Sunday service for 11 August 2024

Sunday 11 August 2024
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Ms Tamsin Munro, student minister
Manse: 632143 
Email Teri: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music

Welcome & Announcements

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.

Call to Worship (adapted from Psalm 139)
One: God, you shaped us first inside, then out;
 you formed us in the womb.

All: We thank you, High God—you are breathtaking!

One: Body and soul, we are marvellously made!

All: We worship in adoration of your creation!

One: You know us inside and out,

All: We humble ourselves before you.

One: Like an open book, you watch us grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of life are spread out before you,

All: We praise you God for your unconditional and everlasting love.

Sanctuary Hymn 184: Sing to the Lord a Joyful Song

Prayer
Gracious and loving God,
We come together as Your church family today
Looking to You for guidance and assurance,
We ask that You support us,
In hearing Your words and knowing Your will,
Not only for ourselves but for Your church.

God, You knitted us together in the womb,
And You knit us together still, as one church,
For this, we thank You.

Ultimate creator, You have shown us Your unconditional love and grace,
Through the sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ,
And You remind us of Your unconditional love,
By the presence of Your Holy Spirit day by day.

God, You love us all,
Not in spite of our differences,
But because in them,
You have created us in Your perfect image.

We come to You today with open hearts,
We know we come to You broken,
And we ask that You forgive us,
Forgive us for times when we have forgotten Your love and Your commandments,
For times when we have been caught up and what is going on around us,
And have forgotten to focus on Your love,
We look to You God for forgiveness,
For times when we have not shown Your love and our actions or inactions.

Merciful God,
We thank You for the assurance of Your forgiveness,
We thank You for the security found in Your love,
Knowing even when we fail to do good,
You love us regardless,
And provide us with alternative opportunities to share the compassion that Jesus shared.

Compassionate creator,
As we enter this season, exploring spiritual gifts,
We ask for Your guidance,
For Your support,
To help us recognise the gracious gifts You have given us,
And we ask for a more fervent spirit,
That we may take these gifts,
And enter the world to spread Your good news.

God of all,
Equip us,
To embrace the gifts, You have given us,
And use them for the benefit of Your church,
And of all Your creation.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

Online Hymn 519: Love Divine

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Sanctuary Hymn 204: I am the church, you are the church vv. 2 & 5


Scripture Reading: Romans 12:1-16 (New Revised Standard Version)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Sermon:
What is in your heart?

I don’t mean the physical heart but your spiritual heart, the one we all talk about. There’s no denying that life comes from the heart, it plays a pretty important role and keeping us going. Again, I don’t just mean the physical heart, but what you have on your spiritual heart is what motivates you, is what drives you, is what helps you recognise your purpose.

Sappho, the Greek poet, wrote in the 7th century:
“Love shook my heart, Like the wind on the mountain Troubling the oak-trees”
Even in the 7th century, people would talk about how their heart moves them, motivates them, inspires them.

Aristotle said that the heart held supremacy and all human process.

Even today the heart holds significance, in ancient Rome, it was believed that the ring finger on your left hand was directly connected to your heart. To this day many still wear their wedding rings on their left ring finger to show their love for their spouse.

Ancient Egypt believed that the heart was the seed of life, from which all things flow.

In 2024, our understanding of the biological importance of the heart’s importance agrees with ancient Egypt and in a way I’m sure we could argue with Aristotle.

But what does the Bible say? Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us to “love the Lord our God with all your heart”. In John 14:6, Jesus tells us he is the life. In Mark 12:30, Jesus declares the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. Historically, Biblically, love and the heart go hand in hand.

But how do we do that and what does it have to do with our Spiritual gifts?

Let me introduce you to our good friend Paul. We may not always like what he has said but here, he provides us with a fabulous nugget of guidance. Paul outlines what he sees as the principles of Christian love, and the importance of using your Spiritual gifts to share God’s love.

Now I have a question. Do you know how many Spiritual Gifts there are?

There is 24! 24! That is a lot in my eyes.

Do we need to have them all? Well, no. In verse 2 Paul tells us “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God”.

What does conforming to this age mean? It will look different for many people, but we can’t ignore the impact that the social media world has on the real world. Constantly seeing the best of other peoples lives and thinking you should be doing the same. The truth is, just because one area of their house that you see is tidy, doesn’t mean the rest is. Just because they seem to be super fit and healthy, doesn’t mean they are happy. America Ferera’s character in the Barbie movie has a fabulous scene that sums up the pressures many women face, but it is not just women who face unrealistic expectations of being perfect all the time. Being transformed and renewed in our minds and discerning God’s will helps to free us from these expectations and will allow us to live more fully and contentedly for God.

So let’s forget the 24 Spiritual Gifts, and focus today on three. Three that stem from the heart, that show God’s love and hopefully if you have been one of these gifts you will start to recognise it in yourself, or maybe even in others.

A pretty crucial one to consider in a church environment is faith. Faith is a spiritual gift, it is not something that happens naturally for everyone. It can take time to build a relationship with God to understand what it really means to have faith.

Faith is not a one size fits all. We should not be comparing our faith to others, we should be living it in whatever measure we have it currently. Faith, much like the heart, is within us, and from it we act. We won’t all wear our faith on our sleeve.

A friend once said to me, faith is like a flame. Some people will talk about being “on fire for God”. But if you consider a bonfire, what happens if you load it with petrol and diesel? It burns hot, it burns fast, and if you are too busy adding petrol and nothing else to sustain it, it will burn itself out. However, if you have a gentle bonfire, that is fed occasionally, it can last throughout the entire winter. Back home, when I was much younger my Dad decided to start a bonfire, this was the end of October, everyday he would go out and add a little more to it, in early December it snowed, but that bonfire was still glowing gently under the snow, because it was looked after every day. It wasn’t a big showy, impressive bonfire, you probably couldn’t even toast marshmallows on it, but it was there and it survived far more than you would expect.

As Paul writes in verse 12, rejoice in the hope, that faith, no matter how small, can last. Be patient and persevere, even when it seems there is little to wait for. Faith as an action of love allows you to respond to adversity with grace, trusting God is in control. Even a lukewarm trust can grow warmer in the presence of God.

Compassion is a far easier trait to understand as a part of the heart. If you have a heart for God and you want to show love you may consider it compassion. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is one of your Spiritual Gifts.

I guess the general expectation of compassionate people is that they make everyone happy. The bringers of joy. Not inappropriate joy, not like the window in Port Glasgow you see on the train that still has Santa on the window. But joy brings a genuine smile to your soul. Compassion gives joy that shines from the inside, it comes from recognising someone’s need and meeting it.

Here, is where I disagree with Paul, at least, according to this translation. Compassion is not necessarily cheerful. When someone is in a period of struggle, what do you do? Do you invite them out to a party, or do you pick up their shopping for them? It’s easy to confuse joy and cheer for compassion but as a spiritual gift we need to look deeper at the meaning and the actions that someone will naturally take.

Compassion can involve sitting with someone whilst they cry, it could be having someone round for a cup of tea, in some cases it could be an unprompted phone call just to see how someone is. It sounds simple, but the spiritual gift of compassion requires a genuine love of empathy, kindness and concern for others. It’s more than just actions, but a deep and true care for others.

You may be like me and someone who is compassionate, but doesn’t quite have the spiritual gift of compassion. We may have a deep concern for others but the business of life might take up more of our focus than we would like. But that’s okay, we don’t all have to have the same spiritual gifts, or even the spiritual gifts we value more.

Last, but by no means least we have exhortation, which is a form of encouragement.

This is a great gift to start with on our season of spiritual gifts. Because, we need those who can encourage us, some of us need help us realise and find our gifts. Hopefully, we can find some of our encouragers this week to help others throughout the coming weeks.

Thinking encouragers, I am thinking cheerleaders.

I am someone who needs cheerleaders in my life. I think most of us do. At big sporting events it is far more common for teams to win at home games, I believe, with no evidence, that this is due to the support of the cheerleaders, or fans as we call ourselves.

The thing is we can’t always be filled with a zest for life, especially not for ourselves. And this is when we need to lean on our encouragers.

What an encourager is not? – Someone who says yes to everything and supports you even if they think you will fail. They are not someone who talks gently to you all the time.

What is an encourager? – Someone who is strict, but sees you for you and knows your talents.

There is absolutely a role for encouragers to be motivating and uplifting. But they also have a huge part to play in helping people overcome challenges, and sometimes that means pushing people when they don’t feel like it.

We don’t always end up with talents and gifts that we want and so sometimes we need a gentle push to utilise them. Our encouragers have a special role in bringing us together for the good of the Church, helping us work with others and embrace our role in conjunction with others. They inspire and encourage us to live out our faith, to live as we are called.

Our encouragers are often forgotten about in discussions about Spiritual gifts, but they have such a key role that really starts at the heart of the church. Everyone can benefit from time with an encourager, but most definitely the church.

We have many reasons to be encouraged, we have the love of God behind us, the gifts God has given within us but sometimes to see this, we need the eyes of our encouragers.

In the spirit of encouragement, I encourage you to go forth this week, considering your talents. Assessing where your gifts may be and judging your actions soundly. Don’t dismiss acts as lowlier than others, your gift is just as valuable as that of others.

Do you have a faith that burns brightly, or slow and steady? Do you share joy and meet others in compassion? Or do you recognise in others, what they may not see themselves, can you help your fellow congregants understand their value in God’s plan?

Amen

Online Hymn: Thrive (Casting Crowns)
Sanctuary Hymn 251: I, the Lord of Sea and Sky

Offering

Sanctuary Offering Response: We Are An Offering
We lift our voices; we lift our hands;
we lift our lives up to you:
we are an offering.
Lord, use our voices; Lord, use our hands;
Lord, use our lives; they are yours:
we are an offering.
All that we have, all that we are,
all that we hope to be,
we give to you, we give to you.
We lift our voices; we lift our hands;
we lift our lives up to you:
we are an offering;
we are an offering.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Lord of sea and sky,
Lord of tall and small,
Lord of young and old,
God of all,
Hear our praise and prayers to You:

We bring You thanks for giving us this space,
Space to praise you without fear,
Space to be entirely ourselves without judgement,
Space to explore the gifts you’ve given,
We thank You for the diversity,
For the variety,
Not only of gifts in this space,
But for the variety of people,
Who make up Your church,
Your Church of faith, compassion and exhortation.

We thank You for the complexity of all of Your creation,
We thank You for reminding us,
That even something as small as our fingers need our heart to work
We thank You for the connection we can explore,
And we thank You for reminding us,
That all good things come from You.

Thank You God for knowing the positive in all of us,
Even, when we may not see it in ourselves,
We pray that You give us the courage and wisdom to see this in others,
As we grow in Your love help us to grow others also.

In this moment we think of all those who do not know Your love,
Of all those who feel excluded,
Please let them know they always have a space in Your house.

Help us to be quicker to welcome people,
to recognise their gifts and to recognise their value.

In these times of conflict,
Help us to be as passionate as You,
May we remember Your grace in all interactions,
Let us continue to seek justice,
For those like us and for those not,
Recognising all people are Your people,
Deserving of safety, love and respect.

May we be a light in our communities,
To show how unique and useful we all can be to Your World.

Grant our leaders the humility to see the gifts they hold,
The Spirit, to know Your compassion,
And the Grace to discern the actions needed,
For the betterment of all people in all places.

God, we ask that the passion we see on our mobiles and television’s,
Be transformed into a passion for love and acceptance,
The passion for compassion, as taught to us by Jesus.

And on this 11th day of the month, we join our hearts as Your church family to pray:

For all who live and work in the Castle Levan area.

We pray for the leaders of St John’s congregation: for the elders, the Kirk Session, the Session Clerk and Assistant Session Clerk, and the Treasurer.

For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Hear our prayers God, both personally and as one church. Let all of our prayers and concerns be comforted by You, Almighty One.

God,
As we need our hearts to live,
Let them be filled with love for You,
That all we do may come from Your love,
And be done for Your Church and creation.

We pray these and all things in Jesus name, and as he taught us we 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 519: Love divine, all loves excelling

Benediction
May we all leave this place with love, ready to share God’s love.
Embracing the gifts we have through God, to grow and encourage all people.
Remembering that we are fearfully and wonderfully made just as we are.
And may the grace of Jesus, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all and all those whom we love.
Now and forevermore.
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 TONIGHT and on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. We’ll 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.

* Starter Packs are in need of washing-up liquid, kitchen towel plus bathroom & kitchen cleaner.
The FoodBank are in need of diluting juice, cereal (but not porridge), tinned potatoes, pasta sauce & tinned meat. You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Greenock Philharmonic Choir will be holding an Open Training Day on Saturday 24th August in Old Gourock & Ashton Parish Church from 10-30am to 5pm. The cost is £15, and all music is provided plus tea, coffee and home baking! All welcome. For singers at any level. Explore the rich world of choral music ranging from Brahms’ Requiem to non-Western traditions to build your confidence as a singer. Further info on the choir’s website and Facebook page. ​Email –  info@greenockphilharmonic.co.uk, or contact Lynne on 07802 780468.

* 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. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets on the 14th and 28th of August at 7:30pm in the manse.

* Free period products are available in the church toilets for anyone who might need them, thanks to Hey Girls and Inverclyde Council.

* The Kirk Session meets on Thursday 15 August at 7:30pm in the sanctuary.