Christmas Worship Service
24 December 2024 — Christmas Eve
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Prelude Music
Welcome
Lighting the Christ Candle
1: Day or night,
2: in the house and out in the fields,
3: orderly and organised or chaotic and unclear,
4: alone or crowded in together,
All: may we be ready to hear God’s good news!
1: Looking for a place,
2: paying attention to every movement,
3: overwhelmed and amazed,
4: listening and pondering and treasuring,
All: may we be ready to receive God’s good news:
unto us is born this day a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
~candle is lit~
Opening Prayer
Holy God,
we give you thanks for coming among us once again,
revealing your love for your world,
calling us into new life by bringing your kingdom to earth in a baby.
Your presence shines with glory,
even as your fullness dwells in fragile flesh —
not in the official structures,
but in borrowed homes and among working people,
in an occupied land and a troubled time.
We give you thanks that
as you walked in the garden,
as you led your people,
as you spoke with your prophets,
you meet us here again, tonight.
Whether we are prepared, or not;
whether it feels familiar or strange;
whether we have succeeded or failed at our faithfulness;
even now you break open the barrier between heaven and earth.
We expected you, O God,
yet still your coming surprises us.
When you break through,
pushing your way into our lives when we aren’t quite ready,
all we can do is give you our full attention.
Like a baby we can’t take our eyes off of,
we look to you in wonder, in awe, and a little bit of fear.
What will you be like?
How will you change us?
How can we do our best for you?
Yet you just reach out and take hold of our hands and our hearts,
offering love beyond measure,
and asking only the same in return.
Thank you, Lord.
Amen.
Hymn 306: O Come All Ye Faithful
Mystery Box Christmas Story (Luke 2.1-20)
Things in the box that will help us tell the story:
Scroll
Shoes
Water
Blanket
Hay
Lamb
Lights
Tambourine
Glasses
Baby doll
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth,
and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Hymn: Angels We Have Heard On High (tune: Gloria/Iris (angels from the realms))
Angels we have heard on high,
sweetly singing o’er the plains,
and the mountains in reply
echoing their joyous strains.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Come to Bethlehem and see
him whose birth the angels sing;
come, adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
*with Hymn 303 It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Living God,
you push your way into this world
up-ending our careful plans and orderly systems,
turning up in middle-of-nowhere places
among people who don’t matter
and changing the world when we weren’t even looking, much less ready.
As we sing and pray this night, Lord,
tune us in to both the wonder and the gritty truth of your birth.
Make us like the family who found a safe space for Mary and Joseph amidst the chaos of the day,
and like the shepherds who run immediately toward the Christ-child in the night,
like those who work behind the scenes to serve in a difficult situation
and those who simply marvel at the miracle of life.
And in this world that feels so often upside down and mixed up,
set us right, show us our place in your story,
and bring your love and justice to birth just as you did that night long ago.
You came in the night, to Bethlehem —
then, as now, a very troubled town,
bringing light to all who came to trust you.
Come again now, into the harsh world and our hard hearts,
to Bethlehem and Gaza and so many places that need to see at the manger
the peace and hope, the promise of new life,
the light that shines not just at Christmas, not just in celebration,
but every day of the year, in every kind of situation, even the hardest days.
On this night of contrasts:
light in the darkness
vulnerable strength
witnesses we wouldn’t choose to call
respectable and marginalised
celebration and uncertainty
attune us to your world-changing truth in the middle of it all.
It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, good will to you
from heaven’s all-gracious King!”
The world in solemn stillness lay
to hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come,
with peaceful wings unfurled:
and still their heavenly music floats
o’er all the weary world;
above its sad and lowly plains
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o’er its Babel-sounds
the blessèd angels sing.
But with the woes of sin and strife
the world has suffered long:
beneath the angels’ hymn have rolled
two thousand years of wrong:
and warring humankind hears not
the love-song which they bring:
oh, hush the noise and still the strife
to hear the angels sing.
And you, beneath life’s crushing load
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing:
oh, rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing.
For lo! the days are hastening on,
by prophet bards foretold,
when, with the ever-rolling years,
still dawns the Age of Gold,
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendours fling,
and all the world give back the song
which now the angels sing.
We pray these and all things in the name of the Prince of Peace,
the One whom heaven and earth cannot contain and who yet lies in the manger,
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.
Hymn 322: Good Christians All Rejoice
Benediction
Postlude
Announcements:
Teri is away until the 13th of January, so if you have a pastoral need or a question, please contact Charlene or Cameron. Please note there is no online worship or weekly email while Teri is away. Upcoming events are below, and all are welcome!
Sunday service for 22 December 2024, fourth Sunday of Advent
Sunday 22 December 2024, Fourth Sunday of Advent
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Prelude Music
Welcome
We Gather As God’s Family (As the Bible is brought in, we stand and sing)
A family gathered in love,
striving for justice and joy,
blessing the broken-hearted,
and sharing the hope of God’s kingdom.
Lighting the Advent Candle
One: Look! Not with the world’s eyes, but the Holy Spirit’s.
All: God is in the business of transforming the world!
One: Not in ways we expect or have planned ourselves,
All: but from the edges and the obscure.
One: Younger and elder, well-heeled and unknown,
All: God’s work is seen through us.
(~candle is lit~)
One: Look! The light shines.
All: We will trust the Holy One whose love turns the world around.
Sanctuary Hymn 306 O Come All Ye Faithful OR 296 While Humble Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Prayer
You are Love, O God,
and in Love you lift up and fill,
in Love you bless and show mercy,
in Love you bring down the powers and scatter the proud.
We confess that we long to be the ones lifted up and filled and blessed,
and we never see ourselves as the powerful or proud.
Instead we domesticate your Love,
fitting it into our notions,
not allowing it to transform us.
Forgive us when we box your Love into ours,
and so look with judgment rather than welcome at the people you choose to honour.
Forgive us when we ignore the movement of your Holy Spirit
and so overlook those who know your work best.
Forgive us when we hold onto the way things are,
and so cannot recognise your kingdom growing quietly in unexpected places.
Remember your mercy, O God,
and help us to trust your promise.
We so often feel small in the face of your glory,
and yet we are here to magnify —
to make your work visible,
even in our own small lives.
Reveal yourself today
in the tiniest glimmer
and the largest of promises,
that we may indeed turn our attention and so turn the world.
Open our hearts and minds to receive your good news,
and to magnify your revolutionary Love in the world.
We ask in the name of the One who comes among us, Immanuel.
Amen.
Online Hymn 316: Love Came Down At Christmas
Sanctuary Hymn: 315 Once in Royal David’s City OR 316 Love Came Down at Christmas
Scripture Reading: Luke 1.26-56 (New Revised Standard Version)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
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 and Children’s Time: Magnify
I think that Mary’s song is so interesting because — like any good lecturer — she tells us what she’s going to say, then she says it, then she tells us what she just said.
And she starts by saying: My soul MAGNIFIES the Lord.
What a weird way to describe what she’s doing. Because what does it mean to magnify? To make bigger of course…to amplify, to highlight, to lift up, to reveal the detail, to see something you normally can’t see.
(With children: look at different things in the microscope, talk about how we can see details we couldn’t see before, or stuff that’s too small to see with our own eyes but it’s still there)
But God is hardly microscopic…God is not small at all! We sing about a Great Big God, speak about God being bigger than our imaginations can hold, pray to a God who is beyond comprehension, all-encompassing…every thing we say when we talk about God is about God’s enormity. God’s hem alone fills the temple. God can hold every single person and the whole world in the palm of his hands.
So God must be big enough not to need magnifying, we should surely be able to see with the naked eye. Why would God need us to be like a magnifying glass or a microscope?
Well, we look round the world and it often seems we can’t actually see God in the midst of everything. We see food banks with empty shelves and more of our neighbours are hungry than ever. We see people fleeing persecution and gangs and war, and being met with hostility when they finally reach safety. We see the rich getting richer and more powerful. We see climate change affecting more and more of us. We see children exploited for cheap labour, kept out of school because of their gender or lack of money, and sitting crying in the rubble of their homes. We see governments that don’t seem willing to make changes that would serve anyone other than themselves. We see people with disabilities trapped in unsuitable accommodation because there’s no social housing without stairs or with wide enough doorways. We see so much terrible news it’s beyond our capacity to even comprehend it all. We pray for peace and justice and food and fairer systems and abundant life for all…but we don’t often see it.
But Mary did. With the eyes of a prophet she described what she saw: God’s kingdom fulfilled, and it was like opposite-land compared to the empire she lived in. She was a girl from a working class family, from a town in the middle of nowhere, living under occupation, in a precarious social situation since she was pregnant before she was married…basically living a life where it’s pretty hard to say God has been good and favoured you with a blessing…but she sang about how God had turned the world upside down: brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry with good things, come to help his people, fulfilled the promise.
She magnified: made something visible that we hadn’t seen with our own eyes. Showed details we hadn’t been able to make out before. This is what the kingdom of God looks like: the hungry fed, the powerful brought down, the trampled down lifted up, the proud scattered. All those times we just said “kingdom of God,” this is what it was made up of, this is what it looks like when you look super up close, when you magnify the small parts to make up the big picture.
That means that when we highlight and amplify those small constituent parts, the things we notice God doing, no matter how small, we are like the magnifying glass or microscope that lets people see that the kingdom is actually here, even though it may not always be visible to the naked eye. Revealing the details of what God is doing, highlighting God’s presence, showing others who might not recognise God on their own so they know what to look for. Because everything, even seeing God, starts small. From something even the size of a mustard seed, or a tiny baby, or a moment of welcome rather than judgment, or a story shared, can grow God’s whole kingdom of love.
One small thing, like changing pride to openness and curiosity and welcome.
One small thing, like feeding a hungry person or family.
One small thing, like a word of hope shared.
One small thing, like telling a story of when you have seen God.
One small thing, like a baby born in an unsuitable place at an inopportune moment and yet changing everything.
Small things add up, they grow up, they multiply…
And the more small things we see, and share, and do…the more scared the empire gets. Because when we come together, take care of each other, and perhaps most importantly tell each other what we have seen God doing, we begin to recognise that in fact God’s kingdom is among us, and that the way things are is not the way they have to be…that’s good news for those peasant women in an occupied land whose situations should have been shameful, good news for the hungry and oppressed, good news for those who have been shut out. But there’s a reason that Mary’s song has sometimes been banned under certain oppressive government regimes…it’s not good news for the people who benefit from the way the empire runs the world.
Isn’t it interesting that Luke’s gospel both begins and ends with women discussing and experiencing revolution, the turning upside down of everything we thought we knew? Here at the beginning of Jesus’ life, we find his unwed teenage mother and his elderly auntie — like many good aunties, no indication of exactly how they’re related but they’re family! And at the end of his life, we find his middle-aged mother (it’s likely she was the same age I am now!) and his women disciples at the foot of the cross, and weeping at the burial, and then first to see the empty tomb and receive the good news that the world had changed forever.
It all starts with such a small thing, at least in the big picture: an elder receiving a youth, treating her like an equal, the two of them believing each other’s stories and supporting each other as peers through a very unusual situation.
It would be easy to imagine that an older relative would be judgmental about a teen mother, or that the youth would be dismissive of the older woman’s story thinking what could she know? It’s easy to picture them both going about their strange pregnancies alone, assuming no one else could understand. But instead they spend time together, loving each other through this encounter with God and the growth of new life, when no one else would believe them.
And that small thing grows.
And the empire trembles. The powers that be would prefer we keep separate, see ourselves as individuals and isolated stories, have blinders on and don’t look for a bigger picture, keep God to ourselves, private and personal.
But Mary teaches us not to keep it to ourselves, but rather to join her in magnifying. Reveal the detail. Show on the big screen what God has done for you, so that others can see how God is at work in them too…and when we put all those little pictures together, we get the big picture and see that God is in fact turning the world around.
May it be so. Amen.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian, said in an Advent sermon in 1933:
“The song of Mary is the oldest Advent hymn. It is at once the most passionate, the wildest, one might say the most revolutionary advent hymn ever sung. This is not the gentle, tender, dreamy Mary whom we sometimes see in paintings… This song has none of the sweet, nostalgic, or even playful tones of some of our Christmas carols. It is instead a hard, strong, inexorable song about collapsing thrones and humbled lords of this world, about the power of God and the powerlessness of humankind.”
Hymn: Canticle of the Turning (words: Magnificat arr. Rory Cooney; tune: Star of County Down)
My soul cries out with a joyful shout
that the God of my heart is great,
and my spirit sings of the wondrous things
that you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight,
and my weakness you did not spurn,
so from east to west shall my name be blest.
Could the world be about to turn?
Refrain:
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
and the world is about to turn.
Though I am small, my God, my all,
you work great things in me,
and your mercy will last from the depths of the past
to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame,
and to those who would for you yearn,
you will show your might, put the strong to flight,
for the world is about to turn.
(Refrain)
From the halls of power to the fortress tower,
not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears
every tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more,
for the food they can never earn;
there are tables spread; every mouth be fed,
for the world is about to turn.
(Refrain)
Though the nations rage from age to age,
we remember who holds us fast:
God’s mercy must deliver us
from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard
is the promise which holds us bound,
till the spear and rod can be crushed by God,
who is turning the world around.
(Refrain)
Sanctuary Offering and Response: Hymn 322 verse 2
Good Christians, all rejoice
with heart and soul and voice;
now you hear of endless bliss,
Jesus Christ was born for this:
he has opened heaven’s door,
and all are blessed for evermore.
Christ was born for this!
Christ was born for this!
Announcements
*Gift Day TODAY
*Longest Night tonight at 6pm
*Christmas Eve 7pm
*Christmas Day 10am
*29 December lunch and film
*take home devotions
*Teri away 27 December – 13 January — call Charlene or Cameron
That’s a lot going on in our community! Please consider yourself invited to participate, and to pray for all the activities, ministry, and mission God is calling us to do together.
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Loving and surprising God,
bringing blessing to birth,
in gratitude and delight we come before you,
bearing our experiences of your grace,
holding fast to the promise you have spoken.
With hope and trust we carry our prayers for your world:
for the up-ending of empire, sung in the voice of the unwed teen mother;
for the filling of the hungry and the lifting up of the downtrodden;
for the women no one believes and the friends who are a lifeline.
Pour out your Holy Spirit that all may see your truth unclouded by their assumptions,
and send your mercy on those who wait for the dawn.
With longing and commitment we carry our prayers for peace:
for unjust systems to unravel, and justice to be practiced in every place,
for cycles of violence to come to an end,
for our lust for power and greed to be replaced by love for our neighbour.
Pour out your Holy Spirit that all may breathe freely,
and let your peace fill every home, town, and nation.
With joy we pray for your vision to be revealed:
for those who carry your message to be courageous,
for those who hold positions of power to seek your will and the common good,
for those who have been overlooked and pushed aside to be heard and believed.
Pour out your Holy Spirit that all may see and rejoice,
and turn us toward the new thing you are doing, even now.
Knowing that you are Love and those who abide in Love abide in You,
we pray for our community and your church:
for those young people everyone worries about but no one listens to;
for those older people feeling forgotten and left behind;
for those not sure if they belong.
Pour out your Holy Spirit that all may know themselves beloved,
and set your Church to the work of making your love visible.
On this 22nd day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to pray:
*For arts groups — theatre groups, choirs, bands, dance groups and classes, the art club and photography club, and others who support each other in artistic endeavours and expression. We pray for the community to be strengthened and built up as we engage in creativity together in the image of our Creator God.
*For the youth organisations of St John’s: for the Anchor Boys, Junior Section, and Company & Senior Section of the Boys’ Brigade, for the Smurfs, Brownies, Guides, and Rangers, and for the Exploratorium holiday clubs. For their leaders, volunteers, young people, and families. May they grow in faith, hope, and love together.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of China, Mongolia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
You turn things upside down, O God,
and we pray that you would make us ready
to live faithfully in your kingdom,
coming even now in the Prince of Peace, Immanuel,
in whose name we pray, who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Sanctuary Hymn: 301 Hark the Herald Angels Sing OR 304 O Little Town of Bethlehem
Benediction
Go out to magnify those small moments, those details, when you see God’s love — because it’s when we share what we see that God’s kingdom becomes visible to all.
As you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you. May the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion. May the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way, and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone. And may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.
Sung Benediction Response (John L Bell, tune Gourock St John’s)
Now may the Lord of all be blessed,
Now may Christ’s gospel be confessed,
Now may the Spirit when we meet
Bless sanctuary and street.
Postlude Music
Announcements
* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and Sunday worship is also online. If you are able, please enter by the front door in Bath street, and only those who need step-free access should use the back door. If you feel unwell, please worship online, to protect both yourself and others in our community.
The Sunday evening service is normally on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. We have toasties and sandwiches together from 5:30 and the service will start at the back of 6. All are welcome for this simple meal and time of worship. The Sunday evening service is informal and reflective, with guitar-based music, Bible readings, and prayer for our parish. Come along and discover practical ways to apply the word to your life, in a chilled vibe that fosters connection and reflection.
This month, the fourth Sunday evening service Tonight will be the Longest Night service — we won’t have toasties beforehand, but the service will begin as usual at 6pm. This is a candlelight Christmas service that looks for light amidst the shadows, and is perfect for those struggling this season, or who could just use a quieter service with a chance to
* The first Sunday of the month at 11am is now an all-age service, with different ways of encountering God’s word without a traditional sermon. All people — young and old, different personalities and learning styles, are welcome! You’ll find a more informal service with a variety of music, a Bible story, prayer, and some more interactive elements. The online service for the first Sunday will therefore also be different — there will still be a reading, prayers, and music, but usually not a sermon.
* Charlene is available for Conversation Corner (Vestry Hour) on WEDNESDAY AFTERNOONS in December and January, from 1-2pm, except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Just ring the bell at St John’s Road and she’ll have the kettle on for you! Come in to chat about anything you’d like.
* Bowl and Blether is on the first and third Mondays of each month through the winter, the next one is Monday 6 January — IF we can get some volunteers to make soup. Please speak to Teri if you can volunteer! Doors open at 11:30am, soup and toasties are served from noon – 1:30. All are welcome to join us for lunch and a chat in our cozy warm hall. Volunteers are also needed and welcome, please speak to Teri or Charlene if you’d like to volunteer for soup making (9-11:30am), toastie-making (11:30-1:30), serving (11:15-1:45), or clean up (1:15-2:30).
* Starter Packs are in need of kitchen and bathroom cleaner, cloths and kitchen paper.
The FoodBank are in need of diluting juice, long-life juice, tinned meats, noodles, UHT milk, deodorant and toiletries.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!
* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £3000 per week? Everything we do is funded by your generous giving — all our support for young people, older people, bereavement care, community outreach, worship, study, spiritual growth, and community work is because of your offering. If you would like to set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Teri and she can give you the treasurer’s details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. It is also possible to donate to the work of the parish assistant, speak to Anne Love about how to go about directing new donations to that item in the budget.
* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email.
* Wednesday Evening Bible Study is on a holiday break now and will resume on the 15th of January.
* Free period products are available in the church toilets for anyone who might need them, thanks to Hey Girls and Inverclyde Council.
* The Longest Night service — a quieter, candlelight Christmas service for those struggling with Christmas cheer for any reason, or for those who prefer a less exuberant celebration of Christmas — is TONIGHT at the usual evening service time of 6pm.
* Christmas Eve worship will be at 7pm.
* Christmas Day worship will be at 10am — bring a gift to show-and-tell!
* Next Sunday 29 December in the afternoon we’re having a family holiday film day! Stay after the Lessons and Carols service for a light lunch and a Christmas film! (Or come along at 12:45 for lunch, 1:15 for the film!)
Sunday service for 1 December 2024, first Sunday of Advent
Sunday 1 December 2024, First Sunday of Advent
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Prelude Music
We Gather As God’s Family (As the Bible is brought in, we stand and sing)
A family gathered in love,
striving for justice and joy,
blessing the broken-hearted,
and sharing the hope of God’s kingdom.
Lighting the Advent Candle
One: In public and in private,
All: Trust in God.
One: In the long-term and in the moment,
All: Trust in God.
One: In the hard times and the good times,
All: Trust in God.
(~candle is lit~)
One: Look! The light shines.
All: We will trust the Holy One who ignites our hope.
Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Prayer
Holy One,
we confess we find it difficult to trust only you.
We are seduced by the promise of protection or power,
and we give our loyalty away to those who cannot truly save us.
We admit we are easily tricked,
and yet we cannot see a way out either
so we simply continue, assuming that it can’t be changed.
Though we know something is wrong,
we still sign on and then go away and pray you will fix it in spite of us.
Forgive us, O God,
when we insist that change is impossible.
Forgive us, O God,
when we manufacture a problem in order to get our own way.
Forgive us, O God,
when we participate in the trickery thinking it will serve us in the end.
*Forgive us, O God,
when we too easily give up our position in hopes of fleeting safety.
Give us the hope required to see your vision and stick to it,
the faith required to trust your promise above the sweet-talk of our human leaders,
the courage required to change course when we learn how we have missed the mark.
Make our hope consistent, O God.
Give us this day the blessing of persistence in your way,
that we may practice our faith day after day,
and so be ready when the hard days come.
Keep us faithful as you are faithful.
We ask these and all things in the name of the One who is coming.
Amen.
Forgiveness is woven into the fabric of creation. The ability to turn and try again is a gift. So let go of guilt and shame, and let God’s forgiving grace take root in you, in order that the hope of new life may grow and bear fruit for God’s kingdom. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Sanctuary Children’s Time
Sanctuary Hymn: 279 Make Way Make Way OR 321 Come and Join the Celebration — vote for your favourite!
Scripture Reading: Daniel 6.1-27 (Common English Bible)
Today’s story takes place during the time when the Israelites were in exile. The Babylonian kingdom had fallen and there was a new empire rising: the Persian empire. The new king was called Darius. I am reading in the book of Daniel, chapter 6, from the Common English Bible.
Darius decided to appoint one hundred twenty governors throughout the kingdom, and to set over them three main officers to whom they would report so that the king wouldn’t have to be bothered with too much. One of these main officers was Daniel. Because of his extraordinary spirit, Daniel soon surpassed the other officers and the governors—so much so that the king had plans to set him over the entire kingdom. As a result, the other officers and the governors tried to find some problem with Daniel’s work for the kingdom. But they couldn’t find any problem or corruption at all because Daniel was trustworthy. He wasn’t guilty of any negligence or corruption.
So these men said, “We won’t find any fault in Daniel, unless we can find something to use against him from his religious practice.”
So they ganged together and went to the king. They said to him, “Long live King Darius! All the officers of the kingdom, the ministers, the royal advisors, and the governors advise the king to issue an edict and enforce a law, that for thirty days anyone who says prayers to any god or human being except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a pit of lions. Now, Your Majesty, issue the law and sign the document so that it cannot be changed, as per the law of Media and Persia, which cannot be annulled.” Because of this, King Darius signed the document containing the law.
When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. Now his upper room had open windows that faced Jerusalem. Daniel knelt down, prayed, and praised his God three times that day, just like he always did. Just then these men, all ganged together, came upon Daniel praying and seeking mercy from his God. They then went and talked to the king about the law: “Your Majesty! Didn’t you sign a law, that for thirty days any person who prays to any god or human being besides you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into a pit of lions?”
The king replied, “The decision is absolutely firm in accordance with the law of Media and Persia, which cannot be annulled.”
So they said to the king, “One of the Judean exiles, Daniel, has ignored you, Your Majesty, as well as the law you signed. He says his prayers three times a day!”
When the king heard this report, he was very unhappy. He decided to rescue Daniel and did everything he could do to save Daniel before the sun went down. But these men, all ganged together, came and said to the king, “You must realise, Your Majesty, that the law of Media and Persia, including every law and edict the king has issued, cannot be changed.”
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and hurled him into the pit of lions.
The king said to Daniel: “Your God—the one you serve so consistently—will rescue you.”
A single stone was brought and placed over the entrance to the pit. The king sealed it with his own ring and with those of his princes so that Daniel’s situation couldn’t be changed. The king then went home to his palace and fasted through the night. No pleasures were brought to him, and he couldn’t sleep. At dawn, at the first sign of light, the king rose and rushed to the lions’ pit.
As he approached it, he called out to Daniel, worried: “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God—the one you serve so consistently—able to rescue you from the lions?”
Then Daniel answered the king: “Long live the king! My God sent his messenger, who shut the lions’ mouths. They haven’t touched me because I was judged innocent before my God. I haven’t done anything wrong to you either, Your Majesty.”
The king was thrilled. He commanded that Daniel be brought up out of the pit, and Daniel was lifted out. Not a scratch was found on him, because he trusted in his God. The king then ordered that the men who had accused Daniel be brought and thrown into the lions’ pit—including their wives and children. They hadn’t even reached the bottom of the pit before the lions overpowered them, crushing all their bones.
Then King Darius wrote the following decree:
To all the peoples, nations, and languages inhabiting the entire earth: I wish you much peace. I now issue this command: In every region of my kingdom, all people must fear and revere Daniel’s God because:
He is the living God.
God stands firm forever.
His kingship is indestructible.
God’s rule will last until the end of time.
He is rescuer and saviour;
God performs signs and miracles in heaven and on earth.
Here’s the proof:
He rescued Daniel from the lions’ power.
For the word of God in scripture
for the word of God among us
for the word of God within us
thanks be to God.
Sermon: waiting through the night
Before getting too far into this story, can I just say how amazing I think it is that the Bible just comes out and says that the King doesn’t want to do any work, so he set up a system where other people did the work for him? “So the king wouldn’t have to be bothered with too much” might be one of my new favourite Bible quotes.
Now that I’m over that — or now that I’ve tucked it away for a later laugh, anyway — this might seem like a strange story to start off the season of Advent. In Advent, we are waiting for the coming of Christ — both anticipating the birth of the baby Jesus and also the full and final coming of Christ’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, a new heaven and a new earth. We are expectant and hopeful and longing for God to break in and change the world.
The people of God who lived in the centuries before Jesus was born were also expectant and hopeful and longing — they had heard God’s promise over and over again, but the world still looked pretty messed up. The messianic age, when peace and justice would be real, felt far away. They were trying to do their best to be faithful in the middle of cultural and political situations that made it really difficult. And they were looking for God to do something.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The prophets have a lot to teach us about waiting for the Messiah, because they were the first to do it. They looked at the world around them and thought “surely God will come soon.” And we too look at the world around us and think “hopefully God will change things soon.” We look for the coming of Jesus, who won’t be what we expect but will be what we need. We look for any spark of light in the dark days.
Daniel was a faithful servant of God, and also a good employee of the king. He had integrity — he did what was right whether or not anyone was looking. The trouble is that his competence and integrity made other people jealous!
His colleagues saw their jobs in government as an opportunity to make extra money by taking bribes, or to get power through unscrupulous means, using their office to serve themselves rather than to serve the common good. These government officials had just one problem: Daniel was too good at his job. He had too much integrity. He was too honest and too trustworthy, took his job too seriously. He refused bribes and wouldn’t participate in corruption, and that made them look bad. It forced them to also do the right thing, because it’s too easy to get caught if there’s someone not joining in. I don’t want to say too much about how familiar these guys sound, but…I feel like this is a pretty familiar story that’s playing out in the pages of our own newspaper these days.
So these colleagues decided Daniel had to go…and the only thing they could think to do was to bully him out because of his different religion. A different religion makes someone an easy target, still today. So they tricked the king, who was, as previously noted, not that interested in doing his job, and voila: a law was created. It was what we might now call “vexatious”…it was just a way to attack the one person. But it was signed and sealed, so the game was afoot.
Daniel wasn’t interested in the games. He knew himself, and he knew his God. He knew what was required of him: to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. He did the first with his job, and the third with his prayer life. He never missed a chance to talk to God, and to follow the directions of King Solomon back when he had dedicated the Temple — to pray toward Jerusalem. He kept the window open, so he’d never be shut away from the world he was called to practice mercy toward. He knelt before God, confessed his own failings, and asked for help. There, praying, the bullies found him just as they expected. They knew he would act with the same integrity regardless of their ganging up on him, and they were ready. And Daniel was also ready: because he trusted God, day in and day out.
When the officials brought the case to the king, he realised he had been tricked. He didn’t want to persecute Daniel. He liked Daniel, and he knew that Daniel was the only one doing the job that he was too lazy to do himself. But the realisation that he had signed a law that actually took away his own power as king was harsh. He tried to find a way out of it but ultimately, that law put him second to the piece of paper, and he was forced to do as the bullies wanted…into the lion’s den Daniel went.
And then we have no idea what happened!!
Instead of telling us what Daniel and the lions did all night, the story tells us what the king did all night! We get zero words about the hero whose faithfulness and integrity landed him in hot water…and a lot of words about the king whose laziness and naivete got everyone into trouble. He fasted and prayed, he didn’t sleep, no distractions or pleasures or fun things were brought…he just worried the whole night away until the first rays of sun broke over the horizon.
Sometimes that’s what waiting for the messiah might feel like. Worrying away, looking for a sunrise that never seems to come. Hoping against hope that the impossible might happen.
In the morning the king rushed to his private zoo and shouted…and found Daniel perfectly fine, waltzing out of the lion’s den like nothing had happened. Maybe they had all curled up for a nap, the way my cats like to sleep under the duvet. Maybe the lions were talkative and they chatted all night. Maybe they just sat at looked at each other. We have no idea what Daniel felt or thought, what the lions were like, not even how many there were! But the king was so relieved to see Daniel had not even a scratch on him — better than some nights with a house cat, honestly!
Daniel, though, seems so unperturbed. Of course God shut the lions’ mouths. God is faithful. Daniel trusted God long before he went into that pit, and his trust and hope sustained him through the whole night of watching and waiting for dawn. He had no need to worry, or to fast and pray, or to weep the night away like the king. He simply sat down and trusted in the hope that God had given him over all these years of faithful prayer and work.
The season of Advent invites us to do that too: to sit and trust in the hope God has given us. To practice trust, and practice hope, so that when the dark night is so long, we will be prepared to look for the light without the stress and worry the king experienced. To be diligent in prayer, regardless of our circumstances, so that when we find ourselves facing our fears, or suffering at the hands of another, or in a situation where our integrity is tested, we will have the connection to God that builds up inner strength.
It seems a weird story to begin Advent, but also exactly what we need: two different visions of what waiting through the night for dawn to break can look like. The king, worried and anxious, hoping against hope that the impossible might happen, rushing toward the dawn without knowing whether life or death is on the other side. Or Daniel, acting with integrity, persevering in prayer, full of hope, trusting that God will be faithful all the way through the darkest night, bringing new life with the morning light.
May we look for the light, not anxiously but hopefully.
Amen.
Online Hymn: O Come Divine Messiah
Sanctuary Hymn: 303 It Came Upon the Midnight Clear OR 315 Once in Royal David’s City — vote for your favourite!
Sanctuary Offering and Response (hymn 277 verse 1)
Lo, he comes with clouds descending,
Christ, the Lamb, for sinners slain;
thousand thousand saints attending
join to sing the glad refrain:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign.
Announcements
*Bowl & Blether
*Christmas Post
*Giving Tree / Gift Day
*Wednesday Bible Study
*Conversation Corner Wednesdays 1-2
*Bubblegum & Fluff
*Session meeting Monday 9 December 7:30pm
*Contact Group
*Jesus’ Birthday Party
That’s a lot going on in our community! Please consider yourself invited to participate, and to pray for all the activities, ministry, and mission God is calling us to do together. And now, let us join together in prayer.
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You are the One in whom we hope,
for You are the living God who endures forever.
We come before you in awe and wonder,
with gratitude for your saving power.
Far beyond what we dare to ask,
you sustain and provide,
coming alongside us to sit with us in troubled times,
standing as our strength and refuge,
giving life when death seems all around.
We give you thanks,
and we pray for this world that needs to know the same power that closes the mouths of lions
and changes the hearts of rulers.
Come with grace that opens the minds of those leaders who can only imagine the old ways.
Come with love that turns us all toward our neighbours.
Come with compassion that leads us into generosity.
Come with vision that leads us forward.
Come with hope that empowers us to seek your kingdom.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
May a world at war finally know justice.
May neighbourhoods long neglected finally receive resources.
May families struggling in silence finally be cared for.
May those who grieve in this season finally see just a glimmer of light.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
For those who are too easily dismissed as collateral damage, we ask your strength.
For those who seek their own good rather than the common good, we ask your disturbance.
For those whose trust has been betrayed, we ask your healing.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
On this 1st day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to pray
*To see your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, O God.
*For the Bible Study group at St John’s, for the Intercessory Prayer Group, and the Sunday morning prayer group, that they may encounter you, Living God, in word and prayer.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
Fill the hungry with good things,
and lift up those whose spirits have been crushed by the ways of the world.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
Work your signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, in the smallest and largest ways.
Come, Lord, quickly come.
We look for you with hope, as we pray in your holy name,
Immanuel, God with us.
We ask these and all things in the name of Christ, whose kingdom has no end
and who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Sanctuary Hymn: 301 Hark the Herald Angels OR 324 Angels from the Realms of Glory — vote for your favourite!
Benediction
Practice trusting God now, that when the hard days come, divine hope may sustain you.
And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you. May the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion. May the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way, and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone. And may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.
Sung Benediction Response (John L Bell, tune Gourock St John’s)
Now may the Lord of all be blessed,
Now may Christ’s gospel be confessed,
Now may the Spirit when we meet
Bless sanctuary and street.
Postlude Music
Announcements
* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and Sunday worship is also online. If you are able, please enter by the front door in Bath street, and only those who need step-free access should use the back door. If you feel unwell, please worship online, to protect both yourself and others in our community.
* The Sunday evening service is on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. We have toasties and sandwiches together from 5:30 and the service will start at the back of 6. All are welcome for this simple meal and time of worship. The Sunday evening service is informal and reflective, with guitar-based music, Bible readings, and prayer for our parish. Come along and discover practical ways to apply the word to your life, in a chilled vibe that fosters connection and reflection.
* The first Sunday of the month at 11am is now an all-age service, with different ways of encountering God’s word without a traditional sermon. All people — young and old, different personalities and learning styles, are welcome! You’ll find a more informal service with a variety of music, a Bible story, prayer, and some more interactive elements. The online service for the first Sunday will therefore also be different — there will still be a reading, prayers, and music, but usually not a sermon.
* Charlene is available for Conversation Corner (Vestry Hour) on WEDNESDAY AFTERNOONS in December and January, from 1-2pm. Just ring the bell at St John’s Road and she’ll have the kettle on for you! Come in to chat about anything you’d like.
* Bowl and Blether is on the first and third Mondays of each month through the winter, the next one is TOMORROW Monday 2 December. Doors open at 11:30am, soup and toasties are served from noon – 1:30. All are welcome to join us for lunch and a chat in our cozy warm hall. Volunteers are also needed and welcome, please speak to Teri or Charlene if you’d like to volunteer for set up, toastie-making, serving, or clean up.
* The chaplaincy team is running Bubblegum & Fluff, a programme for P5 pupils to learn the real Christmas story, on Monday and Tuesday the 2nd and 3rd of December, in OGA, and Wednesday and Thursday the 4th and 5th of December in St Margaret’s. If you would be able to volunteer to help from 9-12 please speak to Teri. The volunteers we have from the local church is crucial to this outreach. Thank you!
* Greenock Philharmonic Choir have their Christmas Concert on Saturday 7th December in Lyle Kirk, Union Street, Greenock, starting at 7:30pm. Special guests will be the Riverside Youth Band and Angel Voices children’s choir from Kilmalcolm. Tickets are £12, which includes festive refreshments. Under-18s and students are free. For more information see the choir’s website or Facebook page.
* The Gourock Schools & Churches Together community carol service will be NEXT Sunday 8 December at 4pm at OGA and all are welcome! We’ll have musical contributions from all the schools, reflections from the clergy, and plenty of carol singing too.
* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday 10 December at 2pm when we will celebrate our service of lessons and carols. Our Syllabus of Events is available for £5.
* We are hosting Jesus’ Birthday Party for all children in P1-P7 on Sunday 15 December from 2-4pm in the large hall. Invite all the young people you know to come along for birthday cake, games and crafts and stories and songs! If children would like to bring a birthday gift, they should choose something for a child the same age they are, label the gift with the gender and age, and we will ensure it gets to a child who needs a bit of help celebrating this Christmas.
* The Gourock Schools and Churches Together community afternoon tea concert will be held at Clydeview Academy on the afternoon of Monday 16 December. Tickets available soon!
* Starter Packs are in need of kitchen and bathroom cleaner, cloths and kitchen paper.
The FoodBank are in need of diluting juice, long-life juice, tinned ham, tinned tuna, and UHT milk.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!
* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £3000 per week? Everything we do is funded by your generous giving — all our support for young people, older people, bereavement care, community outreach, worship, study, spiritual growth, and community work is because of your offering. If you would like to set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Teri and she can give you the treasurer’s details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. It is also possible to donate to the work of the parish assistant, speak to Anne Love about how to go about directing new donations to that new item in the budget.
* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email.
* Wednesday Evening Bible Study is reading the gospel according to Luke on Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm in the manse. All are welcome!
* Free period products are available in the church toilets for anyone who might need them, thanks to Hey Girls and Inverclyde Council.
