Sunday service for 14 May 2023, sixth Sunday of Easter

Sunday 14 May 2023, NL1-43, Sixth Sunday of Easter, Youth Service
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Sanctuary Prelude Music: Praise Band

Welcome and Announcements

Sanctuary Processional Hymn 422: Christ is Alive, and the Universe Must Celebrate

Call to Worship (Anchor Boys)
One: Come and celebrate what God has done!
All: God welcomes all, gives us peace, and sets us on a firm foundation.
One: Come with your whole self, just as you are.
All: God is Love, and God’s love is for us, here and now.
One: Come into the presence of our Holy God!
All: We come, because through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we belong.

Sanctuary Hymn: God Welcomes All (a cappella, Teri; by John L Bell)

Prayer (Brownies)
Creator God,
in love you made us
and in love you brought us into relationship with you,
making space for us to stand before you without fear —
not by our own goodness but by your faithfulness.
We pray you would pour your love into our hearts again this day,
that we may grow in the hope that leads to resurrection life.

Loving God,
we have tried so hard to justify ourselves.
We’ve done everything we can to earn our place,
and made excuses about the rest.
Forgive us for not believing you when you said it was your gift to give,
and ours to live.
We’ve bought the lies of power and wealth,
and wished we had more.
Forgive us for trusting the false peace of this world,
rejecting the deeper wholeness you offer.
We’ve looked down on people, and looked up to others,
believing some are worthy and others are not.
Forgive us for thinking ourselves better than your Son
who came to live and die and live again for all people.
You have reconciled us to yourself, O God,
and we pray now that you would fill us with Christ’s resurrection life,
that all may see your love and we may live for your glory.
Amen.

Online Hymn 153: Great is Thy Faithfulness

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Reading: Romans 3:28-30, 5:1-11 (Common English Bible) (Guides)
We consider that a person is treated as righteous by faith, apart from what is accomplished under the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t God the God of Gentiles also? Yes, God is also the God of Gentiles. Since God is one, then the one who makes the circumcised righteous by faith will also make the one who isn’t circumcised righteous through faith.

Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

While we were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people. It isn’t often that someone will die for a righteous person, though maybe someone might dare to die for a good person. But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. So, now that we have been made righteous by his blood, we can be even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. If we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son while we were still enemies, now that we have been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by his life? And not only that: we even take pride in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the one through whom we now have a restored relationship with God.

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: Proud
Let’s talk about this business of pride.

There are plenty of things we can rightfully be proud of — when we have worked hard for something and achieved it, when we’ve tried our best even if the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, when we’ve been faithful through difficult times. Sometimes we might be proud of other people, as often parents and teachers and youth leaders are proud of children and young people as we watch you grow into the people you were created to be, and sometimes we might even be proud of ourselves for whatever small role we have played in that growth.

There are times when we’re not proud of ourselves, too — when we know we’ve done the wrong thing, or hurt someone’s feelings, or not given our best for some reason.

It’s a little weird to think about being proud of something when it comes to our faith, though. What would that even mean?

Paul was writing this letter to people he had never met before, trying to encourage them because they were a small church community in the midst of a big city. The church had big dreams, and wanted to do what God wanted for them, but they were just a handful of people in the midst of the capital city. They weren’t the powerful people in town, and in fact people looked down on them for being Jesus-followers when everyone else was part of groups that helped them make money or meet powerful friends. But this small church thought that God’s word was true, and that Jesus had been raised from the dead, and they wanted to be a part of that kind of power instead. So they kept meeting together, they kept doing their best, they kept trying to encourage others to do what was right instead of what was easy or convenient, trying to change things that were unjust in their city even though they were just a small group of people.

So why would Paul be talking about pride? Especially since it’s pretty clear from the way he’s been writing that it’s God who has done amazing things. It’s God who is bringing together all kinds of people, not just one nation or one type of person or just like-minded people like we might choose for ourselves. It’s Jesus’ faithfulness that has made it possible for us to have a close relationship with God, not our own right thinking or believing. It’s God’s love that the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts, not our own love starting from scratch.

He writes that we take pride in God…that our pride is not about what we can do, but about what God can do. It feels weird to be proud of something that we actually can’t take any credit for! Because then we have to admit that actually, even the things we can take credit for, if we dig deeper, are rooted in something bigger than us. All our achievements are actually built on gifts we have been given — whether that’s the gift of creation, of talents and skills that we can use, the gift of our community and the foundations they built and opportunities provided for us, the teachers who have shared their knowledge and skills with us, the people who have encouraged us, even simple stuff like the roads and buildings and infrastructure built by previous generations that we now take for granted. Everything we are able to achieve, everything of our own effort that we are rightly proud of, is built on a foundation we can’t take any credit for, all the way down to the foundation of the world, which is that God’s love is poured into our hearts, and we only love because God loved us first. We breathe because God breathed in us first. We can only be faithful because God was faithful first.

And if the thing we are proud of is actually a thing we can’t take credit for because the credit belongs to God, then it makes us more mindful of the fact that God’s gifts have not been only for us, or only for people like us, but for everyone, and since it isn’t ours we can’t restrict who God gives to! God welcomes all, God’s love is for everyone, God is the God of all, not just some, which means we don’t get to think of ourselves as better or more special or more loved than anyone else. But we also don’t get to think of ourselves as worse or less than anyone else. Because of who God is and what Jesus has done, we are invited to see ourselves the way God sees us: you are enough. You can’t make God love you through your own accomplishments. You are already given God’s love and you are already welcome in God’s family, not because you did a good job but because God did a good job, and you can be proud of being part of this big picture God is still doing.

Now there’s something else Paul says we can take pride in, and it might be even more difficult than the first one. He says we can take pride in our problems, because trouble, or suffering, produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope.

Maybe we have known some people who seemed to take pride in their suffering…like those who enjoy complaining and want people to pay attention to them, and maybe even believe that their suffering now makes them more like Jesus or more likely to get a heavenly reward. That is not what Paul means by taking pride in our problems.

I think one clue to what he does mean is actually in the way we’ve talked about the other pride he’s mentioned — that this isn’t about pride in something we have done, but about recognising that God is at work in a bigger picture than just us. Our pain is a real thing and we should never pretend it isn’t. And we should never compare our pain to others — sometimes I hear people say “oh, but other people have it much worse” which may or may not be true, but it’s irrelevant because we are only in the midst of our own experience, not the other person’s experience. But sometimes, just as we can see how God’s gifts have helped us to achieve things we couldn’t have done entirely on our own, we can also look back after a time of trouble and see how we have grown, and how God has been with us even in the hard times.

In the moment, of course, we are not thinking about growth or learning opportunities. We endure suffering, just trying to get through it. Though as I pointed out when the Company Section asked me about this, it’s a little bit like that saying “time heals all wounds” — that isn’t really true, it isn’t the time itself that heals, it’s what we do during that time. And I think the same is true of difficulty. When we are in the midst of trouble, the question is how we get through it. Do we just lie down and wait for it to be over? Do we give up and hope someone else will fix it? Do we try different things and see what happens? Do we just keep swimming, trusting that there is a brighter day ahead? The way we approach that time matters. Because the truth is that God is with us in the middle of it, all the time, no matter which approach we take. But some approaches will be healthier for us, and some will help us see God’s guidance a bit better, and some will keep us stuck. Sometimes we might have to take different approaches at different times — it might be that our mental or physical health is poor enough that we just have to lie down for a while and let someone else take over for a bit. Or it might be that just keeping going, getting on with it, is actually keeping us stuck in old ways that are hurting us. But how we respond when hard times come — because they will come! — will have an effect on what our endurance looks like.

Maybe the endurance helps us grow stronger, like a runner who runs a little more every week until they’re ready for a marathon. When that happens, then God is helping us develop character as a person who will be able to help others who aren’t yet resilient. Maybe the character that grows from our endurance is more like a thick skin, and it helps us let go of hurtful words so that we can do the hard work of changing the world even when some people don’t like us for it. Maybe our endurance training will teach us how to wait for God’s right moment, without jumping at every opportunity that comes, because sometimes they aren’t right for us, and we have to learn patience for God’s timing.

We only really see this looking back — in the moment, it might all just feel terrible. And that’s okay. It’s in looking back that we can see how God is with us, working in us to help us become the people we are meant to be. And because we learn about how God has worked through those hard times when we look back, that’s also when we learn to have hope for the future. Because we can see that God has been faithful, even in circumstances we didn’t want to experience, then when we turn our eyes forward we can trust God will be faithful in the future too. And next time trouble comes, we face it with a little more hope than we did before, because we recognise God is always with us through it all, and we have been growing — growing in God’s image, growing in faithfulness, growing in endurance, growing into who God made us to be, growing into hope. And we can be proud of that.

May it be so. Amen.

Hymn: Never Once (Matt Redman / praise band)

Offering (Sanctuary only)

Sanctuary Offering Response 420 verse 4 (tune: Lasst uns erfreuen)

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer (Junior & Company Section)
Gracious God, we thank you for your love that does not choose favourites
but fills the earth with your goodness.
We give thanks this day for those who have passed your love on to us,
for all who have nurtured us in your word,
and who have encouraged us and let us encourage them.
We give you thanks that in your eyes, each of us is enough,
and you welcome us as we are,
to stand in your grace and experience your peace.

You, Lord, are God of every nation and people,
and so this day we pray for peace among the nations.
We cry out for an end to conflict, and also for the building of justice,
for communities that practice compassion and kindness,
and for the determination to care for the earth so that all people have enough.

We pray for those who are suffering,
that they may know your presence with them and sense your care.
We pray, too, for your Body — for when one member suffers, all suffer together,
and so we ask for the grace to reach out with compassion and with help,
without platitudes or clichés,
trusting your love to flow through us.

We offer our prayers for those whose patience is wearing thin,
who are tired of enduring, and long for progress toward healing,
for bodies
and minds
and communities
and nations
and the earth.
May there be growth and movement toward a better future
that looks ever more like your kingdom vision.

We lift up this day especially
young people who are discerning who they are,
whose character is being formed,
that they may know themselves in your image,
and surround themselves with people, ideas, and opportunities
to grow into the people you would have them be,
to serve and lead, to be generous and kind,
to build one another up and move the world toward abundant life.

And we pray this day for those who hope, O God,
and for those who have lost hope.
When we have hit the bottom, may we find your hope there holding us up.
When we dig down deep, may we find your hope welling up inside us.
You have promised that hope does not disappoint us,
and so we look to you,
praying you would show a way forward when all seems lost,
a breath of possibility when other doors have closed,
just enough light for the next step.

In this world where we so often feel we are not enough —
not good enough, fast enough, smart enough, pretty enough, fit enough, rich enough —
you declare that in Christ,
we belong.
We give you thanks for making a place for us in your family,
and for giving us all we need to fulfil your plans for us.
Help us to recognise your gifts, and to use them well,
for the building of your kingdom on earth.
We ask in the name of the Risen One
who brings us into fullness of life through his own life among us,
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 256: May the God of Hope Go With Us Every Day

Sanctuary Hymn 703
God save our gracious King,
long live our noble King;
God save the King!
Send him victorious,
happy and glorious,
long to reign over us:
God save the King!

Not on this land alone,
but be God’s mercies known
from shore to shore.
Lord, make the nations see
that all should kindred be,
and form one family
the wide world o’er.

Benediction (Smurfs?)
May you know and live from God’s love poured into your heart this day, and evermore.
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

* The Spring 2023 Church Notes are now available, click here! Many thanks to Notes editor, elder Seonaid Knox!

*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!

* In March Starter Packs provided packs to 57 homes within these homes were 30 single people, 27 families including 45 children and in April the figures were 44 homes within these homes were 29 single people,15 families including 24 children. As well of the monthly focus of toilet roll, kitchen roll, washing up liquid and cleaning cloths we are short of shampoo, shaving foam, razors and bathroom and kitchen cleaner. You can bring donations to church and leave them in the collection box inside the front door.

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

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

*We look forward to celebrating the weddings of Paul Mulvaney & Allison Crighton on Friday the 19th of May at 2pm, and Alan Marshall & Sharon McKinnon on Saturday the 20th of May at 2pm.

*The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland meets from the 20th – 25th of May, in Edinburgh and online. You are invited to pray for the Assembly and to follow along on the live stream. Teri will be attending as a commissioner this year, so if you have a pastoral need during the Assembly, please contact your elder or Cameron.

*Looking Ahead: St John’s Summer Exploratorium, our new summer holiday club for P1- P7 children, will be from 24-28 July, 9am – 1pm. More information and registration will be available soon. If you would be interested in helping with advance preparation (decorating, advertising, etc), or during the week in the kitchen (breakfast club from 8:30am, or lunch), or during the week with the programme (which requires being added to our Safeguarding/PVG register), please speak to Teri or Graham Bolster.

*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 22 May, sixth Sunday of Easter

22 May 2022, Easter 6
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music (sanctuary only)

Welcome

Call to Worship
1: We give thanks for you!
2: And we give thanks for you!
1: Seeing you brings joy, for together we share in God’s grace.
2: Seeing you brings hope, for together we share so many stories we can build on.
1: We hold you in our hearts, praying that you may know life in all its fullness.
2: We hold you in our hearts, praying that you may bear fruit for Christ’s kingdom.
All: May you overflow with love more and more, as together we seek God’s face.

Prayer
Glory be to you, O God,
for you bring your work to fruition,
in your time.
We praise you, Lord Jesus Christ,
for you call all people to share in your good news,
in every place.
We rejoice in you, Holy Spirit,
for you give gifts, seen and unseen,
in your wisdom.
Wherever we find ourselves today, and however we arrived at this moment,
lead us through your love to your way.
You call us to share your good news, and to let you handle the rest.
We confess that we are prone to distraction,
comparing ourselves to others,
wondering how to copy them or judging their methods.
We admit that we allow this spirit of comparison
to steal both our joy and our focus,
and so come to believe we are not prepared enough
to join in your kingdom work
when we don’t have everything those other places have.
Forgive us for taking our eyes off you.
Forgive us for our simultaneous jealousy and judgment.
Forgive us for hesitating to follow you because we can’t do it the way others do.
Remind us again that it is your work in us,
your love made known through us,
your word spoken through our voices,
and strengthen our weakness that we may serve you with joy.
We ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

Online Hymn: Hallelujah, Christ is Risen (Resound Worship)
Sanctuary hymn 415: This Joyful Eastertide

Sanctuary: Children’s Time and Song: Hallelujah Christ is Risen

Reading: Philippians 1.1-18a (New Revised Standard Version)

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.

Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defence of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.

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: overflow with love
I wonder how often we look around our church and give thanks to God for each other? Do we call our fellow Christians to mind and feel joy when we think about each other?

Sometimes it can feel like Christian community is hard work. Being fully present ourselves, being real with each other, can feel vulnerable…and add in doing so with people who have every personality quirk you can imagine and it quickly becomes tricky. It’s easier to stay around the edges and not get involved, because the relationships require energy we may not always feel we have to give.

And yet here is Paul telling a Christian community that they bring him joy. That he is grateful every time he thinks about them. We know that can’t possibly be true — every single time? Every thought brings joy and gratitude? Really? I’m pretty sure I’m the only one lucky enough to have a church where every thought inspires joy. The rest of the letter implies there might be a few moments along the way when his thoughts have been less happy. But still…what if we tried it out? What if every day we thought of someone else in the church, and thanked God for them? Even the people who try our patience?

Perhaps take a moment just now and look around, either around the room or around your mental image of the church family. When your attention is pulled to one person, just close your eyes and thank God for them, and offer a wee prayer for that person. Even if you aren’t sure of their name, just hold their face in your mind and be grateful for them for a moment.

…
…

Imagine how different our experience of the world could be, if we spent time giving thanks for one another. If we spent time praying for each other to overflow with love more and more. If we spent less time wondering about people’s motives, and more time looking for how Christ can be made known even in ways we wouldn’t have personally preferred. If we were intent on participating in the good work that God has started in us, and let God be at work in other people in other ways.

Several months ago I was at a Presbytery Planning committee meeting and as we were trying to prepare for the very hard work ahead, working toward a new way of doing God’s mission in our Presbytery and across the nation, discerning where we need church buildings and ministers and where we need new forms of christian witness and community, I asked “is there any chance that everyone will behave like Christians through this process?” I took it as a bad sign when the rest of the committee laughed. Nonetheless I have decided to pray every day that all our churches may overflow with love more and more, and I invite you to join me in that prayer — for ourselves, for the other churches in our presbytery, and for the whole Body of Christ in Scotland and around the world. That as we face some big changes in the world and the church, as we try to bring the good news of Jesus Christ into a culture that finds church irrelevant at best and harmful at worst, that our love might overflow more and more.

The thing about overflowing, as we saw in the children’s time, is that it’s messy. Most of the time we try to contain things, not let them overflow. When a river overflows its banks, damage occurs. When the sink or bath overflows, there’s a lot to clean up. When we pour too much into the teacup or the pint glass, we waste something delicious, drip everywhere we go, and everything gets sticky. Overflowing makes a mess. That’s why people didn’t want to allow resurrection, too — when life overflows the tomb, it makes a mess of everything we thought we understood, it messes up the boundaries and rules we use to confine ourselves and others, and it costs a lot as it demands we live differently in light of resurrection power.

But Paul prays that our love would overflow more and more. I hope we will all be praying for love that overflows more and more…not just through the process of Presbytery planning, but as we discern how to participate in the work God started among us, right here in our own community. What is the mission God is doing here, and how is God still doing it, and calling us to do it? The promise is that the work will be completed in good time…but that will mean we need to join in with the Spirit’s help to do the task.

Figuring out what God is doing, and then joining in, can sometimes feel daunting. But Paul says that’s what happens when our love overflows more and more. It isn’t just that we feel nice warm fuzzies for people. He prays that love may overflow more and more with knowledge and insight to know what is best to do. Not what is best to think, or best to talk about, or even best to pray — what is best to do, to produce fruit for God’s kingdom.

When we love more, we will also know more. And that knowledge will lead us to more love, or else it isn’t true spiritual knowledge. When we love more, we will understand more, and that understanding will be about how to love more. When we love more, we will recognise what is ours to do, and what we will do is love more. When we love more, God’s mission will become clearer and clearer, and that mission is to bring everyone into the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

So on the one hand, overflowing is messy. But on the other hand, it leads to hope, peace, justice, grace…overflowing love makes the world more beautiful, even if it seems a bit of a mess along the way.

We like things to be orderly, because we’re Presbyterians. But sometimes we can’t plan our way out of the mess. The only way is through — with love. If we try to get through without love, all we get in the end is sarcastic laughter at the thought of Christians behaving like Christ. But with love overflowing more and more, with study that leads to more love for God and love for neighbour, with insight into how God’s love reaches out to us and through us to others…we may just find ourselves producing a harvest for God’s kingdom.

May you overflow with love more and more.
Amen.

Online Hymn 519: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Sanctuary Hymn: For All the Saints Who Show Your Love (John Bell, tune: Tallis Canon)
For all the saints who show your love
in how they live and where they move,
for mindful women, caring men,
accept our gratitude again.

For all the saints who love your name,
whose faith increased their Saviour’s fame,
who sing your songs and share your word,
accept our gratitude, good Lord.

For all the saints who name your will,
and see your kingdom coming still
through selfless protest, prayer and praise,
accept the gratitude we raise.

Bless all whose will or name or love
reflects the grace of heaven above.
Though unclaimed by earthly powers,
your life through theirs has hallowed ours.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
With grateful hearts we come, loving God,
offering you our joy for those who have shared this life with us.
For all those who have shown us love and grace,
for all those who have taught us the way of justice and peace,
for all those who have surrounded us with their prayers and hope.
We remember with joy the great cloud of witnesses
whose stories are intertwined with ours,
and we lift them to you — in memory, in prayer, in gratitude.

With longing hearts we come, loving God,
offering you our compassion for those who are struggling in these days.
For those who do not experience love,
for those whose daily lives are marked by pain in body, mind, or spirit,
for those who cannot rest as war rages around them.
We remember with sorrow those whose stories are not deemed newsworthy,
who must simply wait through each day without hope,
and we lift these all to you — for your justice, your courage, your healing.

With confident hearts we come, loving God,
offering you ourselves,
for the work of your kingdom right in front of us,
for the good news our own literal neighbours need to hear,
for the changes that could make the world better in our town.
We remember with a mix of trepidation and trust
that you need us just where we are,
and we lift our eyes to you — that you may reveal your gifts and your calling to us today.

We especially pray today for the work of the General Assembly in the coming week.
May all the elders and ministers and staff
have minds open to discern your Spirit moving in their midst,
hands open to join in the work of your kingdom,
hearts open to let love overflow more and more.

Keep us close, in your loving connection,
with you and all your people, indeed with all creation,
and continue your good work until the world recognises your kingdom on earth as in heaven.
We pray boldly in the name of Christ, and as he taught us to pray:
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 519: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Benediction
May your love overflow more and more! May the knowledge of God, the work of Christ, and the insight of the Holy Spirit bring the kingdom to fruition in you, 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 (sanctuary only)

Announcements
* Happy Easter! Easter is a season that lasts for 50 days, so we will be celebrating resurrection for a couple more 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 donate to members of 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 Tuesday evening this week — meet at the top of Bath Street beside the church at 7:30, or at the cenotaph at 7:35, 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 David. 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.

* The annual meeting of the congregation will take place during sanctuary worship on 12 June. You can find the annual finance report by clicking here. If you have any questions, please let Cameron, Teri, or Peter know by the 6th of June if possible so they can be answered for everyone both in the building and online. (there will still be an opportunity to ask questions during the meeting as well.)

* The Kirk Session will meet after worship on Sunday 12 June, with a light lunch provided.

Sunday Service for 9 May 2021, sixth Sunday of Easter

Sunday Service for 9 May 2021, Sixth Sunday of Easter
Prepared by Rt. Rev. Dr. Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly

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.

Taking part in today’s service is

The Right Reverend Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly
Rev Heather Stewart, OLM & Presbytery Clerk, Caithness
Ellie, Temple Anniesland, Glasgow
Philipe Teixeira, Youth Worker, Sandyford Henderson, Glasgow
Rev Fiona Gardner, Temple Anniesland, Glasgow
Rev Andrew Barrie, Pultneytown & Thrumster, Wick

With music Ellon Parish Church, Fischy Music and Dunblane Cathedral Choir

~~~~

Introduction – The Right Reverend Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly

Hi everybody and welcome to worship.

As I’m recording this, last Sunday, I was in a church in person and it was wonderful to be back physically with others as we worshipped. But the church in question that was the first Sunday they had been open since the middle of March last year throughout all of that pandemic period. And I spoke to a woman that I met after the service and she said to me how much she had appreciated these digital services, that had been her lifeline to worship. And she spoke so appreciatively of the different folks that have taken part in the service, folks from all across the church and from all across Scotland.

So let me say today, as we begin a big thank you to those who are contributing to today service and to those who throughout all this period have given of themselves to make these services possible. And as I’ve said, week in and week out a real thank you to the tech team behind the scenes. Their job is a very important one though you never get to see them, without them, we would be nowhere at all.

So this is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it as we worship God together.

Song 1 – I will offer up my life – Ellon Parish Church

I will offer up my life In spirit and truth
Pouring out the oil of love
As my worship to You
In surrender I must give my every part
Lord receive the sacrifice
Of a broken heart

Jesus what can I give what can I bring
To so faithful a friend to so loving a King
Saviour what can be said what can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done
Oh my words could not tell not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart

You deserve my every breath
For You’ve paid the great cost
Giving up Your life to death
Even death on a cross
You took all my shame away
There defeated my sin
Opened up the gates of heaven
And have beckoned me in

Prayer of Approach – Rev Heather Stewart, OLM & Presbytery Clerk, Caithness

Lord of all being, throned a far, your glory flames from sun and star centre and soul of every sphere yet to each loving heart how near, let us pray.

Lord, we come today from all walks of life and different backgrounds and ages to worship our God who is Lord of creation. And we are amazed at your handiwork, the majesty of towering mountains and lowly valleys, of raging seas and trickling burns, of the delicate flowers and the mighty trees. We are amazed at the teaming life that occupies our planet earth, a place for every creature of land, air, and sea and yet out of all creation you chose human beings to have an intimate relationship with you.

Lord God, through your son, Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, you made known to us the greatness of your love, a love that is utterly reliable and encompasses everyone. That love understands that while some of us are full of joy this morning and eager to worship, that some are burdened down with the stresses of daily living. Some are wearied from tasks of serving and caring for others. Some of us are worried about what the future holds.

Thank you that you understand this Lord and you long for us to know that Jesus wants to take our burdens and set us free so we may experience the fullness of life that he promises. Such love frees us from the mistakes of the past, strengthens us in the present and enables us to look forward in hope.

So God in this time of worship today help us to respond to your call, to be followers of Jesus and to demonstrate that selfless love within the church and in our communities so that others will come to know the love of God for themselves.

And now we join together in saying the words that Jesus taught his disciples to say.

Our father in heaven, hollowed 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 save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever, amen.

Scripture Reading – Ellie, Temple Anniesland, Glasgow John 15:9-17

“As the father has loved me so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love just as I kept my father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

My command is this, love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends for everything I’ve learned from my father, I’ve made known to you. Y ou did not choose me but I have chose you and appointed you so that you may go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And so, whatever you ask in my name my father will give you.

This is my command, love each other.”

All Age Talk – Philipe Teixeira, Youth Worker, Sandyford Henderson, Glasgow

Hello, hello, boys and girls. I hope you’re all well.

Today, we’re going to do something really exciting. We’re going to learn something really important, a commandment from Jesus himself.

The word of God, the Bible in the book of John 15:12-13 say this. “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” When Jesus revealed his commandment to us to love one another, Jesus also gave us the solution to fulfil this commandment which is to give our lives for our friends.

But to give our lives for our friends does not mean only to die for our friends but to experience the love of God at all times, in all circumstances in spite of regrets in health, in illness, in joy or in sadness. Giving life is also not being mean with your school friends, not bullying your friends, giving attention, affection, comfort, good advice, assistance, and protection. It’s giving and not asking for it back. It’s helping and not looking for a reward for what we do. It’s truly loving one another as Jesus commanded.

You know, God’s love is an eternal love and the model of eternal love is Jesus who gave his life for us on the cross. This gospel, the gospel of John, Jesus tells us that his friends are those who keep his commandment. So to make sure that we are friends of Jesus, we need to love one another, we need to love our friends. The commandment of Jesus is love. And if we are living this love, the book of John say that we are no longer servants of Jesus, but friends. How amazing is that?

If we are obedient to Jesus we become his friend, wow. And a friend of Jesus is one who is very close to him in prayer, in intimacy, but above all, the one who act according to his word, the Bible. So boys and girls do you want to be called a friend of Jesus?

If you want to be called a friend of Jesus you need to be obedient to his commandment and love one another as he loved us.

Song 2 – Love, love, love – Fischy Music

Even when you fail the test
Even when you make a mess
Even when you’re tried your best
It’s always gonna be here

Every time you’re feeling strong
Every time you sing a song
Every time you play along
It’s always gonna be here

Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here
Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here
Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here
Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here

Even when it’s such a pain
Even when it’s down the drain.
Even when you feel the strain
It’s always gonna be here

Every time you feel the beat
Every time you move your feet
Every time you’re on the streets
It’s always gonna be here

Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here
Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here
Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here
Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here

Nothing in the world, hey
Nothing in the world, hey
Nothing in the world’s quite like it
Nothing in the world, hey
Nothing in the world, hey
Nothing in the world’s quite like it

Always gonna be, always gonna be
Always gonna be, always gonna be
Always gonna be, always gonna be
Always gonna be here Love, love, love
It’s always gonna be here

Sermon – Rev Fiona Gardner, Temple Anniesland, Glasgow

John chapter 15:9-17, the inspiration and joy of loving one another. Poets and philosophers have long since tried to define the nature of love. But I think words can seem so small when trying to define such a big concept.

Sometimes the words of hymns and praise songs can help like the words of hymn 622. We sing a love that sets all people free. Such a powerful hymn, talking of the love that is a living love that serves without counting the costs, that is unafraid to be itself, that is radiant and brings to our wounds healing grace and the prayer here is for that living love of Christ to live in our hearts today and it is just so beautiful.

Perhaps the most amazing description of love of course, is from 1 Corinthians 13 and this is from the message paraphrase. Love never gives up, love cares more for others than for self, love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have, love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others. Isn’t not always me first. Doesn’t fly off the handle. Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others. Doesn’t revel when others grovel, but takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything. Trust God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies. Another gorgeous description that gives us just an inkling into the power of love. And we’re thinking of these things because we’re thinking of verse nine of our passage where we are confronted with the words of Jesus. I have loved you even as my father has loved you, remain in my love. Jesus loved his disciples as the father has loved him. An extraordinary statement about the nature of love.

When we think of the father’s love for Jesus, so powerful and tender, profound and far-reaching. Even though the father knew that Jesus was going to suffer on the cross to take away the sins of the world, he was willing to allow this so that his love may cascade out through time and space and that same love flows out to us today and touches each of us through his Holy Spirit.

As a parent, it can be so tough watching our children suffer when they have lost their job or when they’re hurting. We want to make everything better for them. But often all we can do is watch and pray to support them as they try and find their own way through to healing. Love is such a strange thing because it’s often not extravagant gestures, but often just small acts of grace or sometimes even refraining from doing something. God had this kind of perfect parental love for his son. And it’s the same quality of love that Jesus had for his disciples. So he calls his disciples his friends to remain in his love and obey his commandments. Commandments summed up in loving God with all your heart and your soul and your mind and your strength and loving your neighbour as yourself. And we’re told that if we do this we can even be filled with joy.

These can be difficult words to hear because many people are not feeling very joyful just now. Even though the virus numbers are down in this country and the restrictions are lessening, there are so many choices and changes, so many worries and pressures, so much suffering and bereavement where people have not had the time and the space to be able to process their grief. So many people are talking of feeling isolated, worrying that they’ve been forgotten by the world and even forgotten by God. And you know, whether we are in a peaceful place today or a more precarious place, we need to be reminded of God’s love and to be able to receive it. We are all wired differently. Many people connect with God through his words, through reading it and finding challenge and comfort in different passages.

Maybe through the struggles of the Psalmist or the promises of our Lord. Sometimes we also receive God’s love by going for a walk, the beauty of creation or listening to a beautiful piece of praise music, or just having space to be still, or we might reflect on how Jesus showed love. Whether it was stopping to speak to a small man up a tree or showing acceptance to the marginalised, or bringing healing to the people with leprosy or the women who were unwell. Maybe we might engage with some Lectio Divina to relish a word that really speaks to us in our specific situation. Or maybe to imagine what it would have been like if we’d been in an encounter with Jesus, what would he have said to us?

You know, God is so generous in his love. There are abundant ways that he has of attracting our attention and reminding us of his incredible and transformational love for each one of us. Being loved by God in Christ is the best thing ever. It brings forgiveness and peace and comfort and identity. And Jesus wants us to know this love and to remain in it, what a wonderful privilege. And if we remain in the father’s love then we can find joy for even when things go wrong we know we are still loved by the father and so we are strengthened and encouraged. We receive that love. And then Jesus tells us to love one another for we are now his friends if we do what he has commanded. So having received God’s love, found ways to remain in that love how do we show it to others? How do we bear lasting fruits?

Loving others with the radical love of Jesus is so beautiful and all encompassing, often costly but it’s so essential to our core, to love in such a way as to be willing to lay down your love for your friends. Think what that might look like. It could be the person caring for a loved one where they give of themselves to make sure that other person is okay. It is a person imprisoned for their faith in China or Cuba, the person working in the care home long hours to seek to show love to others, or someone working for racial justice in America.

I’m sure like many of you I have met amazing people showing love for others. People caring for their foster kids, trying to give them the best start in life. Those looking after people with disabilities or difficult mental illnesses. I am so humbled by people who care deeply for others to spend their lives looking after them. So many Christian people doing amazing things. And wouldn’t it be so wonderful if churches were known for their radical love, rather than at times for their small mindedness and judgmentalism. Jesus is such a wonderful saviour. We need to approach him with reverence. But I also have a wonderful drawing of Jesus in my study and he’s lifting up a child in his arms and both of them are laughing with mutual enjoyment. That picture reminds us that love heals us when we are burned out and exhausted but it also inspires us and gives us joy when we abide in the extraordinary love of Christ we find acceptance and freedom and it brings the rest of our lives into perspective.

At times, I forget, I get bogged down in churchiosity in meetings and minutes. And I know that they’re necessary but at times they sap my energy. And so I continually need to go back to spending time with Jesus abiding in his love, knowing that he calls me to freedom and to loving others. That’s not telling them what to do, but trying to model it, trying to love with abundance, to care for others wellbeing so that God can restore their souls.

I love being a spiritual accompanier. And the idea here is that you don’t get in other’s way but you just facilitate God working and watching a soul rediscovering how much they are loved by God, seeing his love shining in their faces is so incredible even on Zoom. Mother Teresa talks of how so many people feel unloved, uncared for, unwanted. She talks of a poverty of loneliness and spirituality, a hunger for love and a hunger for God. That’s what we see around us just now in the midst of this pandemic. And we have this amazing opportunity of sharing the restorative and joyful love of Jesus Christ with others. So even in the midst of the restrictions and frustration of these days, even in the midst of the turmoil in our lives and the changes in the church, Jesus calls us to remain in his love, to enjoy his love and then go out and share it with others. Maybe not be distracted by everyday frustrations but find new ways of creatively sharing his beautiful and transformative love with all.

May we pray. Gracious God we were lost, but now we’re found. And we seek to remain in your love, to love others with that same life-giving and transformative love that you have shown us. Holy Spirit inspire us we pray to do justice, to offer our lives for your anointing for we ask this for your glory sake and in Jesus name, amen.

Prayer of Intercession – Rev Andrew Barrie, Pultneytown & Thrumster, Wick

Let’s turn to God together and pray again once more in our prayers of intercession.

Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God who is love, we turn to you together now to seek your strengthening and empowering that we would be built in love together as your people. Not only are you love but it is you who has shown us what love is that while we were still sinners Christ died for us, that costly sacrificial determined love which is for the other, that love which we know and it’s the very joy of our hearts and the foundation of all of our life in him. That love which has changed us and welcomed us in the gospel and is always bearing fruit.

Help us by the Holy Spirit we ask to grow in that fruit of love as we continue to abide in Christ. Prune us, that we may grow in obedience to Christ, bearing fruit that will last, the fruit of righteousness and holiness putting off the old self and old loves to grow and mature in Christ. Renew us that we would show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, that we might fulfil the command we’ve heard today, love one another.

We ask this obedient growing love would be seen more throughout our denomination that we would be patient and kind not envying or proud. Oh God we pray for this within our congregations, we pray for this between our congregations and in our presbyteries.

As the next general assembly approaches, we pray that our love for you and for one another would lead us to dishonour others or seek ourselves but to honour you. We ask that during the general assembly we would not delight in evil, but rejoice with the truth in full obedience of Christ.

Our father, we also ask that you would help each of us in the week to come. We ask that the love that you have given us and that your working in us would shine out in word, in deed, in attitude, in action that your love might shine through us. Whatever you place before us in this week to come help us to show the same love as Jesus to the least, the lowest and the lost.

In this week after the elections, we ask that as Christians we would be known most of all for this and we would model your love in a counter cultural way especially in a world where there’s such division, frustration and pain. We pray for all those who have been elected to the new Scottish Parliament session, thanking you for them. We ask that you would help them to rule in a way which is wise, just, and good for the whole of the country.

We pray these things in Jesus name, amen.

Song 3 – We sing a love – Dunblane Cathedral Choir

We sing a love that sets all people free
That blows like wind that burns like scorching flame
Enfolds like earth springs up like water clear
Come living love live in our hearts today

We sing a love that seeks another’s good
That longs to serve and not to count the cost
A love that yielding finds itself made new
Come caring love live in our hearts today

We sing a love unflinching unafraid
To be itself despite another’s wrath
A love that stands alone and undismayed
Come strength’ning love live in our hearts today

We sing a love that wand’ring will not rest
Until it finds its way its home its source
Through joy and sadness pressing on refreshed
Come pilgrim love live in our hearts today

We sing a burning fiery Holy Ghost
That seeks out shades of ancient bitterness
Transfiguring these as Christ in ev’ry heart
Come joyful love live in our hearts today

Blessing – The Right Reverend Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly

Now go in peace and may the blessing of God almighty Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you all and remain with you today and forever more, amen.

Announcements

* 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. Karen is leading tonight’s service, log on at 6:58pm to join in.

* 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.

Sunday Service for 17 May 2020, Sixth Sunday of Easter

17 May 2020: 6th Sunday of Easter
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri C Peterson,
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Contact: tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk

Welcome and Announcements
Though we cannot be together in person, we can be together in spirit! Please note the following announcements:

- Children’s Time happens each Sunday morning at 11am on Zoom. If you would like the login details, please contact Teri.
- HEART AND SOUL happens online today at 2pm! You can join in on the Church of Scotland website or Facebook page.
- Churches across Scotland are calling people to join together in prayer on Sunday evenings at 7pm, placing a lit candle in the window and spending time in prayer for others, and we will have a prayer service Live on our Facebook page. In addition, the moderator of our Presbytery has asked us to pause each day at 11am to pray for healing, health care workers, and our community.
- Feel free to share this with others, with the attribution information at the top. If you know someone who does not have access to the internet and who also does not receive the tape ministry, you can either print this service out and share it with them, or let Teri know via email or phone call and we will be sure they receive a printed copy.
- Mid-week there is a devotional email that goes out, it will be printed and included with the following Sunday’s sermon distribution. You can subscribe to the email here.
- Also mid-week there is a facebook live video devotional on the St. John’s Gourock Facebook page.
- We now have a youtube channel! You can subscribe there so you never miss a video. Don’t miss “wine and the word” — an occasional series during the 5pm hour that helps us transition from one part of the day to the next, via reflections similar to those that would normally have been in the “God’s Story, Our Story” take home inserts given out each week.
- If you or a church member you know is in need of friendly phone calls or help with anything while they self-isolate, please contact Teri. Elders are already in contact with people in their districts as well, and you can pass information to them! We are hoping to continue and even deepen our connections to one another, building up the Body of Christ even when we can’t be in the building.
- Parklea has plants for sale! While we can’t have our usual plant sale in the church hall, you can still support this community organisation and get your spring and summer plants by visiting their website.
- Pentecost is coming soon—31 May! If you’d like to download and colour in a Pentecost prayer to hang in your window, you can get one here. We’d love to see them everywhere when we’re out for exercise! Also, midweek just before Pentecost, around the 25th or 26th or so, when you’re out for a walk you might find a Spirit Selfie Station on one of the church doors! Stop and take a selfie and send it to Teri so we can put together a slideshow—both to see each other and to celebrate the Church’s birthday….and to remember that the Church is the people, not the building.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doxology (tune: Old Hundredth)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ all people here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
Praise Triune God, whom we adore!
Amen

Prayer
God of resurrection power,
you called your Son out of the tomb
and in so doing, called the whole creation into new life.
Even now, you call us to join your way of resurrection,
you lift our eyes and raise our hearts,
you transform our minds and renew our spirits.
Bring us once again into awareness of your presence,
that we may offer you our worship,
and be nourished for your kingdom’s work.
We pray in the name of the risen Christ. Amen.

The readings and the sermon are on video here, or the text is below if you prefer to read it yourself!

Reading: Acts 17.1-9 (New Revised Standard Version)

After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.’ Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the market-places they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.’ The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this, and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.

Sermon: A Teachable Spirit (including second reading 1 Thessalonians 1.1-10, NRSV)
(Easter theme: Witness Apprenticeship Programme)

Did you catch what happened there? It’s something that’s actually still happening a lot these days, but it’s sometimes difficult to recognise it when we’re in the middle of everything.

The people who gathered the mob and set the city in an uproar accused the people they were attacking of turning the world upside down. And the ones who were accused, who were not the ones in the mob but rather the ones dragged out of their own house by the mob, ended up in jail and having to pay bail to get out, while the ones who started the riot went away with no consequences.

How often do we see these situations where some people are accusing others of the very thing they are actually the ones doing?

It’s an interesting accusation: these people have been turning the world upside down. They say there is another king besides the emperor.

On the one hand, that’s true! The followers of Jesus do proclaim another king, and following him does require changes to our relationship with the political system of the world. And the followers of the empire recognise the danger, because if too many people start following Jesus instead, then a whole host of things would change…things that currently benefit a few at the expense of the many. Imagine the Roman industrial complex if people loved their neighbour….and also loved their enemy? Imagine the imperial economy if people shared their food and their possessions so that no one went without. Imagine the class structure if landowners paid workers according to their value as people, rather than according to how much wealth they produced for him. Imagine partisan politicking if leaders cared as much about the one lost sheep as the 99 who were safely grazing within sight. Imagine the society pages if children, outcasts, homeless people, widows, the sick, the poor, and the marginalised were all invited to the feast. It would indeed turn the world upside down, and the imperial system couldn’t survive it.

So in a way, the people who started the riot were right. They recognised the truth of what God was doing in Jesus and his followers….the trouble is, they didn’t want any part of it!

If we back up a little bit in the story we just heard, we can see something of how this hard-heartedness happens. Paul and Silas did the thing they had done for their whole lives — they went to synagogue on the Sabbath day. There they worshipped with the community of their fellow Jews, and they preached and taught just as guests were often invited to do. It was during that preaching and teaching that Paul started to turn things upside down.

It says that he spent his sermons “explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead.” That was pretty much the opposite of what Jews had said and taught about their own scriptures for many hundreds of years. He was offering the congregation a brand new interpretation of scripture, changing their traditions, and reshaping everything they thought they knew. Only once their understanding of what the Messiah was had shifted would they be able to see Jesus as the Messiah God had promised. Only once they had let go of their old ways would they be able to enter into this new way God had revealed in Christ.

Some people were open to re-thinking, and they received this teaching and joined in following Jesus. And others could not stretch their imaginations to see how Jesus was the fulfilment of God’s promises.

It’s the ones whose hearts and minds could not stretch and shift, like a new wineskin stretching to accommodate the fermentation of wine, that tried to use other means to hold their rigid position. They could not imagine something new, so they fought instead. They accused, and rioted, and gossiped, and ran the people who were trying to change the tradition out of town.

But just as Christ could not be contained by a tomb, and just as the Holy Spirit cannot be contained in one language or one upper room, the good news of God’s love and promise fulfilled in Jesus cannot be stopped by closed minds and hearts.

So it is true that Paul and Silas and those who joined in the way of Christ with them were turning the world upside down. And it is true that they were disturbing the peace — the Pax Romana, which was only good for some — by proclaiming the far deeper justice of the peace of Christ instead. And the grace of God continued to be alive in that place, even after Paul and Silas moved on, leaving this fledgling community to try to be faithful in the face of opposition, from both the religious authorities who would not countenance the idea of changes to tradition, and the political authorities who understood that their power and socio-economic system were threatened by this new Way.

A bit later, Paul wrote back to the community in Thessalonica to encourage them. In the very beginning of that letter, he wrote:

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

How did this community formed in the midst of a riot end up being an example of faith so great that everyone knew about them, even many miles away? All across the Roman Empire, people had heard about this church and their faithfulness to the Way of Christ. They continued to turn the world upside down, changing not just their minds but their hearts and their way of life — their faith was public.

And all of that because they were open to a new interpretation of their traditions.

So Paul writes to them to remember those early days — the way the Spirit worked in them, the joy of experiencing the truth of God’s amazing grace, the love and faith and courage that sustained them through the difficulties. Remember the feeling of the Spirit opening your heart and mind. Remember the exuberance of fresh, new understanding. Remember how that newfound faith changed everything about your outlook on life. Recapture that excitement, that joy, that hope. Not only has it been an inspiration to others in ways you don’t even know, it will also sustain you in the days to come.

In these days when everything is changing, when we are just beginning to realise that there is no going “back” to the way things were, only forward into a new way, and when we are considering how to prepare to be witnesses for Christ in this changed world, perhaps there is a lesson here. Remember when we were excited about our faith, about trying our best to live a Christian life, about learning more about God’s word and faithfulness and love. Remember…Not so that we can go back to that time, but so that we can recapture that teachable spirit that first allowed grace to transform us.

I think a “teachable spirit” sums up the ethos of that Thessalonian congregation. They had to be willing to shift and change, to re-shape their understanding and their tradition, in order to incorporate the new thing God was doing into their faith and life together. They didn’t rigidly insist that the way they’d always done it, or the way they’d always understood, was the only way. Instead, they were open to the Holy Spirit moving them in a new direction, and that journey of faith changed not just them, but the world around them. It was dangerous to the empire, threatening to the people who used the tradition as a way to hold onto their own power…threatening enough to be worth rioting about!…but it was also a source of hope and courage and peace for those who were ready to experience the goodness of God in a new way. Their witness opened the path to faith for countless others.

What might God do with us, when we decide to have a teachable spirit? When we remember the joy of our early faith, and pray for the gift of openness and flexibility, of readiness to follow where Christ leads…even if that means we have to be willing to re-think the things we thought we already had figured out.

We will need to learn how to be Christ’s body, the Church, in new ways for a new world, making space for new interpretations of the living word, speaking a fresh message…and that might mean re-shaping tradition. We can’t go back, only forward. This may just be the moment when allowing the Spirit to teach and transform us again could lead to a renewal of faith, hope, and love in the whole community, church, nation, and world….and also a moment when having a teachable spirit is itself a witness, showing the world that Christ and his church are not only for the past, and not only for a far-off future, but also for right now: bringing life out of death and light out of the shadows, hope out of despair and joy out of fear…grace, for all.

May it be so. Amen.

Offering Prayer
In Christ you have given us all things, O God, and also called us to give of ourselves, following his way. As we enter into this resurrection life, make our giving a witness to your generosity. May we know the blessings of the kingdom, even as we seek to live in it each day. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

You are invited to place your offering envelope in a safe place until we can meet again. Or, if you haven’t already, to consider setting up a standing order so that your spiritual practice of giving can continue. Please remember: no one will come to your door to collect your offering while the church building is closed! Stay safe.

Offering Response Hymn 410, verse 4
(tune: Easter Hymn, Jesus Christ is Risen Today)

Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
praise eternal as his love; Alleluia!
praise him all you heavenly host, Alleluia!
Father Son and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!

Prayer
We come before you with gratitude, O God,
for you provide so generously, sustaining us all our days.
We give you thanks,
for you place us in your abundant creation,
in communities and families, in nations and in churches.
You have created one human family
to live and flourish in peace.
You give us ways to order our life together
and call us to be faithful to you.
Now give us wisdom to live within your will,
as people saved by your grace.
Guide us as we seek your way,
and lead us in your paths of righteousness.
Give us a teachable spirit,
that we may be open to your leading.

As we walk this path of life and faith, Lord,
we are mindful of your call to love—
across boundaries and traditions,
in spite of distractions and frustrations.
When we have wandered from your way,
settling for the status quo
and believing our way to be the way,
you have called us back, again and again—
through your prophets ancient and modern,
through your Son’s life and death and resurrection,
through your word that continues to speak.
Remind us again, loving God,
that we need each other, and that our hands are yours.
We bear one another’s burdens,
carrying them to you for help.
We lift up this day your people who suffer
in body, mind, or spirit…
And also those who care for them,
on the front lines and behind the scenes.
We pray for peace among all your people,
in the streets of our cities,
in the halls of power, in homes,
in places where violence seems to reign…
We pray for those seeking refuge and help,
and those encountering hostile faces…
We pray for your church in every place,
that we may be one body even in our many members…
We pray for Martin Fair,
the new moderator of the General Assembly,
as he takes up his position in this strange circumstance.
We pray for our nation’s leaders,
that they may seek the good of all,
remembering that just as we do not walk alone,
we do not succeed or fail alone…
Strengthen our compassion, O God,
that we may walk side by side
and find that you are among us,
wherever we find ourselves.

Your Spirit is always on the move, O God.
Make and re-make us,
through your Spirit at work
in our hearts, minds, and lives,
that all may see your kingdom present on earth.
We pray these and all things in the name of Christ,
whose path we walk and whose life we imitate,
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.

Hymn 533: Will You Come and Follow Me

Benediction
As you live this resurrection life, preparing to be a witness to Christ’s love and God’s grace, may you remember the joy and wonder of faith, and may you have a teachable spirit, ready to be transformed by the word of God, living and active even now. And remember: the Spirit of God goes above you to watch over you; the Spirit of God goes beside you to be your companion; the Spirit of God goes before you to show you the way, and behind you — to push you into places you might not go alone; and the Spirit of God goes 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 Response (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.

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