important information and leads us new directions. Not always, of course, but it’s important to learn to discern what fear is telling us. The angel in Joseph’s dream said to go to Egypt, just as his namesake had done — and later, Jesus, like Moses, will come out of Egypt and through the water into his ministry. The family lived in Egypt as refugees for a little while, and then when Herod died, the angel came to Joseph in a dream and said it was safe to go home. So they, like many refugees, packed up and went home, probably excited at the prospect of returning. And at this point I think the story gives us a couple of epiphanies: first, that they intended to go home to Bethlehem — which was their home. In Matthew’s gospel, remember, Joseph and Mary are from Bethlehem. They didn’t travel there for the census, they lived there. But then second: they got near home and discovered that Herod’s successor was also dangerous — so dangerous that actually, even the Romans thought he was too much and took his puppet kingdom off him — and it says Joseph was afraid to go home, so he took his family up to Galilee, where another of Herod’s sons was ruler but he was somewhat less ruthless. It wasn’t exactly safe anywhere, as they had learned the hard way just what it means to be a threat to the powers…but nonetheless, Joseph was willing to take his young family to a different kingdom to try to find a safe place to bring up their children. They had to live the rest of their lives far from their families, their history, their familiar comforts, because they were afraid of what danger they might be in if they went home.

If Jesus is our childhood pattern, then perhaps an epiphany for today is for us to see his face in the faces of those who are afraid and had to leave home to find somewhere safe. Whether or not Archelaus was actually ever a threat to Jesus, we’ll never know. But we know Joseph was afraid of him, and that was enough. Can we trust that their fear is founded? Whether fear of the government, or spiralling gang rivalries, or domestic violence, or rejection and abuse based on gender or sexuality, or fear of starving or not being able to afford to care for your children — is that fear enough? Or will we insist people be able to prove they’re in danger, or wait for something terrible to happen and then try to clean it up afterward? Perhaps God is revealing to us the face of Joseph, fearful and trying to care for his family, running across the border to another realm, in the faces of those crossing borders today.

This year when I was reading this story there were two more things that really stood out to me. The first is that the wise men seem very politically naive. Now I don’t know if this is noticeable this year because of the political shenanigans that have gone on all over the world lately, or what. But these guys who seem so smart in other ways just turn up at the palace and ask the current king where the new king is. You would think that they’d know as soon as they got to Jerusalem and there was no discussion of an heir being born in the past year or two, that they were in the wrong place. But no…they just head into the palace to speak to the person who used the title “King of the Jews” himself. And then they say they want to pay him homage — which is something they have conspicuously not done to King Herod. They don’t appear to have bowed to him, or offered him gifts…just asked where the new king was.

That’s an astonishing political statement. But did they do that on purpose? Did they know what they were doing, and they snubbed him on purpose? Did they understand how dangerous a ruler can be when he’s been snubbed and threatened with a rival ? They followed the dream that told them not to go back to Jerusalem, but did they realise that their choice to go to the palace first, but not to return there, would have terrible consequences for others?

I know I shouldn’t be surprised because honestly so many of us — me included — do all kinds of things with the best of intentions, and then the fallout behind us is either a surprise to us or doesn’t actually affect us. But I still am surprised that these people didn’t anticipate the outcomes and find a more politically savvy way to find the child. And it’s a reminder for us that our good intentions don’t always mitigate the serious impact our choices can have on other people.

And the last epiphany I want to bring up from this epiphany story today is actually from the beginning of the chapter. The wise men, the magi, were likely Persians, and many people think they might have been Zoroastrian scholar-priests-astrologers. They were scientists. And they recognised that something had changed in the world — they saw it in the sky, because they were paying attention. They noticed that something new was happening, and they used their scientific knowledge to follow it. And that scientific way got them so close — though for those who lived in Jerusalem or Bethlehem they may have seemed worlds apart, from the centre of power and economy to the rural village, in reality they’re only a few miles apart — basically from here to Inverkip. Meanwhile, the religious leaders in Jerusalem knew the scripture backward and forward. But they never saw the change in the sky — whether because they weren’t looking or because they didn’t have enough knowledge to notice something was different. It was only when the scientists and the religious scholars brought their knowledge together that Jesus was revealed. And ultimately the only ones who found him were those who wanted to pursue that knowledge for the purpose of worship and giving, not those who wanted to pursue their own power.

Scripture alone would never have gotten the priests and scribes to the house where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived. Science alone would never have gotten the magi the house either. It took both, each informing the other, for the light to be bright enough to bring them to kneel before him.

Perhaps the epiphany we most need is this one: that God will show us amazing things when we are paying attention. If we are looking, we may just see the face of Jesus in a person we previously thought didn’t belong here, or a person whose story was suspect. If we are looking, we may just see an opportunity to care for someone whose life doesn’t look like the life they hoped for, or someone who didn’t get the same chances we got. If we are looking, we may just see the difference between fear that helps and fear that hinders, and between our intention and our impact. If we are looking, we may just see a star guiding and a word pointing in a direction we couldn’t have figured out on our own. If we are looking, we may just see the light shining in the darkness.

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn: Our God Was A Refugee (Resound)
Sanctuary Hymn 328: Wise Men, They Came

Offering (Sanctuary only)

The ministry and mission we do here at St John’s costs just over £10,500 per month and it is because of your generous giving that we are able to serve others in all the different ways that happen here every day. May the gifts we give be a reflection of our gratitude for God’s gifts to us, and may they be dedicated to the work of God’s kingdom in this place. Your morning offering will now be received.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Creator of the Stars,
You shine a light to show the way,
you speak your word to teach us the truth,
you give us the gift of faith and the gift of seeking understanding,
that by using all the ways of mind and heart,
we might see you.
We pray today for the wisdom and courage to follow the star that shines before us —
the star of awe, star of blessing, star of challenge, star of curiosity, star of discipline, star of fruitfulness, star of generosity, star of harmony, star of imagination, star of mystery, star of passion, star of sharing, star of vision, star of wonder,
to keep our eyes open and to see what you would have us see.
And we pray today for all who are in need of your light in the shadows of this world.
For those who have left their homes, seeking a safe place.
For those who encounter hostility instead of hospitality.
For those whose fears have been realised, and now it is too late to flee.
For those whose lives have been changed forever by the greed and power mongering of the few.
For those who live amidst violence we can’t even imagine.
For those who grieve, and cannot find comfort.
For those whose suffering seems to have no end.
For those who thought they were doing the right thing, and never thought more.
For those hurt by our good intentions.
For those in positions of power and influence.
For those whose vision is too narrow to admit you reveal yourself in many ways.
For your church, seeking to be your Body in this world.
May your people know your healing, your peace, your hope, your joy, your comfort.
May your world be filled with justice and mercy and tenderness and love.
May we who follow the star find you and offer our lives in your service.
As we begin a new year, Lord guide our steps in the way you would have us go.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, who is Immanuel, God with us —
child, refugee, displaced person, word incarnate, way, truth, and life.
He is the One who reveals you most clearly,
and the one who taught us to join all your family in praying 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.

Hymn 326: As With Gladness Men of Old

Benediction
Go out with your eyes open to see how God might be leading, and may the light of Christ reveal the Spirit’s path before you.
And as you go to live love, 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.

Postlude Music

Announcements

* 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!

* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday the 10th of January at 2pm, with the Rev. Teri Peterson talking about (and maybe making, and definitely eating) bread, and also on Tuesday the 24th at 2pm to hear from Clare Cunning about Smalls for All.

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in slightly more than a year!

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

Sunday service for 16 October 2022

Sunday 16 October 2022, NL1-6 (moving God-ward 3)
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Sanctuary: Prelude Music

Welcome/Announcements

Call to Worship
One: For as long as you can remember,
All: God has been with us.
One: As far back as you can trace your family tree,
All: God has been providing for us.
One: Way back before our history even began,
All: God has been moving us toward God’s way.

Hymn 167: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Prayer
Your story is not yet finished, O God.
You created for yourself a world, you called for yourself a people,
you guided and protected and taught and called and loved…
and still you do.
Even now you are coaxing and inviting, pushing and pulling,
bringing us ever closer to you and your kingdom.
We are grateful that you still have more to say,
and grateful to be a part of this story you continue to tell.
When we are tempted to think the story is ours to write,
open our ears and hearts once again,
to hear anew, from a new angle, with new emphasis,
what you long to say to and through us in this new time and place,
and give us the courage to meet your passionate commitment with our own.

The earth is yours, Holy God,
and you show your love in the word and in the flesh.
We confess that we have not listened when you reminded us that all we have is a gift from you.
Instead we have trusted in ourselves, relied on our own ingenuity and hard work,
believed this is ours to use and enjoy because we earned it.
And so we must also confess that we have not always recognised when your story is meant
as an example or as a signpost or as a record or as a warning.
We have used your word to justify our own desires for control and power and greed.
Because we made it all about us,
we thought nothing of re-enacting the past without thought for the consequences for others,
placing ourselves at the top of the priority list.
Forgive us, God.
We have come as far as we can thinking we can simply forgive ourselves,
but the truth is that this is bigger than we are.
Forgive us for taking what did not belong to us, and using your word to justify it.
Forgive us for calling ourselves your children while acting as if others are not.
Forgive us for ignoring the context so that your story could appear to support our hurtful ways.
Turn us around again, and move us along your way.
Just as you carried our ancestors through the wilderness,
just as you formed your disparate people into one Body,
we pray you would bring us once again to yourself,
that we may learn to love you more truly, and so to serve you fully,
for to serve you is perfect freedom.
Amen.

Sanctuary Children’s Time— Song: We will walk with God (Sizohamba Naye)

Prayer of the Season
The whole earth is yours, O God.
From the beginning of the story,
you have been drawing us toward you.
We give you thanks that you have brought us this far
even when we feel like we have to trudge every step.
Though we don’t know how to be your people,
still you coax, call, and carry us forward.
Show us again today what it means to be people who live close to your heart,
not through our own efforts, but yours. Amen.

Reading: Joshua 24.1-17, 24-26 (NRSV)
After God gave the covenant at Mount Sinai, and the people said they would do everything the Lord had spoken, the Israelites went on their way…and soon found that actually doing what they had committed to do was much harder than saying it. As they travelled, learning how to put God’s word into action, how to live as the community God called them to be, and how to trust God, the whole generation that had come out of Egypt died, and the new generation grew up in the wilderness. After forty years out there, God brought the people into the promised land, and the book of Joshua tells of battles and conquest, claiming this violence was done in God’s name. Today we hear about the gathering of the elders and other leaders of the people at the end of this time, when everyone was settling down and living somewhat peaceably for a time. The story is in Joshua chapter 24, and I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out. When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. When they cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the wilderness for a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. Then King Balak, son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand. When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not laboured, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.
‘Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’

Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed.

The people said to Joshua, ‘The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.’ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord.

For the word of God in scripture,
for the word of God all around us,
for the word of God within us,
thanks be to God.

Sermon with Act of Commitment
Every time the Israelites have a turning point moment in their community’s life, they pause to tell their story. At Mount Sinai, just three months after leaving Egypt, they had to be reminded of how God had dealt with the Egyptians and parted the sea and fed them for their journey. Forty years in the wilderness brought the new generation to the banks of the Jordan, where they heard Joshua telling them the story of God moving them from a people who were shaped by their experience of enslavement to a people who were shaped by God’s providing and care, able to trust that God would help when they were in need and protect them when they were in danger. And then once they entered the land, and encountered the people who already lived there, the story they told was of fighting and killing everyone to take possession of their land and homes and fields and towns — a story that doesn’t always match the archaeological record but was important for how the people understood themselves as chosen…and it shaped how they would behave in future, with the belief that God fought for them. At the end of that period of conquering, whatever form that actually took, we find today’s story, when Joshua brought the people together to remind them again of the story they were in danger of forgetting.

People who have recently won battles — or told tales of winning battles, anyway — may not always remember the whole truth. After all, the story told by the victors often blanks out the story of those who were conquered, doesn’t it? And sometimes our rightful pride in achieving something we worked hard for eclipses the truth that we also had help — both help from God and help from others. Whether that help is in the form of direct assistance from family and friends who support us with a listening ear, a friendly face, a shoulder to cry on, an encouraging word, a home cooked meal, or even things like help with our bills, or a place to live, or help with childcare…or in a more societal way, with schools and roads and healthcare all supported by the whole community through taxes and service and more…the reality is that none of us have achieved entirely on our own. We are part of an ongoing story that began before us and will continue after us, and our accomplishments are a chapter — an important chapter, yes, and one that could only be done this way by us! — but a chapter, not the whole.

At these turning point moments, the people of God stop to remember the bigger story, to acknowledge that they didn’t do this on their own, they are part of something God has been doing, and will continue to do. Joshua reminds the people of God’s initiative — starting all the way back with God calling Abraham from beyond the river, tracing his family and the ways God led them, the help God gave when the people were oppressed in Egypt, the protection God offered from stronger nations who opposed them at every turn.

I wonder how we would tell the story of St John’s, at this turning point in the life of the Church of Scotland? What are our accomplishments, our successes, the important moments where we have seen God’s hand at work in our community life?

(Recent events…)

—changing of sanctuary seating in late 1990s
—putting the membership roll on the computer in 1988
—beginning of tea and coffee after worship in 1985
—finally ordaining our first women elders in 1980, nearly 15 years after the Assembly allowed it
—first Easter sunrise service on Tower Hill in 1978
—full parish visitation in 1964
—change to non-alcoholic communion wine in 1914
—making our voice heard on various community, national, and global issues, whether it was protesting the bowling club selling alcohol on Sundays in 1976, or protesting Sunday trains in 1846 when the train line didn’t come to Gourock yet but we still cared about what was happening around us, or sending financial assistance to support mission work and relief efforts in Ethiopia and South Africa and Malawi, or supporting local charities like the coal fund…or being the first in Gourock to promote Christian Aid week in the late 1960s
—perhaps we would want to look back to the origins of this congregation, in 1843 when the minister and 311 members of the established church in Gourock came out and formed the Free Church, later to be called St John’s, and the first building our ancestors built was both church and school. From the very beginning we have been engaged in the everyday lives of young people, not only their Sunday lives.
—It’s important to look back honestly at our part in God’s story — including the reality that one of those elders who came out in 1843 was Colonel Darroch, who donated the land on which this building sits…land which was acquired by his ancestors by money they made from enslaved labour in Jamaica.
—Maybe we would want to go even farther back, to the Scottish Reformation and John Knox…or farther, to Martin Luther and his 95 theses nailed to the church door in Wittenberg that sparked the protestant reformation…or farther, to the Roman Empire making Christianity the state religion and embedding in us ideas of our place in the power structures of society and government…or farther back, to the apostles in the book of Acts and the ways they shared everything in common…or back to Jesus…or, with Joshua, all the way back to Abraham…or perhaps even back to Noah, or to the moment God planted the human being in the garden with instructions to be a good steward of the earth.

What if we told the story of this church not through the building and the ways it has changed, or not changed, and not through the lens of who the minister was, or what we have done, but rather through the lens of what God has done? How does it feel to think of God leading the Rev. Dr. Donald McLeod out into the unknown and financially uncertain future in 1843? God opening the hand of Colonel Darroch to give away wealth that came through unsavoury means and dedicate it for the service of God’s kingdom? God leading us to the top of Tower Hill in 1978, and every Easter since? God leading us to start sharing fellowship after worship in 1985, and God drawing us through the link corridor every Sunday? God inviting us to remove the pews and put in chairs? God calling leaders and families into the youth organisations nearly every weeknight for the past 125 years? God sending us into schools rather than relying on Sunday mornings to reach children?

Joshua ends his story by asking the people standing there that day to make a choice. Their ancestors had made the choice to be a part of God’s story, but it isn’t enough to simply rest on the choices of those who came before — now they had to make that choice for themselves. It is important to be reminded of the bigger picture and wider truth: that God has brought us to this point, and given us a life that is a next chapter of a story, not a standalone story we created, and not one we can simply repeat from the past. Once we hear that reminder, though, we have a choice to make: do we want to take up our part in this ongoing story, or do we want to choose another story? Joshua calls us to the decision, here, now, today: choose this day whom you will serve, whether it’s the Lord or some other god that clamours for your attention. Choose this day whether God’s priorities will also be ours, or whether we will focus on our own desires and comfort.

So today we are invited to choose: do we want to take up our part in God’s story, and prioritise what God calls us to do today — which may not be what God called our ancestors to do last year or forty years ago or 140 years ago?

As a mark of their commitment, Joshua set up a stone. Today as a mark of our commitment, I invite you to light a candle. Just as a city on a hill cannot be hid, and lamp should not be covered up but give light to all in the house, we are invited to commit to letting the beacon of blessing shine from this hilltop into every part of this parish, this town, this world. Choose today: to pick up the torch and be the light God has kindled.

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn: I Will Follow (Chris Tomlin)
Sanctuary Hymn 500: Lord of Creation

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You call, O God,
and you provide.
We cannot measure or count all you have done for us,
and so we pray for the strength to show our gratitude in our lives.
As we remember and give thanks for all you have done for us,
and for those whose faithfulness brought us to this place,
we also pray for our neighbours whose stories are often unheard.
We call to mind those who have been displaced or conquered,
whose lives have been uprooted
and whose stories are overwritten simply because they were not victorious.
We remember that they too are beloved, and deserving of care,
and that they have longed for recognition and compassion.
May all people have a place to call their own, to rest and be known and be at peace.
We lift up those around the world who are not able to tell their own story,
whose voices are subsumed in statistics or headlines,
or who find themselves a prop in someone else’s play.
We ask your help for those who are not able to choose their own work, home, relationships,
or even how they will use their own bodies.
May all people be free to commit themselves to whatever you call them to do.
We offer our prayers today for those lands that are marred by violence,
where the landscape itself tells stories we have tried to hide.
We hear your creation crying out, and we pray for courage to face the truth
as its prayers rise through us to you.
May the world know abundant life, as you promised.
We ask these and all things in the name of Christ,
through whom we are connected with all your people,
in whose story we find ourselves.
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: I Will Follow (praise band)

Benediction
Friends, each day we must choose whom we will serve. Go into the world committed to God’s story in a new way — to share the good news of God’s liberation and providing, to turn the page away from conquest and toward Christ’s peaceful community, to depend on the Spirit. And as you go, may you experience the blessing that is both for you and for you to share. 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.

Postlude Music

Announcements

* We are hosting an October holiday club for Primary aged children this coming week, 18-20 October, on the theme “Life in Plastic, NOT Fantastic: Caring for God’s Good Earth.” More information and registration is available at our website. If you are able to help in the kitchen from 11-1 on Wednesday or Thursday, please contact Teri ASAP!

* TONIGHT, 16 October, at 7pm we are hosting a BIG SING, with the Connect+ singing group! The group will lead us in short songs from around the world, including songs from Iona, Taize, various countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and will guide us in harmonies and rhythms we didn’t know we could do. It will be a wonderful evening of making a joyful noise. No experience necessary, no need to read music, just the willingness to join in!

* You are invited to join in reading the Bible in a year for 2022 — immersing ourselves in God’s word throughout the year. We get together to discuss each week on Wednesday at 7:30pm in the manse at 6 Barrhill Road. All are welcome, no experience necessary! Feel free to invite a friend, too! Anyone who has ever wondered just what the Bible actually says and what it has to do with us is welcome.

* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) and we also meet in the sanctuary at 11am. 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 Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already 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 Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please be safe!

* Young Adult Bible Study meets in the manse on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 7pm for a meal and a study of the gospel according to John. If you’d like more information, for yourself, a family member, a friend, or neighbour who is in their 20s, please contact Teri for the dates/times and other information.

Sunday service for 12 February 2023

Sunday service for 5 February 2023

Sunday service for 29 January 2023

Sunday Service for 22 January 2023

Sunday service for 15 January 2023, Baptism of the Lord Sunday

Sunday Service for 8 January 2023, Epiphany Sunday

Sunday service for 16 October 2022

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