Sunday Service for 2 January 2022
2 January 2022
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
To hear the audio recording of this service, please phone 01475 270037. It’s a local landline number so minutes should be included in your phone plan.
Prelude Music
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
One: Who are you?
All: We are the ones God has called, to tasks large and small.
One: What are you looking for?
1: We are looking for someone who can change things,
2: We are looking for a better future,
3: We are looking for answers to our wonderings,
4: We are looking for justice,
1: We are looking for peace,
2: We are looking for a teacher,
3: We are looking for an easier way,
4: We are looking for hope,
All: We are looking for a million things we don’t even know how to express.
One: Why are you here?
All: We are here hoping to recognise and understand the Spirit among us,
for we trust God is at work.
One: Come and see!
Prayer
Holy One, you will make a way…
A way that leads beyond our established systems and rules,
calling us to new possibilities, new community, new ways of life.
Holy One, you call us to make a way…
A way for those left out to join in,
calling together all who long for a new day.
Reveal our part in your story this day,
that we may take up our role
and use what gifts and power you give us to bring about your will,
here and now.
Loving God, we thank you for the people who have brought us to you — those who have told us your story, who have taken us by the hand and accompanied us in prayer, those who have invited us into the community of your disciples. We remember with gratitude the whole cloud of witnesses who have brought us to this point in our journey with you and your people.
And we confess that we are shy to do what they have done. We admit that we find it difficult to say to another that we have experienced a grace and love that changes our lives. We long for your Church to grow, yet we keep silent about the joy and challenge of Christian community. We read of your disciples calling each other, and we celebrate those who have shared your good news with us, but we confess we can’t quite get there ourselves.
Forgive us our reluctant witness. Forgive us our over-reliance on “use words if necessary” in a world where few see our deeds or even know to ask a question. Forgive us for lamenting decline while holding our faith as private. Forgive us for keeping this experience of grace and mercy and love and hope to ourselves, even while you continually call “Come and see.”
Show us your glory once again, and give us courage to share it. We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Music
online: From Life’s Beginning (let praise resound) by Resound Worship
in person: ‘On Dulci Jubilo’ by F.Liszt/arr P.Norris
Children’s Time: Magnifying glasses
As we enter a new year, you are invited to look at the world, other people, yourself — everything, really — through a new lens. How does the lens through which you look colour the way you see the world? Does looking through a new lens help you to see God more clearly, to look for the movement of the Spirit, to see Jesus?
Magnifying glasses help to make small things visible, large and clear. And they are an essential part of the detective’s kit, as they look for clues. So you are invited to use a magnifying glass word (like the Star Words we have sometimes done before), as a lens to look for clues of God’s work, to enlarge and clarify and colour the details of the world so that you can see Jesus in a new way in your life and in the world around you.
If you would like a magnifying glass word, you can either pick one up from the manse porch anytime, or let Teri know and she’ll pray and draw one out for you and post it to you (or WhatsApp/email a photo until the post can reach you!).
Music: Your Light Has Come by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Reading: John 1.19-51 (New Revised Standard Version)
This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said,
‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord” ’,
as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptising if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptise with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptising.
The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptising with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
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: Peer-to-Peer
We have begun our journey through John’s gospel, from now through Easter in the Narrative Lectionary…though I confess that today we have actually read the passage assigned for last week as well as the one for today, because the lectionary had cut apart this one long story into two halves, meaning that the second half started with the words “the next day, John was again…” and I was immediately curious about two things. First of all, what happened the previous day? And second, what was John doing a second time? So I had to back up, and when I read the entire story together as it was meant to be, it seemed to make more sense. This is why it matters to read sometimes long chunks all at once, because when we cut it up, we might miss something important!
Today’s story took place over the course of four days. On the first day, the authorities questioned John, and he told them that he was just pointing the way to the one who was coming after him. They were not excited about this answer, because not only does John not fit into any of their categories, he was also engaging in religious rituals without their oversight, and people were finding meaning and belonging in his new way…which means the authorities were losing control over the spiritual lives of people.
On the second day, John saw Jesus and declared him to be the lamb of God that he’d been waiting for. That was a very weird thing to say, especially since John followed up with “I didn’t actually know him, but this is definitely the one” — and apparently those who heard him say it didn’t think much of it. Even after hearing about the Spirit descending on Jesus, nothing seems to have happened! John said that he hadn’t known who Jesus was at first, he didn’t understand, but now he did…and then he went home and went to bed, apparently!
The next day, John was again standing with two of his disciples — which tells us that they heard him say those things about Jesus the day before! I picture the scene like John and his disciples just hanging around in the village square, chatting and having a coffee or whatever they did back then. Jesus walked past, as presumably dozens of people did, and John said “remember what I said yesterday? Here he is again!”
This is the part we normally wouldn’t notice if we only read the little bit assigned for each Sunday: that it was the second time John had said the same thing before these two disciples decided they’d better go see what Jesus was all about.
It makes me wonder if perhaps the night before, after John had said it the first time, did they have an evening of discussion round the fire? Perhaps they talked late into the night about what they saw God doing and what their part was, and he explained a bit more about his role — which he clearly knew was temporary and minor, yet he played his part faithfully — and the role of the One who was to come. Or maybe the disciples just laid there in the dark and thought about what their teacher had said, wondering what it might mean. Whatever happened that night, when Jesus walked past them on the street again the next afternoon, they jumped at the chance to learn more.
That’s when something really fascinating happened. John’s disciples appear to have basically just…left John standing there on the street corner and started following Jesus around, in a way that was hopefully not at all creepy. He could probably feel their eyes on him and hear their footsteps behind him, so he turned around and instead of saying “what do you want?” he said “what are you looking for?”
What are you looking for?
That is the question, isn’t it. We’ve already talked about how we look, and gotten some new lenses to look through…but what are we looking for?
Those two disciples of John didn’t seem to have an answer. I suspect many of us would be similarly paralysed if we were asked this question. Think of when you attend a workshop or class and the instructor starts off asking people to go around the room and say why they signed up for this course, what you’re hoping to learn…and how uncomfortable we all are answering that specific question! Now imagine Jesus asking it, face to face: what are you looking for? I suspect we’d all be even more tongue-tied than usual!
Instead of an answer, they stuttered out their own question: where are you staying? The word there is actually “abiding” — where do you abide? And Jesus doesn’t exactly give an answer. Instead he offers an invitation: Come and see.
Come and see. That’s it. No pressure. No commitment. No prerequisites or vetting. No experience necessary. No need to be able to answer the question. Just…come and see.
Don’t you wonder what they saw?
Whatever they saw, the experience made them want to invite others to come and experience it too. Andrew went home and found his brother Simon Peter and invited him, and he came to check it out and see what had gotten Andrew so excited.
The next day, the fourth day, Jesus met Philip and invited him…and Philip’s experience was also interesting enough for him to go find his friend Nathanael and invite him too. Now Nathanael was likely the studious one of the bunch — to say someone sits under the fig tree was a metaphor for studying Torah. He resisted at first, because he knew from scripture that Nazareth wasn’t an important town…and sometimes when we think we know something, it’s really only part of the story. But operating on that incomplete knowledge as if it’s the whole truth is dangerous — as we see when Nathanael comes out with his prejudiced slur about people from Nazareth! But Philip is persistent, so he uses the same words: Come and see. Just come check it out, and see what happens. Come have this experience with me.
And the experience Nathanael has changes everything — he realised in that moment that for all his studying, he still had only partial understanding, and in the presence of Jesus he met God more fully than ever before.
Come and see…but be prepared that having an experience might change your mind, or your life.
The thing I find fascinating about these four days is that nearly everyone who comes to Jesus comes because of what we might call a peer-to-peer invitation. It’s a friend, a teacher, a brother who invites them. And sometimes they take some convincing, or have to be invited twice! And yet they come, maybe even just to please their friend or brother and then go home later with a good story…but even when they didn’t know what they were looking for, they found the fullness of God dwelling in human flesh and the experience changed them.
This word-of-mouth invitation from a friend is always the best advertising for anything, of course — we all do it. Besides the online reviews many people write, we’re all more than willing to share about a restaurant we’ve visited, or the hotel we loved on our holiday, or where the best walks are around here. And often we’ll say “oh, I’ve been wanting to try xyz place, want to meet there for lunch?” or we’ll offer to show someone our favourite place to take photos of the cruise ships or share the train ride to a favourite show. A few years ago I practically begged one of my friends to come to Disneyland with me, and even though she would have preferred to go kayaking or something, she came and we had a great time, even staying until the park closed at midnight! We share the things we enjoy, and invite people to have their own experience of them because we thought they were great. Maybe even life-changingly good.
But we don’t do it much with church. How often do we have an experience in church, or with our church family, that makes us want to tell other people about it, to invite them to have an experience too? When have we seen God at work and thought “I need to let so-and-so know about this because they will want to see it for themselves”? Maybe we even wonder what people would see, if we invited them to come and see? Would they experience God here? Would they see Jesus in our community? Would they sense the Holy Spirit moving among us? Do we?
The beauty of these four days here at the beginning of John’s gospel is that, paradoxically, those who try to use all the right words to explain what they believe or what they think God is supposed to do are the ones who struggle with the first invitation. It’s the experience of being with Jesus, of abiding with him, in his presence, that changes people. Not the knowledge, and not the pretty words; they actually, in some way, obscure. So often we think “I don’t know enough, I’m not sure what to say” but it turns out that what to say is “come and see” — and then the experience we have together is what opens our eyes and hearts to a new Jesus-life. What matters is to come into the presence of Christ…then we’ll see where it leads.
This season, as we look for Jesus, don’t forget to invite others to come and see with you. Together we’ll be changed in his presence.
May it be so. Amen.
Hymn 320: Joy to the World
in person Hymn: New Days Come (words: Tom Gordon, tune: Regent Square)
Prayer for a new year
It’s a new day, O God, and we long to know what the year ahead holds,
but we trust you hold all these days in your hand.
We have high hopes and also significant worries,
looking ahead at what might be.
We pray for your presence to be made known to us, whatever may come.
For those who face days of grief, anxiety, or pain, we ask your comfort.
For those who face empty cupboards and cold boilers,
watching bank accounts drain and wondering where to turn, we ask your providing.
For those whose new year will hold more of the same as the old,
illness or treatments or struggling along day to day with no change in sight,
we ask your healing.
For those who hope this is finally the year when peace comes, when justice is done,
we ask your courage.
For your church, seeking your path
and wondering how to be faithful in a changed world,
we ask your Spirit to strengthen our will to work for your kingdom.
For all the longings and hopes and fears in our hearts,
we ask your help and we trust your grace is enough for us.
As we step into the future you have in mind for us,
we pray for the vision to see as you see.
We ask for your strength to lift our burdens,
that we may enter this year with light hearts,
ready to overflow with compassion.
We ask for your hope to infuse our lives,
that we may enter this year with a spring in our step,
ready to move forward with conviction.
We ask for your wisdom to clear our minds,
that we may enter this year with curiosity,
open to the possibility of your plans.
You know us, God, better than we know ourselves,
and we pray that we may come to know you in all your fullness,
and to follow faithfully through whatever is to come.
Lead us. Guide us. Show us. Keep us. Empower us.
We ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray together:
Benediction
Friends, go out into this new year looking for the kingdom of God come among us, and ready to invite others to come and see what Jesus is doing in your life. 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.
Announcements
* This winter our theme is “Seeing Jesus.” Where do you see Jesus? What is he up to in your life, and in our community’s life?
*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!
* 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 1m distancing between households. 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 with Christians across the nation for evening prayer on the Connect Facebook Page, led tonight by Jonathan. 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 and/or Westminster Wednesdays 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!
Sunday service for 19 December 2021, fourth Sunday of Advent
19 December 2021, 4th Sunday of Advent
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
To hear the audio recording of this service, please phone 01475 270037. It’s a local landline number so minutes should be included in your phone plan.
Prelude Music
Welcome and Announcements
Lighting the Fourth Advent Candle
1: In the depths of night, God’s grace lights the way.
2: In the shadows before dawn, God’s life lights the way.
3: In the confusion and chaos, God’s truth lights the way.
4: In the longing and waiting, God’s Word lights the way.
All: God is coming, and the world will never be the same!
~candle is lit~
O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily:
to us the path of knowledge show;
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
Prayer
Your glory shines, Holy One, yet we confess that we find it easier to live in the kingdoms of this world than in yours. We understand how the systems work, and we admit that though the price the powers and principalities demand is high, still we choose them. We confess that we have fallen into the trap of speaking one way and living another — we claim the truth of your word and at the same time live as if the empires of this world have ultimate power and sway. They obscure your grace and love, and we admit that in the fog and shadows we have gotten turned around, so we find ourselves serving the death-dealing powers rather than your life and light. Forgive us and turn us again to your way, enlightened by your truth and grace. We ask in the name of the one who forever bound word and action together, your Word become Flesh among us, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Online Hymn 274: Comfort, Comfort, Now My People
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: John 1.1-18
For several weeks, we have been reading from the prophets, with their concerns and promises for the people in exile, looking for God’s presence and call in unfamiliar territory. Today we transition from the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament. From now through Easter we will be reading from the Gospel According to John, which was written between 90-100 CE to a community struggling with how to differentiate themselves in an increasingly hostile environment, as they no longer fit into synagogue life but were also threatening to the Roman Empire. Each of the four gospels has a unique perspective as they tell the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We might think of John as looking at Jesus from above, from a cosmic perspective, seeing a big picture rather than small immediate details. We’ll hear this from the very beginning, as the gospel opens with an overture that, just like a musical overture, hints at the themes that are to come. I am reading from chapter 1, beginning at verse 1, from the New Revised Standard Version.
~~~~~
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
~~~
For the word of God in scripture,
For the word of God among us,
For the word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.
Sermon: The Word Became Flesh
This time of year means that everything I read or see calls a song to mind…this week I’ve been non-stop humming
God of God,
Light of light,
Lo! he abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
very God,
begotten not created;
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!
In just a few sparse lines of poetry filled mainly with words we rarely use anymore, the carol gives us a summary of John 1: the Word was God…light shines in the darkness…the Word became flesh, loving and blessing this human body…and when we see, we will orient our lives around praise.
A few weeks ago, when we read from Isaiah 9 about “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light,” I said that the shining of the light doesn’t change the path on which we walk or the obstacles in our way, it changes us and our ability to navigate the journey to which God calls us.
John’s understanding of the light is the same. The Word, who is the light of all people, became flesh and lived among us, moved right into our neighbourhood and set up home and shop in our community…and we have seen his glory. That glory, that light, illuminates the world around us, showing us things we might not have seen before. Just the same way that a stream of sunshine through the window can highlight the dust floating in the air or the fingerprints on the windows, the light of the world highlights the things we live with everyday without even noticing. Things that the empires of this world want us to not see.
The Word became flesh and lived among us, and in the light of his glory we can see that we are children of God — our ancestry is not the determiner of our status in God’s family. The empires of this world want us to believe that where we’re born, or what we look like, or who our parents are, determines our value, and our place in the world, and how we ought to relate to other people. They have even used this ancient poetry to claim that dark skin is inferior to light skin, so we have to be careful when we use these powerful metaphors. Because the truth is that being a child of God, made in God’s image, has nothing to do with any of that. When we see that truth, we can live differently, walking in the light of life for all people.
The Word became flesh and lived among us, and in the light of his glory we can see that there is power in humility. John the baptiser recognised that though his role was important, he was not the light. He saw his job was to point the way toward the coming Christ, rather than trying to gather fame and power and wealth for himself. And even Jesus did not try to elevate himself or take equality with God for granted, but humbled himself. Which reminds me of another carol:
Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth:
Hark! the herald angels sing,
‘Glory to the new-born King.’
The empires of this world want us to focus attention on ourselves, and on what we can gain or earn, how we can get ahead, not on God himself laying his glory by the wayside. But when we see the truth of our place in God’s story, we can live differently, pointing the way to the one who is greater than we are.
The Word became flesh and lived among us, and in the light of his glory we can see that even those seemingly small roles matter. John was certain that his task was small and temporary — he wasn’t the light, he was a witness, and he wasn’t the first or the last. But he still went about his ministry faithfully, doing what God needed him to do, and it mattered. It made a difference to the people he baptised, the people who heard his teaching, the disciples he sent to follow Jesus, and even the religious and political leaders who were so disturbed by him. The empires of this world want us to think that small efforts make no difference, that if we can’t solve everything in one go, we should simply give up and let them carry on with their destructive ways. But when we see the truth of our place in God’s story, we can live differently, confidently doing even the smallest thing God asks of us, trusting it matters to God’s kingdom or else God wouldn’t call us to do it!
The Word became flesh and lived among us, and in the light of his glory we can see that flesh and blood matter, these bodies matter. Surely God could have sent the Word in any number of intellectual or spiritual ways, but God chose to take on a body, to live with the pains and joys and limitations and senses of a human body. Our bodies are not incidental to God’s story, they are a gift, a blessing, and it’s through a human body that God blesses the world. The empires of this world want us to separate mind, body, and spirit, and to believe none of them are good enough, to measure ourselves against some impossible standard so they can sell us more things. But when we see the truth of God’s emBodiment, we can live differently, treasuring the gift of physical presence and honouring and taking care of this body God gave us for a purpose.
The Word became flesh and lived among us, and in the light of his glory we can see that the darkness itself is already past, despite what the empires of this world think about themselves. This reading uses only past-tense words to say “the darkness did not overcome it” while the light shines in ongoing present tense verbs. The powers of this world, which do not have grace and truth at heart and are not serving God’s kingdom, want us to think they are the ultimate reality. I’m reminded of that old quip about “he’s a self-made man, and he worships his creator” — that’s what the ways of the world are like. They think they are the self-evidently correct, ordained since the beginning of time, or even only possible way things could be. And people uphold them because we can’t see any other way, so we assume it’s true that this is just the way things are, nothing to see here, nothing we can do about it. But ultimately that’s idolatry — the empire worshipping itself as if it’s the only way.
In the light of God’s Word, we see that they are past tense, holding on only by keeping us in the dark. When we see the truth of God’s ongoing life, we can recognise what is truly ultimate reality…and then we can live our lives in light of that reality instead of the one the world so desperately wants us to believe. Some do not see, despite the light shining. Some don’t accept the vision the light reveals. Some choose the shadows, because it’s easier and more profitable. But the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. The light overcomes the confusion and obfuscation, offering clarity we can only describe as grace upon grace.
In which kingdom would we prefer to live? Christ was born to shine the light of truth, not from far off but from right here, as close as God could get — pitching a tent in the back garden, moving in to the kitchen, meeting us at the front door — so that we could see God’s glory, up close and personal. This Christmas, and beyond, may we see, and walk, in the light.
Amen.
Online Hymn: Emmanuel – Living Word (by David MacGregor)
In Person Hymn 308: Behold the great Creator makes (vv. 1, 2, 3, 5)
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
We take a deep breath and feel your spirit in our lungs, O God.
We feel your breath expanding, filling, stretching us, bringing us to new life.
We give thanks for these bodies you have gifted us.
As we place our hands on our legs,
we are grateful for muscles and joints,
and for assistive devices like sticks and chairs,
that bear heavy loads,
that move us from place to place.
We pray this day for those who feel trapped, unable to move.
We lift up those who are confined to home or hospital,
those who are self-isolating,
those who live with pain in their joints or muscles,
those who mourn the loss of freedom or mobility.
May they be upheld and moved by your strength.
As we place our hands on our stomachs,
we are grateful for all that goes on inside of us, out of sight.
We thank you for all the organs that keep us going,
for the way you have knit us together
and created a body that cares for itself.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made!
We pray this day for those who do not have enough to eat,
whose tummies rumble and whose systems suffer from lack.
We lift up our neighbours who are ill and awaiting tests or treatment,
whose stomachs are full of butterflies and nerves as they wonder what the future holds.
May they be fed and healed by your power.
As we place our hands on our arms, wrapping ourselves in your gift,
we give thanks for the ability to feel, to know you through our senses.
We are grateful for wonder and tenderness, compassion and joy,
there for us to experience in every way.
We pray this day for those who are starved for touch,
who are lonely and longing for a hug.
We lift up those whose senses show them only pain,
who are surrounded by fear or shadows or abuse.
May they be cared for by your love.
Your word is the foundation of reality,
your grace pre-dates history,
and still you choose to reveal yourself to us,
still you call us your children.
We come, longing to see your glory,
praying you will once again speak life into being, O God,
and call us to walk by your light.
We ask in the name of the Word made Flesh, Jesus the Christ,
the light and life of the world, 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.
In Person Hymn 313: See! in yonder manger low (vv. 1, 2, 5)
Benediction
May you walk in the light of grace and truth this Christmas. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you. May the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion. May the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way, and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone. And may the Spirit of God go within you to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.
Sung Benediction Response (John L Bell, tune Gourock St John’s)
Now may the Lord of all be blessed,
Now may Christ’s gospel be confessed,
Now may the Spirit when we meet
Bless sanctuary and street.
Postlude Music
Announcements
* This Advent our theme is “EmBodied” — encountering the Word Made Flesh, in our own bodies and in our own places where God has planted us.
* Follow your St John’s Embodied Advent Calendar! There’ll be a Facebook Live for some of the St John’s Advent Calendar too.
* Bring your Reverse Advent Calendar donations to church or to the manse and we will get them delivered.
* Christmas worship Schedule:
Longest Night (a quieter Christmas service recognising the darkness in which the Light shines) on 21 December at 7:30pm
Joint services for Christmas Eve at 7:30pm at St. John’s and 11:30pm at Old Gourock and Ashton
Christmas Day, 11am, on ZOOM with all of Connect
Sunday 26 December, 10:30am, joint service with St Ninian’s Larkfield and OGA, at Old Gourock.
* 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 1m distancing between households. 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 with Christians across the nation for evening prayer on the Connect Facebook Page, led tonight by Teri. 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!
Sunday Service for 2 August 2020, tenth Sunday of Pentecost
2 August 2020: 10th Sunday of Pentecost
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri C Peterson,
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Contact: tpeterson@churchofscotland.org.uk
* At this time the St John’s Kirk Session has decided, for a variety of reasons, not to open the building yet. We will continue to worship online and via the telephone recording ministry, with mid-week offerings on video and by email, and through phone calls and zoom gatherings. If you have questions about this, please do contact Teri, or Cameron, or your elder. However, the building works that were suspended during lockdown are resuming. If you see people around the church building, they are likely contractors, and we would ask that you go ahead and say hello but keep a safe distance, and do not enter the building at this time. It’s important that we do everything we can to ensure they have a safe worksite, so that they can continue the work both on the tower and inside the sanctuary as quickly and safely as possible.
Though we cannot be together in person, we can be together in spirit! Please note the following announcements:
* Coffee Fellowship Time will happen today on Zoom! The room will be open from 11:45 – 12:45 for you to drop in for however long you wish, so grab a cup of tea or coffee (or juice or whatever you prefer!) and maybe a biscuit, and come have a chat! We look forward to seeing you!
* 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 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 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!
* We also now have an audio recording of the service available on the phone! Simply dial 01475 270 037 to listen to the most recent service. Please share this number with your neighbours, friends, family, and fellow church goers who don’t have the internet, so they can listen in!
* The theme for worship this summer is “Postcards of Faith” — we’ll be getting some postcards from God’s people throughout scripture, following their journeys with God and each other.
* This summer we are taking a Church Family summer trip! We’ll be journeying together from Shore to Shore — the shores of the Clyde to the shores of the sea of Galilee, to the hometown of St. John the Evangelist. Keep track of how much time you spend in prayer, reading the Bible, serving others, or going for a walk. For every 10 minutes, you move us 1km along the journey! Then each week send Teri a note, text, or phone call saying how far you “traveled” this week. On our return journey, we have now reached Antioch — the city where followers of the risen Christ were first called Christians!
* Children’s Time happens each Sunday morning at 11am on Zoom. If you would like the login details, please contact Teri.
* Late-night Mayhem Club happens each night this week, Sunday – Friday, at 10pm on Zoom! Contact Teri for login details and a craft packet!
* 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. Our Sunday evening prayer services will be shared across our “Fuzzy Parish” (now called CONNECT). Tonight’s service will be led by all three Connect Clergy, and includes the launch of the Prayer Path that can be found this week at all our area CofS churches. the service will begin at 6:57pm on the Connect Facebook page, and be sure to like / follow it while you’re there!
* 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.
* Sign up to our YouTube Channel 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.
* Mid-week there is a devotional email, which is also printed and included with the following Sunday’s sermon distribution to those without internet access. You can sign up for the email here.
* 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.
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Hymn: Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord
Prayers, Reading, Sermon
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
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Call to Worship and Opening Prayer
Whoever you are,
Wherever you are,
Whenever you are taking this time to worship,
The call is the same.
Jesus says to us: Come and See.
Come and see grace and love, justice and peace, hope and faith.
Come and see.
Let us pray.
In the midst of everything, O God, you are.
You promised to be with us, in joys and sorrows, in times of hard work and times of rest.
While we go about our daily lives, you are there.
When we aren’t even sure what we’re looking for, you are there.
We praise you for your constancy, for your faithfulness, for your persistence.
For we confess that we are not always good at noticing you.
And we admit that often, when we do look for you, it’s with the hope that you will confirm our desires, our biases, our preconceived notions, so that we will feel justified in whatever action we take, even at the expense of others or of the earth.
Today, Lord, we confess that we are tired of those justifications.
We are exhausted from going our own way and massaging things to make it look like your way.
We have glimpsed a more excellent way, and we want to know more.
We have heard your word and we long for an up-close view of what life with you could be.
So we pray that you would forgive our hard-heartedness.
Forgive the blinders we have put on our eyes and our minds.
Take away those things that keep us from coming close to you and seeing your truth.
Take away those things that keep us from living for your glory.
Take away those things that distract us from your way.
And then fill us again with your grace, that we may indeed live as your people, forgiven, loved, and free, and ready to share your story, that all who seek may indeed find — for you are never far from us, filling our lives with your very breath of love.
We pray these things in the name of Jesus the Christ, who continually calls us through all the tumult of this life, 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.
Sung Prayer #159 (words: Timothy Dudley-Smith, tune: Lord of the Years by Michael Baughen)
Lord, for ourselves; in living power remake us,
self on the cross and Christ upon the throne;
past put behind us, for the future take us,
Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.
Scripture Reading: John 1.35-46 (Common English Bible)
The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”
He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ ). He led him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”
Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”
Philip said, “Come and see.”
Sermon: Come and See (Postcards of Faith 7)
I love picturing this first scene like a film — imagine: John the Baptist and some of his disciples are standing around, loitering on the corner. He sees Jesus and points (he wouldn’t be the subtle type to just nod his head and say “don’t look now, but here comes the lamb of God”, he would definitely point). And the two disciples walk away from John, leaving him standing on the corner alone. They follow Jesus at a discreet distance, perhaps, but he senses that he’s being followed and turns around to confront them, and when he asks what they’re looking for, I picture them as a bit tongue-tied. What are they looking for? Do they even know?
We know that John had been teaching that he wasn’t The One, that he was preparing the way for one who would come after him and be greater than he could even imagine. So when he finally pointed to Jesus in the flesh, perhaps it’s no surprise that Andrew and the other disciple with him simply dropped everything and changed schools without a blink. Or perhaps there was a bit more thought involved — I think of how difficult it was to leave behind my hairdresser and my therapist when I was moving here, and how much more difficult it would be to leave behind a spiritual teacher like John the Baptist! Yet off they went. But when Jesus turned around, they suddenly realised there was more to this than they’d thought.
What are you looking for?
When we come to Jesus, what are we looking for?
Are we looking for someone who will comfort us through difficult times?
Someone who will ease our discomfort at changes in the world by offering us a bubble of pious words and pictures?
Someone who looks like us and will help us maintain the status quo?
Are we looking for answers to difficult 21st century questions?
Are we looking for 5 easy steps to a good life?
Are we looking for hope in the midst of the despair of this world?
Are we looking for a friend who will go along with our ideas, or one who will challenge us to be our best selves?
Are we looking for God, creator, redeemer, and sustainer of the universe, in the flesh beside us?
Are we looking for someone who will lead us through green pastures and through the valley off the shadow of death, who will invite us to a feast in the presence of our enemies?
Someone who will open our eyes to see the truth of this world, and who won’t let us shy away from big challenges?
Someone who will steer our steps toward the people who are poor, ill, outcast, foreign, and undesirable? Or who will call us to change the systems that keep people poor, marginalised, and seen as less-than?
Are we looking to have our hearts broken when God’s heart breaks?
Are we looking for love so overwhelming that it spills over to people who don’t deserve it?
What are you looking for?
Andrew and his friend don’t appear to have an answer, so they simply indicate that they want to be close to Jesus — except they do it in the creepiest way possible. Having followed him around town and gotten caught, they then just say “where are you staying?” Luckily, Jesus knows their hearts. He knows they aren’t stalkers or celebrity-obsessed paparazzi. He knows that they are seeking something they don’t yet know how to articulate, and that the best way to find it is to stay close to him. So he issues them an invitation: Come and see.
And those two go, and they see, and then they find their siblings and friends and give them the same invitation: come and see.
Notice there are no answers in the story, no pithy sayings, no clarifying of positions on political issues yet. So far, we’ve got Jesus inviting disciples, and then those disciples inviting more. And for thousands of years, that’s exactly how it has worked. We come to Jesus and see, and then we invite others to come and see with us.
Whatever we think we’re looking for, the answer will be the same: come close to Jesus, and see what he is doing and saying, how he is living and being, where he is going, who he is spending time with, and that will change us, and it will change the world.
When we come close to Jesus, we’ll discover there’s no room for the casual racism that enables a question like “can anything good come from Nazareth?” Those dividing walls are torn down and the kingdom of God encompassing all can be seen, when we join Nathanael in rooting out those internalised prejudices.
When we come close to Jesus, we’ll see that the way our thoughts become actions is more important than just believing the right things.
When we come close to Jesus, we’ll learn that love isn’t just a feeling, and it isn’t just for the people we like. It’s an action that has to be chosen every day, in every situation, toward everyone — because that is how the world will know that we are his followers, by our love.
When we come close to Jesus, what we see will make us want to invite others to come as well, because there is no one else in whom abundant life can be found, and surely we will want to share that when we have found it.
So hear the invitation again today: come and see.
May it be so. Amen.
Hymn 510, Jesus Calls Us Here To Meet Him (vv. 1-3)
(words: John L Bell & Graham Maule, tune: Lewis Folk Melody)
Jesus calls us here to meet him
as, through word and song and prayer,
we affirm God’s promised presence
where his people live and care.
Praise the God who keeps his promise;
praise the Son who calls us friends;
praise the Spirit who, among us,
to our hopes and fears attends.
Jesus calls us to confess him
Word of life and Lord of all,
sharer of our flesh and frailness,
saving all who fail or fall.
Tell his holy human story;
tell his tales that all may hear;
tell the world that Christ in glory
came to earth to meet us here.
Jesus calls us to each other,
vastly different though we are;
creed and colour, class and gender
neither limit nor debar.
Join the hand of friend and stranger;
join the hands of age and youth;
join the faithful and the doubter
in their common search for truth.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Loving God, we thank you for the many ways you reveal yourself to us — through the beauty of your creation, through the laughter of children, through the caring companionship of family and friends. We thank you for the wonders of four seasons in one afternoon, and for the glimpse of grace that we get from seeing our community come together to help each other in the midst of a crisis. We are grateful to feel your breath in the wind, to remember our baptisms when we unexpectedly get caught in the rain, and to hear your call in the voices of our neighbours near and far who cry out for help, for healing, and for justice.
You call us to come and see, to stay close to you and follow your lead. And so we pray for the courage to walk your way, Lord. For the strength to love as you love, to include those you include, and to do the work that you have left for us to do as ambassadors of your kingdom.
We remember this day those who have been left behind, forgotten, or silenced…those on the margins of society, overlooked because their stories are inconvenient for those in power. We pray that they may be heard, and valued, and welcomed.
We remember those who sit in the places of power and decision making, and we pray that they might have the wisdom and compassion to seek your way, to build a more just society where none are expendable.
We remember your creation, groaning under our weight. We pray for the vision and the discipline to be good stewards of this earth you have entrusted to our care, that it may indeed provide for all, as you intend.
We remember your people who are suffering —
with illness of body, mind, or spirit;
with uncertainty, unemployment, or loss;
with grief, pain, or despair;
with violence, hatred, and war.
We pray for your comfort to surround them, your healing to fill them, your justice to roll down like waters.
For all the ways in which the world does not yet look like your kingdom, we ask your help, O God.
Bring us close to you, and let us see your truth.
Guide us in seeking your way, and gift us for the task of being your Body, tearing down dividing walls of hostility and building up a society of love, compassion, and justice.
Then send us out to tell your story, to invite others to come and see, that together we may live always for your glory.
In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Benediction
Wherever you find yourself in days to come, keep your eyes on Jesus, for he will show you the way — the way to abundant living, the way to invite others, the way of love for all. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.
Benediction Response
Words and tune (Gourock St. John’s): John L Bell
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.
