Sunday service for 11 September 2022

Sunday 11 September 2022, NL1-1
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143 
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music

Welcome/Announcements

Call to Worship
1: When everything is going exactly according to plan,
All: God is with us.
2: When nothing is going to plan and we no longer know how to adapt,
All: God is with us.
3: When we walk humbly and when we have lost sight of the truth about ourselves,
All: God is committed to the covenant with the earth and all its creatures.
4: When we hold too tightly to wrong things
and when we learn to move where the Spirit leads,
All: God is committed to the covenant with the earth and all its creatures.
All: In success and failure, and all the messy in between,
we turn our attention to the One who will never let us go.

Hymn 160: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet thy tribute bring;
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King.

Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him, still the same for ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless:
Praise him! Praise him!
glorious in his faithfulness.

Father-like he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes:
Praise him! Praise him!
widely as his mercy flows.

Frail as summer’s flower we flourish;
blows the wind and it is gone;
but, while mortals rise and perish,
God endures unchanging on.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the high eternal One.

Angels, help us to adore him;
ye behold him face to face;
sun and moon, bow down before him;
dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace.

Prayer in thanksgiving for the life of Queen Elizabeth II
Moderator of the General Assembly

Sanctuary: Children’s Time— Song: Oh the earth is the Lord’s (chorus)

Prayer for the season

You long to be in relationship with us, O God.
You call us to walk with you,
and you choose and empower human beings to carry out your work in the world.
We do not understand why you would choose us,
what reason you might have for calling us to be your partners in love, grace, and justice.
And yet you do.
You call us to build when others tear down.
You call us to leave behind what we know while others get stuck in what might have been.
You call us to speak when others keep silent, and to listen carefully to meaning behind the noise.
Why us?
Only you know, Lord,
and we pray you would help us trust your judgment.
Open our spirits to receive your word this day,
and open our lives to walk with you, wherever you may lead.
Amen.

Reading and Reflection: Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-14; 9:8-17 
(Robert Alter translation)

And the Lord saw that the evil of the human creature was great on the earth and every scheme of his heart’s devising was only perpetually evil. And the Lord regretted having made the human on Earth and was grieved to the heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe out the human race I created from the face of the earth, from human to cattle to crawling thing to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord. This is the lineage of Noah – Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time, Noah walked with God – and Noah begot three sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth. And the Earth was corrupt before God and the Earth was filled with outrage. And God saw the earth and, look, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on the earth. And God said to Noah, “the end of all flesh is come before Me, for the Earth is filled with outrage by them, and I am now about to destroy them, with the earth. Make yourself an ark of cypress wood, with cells you shall make the ark, and caulk it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: three hundred cubits, the ark’s length; fifty cubits, its width; thirty cubits, its height. Make a skylight in the ark, within a cubit at the top you shall finish it, and put an entrance in the ark on one side. With lower and middle and upper decks you shall make it. As for Me, I am about to bring the flood, water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh that has within the breath of life from under the heavens, everything on the earth shall perish. And I will set up My covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, you and your sons and your wife and the wives of your sons, with you. And from all that lives, from all flesh, two of each thing you shall bring to the ark to keep alive with you, male and female they shall be. From the fowl of each kind and from the cattle of each kind and from all that crawls on the Earth of each kind, two of each thing shall come to you to be kept alive. As for you, take you from every food that is eaten and store it by you, to serve for you and for them as food.” And this Noah did; as all that God commanded him, so he did.

And it happened, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark he had made. And he sent out the raven and it went forth to and fro until the water should dry up from the earth. And he sent out the dove to see whether the waters had abated from the surface of the ground. But the dove found no resting place for its foot and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were over all the Earth. Then he waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark. And the dove came back to him at eventide and, look, a plucked olive leaf was in its bill, and Noah knew that the waters had abated from the earth. Then he waited still another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return to him again. And it happened in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters dried up from the earth, and Noah took off the covering of the ark and he saw and, look, the surface of the ground was dry.

And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “And I, I am about to establish My covenant with you and with your seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the fowl and the cattle and every beast of the earth with you, all that have come out of the ark, every beast of the earth. And I will establish My covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I set between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for everlasting generations: My bow I have set in the clouds to be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth, and so, when I send clouds over the Earth, the bow will appear in the cloud. Then I will remember My covenant, between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud and I will see it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and all creatures of flesh that is on the Earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the Earth.”

For the word of God in scripture
For the word of God all around us
For the word of God within us
Thanks be to God.

Sanctuary Hymn: Shades of Purple, Shades of Blue (Carolyn Winfrey Gillette 2012, tune: DIX)

Online Hymn 172: Sing for God’s Glory That Colours the Dawn of Creation

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
God who creates life and promises abundant life,
we hear your commitment to relationship rather than destruction,
and we pray for the will to match your commitment with our own.
…
In the beginning, you looked at the world and called it good.
In the beginning, you looked at humanity and called us partners.
In the beginning, you had a vision.
We confess, O God, that we have our own vision, and we cling to it.
Even when our way is not good, when it does not work,
when it harms us, our neighbours, and creation,
still we admit that we persist in spite of your call
to turn toward the new thing you are doing in our midst.
Forgive us for insisting on our own way, refusing to let you take the lead in partnership.
Forgive us for despoiling your earth with our greed, believing we are the only ones who matter.
Forgive us for ignoring the impact our choices have on the rest of the created order.
Remember your covenant, O God of rainbow promises,
and remind us too.
As you re-made all things on the face of the earth, choosing a new way of relationship,
re-make us in your image, committed to the path of loving community.
…
We look at this world you called good and we hear it groaning, crying for help.
We see the oceans rage and the waters rise, the weather getting more extreme with each passing year.
In light of your promise, we pray for relief for your world,
and for the human community to take responsibility for the changing climate.
When we sing of the animals being saved,
we pray also for the animals of today, with habitats shrinking and food and water growing scarce.
When we hear of your creation living in harmony,
we pray also for communities where nature and humans struggle rather than cooperate.
The world is not the same as when you first called forth life from the shadows,
yet we trust that your Spirit still whispers over the waters,
your Word still re-creates,
your Love still makes all things possible.
In gratitude for your creative power, and in response to your faithfulness to the world,
we ask for your help in living up to your call to care.
…
Holy God, we proclaim you immortal and immutable…
In this world of constant change, we are grateful for your unchanging love and compassion.
Yet we also give you thanks for your flexibility —
for your willingness to do a new thing,
your insistence on doing anything possible to fulfil your promise of abundant life.
You made us in your image, so we pray to have the same mind —
minds set on unchanging love,
and lives dedicated to doing whatever it takes, even changing our ways, to demonstrate that love.
…
We pray these and all things in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord, 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 172: Sing for God’s Glory That Colours the Dawn of Creation

Benediction
Trusting in the God who creates and re-creates, go out into the world with the courage to change or even to begin anew. Following the Christ whose love extends beyond our understanding, look for ways to deepen your own commitment to community. Empowered by the Spirit who is the very breath of life, let your heart be open to follow faithfully. May you walk with God, this day and every day.

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

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

* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) and we also meet in the sanctuary at 11am. If you are able, please enter by the front door in Bath street, and only those who need step-free access should use the back door. If you feel unwell, please worship online, to protect both yourself and others in our community. Masks are available at the doors for those who wish to wear one or who become unwell while in the building.

* 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!

* Youth Organisations are starting the new session. If you or anyone you know is interested in the Boys Brigade (P1 – S6), please contact Alan Aitken or 2ndgourock (at) inverclydebb.org.uk. If you or anyone you know is interested in the Brownies or Girl Guides, please visit the website to register. For the Smurfs, our youngest girls, please contact Teri and ask to be put in touch with the leader.

* Philip is organising a choir for any interested singer to come and have fun, learn some of the new hymns, and sing sometimes in worship. The choir will rehearse on some Thursday evenings at 7:30pm in the sanctuary — please contact Philip for more information: philipnor617 (at) gmail.com