Sunday service for 7 May 2023, fifth Sunday of Easter
Sunday 7 May 2023, NL1-43, Fifth Sunday of Easter, (Coronation Weekend)
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
Sanctuary Hymn 127: O Worship the King, All Glorious Above
Call to Worship
Teri: To all God’s beloved in Gourock: grace and peace to you!
1: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ guide us in faithfulness,
2: may the peace that passes all understanding guard our hearts and minds,
All: and may we all, together, hear and follow the Spirit’s call to be saints.
Prayer
You share yourself with us, O God —
your love, your life, your vision.
You have committed yourself to your creation and to your people,
and called us to commit ourselves in return.
Set us free from our fear of what other people think,
and empower and encourage us to respond to your faith in us
with faithfulness to your way.
As you have changed the world with resurrection,
may we too be transformed into new life.
For you have made us your own,
given us a people to belong to and a purpose to pursue,
and your faithfulness makes our faith possible.
We confess that we aren’t very good at belonging together in community.
We admit that we find mutuality difficult because we don’t like to be vulnerable,
so we end up either isolated or in competition.
We admit that encouragement is not our first instinct,
and instead our expectations lead to disappointment.
We admit that we rarely think of how to nurture our own spirits, let alone those of others,
so the Body grows weak as we keep our faith to ourselves.
Forgive us, O God.
Forgive us for missing opportunities to build up one another, and so be strengthened ourselves.
Forgive us when we bristle at the thought of being captive to your will rather than our own.
Forgive us when we think faith is our achievement rather than your gift.
Remind us of our responsibility to one another,
and renew our faithfulness with yours,
that we may live.
We ask in the name of the One whose power is revealed through resurrection, Jesus the Christ.
Amen.
Online Hymn 127: O Worship the King, All Glorious Above
Sanctuary Hymn 429: Alleluia! Jesus is Risen!
Sanctuary Children’s Time
Reading: Romans 1.1-17 (New Revised Standard Version)
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish — hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’
For the word of God in scripture,
for the word of God among us,
for the word of God within us,
thanks be to God.
Sermon: a letter to the church
Paul wrote to the fledgling church in Rome when it was still a small community in the middle of the empire’s biggest city. Rome had many religious communities, including a small Jewish community, and also many expectations that everyone would participate in the religious rituals that were at the heart of society. Those who didn’t were also missing out on networking and business and friendship opportunities. Rome was of course the centre of the political world, the cultural world, and the economy. The small community of Jesus-followers, some of whom were Jewish and others new converts, wondered how to be relevant in the midst of that place, and how to grow when they were so often looked down upon as silly for their faith.
Paul’s letter to the Roman church was meant to be read by Phoebe, one of Paul’s co-workers in the gospel, and she would be the one to lead the discussion and answer the questions of this small church in the midst of a big city with lots of challenges round about them. So today I have imagined the letter we might receive, and I will take the role of Phoebe…
To all God’s beloved in Gourock, called to be saints:
I am so grateful to God for you. You are a blessing to so many — to those nearby who encounter you in the town, on the train, in school, and in the hospital; to those who come here to be fed in body, mind, and spirit; and to those far off who see the beacon standing tall on the hilltop welcoming them home. You have already been learning and living the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, offering hospitality and hope, community and creativity.
I pray for you every day — by name individually and for the whole church together — and I trust that God is answering prayer in and through you. I pray for healing and wholeness, for energy and imagination, for God to increase our capacity for faith, hope, and love.
God created and invited us to join in creating, God promised and keeps promises, God walked among us in the flesh in Jesus, and still today God is with us by the Holy Spirit. So many times in history, hope seemed lost…when the people were enslaved in Egypt and their masters demanded the impossible…when they stood at the shore of the Red Sea with certain death both before and behind…in the wilderness when they were hungry and thirsty and lost and scared…at the shores of the Jordan with opposition ahead…when the leaders turned away from God and the people followed…when society disintegrated and the poor and marginalised were sold out for the prospering of the few…when the people went into exile and lived for generations in a land they did not choose…when empire after empire swept through and brought new rulers, new taxes, new oppression, new religion…when the sun went dark as Jesus hung on the cross…when the tomb was shut.
But even in the face of lost hope, even in when there was opposition, even when the foundations of society shook, even when we were afraid, even when we looked around and didn’t recognise the world anymore, even when the institutions rose and fell…even when the tomb was shut and it seemed everything was indeed finished, over, lost, pointless. Even then: God worked for life.
Even then…even now…God workS for life.
In Christ who was raised to new life, we have received grace upon grace — an abundance of life. And not only grace, but apostleship. In Christ, God set us apart to join him in this work for life. Not that we would never experience the hopelessness or opposition or confusion or worry or death, but rather that we would be set apart in how we respond. Through God’s faithfulness, we are given faith…faith that trusts God’s goodness that perseveres through hard days to bring life where all seemed lost.
It is my prayer that we might therefore remind one another of this truth: that God is good all the time, that despite all appearances, Christ is alive, and that the Spirit is filling us even now with good news to share with the world. I pray that we might build up one another, encouraging each other instead of making demands or worldly expectations. I pray that God’s love and loyalty may be matched by our own, that God’s generosity may be visible in our own generous hearts and hands, that God’s life may be lived in our bodies and in this Body.
We are indebted to so many in our journey — we have learned from people like us and people different from us, from the wise and the foolish. We have learned from successes and from mistakes. Wherever we have been nurtured, and whoever has helped us along the way, let us acknowledge them and give thanks for the part they have played in bringing us to this day that the Lord has made…and let us take all we have learned and put it to good use for God’s kingdom! God has work for us to do, that can’t be done by anyone else, and I, for one, am eager to join you in that work that God is leading you to do. Don’t be worried about what people will think, or whether you might do or say something embarrassing. The good news of God’s love, the truth of Christ’s resurrection, and the power of the Holy Spirit can handle it. And you never know when your foolishness in sharing the gospel might become wisdom that builds up in someone else — just as our understanding comes from many sources, so too will theirs. So don’t be afraid, don’t be shy, don’t be ashamed…God can use even your faltering witness to bring wholeness and healing and liberation and love to others.
God offers rest to the weary, courage to the fearful, direction to the lost, belonging to the lonely, compassion to the suffering, peace to the divided, joy to the attentive. When all around seems bleak, when the challenges seem overwhelming, when we are overwhelmed or exhausted, remember that God’s promise is for abundant life, and God is faithful. God pours this love into our hearts by the Spirit and also demonstrates it in the community called by Christ’s name. Christ is alive…and you who are called to belong to Christ ought also to be alive!
Your faithfulness is known throughout the world — not only in your church building but in every place you go, God’s love will be visible in you. Encourage one another in sharing the good news, building up the Body of Christ to reveal God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. The one who knows God’s faithfulness will live faithfully in turn, so let your light shine!
And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be with you, all God’s beloved, who are called to be saints. Amen.
As today’s Phoebe, I wonder if you have any thoughts about the letter we’ve received today? Reactions, comments, questions, responses?
Hymn 522: The Church is Wherever God’s People are Praising
Offering (Sanctuary only)
Sanctuary Offering Response 420 verse 4 (tune: Lasst uns erfreuen)
Praise we the Father, Spirit, Son;
Praise we the victory God has won:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise we the Lamb who reigns above;
Praise we the King whose rule is love:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Our prayers today include a prayer written for coronation weekend by Rev Professor David Fergusson, Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland, and also includes a time for you to offer your own prayers — just a name of a person or place or situation, you don’t need a composed prayer, just a chance to say aloud or in your heart the concerns or joys you carry today.
We bless you this day, O God, for the gift of your Church,
for your people in every time and place
whose faithfulness encourages and sustains,
whose commitment to your way has changed neighbourhood and nation,
whose trust in you has brought us to faith too.
We give you thanks for those who have shared your good news,
taught by word and example,
prayed and listened and healed and encouraged,
witnessed to your presence and your power and your purpose.
May we who are called by your name in this time and place
be holy as you are holy, set apart for your gospel,
and worthy of the gift that has been passed to us.
We pray for those who need encouragement today,
and have found only expectations they cannot meet.
We pray for those who are feeling alone,
longing for a community of friends and fellow travellers on your way.
We pray for those who do not recognise their obligation to others in this world,
believing themselves above or apart.
We pray for those whose faithfulness is an inspiration to us,
and for those whose faith is faltering.
Almighty and everlasting God,
exalted above all nations and peoples,
today we seek your blessing upon Charles, our King.
Anoint him with the gifts of your Holy Spirit
as he seeks to fulfil his calling amongst us.
Strengthen him with wisdom and justice
to serve the people of this land
to the honour and glory of your name.
We ask you to bless Camilla, our Queen,
William, Prince of Wales, Catherine Princess of Wales,
and all the generations of the Royal Family.
Grant to them joy and peace on this day,
and inspire them by your Spirit in their work.
Ever living God,
you bring us together in our households,
our families, and our communities,
and you teach us to love one another as Christ has loved us.
In these days of celebration,
support us in the service of our neighbours,
and in pursuit of the common good of our nation.
May your will be done in us.
In this place where we trust you are still moving,
creating your beloved community
from the odd mix of saints you have called together for your glory,
we pray for the concerns of our own hearts and minds…
Naming before you the people and places and situations we carry today…
Through the ages you have been faithful, O God,
and you draw ever more people into your love and righteousness.
Make us a reflection of your goodness,
a witness to your liberating grace,
an encouragement to your people,
an example for all to see your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
We ask in the power of your Spirit who moves among us, even now,
and in the name of the risen Lord Jesus 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.
Hymn: Send Us Out (Resound Worship)
Sanctuary Hymn: Because the Saviour Prayed (text: John L Bell; tune: Woodlands)
Benediction
To all God’s beloved in this place: You are called to be saints. Go to live lives founded on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, eager to share God’s love with others, and committed to encouraging one another in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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. 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.
*Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £2700 per week? Everything we do is funded by your generous giving — all our support for young people, older people, bereavement care, community outreach, worship, study, spiritual growth, and community work is because of your offering. If you would like to set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Teri and she can give you the treasurer’s details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received.
*Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!
*Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in somewhat more than a year!
*You are all invited to a lunch celebrating the coronation of King Charles III, after worship TODAY. All are welcome, so why not invite a friend or neighbour?
*A service to celebrate the life of Ella Nimmo will be held at Greenock Crematorium on Thursday 11 May at 2pm. Afterward everyone is invited to the Tontine from 2:45 to celebrate Ella and Sandy’s lives.
*THE KIRK SESSION MEETS ON SATURDAY 13 MAY FROM 9:30 FOR 10.
*The next Bowl & Blether in St Margaret’s is Saturday the 13th of May.
*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 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland meets from the 20th – 25th of May this year. Please take some time to pray for the commissioners (including Teri), delegates, and staff who are preparing for the Assembly and seeking God’s will for the Church in these days.
*2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the 2nd Gourock Boys’ Brigade. Our anniversary Grand Charity Ball will be Saturday 9th September 6.00 for 6.30pm in Greenock Town Hall. Tickets priced £50 or £500 for a table of 10 are available now from BB leaders. 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 15 May 2022, fifth Sunday of Easter
15 May 2022, 5th Sunday of Easter
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Prelude Music (sanctuary only)
Welcome
Call to Worship
One: Come from your familiar and comfortable places,
to look for God in new ways.
All: We join our minds and hearts in seeking a glimpse of the One
in whom we live and move and have our being.
One: Come with your faith and your curiosity,
to meet others of God’s people.
All: We take the time to observe and learn,
trusting the Spirit will lead us to common ground.
One: Come to be present to all Christ places in your path.
All: We come, open to meet God, even here.
Prayer
In the marketplace of ideas, there’s always something new, O God. We confess that we are torn between our attachment to tradition and our belief that the latest fad will solve our problems, and so we trust the market to sort it out. We admit that when we contribute to public discourse, it is often either with judgment of others or demands for society to centre our feelings and desires. And we confess we are uncertain and anxious about sharing our faith story, worried we will get it wrong or offend. Forgive us, God, for our misplaced trust, for our misdirected speech, for our self-centering ways. Remind us that you are near, and give us confidence to allow your grace to take the lead, that we may be witnesses to the power of your love. Amen.
Online Hymn: You, Lord, Are In This Place, by Keith Duke
(Sanctuary Hymn 510: Jesus Calls Us Here To Meet Him)
(Sanctuary only Children’s Time and Song: Hallelujah Christ is Risen)
Reading: Acts 17.16-34 (New Revised Standard Version)
Last week we heard about Paul encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus, and having his perspective changed and his life transformed as a result. He then went to various places to proclaim the good news and invite people into communities that follow Jesus together. Along with Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy he traveled from Antioch to Cyprus and many cities of modern day Turkey in between, including Thessalonica and Philippi. In many places, they encountered opposition from those who did not wish to receive the message about Jesus as God’s messiah, and they had to leave quickly and go to the next town. We pick up the story today in Acts chapter 17, beginning at verse 16, just as they have escaped a riot, with Paul, Silas, and Timothy leaving town separately to meet up again in the next city. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
~~~~
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place every day with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.’ (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.’ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said,
“For we too are his offspring.”
Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
For the word of God in Scripture
For the word of God among us
For the word of God within us
Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Good New Days
Once upon a time, Athens had been the centre of everything. It had been well known as the place for intellectuals in every field, brimming with ideas about mathematics, philosophy, government, and the arts. People came from all around to experience it.
By the time Paul arrived in Athens, those bright days had dimmed into the past. The centre of power had shifted to Rome, and Athenians were left trying to recapture what once was. They filled their city with statues and shrines, and filled their time with ideas and debates, hoping desperately that something would bring them back to the days when they were bursting at the seams with young people, money, power, and vitality.
The people of Athens tried everything that used to work, and the things they saw other people doing too. They made statues and sacrifices and offerings in every place and to every god they could think of. They worshipped at the altar of memory, of success, of fashion, of the latest trends and the oldest mysteries. They covered all their bases, hedging their bets even with an altar to an unknown god—just in case they might have missed one along the way.
It was a strategy of desperation, full of activities, bound by extremes, and longing for something they couldn’t quite put their finger on. While the Epicurean and the Stoic philosophers—as far apart on opposite ends of the spectrum of philosophy as you can get—debated in the marketplace, the people gorged themselves on any crumb that might bring back the good old days.
Paul walked in and said “I see how religious you are,” and that can sound sarcastic to us, because of course in hindsight we can see that they’d missed the point. Religion isn’t about doing things that look religious, it’s about connection and relationship and experience between God and human, which can’t be bought. But in the moment, Paul was simply acknowledging the hope the Athenians held, that they might be able to do what they’d always done and find it returned them to the glory days they remembered.
Paul started where they were, and then built on that hope—he started with a bright spot: an altar to a god unknown, a desire for more, a longing for a new story—and he combined it with their own familiar words in order to offer them The Truth: God, who created all things, cannot be controlled by us, no matter how many statues and sacrifices we make. God, who created all things, is so close to us that it is impossible to know ourselves apart from the divine. And God, who created all things, is doing a new thing even right now, even while we are busy trying to recreate the past. He took their old story and showed them how it could be the beginning of a new story, rather than simply re-treading the old ways that no longer worked. He used their own poets, their own storytellers, their own words, to give them a way in to seeing their part in God’s story.
It’s so interesting that the Athenians, for all their seeking, could not see God already in their midst. Their own poets said “he is not far from each one of us.” Their own altars had a sense of mystery. It was clear that their attempts to get their way by controlling the gods were ineffective. It had to be obvious to them that the past was never coming back—I mean, even their public discourse had descended into arguments between polar opposites.
And yet it had not occurred to them that maybe God, in whom we live and move and have our being, was also dynamic, not static. It had not occurred to them to look around and see what God was doing, or if there might be a future just as bright as the past. They spent so much time looking at yesterday that there was no room for tomorrow.
It makes you wonder: what can’t we see? What has never occurred to us? Are there ways we are like the Athenians? How have we trapped God in a static set of ideas and missed out on God’s dynamic, ever-moving ways? Have we also crowded out tomorrow by clinging to yesterday? And what next chapter could be written from the seeds of our well-known stories?
The next chapter will feel ridiculous, of course. Because raising someone from the dead is, frankly, ridiculous. If God does things like resurrection—things so completely uncontrollable and unbound—then what does that mean for those who want to be in relationship with God? If God can’t be bought, or appeased, then how are we supposed to relate? If God is God—loving, just, and faithful—no matter what we do, then what exactly are we supposed to do? It seems that if the relationship with God is not a transaction, where we control at least a portion of the situation, then it’s not worth it. If it’s true that our life, movement, and existence is held by God, is in God — a God who can do anything, even overcome the power of sin and death — then we cannot be separated, we cannot be cut off, we cannot truly be lost, and there is nothing to earn.
The implications were too much to handle for many of the people who heard — just as they still are today, if we’re being honest. Ever since that day they met Paul, people across time and place have heard this story and decided to turn away—sometimes we have turned away by constructing elaborate theological systems that allow us to feel like we have some control, and sometimes we have turned away by simply insisting it doesn’t make sense, or even by simply glossing over the power and shock of resurrection and acting as if it’s so normal it makes no difference. Sometimes we have turned away by believing the church is a building we visit now and then, like a shrine to an idol, and sometimes we have turned away by using the words of scripture to pretend that God’s grace is only available to some. There are many ways to scoff at what God offers, because we cannot comprehend unconditional love.
But a few people followed the Way. And a few people said “we want to hear more.” It wasn’t a giant crowd that converted that day, but it was enough. Those few changed lives, and those few curious hearts, were enough to set a new story in motion:
a story that didn’t look sideways at what others are doing,
or backwards at where we used to be,
a story that helps us learn to see God right in the midst of
where we are right now, who we are right now,
to discover that God is as close as our own breath—
and is always leading us forward into the kingdom,
into the good new days God has planned.
May it be so.
Amen.
Hymn 506: All I Once Held Dear by Graham Kendrick
Mission Focus: Inverclyde Youth For Christ
In sanctuary worship today, we are commissioning Charlene for her role as youth worker with Inverclyde Youth For Christ. She will reaffirm her faith, and answer questions about her commitment to reaching young people with the grace of God. We as a congregation will also answer questions about our commitment to support her ministry in whatever way we can, including prayer and financially. We will pray for her and give her a blessing, too: “may you know the blessing of being present, the blessing of making space for others, and the blessing of the right words at the right time, as you bear the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit into the lives of young people. Amen.”
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You came to live among us, Lord,
knowing the fullness of human experience,
starting where we are yet revealing the way to your kingdom.
We give you thanks for your incarnate Word,
and for your resurrection power bringing us into community with you.
And we pray that you would move us along the journey,
for this world feels so stuck.
We are divided, and unwilling to loosen our grip on our rightness.
We are captured by nostalgia and can’t imagine a future.
We insist on doing what we’ve always done, hoping for a different outcome.
And so we cannot find our way to a story of peace, or justice, or hope.
We see news of violence in Palestine, in Sri Lanka, in Afghanistan, in Ukraine, in South Sudan,
and we feel helpless to change anything,
yet we pray that people may be comforted in grief,
strengthened in resilience,
encouraged in adversity,
and challenged to turn away from hatred and oppression and injustice.
And when they must flee, seeking refuge or a better life,
when desperation drives them to dangerous crossings of sea and desert,
we pray that people may be met with warmth and hospitality,
with compassion and practical help,
for we remember that whatever we do to the least of these, we do to you.
Just as you taught us to do to others as we would have done to us,
grant us the courage to treat our neighbours of other nations
with the same love and care we have received from you and would expect for ourselves.
We give thanks for our ability to participate in our community and government,
and we pray for our councils as they organise for a new session of serving the common good,
and we ask for your spirit of grace and wisdom to be their constant guide.
We pray today especially for the situation in Northern Ireland as they seek a way forward,
and also hold in our hearts the people of Lebanon as they vote today.
May all who find themselves in positions of power or influence be faithful
in pursuing truth, justice, and a future with hope.
You are a God who meets us where we are
yet does not leave us there but calls us forward into your kingdom.
Show us how to follow you this day,
to be fully here, wherever you have planted us,
to listen well and value whatever glimpses of you others show us,
to speak the truth we know without needing to control the outcome.
We ask in the name of the risen Christ, who taught us to pray together…
(Sanctuary Hymn 252: As a Fire is Meant for Burning)
Benediction
Go from the familiar and comfortable, with curiosity and faith, to look for God in unexpected places, to hear Christ’s word through unexpected voices, to follow the Spirit leading you to unexpected opportunities. 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 (sanctuary only)
Announcements
* Happy Easter! Easter is a season that lasts for 50 days, so we will be celebrating resurrection for the next several weeks.
*You are invited to join in reading the Bible in a year for 2022 — immersing ourselves in God’s word throughout the year. Click here to find a reading plan that’s five days a week (leaving a couple of days for catch up each week!). Watch this space for information about a Bible study as we go through the scriptures together!
* Join our team walking for Christian Aid in the month of May! You can sign up here with Christian Aid to join in, and be sure you join our St John’s fundraising team! If you can’t walk all 300,000 steps yourself, you can do it as a group or a family, too! If online fundraising doesn’t work for you, you can also pick up an envelope at church.
**You can join Teri for a midweek walk on Wednesday at lunchtime this week — meet at the top of Bath Street beside the church at noon, or at the cenotaph at 12:05, for a walk-and-talk along the front (nice and flat!).
* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) and we also meet in person, subject to the usual protocols for distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing. We can now welcome up to 85-100 people for worship with one-chair-between-households distancing. No booking is required. Masks are required at all times inside the building, including while singing. 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.
* Tonight we will gather for evening prayer on the Connect Facebook Page, led tonight by Karen. Log on at 6:58pm to join in.
* 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 stay 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!
* The Spring Church Notes are now available! You can read them by clicking here.
*Young Adults Bible Study is on Zoom most Sunday afternoons. Contact Teri for the link to join and for a copy of the book they are using.
* To learn more about Inverclyde Youth For Christ, and to support the ministry Charlene is doing with young people in our community, click here to visit their website.
Sunday Service for 2 May 2021, Fifth Sunday of Easter
Sunday Service for 2 May 2021, Fifth Sunday of Easter
Prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson, Gourock St. John’s
Manse phone: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
To hear an audio recording of this service, including music, please phone 01475 270037.
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Prelude Music (in person only)
Welcome/Announcements
Call to Worship and Opening Prayer
Come, let us celebrate what God is doing!
Listen to the stories of the Spirit changing lives,
through the work and words of others…and in spite of them.
Listen to the stories of the Risen Christ reinterpreting our ancient words,
inviting us to new ways of being together.
Listen to the stories of God’s people past and present,
showing us where God is leading.
Rejoice, for the Living One is here, calling us on!
Come, let us follow in faith.
Let us pray.
You move where you will, O God.
Bring us on board with what you are doing, here and now.
When we are frightened by your freedom,
give us ears to hear the testimony of others
and guide us to joyful new community.
When we are uncertain of what to do next,
give us minds and hearts to discern your presence
and courage to follow your lead.
Now open your word to us and shed its light on our lives,
on our community,
on this world.
Amen.
Music
In person:
Online: Build Your Kingdom Here
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: Acts 15.1-23a, Common English Bible
Last week we heard about Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, when Philip told the story of Jesus and the eunuch was baptised. After that, the book of Acts goes on to tell more stories of the followers of Jesus who had left Jerusalem because of the persecution led by Saul, who is also called Paul. Soon, however, Paul found himself knocked off his horse while he was traveling to Damascus to chase down some Christ-followers, and he had his own personal encounter with the risen Lord that changed everything for him. His heart and mind were changed, and his way of life followed suit. He began to proclaim the good news of Jesus, even to people who were still afraid of him as he had been their persecutor until just a few days ago! Around this same time, Peter was praying on the rooftop when he saw a vision of many animals, and heard the voice of God say “what I have called clean, you must not call unclean.” When his vision ended, a knock on the door brought messengers from a Gentile family asking him to come and speak to them, and while he was telling the story of Jesus to them, the Holy Spirit filled them all just as it had on the first Pentecost morning. Peter then explained to anyone who would listen that God was at work among the Gentiles and he would be following God’s lead in that mission. We pick up the story today in Antioch, where Paul was leading a new church community made up mostly of Gentiles who had come to follow Jesus. This is Acts chapter 15, and I am reading from the Common English Bible.
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Some people came down from Judea teaching the family of believers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom we’ve received from Moses, you can’t be saved.” Paul and Barnabas took sides against these Judeans and argued strongly against their position.
The church at Antioch appointed Paul, Barnabas, and several others from Antioch to go up to Jerusalem to set this question before the apostles and the elders. The church sent this delegation on their way. They traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling stories about the conversion of the Gentiles to everyone. Their reports thrilled the brothers and sisters. When they arrived in Jerusalem, the church, the apostles, and the elders all welcomed them. They gave a full report of what God had accomplished through their activity. Some believers from among the Pharisees stood up and claimed, “The Gentiles must be circumcised. They must be required to keep the Law from Moses.”
The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter. After much debate, Peter stood and addressed them, “Fellow believers, you know that, early on, God chose me from among you as the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and come to believe. God, who knows people’s deepest thoughts and desires, confirmed this by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, but purified their deepest thoughts and desires through faith. Why then are you now challenging God by placing a burden on the shoulders of these disciples that neither we nor our ancestors could bear? On the contrary, we believe that we and they are saved in the same way, by the grace of the Lord Jesus.”
The entire assembly fell quiet as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describe all the signs and wonders God did among the Gentiles through their activity. When Barnabas and Paul also fell silent, James responded, “Fellow believers, listen to me. Simon reported how, in his kindness, God came to the Gentiles in the first place, to raise up from them a people of God. The prophets’ words agree with this; as it is written,
After this I will return,
and I will rebuild David’s fallen tent;
I will rebuild what has been torn down.
I will restore it
so that the rest of humanity will seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who belong to me.
The Lord says this, the one who does these things
known from earliest times.
“Therefore, I conclude that we shouldn’t create problems for Gentiles who turn to God. Instead, we should write a letter, telling them to avoid the pollution associated with idols, sexual immorality, eating meat from strangled animals, and consuming blood. After all, Moses has been proclaimed in every city for a long time, and is read aloud every Sabbath in every synagogue.”
The apostles and the elders, along with the entire church, agreed to send some delegates chosen from among themselves to Antioch, together with Paul and Barnabas. They selected Judas Barsabbas and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers and sisters. They were to carry this letter.
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: Like Us, or Like Christ?
This is one of those passages that always elicits a bit of a blank look from people…and many of you may be wondering whether I just had the session clerk read out the minutes of the first church council meeting and the related correspondence. Yes, yes I did.
It was a meeting convened for the purpose of hearing from missionaries who had been summoned 420 miles back to Jerusalem from Antioch to attend the meeting and report on their activities, especially the part about different kinds of people joining the church. The assembly listened to their report, probably wishing for a powerpoint presentation to keep everything straight. There were two different visions of how inclusive the church should be, and the people on each side both made motions which had to be debated on the floor, probably complete with people who rambled a bit, and those who pretended they were asking a question so they could make a statement, and those who didn’t know how to use the microphone. One of the former moderators stood up and told a personal story. And then Paul and Barnabas, who had made the report, closed the debate with their own closing statement.
After the debate, the assembly took time to pray, hear a scripture from the prophets, and listen to a sermon. And then they voted, and the results of the vote were communicated to the churches via letter. Then they commissioned new missionaries to join those who are returning to Antioch, then adjourned and published the minutes.
I always knew the apostles must have been Presbyterians.
One of the beautiful things about the Presbyterian tradition is that we discern the movement of the spirit in community. Just as God, the three in one, is eternally together in a mysterious equal communal relationship, so we the church are also eternally bound together—and we try very hard to also have equality within our communal relationships, listening to one another, hoping to hear the voice of God through the voices of the church. We truly believe that we can best see where the Spirit is moving when we look and listen together.
That first church council meeting may seem far away now, but the problem they were addressing is surprisingly contemporary. They were trying to decide whether new people who joined the Christian community needed to become like the people who were already members, or whether the point of being in community together was that all of us are seeking to become like Christ.
It was a question of assimilation for some, or transformation for all.
In so many ways, that is still the question we are asking about church. In order to be part of a church community, do people need to become like us, those of us who are already here?
The first church members in Jerusalem were concerned that if non-Jews joined the church, they needed to follow the same rules of life or else there’d be a situation where people in the same community led vastly different everyday lives. The Torah gave structure to their week, and helped them know what to eat and what not to eat, what activities to do when, what to do if they encountered various situations or people, and so much more. It was a spiritual guidebook that organised their lives, giving them a faith lens on every aspect of life. It was a whole worldview that these new people did not have, and the original members insisted they needed to learn. After all, how could they be in community with people whose experience of God in everyday life was different?
It’s sometimes easy to say “change happens” and to forget that with change comes grief. Those original members had a sense of loss — because if new people joined without having to do all the things that they did to come close to God, then they would also be losing that easy shorthand they could do with each other, and the expectations they’d never had to articulate before would now have to be said, and the whole community would no longer have shared story of who they were and how they got here and what they were called to do.
What if people join in online ministry but don’t have any attachment to our church building? What if people participate in youth activities but not in Sunday worship? What if people whose life experience, or accent, or clothes, or family background is really different want to come to church? What if people want to be part of our Christian community but they don’t understand or even care very much about our favourite traditions?
This story of the first church council meeting and the grief that comes with letting go of our desire for assimilation in order that we can receive the gift of all being transformed in Christlikeness together is a story that has played out throughout history. From the beginning, there has been a challenge of continuity — how does our faith evolve, as God continues to do new things in and through the world?
I heard a sermon once by Otis Moss III in which he used the metaphor of a remix—where you take an old song and make it new, maybe with new instrumentation, different voices, or using new technology. He argued that when we see the whole arc of scripture, we see God’s people constantly making remixes—Joshua is a remix of Moses, Paul is a remix of Jesus, and so on. The same is true in the church through the centuries: that we have taken the same essential message and told it in different ways. We can see it already in this first Council meeting, as Peter points out that in all the arguing about whether or not new Christians have to also be physically made into new Jews, points out the core reality: “we will all be saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”…and then James reminds us that God has been telling this story from the beginning.
This message is the lyrics and basic melody of the song. It’s the unchanging part. All around those lyrics, we might make new chord progressions, use different ways of playing the melody, add in new effects, but the message is the same: all of us are saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this remix, the council agrees that it is not necessary for people who want to follow Jesus to first be circumcised and follow Moses. They go for a more inclusive option, letting go of some old rules and practices that are not, in and of themselves, the message. It is necessary to hear the stories and to hold fast to the first commandment, and so they lay out the things that means in their time: no engaging in the rituals of the pagan temples and feasts, which included temple prostitution and acting on behalf of idols in consuming offerings made to them.
We hear the admonition to stay away from the rituals of temple prostitution and strangled offerings and blood and think “hey, that’s pretty easy!” It’s worth remembering that just as the gospel message can be remixed through the years, so can the temptations that draw us away from Christ, especially in the area of the first commandment against idolatry. The big issue of society was whether or not one participated in the rituals that made it possible to live safely and prosperously in the empire, and it still is…but now our idolatry seems to take much more insidious forms than whether we attend a pagan feast. Perhaps today the elders would write to the churches to abstain from white supremacy, or militant nationalism, or products made by low wage workers chained to sewing machines. After all, the temple prostitutes and bloody offerings were a part of the way things were, but they were also practices that drew them away from focusing on Christ, no matter what their intentions may have been. Anything that takes precedence over God in our priority list is an idol, including our own desires or security, and the council is clear that we are to abstain from anything polluted by idols. How much of our economy, our political system, our social structures, even our church traditions, are polluted by idols?
In the end, though, there is still the core message: no matter what mistakes we make along the way, nothing can separate us from God’s love—we are all saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. His grace and love crosses lines of generation and ethnicity and politics and length of membership and favourite style of music. And we are all meant to be ever more like him, not demanding that others become ever more like us first. What might happen if we followed the Spirit to yet another remix of the old old story?
The Council sent their message back to the church in Antioch, and the story continued to spread. The followers of Christ didn’t sit in their buildings waiting for people to come to them, they looked for where God was already working, even in places they didn’t think God ought to be. They followed the Spirit’s movement and went out to meet people where they were and joined them in the mission to become like Christ and to transform the world toward the kingdom of God.
May it be so. Amen.
Hymn 522: The Church is Wherever God’s People Are
Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
Living God,
You are at work, and we give you thanks.
We offer our gratitude for the many ways you reach across our boundaries
and break down the boxes we have built for each other and for you.
We pray for all who have been boxed out of community by our human rules.
We pray for all who have been boxed in by our expectations.
May our community be more like your Body each day.
We pray for a world that has been so fractured and fragmented, as we have made distinctions and divisions between us and them.
We pray for a world that speaks of wholeness, healing, and peace, yet does not pursue it.
May we remember your call, and be re-membered by your love and justice.
We pray for those who are anxious, especially in these times of big change.
We pray for those who are tired of advocating for themselves and wish change would come faster.
May they be upheld by your persistence and comforted by your love.
We pray for places where violence is a first resort instead of last.
We pray for victims who suffer and for perpetrators who have lost sight of our shared humanity.
May your peace that passes all understanding fill our hearts, our homes, our world.
We pray for people who have big stories of your goodness to tell.
We pray for people who are still learning to speak of the grace they have seen.
We pray for people who need to hear, and who want to hear, and who are learning to listen.
May your word echo through this space between us, that we might come to trust.
We ask these and all things in the name of the One
who heals all division, re-members us into his Body, and renews all life:
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.
Benediction
Friends, go into your week looking for where God is at work, and make it a point to join in the mission that we all might become more like Christ together. 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 (in person only)
Announcements
* NEXT SUNDAY, the 9th of May, we will welcome the Rt. Rev. Dr. Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, to lead us in in-person worship. The online/print/telephone service will be slightly different, as it will be the service he curates each week for use across the nation.
* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) and we also meet in person, subject to the usual protocols for distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing, and no singing yet. We can welcome approximately 33 people for worship, so if you would like to come in person, please phone Cameron (630879) on a MONDAY afternoon between 1-3pm or Anne Love (07904 617283) on a Saturday morning between 10-12 to book a place.
* Young Adult Bible Study is on Zoom at 1pm, we are reading through the Gospel According to Mark. Contact Teri for login details.
* Tonight we will gather with Christians across the nation for evening prayer on the Connect Facebook Page. Teri and David are leading tonight’s service, log on at 6:58pm to join in.
* 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 stay safe!
* The theme for worship during the season of Easter is “Re-membering” — being put back together as a community, perhaps in new ways! Easter is a season that lasts 50 days, from Easter Day until Pentecost.
* 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!
* May includes Christian Aid week! While door to door collections, book sales, and coffee mornings are not possible, Christian Aid is encouraging us to undertake a month-long sponsored walk. Can you, or a group/family, commit to walking 300,000 steps during the month of May? It’s around 10,000 steps per day. Get some sponsors and get walking — together we can become more fit and also help people most in need. You can collect your sponsorships in an envelope and send them to the church for forwarding to christian aid, or you can collect donations online. If you need help with that, contact Teri.