Sunday service for 4 February 2024

Sunday 4 February 2024 — NL2-24
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
Email Rob, student minister: RThomson (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
One: Come, bring your burdens, your hopes, your last-ditch efforts, your pain, your longing.
All: We come seeking God’s compassion, present in Christ.
One: Whoever you are, whatever positions you hold, whatever experience life has brought you,
All: we come seeking healing, restoration, peace, grace.
One: Trusting in what Jesus can do,
All: we come seeking the One who gives life.

Sanctuary Hymn 718: We Cannot Measure How You Heal

Online Hymn 259: Beauty for Brokenness

Prayer (Rob)

Merciful God, we come to you with empty hands, carrying no righteousness of our own, we have faltered in our faith and fallen short of the love you call us to embody. We have looked at the lives of others without compassion and judged them, while we have presented a polished and flattering image of ourselves to the world.

Forgive us our many shortcomings and renew our spirits with your grace.

We stand amazed Sovereign Creator, at your boundless mercy which sustains us. Your unfailing love is our refuge, and we stand in awe of your infinite wisdom and grace. Thank you for your love, that does not fail when we feel doubt or grow tired, failing to treat others with empathy. You see us for who we are and you have adopted us as our own. Thank you for the security of being grafted in to your eternal family, made whole and accepted as who we are.

As we reflect today on healing and restoration, grant us the strength to seek reconciliation in our lives and extend it to others. May todays worship be a source of inspiration and empower us to live out the transformative message of your love.

Amen.

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Scripture Reading: Mark 5.21-43 (CEB)
Last week we heard about Jesus going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to gentile territory, and healing a man possessed by Legion by sending the demons into a heard of pigs, who then drowned in the sea. Jesus sent the man to tell people in the ten cities on that side of the lake what had happened to him, and the people of that area asked Jesus to leave. Today we pick up the story where we left off, in the gospel according to Mark, chapter 5, beginning at verse 21. I am reading from the Common English Bible.

Jesus crossed the lake again, and on the other side a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Jairus, one of the synagogue leaders, came forward. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded with him, “My daughter is about to die. Please, come and place your hands on her so that she can be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.
A swarm of people were following Jesus, crowding in on him. A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot under the care of many doctors, and had spent everything she had without getting any better. In fact, she had gotten worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. She was thinking, If I can just touch his clothes, I’ll be healed. Her bleeding stopped immediately, and she sensed in her body that her illness had been healed.
At that very moment, Jesus recognised that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”
His disciples said to him, “Don’t you see the crowd pressing against you? Yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But Jesus looked around carefully to see who had done it.
The woman, full of fear and trembling, came forward. Knowing what had happened to her, she fell down in front of Jesus and told him the whole truth. He responded, “Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace, healed from your disease.”
While Jesus was still speaking with her, messengers came from the synagogue leader’s house, saying to Jairus, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the teacher any longer?”
But Jesus overheard their report and said to the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just keep trusting.” He didn’t allow anyone to follow him except Peter, James, and John, James’ brother. They came to the synagogue leader’s house, and he saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “What’s all this commotion and crying about? The child isn’t dead. She’s only sleeping.” They laughed at him, but he threw them all out. Then, taking the child’s parents and his disciples with him, he went to the room where the child was. Taking her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Young woman, get up.” Suddenly the young woman got up and began to walk around. She was 12 years old. They were shocked! He gave them strict orders that no one should know what had happened. Then he told them to give her something to eat.

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: Tone
This week, Rob and I were talking about this reading and the different tones of voice we might use to read different parts of the story. The tone of voice we imagine when we hear scripture can really change our understanding, because tone carries with it implications. Like if I said: (~with a tone of disgust/anger~)
A swarm of people were following Jesus, crowding in on him. A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot under the care of many doctors, and had spent everything she had without getting any better. In fact, she had gotten worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. She was thinking, If I can just touch his clothes, I’ll be healed. Her bleeding stopped immediately, and she sensed in her body that her illness had been healed.
At that very moment, Jesus recognised that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

You might get the impression that I was disgusted with the woman and that Jesus was angry with her. But if I said it like this… (~sad/surprised~)

A swarm of people were following Jesus, crowding in on him. A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot under the care of many doctors, and had spent everything she had without getting any better. In fact, she had gotten worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. She was thinking, If I can just touch his clothes, I’ll be healed. Her bleeding stopped immediately, and she sensed in her body that her illness had been healed.
At that very moment, Jesus recognised that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

Then you might hear the woman as sympathetic, you’d feel sorry for her and empathise with the long suffering with no answers from doctors and treatments that make everything feel worse, the desperation and hope that might bring her to sneak up on a holy healer in the midst of a crowd…and Jesus sounds more amazed that something has happened, rather than angry.

Every line of every story we read in scripture, we have choices like this to make. And the tone we use, or the tone we imagine, makes a huge difference to how we understand the word…and that in turn affects how we approach God, how we pray, how we act, how we behave toward other people and toward creation, what choices we make. If we hear an angry tone when Jesus tried to find who touched him in the crowd, how might that affect our approach to him when we are desperate? How might it affect our feelings about people who come looking for help? If we read with a tone that imagines the woman as disgusting, someone who shouldn’t have been out in public when she was so ill, how do we then see people with long illnesses that don’t get any better? If we hear Jesus as amazed or confused or in awe when he asks “who touched my clothes?” then how does that change the way we expect him to answer us when we pray?

That woman had suffered for twelve years. Every professional she went to took her money but didn’t give her any relief. She was meant to keep apart from people, especially men, to look after herself…and after that length of time that means any family she’d had was long gone, along with her money and her friends and her hope. But somewhere deep inside herself, she found the courage to put herself out there one more time, hoping that staying anonymous and sneaking up in a crowd and just getting a brush of the hem of his tunic would be enough and she could go home again with no one the wiser. If it didn’t work, at least she hadn’t gone into anymore debt. If it did work, she could get back to a normal life that seemed a distant memory. So how do you think Jesus sounded when he started looking for her? What tone of voice do you hear his question in?

I imagine the woman as desperate, and desperately hopeful. She would not have gone out into the crowd, risking everything, for just another doctor like all the others. She had heard about Jesus and she knew he was different…and she trusted that he was different enough to be able to do something for her. When Jesus called out for her, it says she was afraid. But I also don’t think that fear was because of Jesus’ tone of voice, I think she was afraid of the rest of the crowd, swarming and pressing in on each other. This very private medical problem, which had so impacted her life for so long, and the private healing she had tried to seek, was about to become the most public scandal the village had ever seen — unclean woman sneaks up and touches famous holy man. So actually, Jesus’ tone must have been compassionate enough to draw her out of the crowd despite her fear of them…and compassionate enough to convince her that she could tell him the whole truth. Not the well-rehearsed story given to dozens of doctors, not the careful responses given to neighbours who might occasionally have asked after her but not really cared, not the resigned short version because people were tired of hearing about her suffering…she told him the whole truth. You don’t do that unless you think the person listening actually cares and wants to know. So something in the way he spoke must have convinced her.

Do we hear Jesus with a tone that invites and compels us to tell the whole truth? With compassion in his voice that says he wants us to come to him, that he is amazed by the faith it takes to reach out to him in the midst of life’s struggles? Or — especially when we’ve struggled with something for a long time — do we imagine his tone is exasperated or tired or grudging, the way we might sometimes be with others?

His response to hearing her story was to say that she was not only healed — which she already knew — but also to call her daughter. He made her family, this woman whose family had likely all abandoned her. He brought her back into community after more than a decade of being isolated. He restored her to the blessing of a normal life, which so many of us take for granted.

And after all that delay, looking for her, hearing her story, speaking with her, taking time for her in the middle of a really important and urgent journey, a messenger comes and says the line that I think is hardest to imagine the tone for:
While Jesus was still speaking with her, messengers came from the synagogue leader’s house, saying to Jairus, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the teacher any longer?”

Can you even imagine being the one to draw the short straw and have to deliver that message? How did the messenger say it? Was he in a hurry to get the words out…was he trying to mask his own heartbreak…was he worried that Jairus would be angry…was the messenger disgusted that Jairus had left his daughter’s deathbed to seek out a last-ditch random healer…was he a paid messenger just passing on what the wife said in a very matter of fact way…was he sorry for the man who had just lost a child…why bother the teacher any longer? he says. What sort of tone do you imagine the messenger used?

Jesus heard him, and looked at Jairus and said: don’t be afraid, keep trusting.

Keep trusting. The same trust that brought you away from your daughter’s bedside…the same trust that has allowed you to wait patiently through this other woman’s story and healing and restoration…keep that trust alive, even though this news makes it feel like the bottom fell out of your world. This whole experience hasn’t gone how Jairus had hoped, and now the worst has happened, and Jesus looked at him and encouraged his faith. Keep trusting. Keep walking in the same faith that brought you here in the first place.

I imagine Jesus’ tone is more urgent for this one. Not a pity tone, but an assertive one. Like that thing we do when someone is hurt and we say just keep your eyes on me, keep breathing, don’t look away, don’t worry about what the doctor is doing, just look at me…stay with me…keep trusting. Like Jesus is giving Jairus his own strength because otherwise Jairus might just crumple in a heap on the street.

Neither the woman nor Jairus and his family had the day they expected, exactly. But they both felt Jesus’ power and compassion and invitation and hope. They both experienced his strength carrying them through fear. They both found themselves restored to everyday life at the end of the day, with the most urgent problem being what to have for a snack. They both heard Jesus voice in all his love and grace and insistence.

What do we hear, when God’s word speaks to us? Not only the the words themselves on the page, but the meaning behind the words? Do we hear an invitation to come and tell our whole truth? Do we hear strength that will carry us when our legs want to give way? Do we hear compassion that makes time for the outcast and stranger even in the middle of an emergency? Or do we hear boredom? Anger? Disgust? Irritation? Or perhaps worse, nothing, no emotion at all, just words with no feeling or meaning behind them?

When you open your Bibles this coming week, I encourage you to read out loud and try out different tones of voice, different inflections, and see how it sounds when you hear God speaking to you. What difference does it make to the meaning when you hear it? And when you hear Christ calling you out of the crowd, making time for your suffering even when you think someone else has it worse…when you hear him saying “keep trusting” even though you’re not even sure you can get a breath…when you hear God look at creation and say “it was very good”…when you hear the psalmist say “I lift up my eyes to the hills…”…when you hear Jesus call you a son or daughter and say that you are made whole…listen carefully for his compassion, his grace, his strength, his demands, his love. Because that’s where the healing is. For us, and for the church and community and world, because when we hear it, we can echo it, too.

May it be so. Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn 724: Christ’s is the World in Which We Move

Online Hymn: You Are A Refuge

Offering

*Sanctuary Offering Response: God Our Gifts We Lay Before You (words: Leith Fisher; tune: Abbot’s Leigh)
God, our gifts we lay before you,
gifts of hand and heart and mind;
these we offer to adore you;
may you ever in us find
willing hands for costly giving,
spirits faithful, spirits true,
shaping in our daily living
gifts of worth to honour you.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Life-giving God,
we praise you for we are fearfully and wonderfully made,
and your will is for the healing and restoration of all things that we may again reflect your glory.
We come with gratitude for the power you display around us, through us, within us,
and for the many blessings we have known.
We come, too, with longing for the fullness of your vision to become reality,
for tears to be wiped away, for pain and suffering to be no more,
for life everlasting and light that shines on all.
We come begging for the lives and livelihoods
of our loved ones, our neighbours near and far, and your world.

Where there is fear, touch hearts with your peace.
Where there is illness, may your hand bring relief.
Where there is grief, let your living word be a guide through the shadowed valley.
Where there is suffering, may your healing bring restoration.
Walk among your people, O God,
and let us feel the brush of your cloak,
the whisper of your powerful breath on the breeze,
the grace of your presence healing all that harms us.

Where there is inequity and misused privilege, reveal a more excellent way.
Where there is violence, may your spirit of peace frustrate the designs of the powerful.
Where there is despair, shine the light of your grace through the cracks.
Where there is isolation or stigma, reach across the void and lift them into community.
Walk among your people, O God,
and call out to your children,
re-creating your family,
binding us together in your compassion and love.

We lift to you our neighbours in need —
those who have spent all they had, yet find no relief,
those who have been left alone by friends and family who don’t know what to say,
those who have waited so long that their only hope is now eternal.
Make your healing real to them today, O God, and bring them to the blessing of ordinary days.

And we lift to you those with the power to change things —
those who profit while others can’t afford medicine,
those who use war as a distraction or a game or an opportunity,
those who manipulate the suffering of others for their own benefit.
Heal their hard hearts and selfish minds, and turn their talents to your kingdom work.

Walk among your people, O God,
for we trust that even on your timescale that doesn’t match ours,
your power makes all things possible.
And so we pray these and all things in your holy name,
seeking your mercy,
trusting in your Son Jesus Christ 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 259: Beauty for Brokenness

Benediction
Friends, may we hear the truth both in and behind God’s words — the love, the invitation, the calling — and trust it is for us, and for us to echo into the world.
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

****Please can you fill in a new Gift Aid form as part of your New Year’s resolutions? We want to be sure our records are correct so we maximise our Gift Aid claims, and some of those records are outdated so we are asking everyone to do a new one. You can download it here and send it in!

The next Bowl & Blether is TOMORROW the 5th of February, doors open at 11:30 and soup and toasties are served from 12-1:30. All are welcome!
We are looking for volunteers to help make soup tomorrow morning at 9:30am, and to help service from 11:30 onwards. We are also looking for volunteers to help make soup on the 19th from 9:30am.

* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday 6 February at 2pm with Dr. Anne Pettigrew who will be talking about her world of books.

* If you would like to join the rota for tea and coffee after the service, or for reading in the service, please let us know!

* Are you over 80, or turning 80 soon? We send a birthday and Christmas card to everyone over 80 and would love to include you — please let Cameron, Teri, Charlene, or Hazel Melville know your birthday.

* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and all 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.

* Starter Packs are in need of of bathroom/kitchen cleaner, washing up liquid, dish cloths, scourers and kitchen roll.
The FoodBank are in need of UHT milk, rice pudding, long-life fruit juice & cooking sauces. You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* The school chaplaincy team will be doing Firm Foundations for P7s at Moorfoot on Tuesday 20 February, and we need someone willing to make hot chocolate and deliver it to the school between 10-10:15am. Everything except milk will be provided for you, including flasks and pots and hot chocolate mix. Please speak to Teri if you are willing to volunteer!

* 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 in the manse at 7:30pm most weeks.

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

sunday service for 28 January 2024

Sunday 28 January 2024 — NL2-23
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
Email Rob, student minister: RThomson (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
1: Sometimes the world feels so complicated.
2: Sometimes everywhere we look, we feel afraid.
3: Sometimes it just feels out of control.
4: Sometimes it’s too tragic for us to hold.
1: And also, Christ meets us here.
2: Right where we are, close to home or in a foreign land.
3: Just as we are, living the good life or barely managing.
4: Even now, to insiders and outsiders, he comes.
All: With power and purpose, Christ comes to meet us here, and we come out to meet him too.

*Sanctuary Hymn: The God of Heaven (John L Bell & Graham Maule; tune: Ho Ri Ho Ro)
Begin with Refrain:
The God of heaven is present on earth
in word and silence and sharing,
in face of doubt, in depth of faith,
in signs of love and caring.

Gentler than air, wilder than wind,
settling yet also deranging,
the Spirit thrives in human lives,
both changeless and yet changing.

Refrain

Far from the church, outside the fold,
where prayer turns feeble and nervous,
the Spirit will society’s ills
be healed through humble service.

Refrain

From rural quiet to urban riot,
in every social confusion,
the Spirit pleads for all that leads
to freedom from illusion.

Refrain

Truth after tears, trust after fears,
God leaving everyone wiser,
the Spirit springs through hopeless things
transforming what defies her.

Refrain

Prayer (Rob)
Gracious and Merciful God, we come before you in humble confession, acknowledging our many shortcomings and the times we have strayed from your path, sometimes led astray distracted by the hardships of this world and sometimes wilfully turning from your ways. We confess our moments of self-centeredness and selfishness, our hard heartedness and our anger. We humbly ask for your forgiveness.

Loving Father, we lift our hearts in praise thankful for your boundless mercy and compassion. We are amazed that burdens we cannot hope to carry on our own are as nothing when we come in to your presence. We adore you for your grace that restores and redeems.

May this time of worship draw us closer to you and strengthen our commitment not just to follow your standard but to love it, even as we fall short of it. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

*Hymn 128: How Shall I Sing That Majesty (tune: Rowan Tree)
How shall I sing that Majesty
which angels do admire?
Let dust in dust and silence lie;
sing, sing, ye heavenly choir.
Thousands of thousands stand around
thy throne, O God most high;
ten thousand times ten thousand sound
thy praise; but who am I?

Thy brightness unto them appears,
whilst I thy footsteps trace;
a sound of God comes to my ears,
but they behold thy face.
They sing because thou art their Sun:
Lord, send a beam on me;
for where heaven is but once begun
there alleluias be.

How great a being, Lord, is thine,
which doth all beings keep!
Thy knowledge is the only line
to sound so vast a deep.
Thou art a sea without a shore,
a sun without a sphere;
thy time is now and evermore,
thy place is everywhere.

Children’s Time

As you listen to the reading today, try to picture yourself in the scene. What is your perspective on the action? What’s the weather like? What do you see? smell? hear? feel? Who is there, and where? what colours are around you? What emotions come up as you participate in what happens?

Scripture Reading: Mark 5.1-20 (CEB)
Last week we read chapter 4 of Mark’s gospel, where Jesus sat in a boat to teach the crowds who gathered on the shore. He told parables about seeds, soil, the mystery of growth we cannot see happening, and light shining for all to see. Today we pick up immediately after those parables, in chapter 5, beginning at verse 1. I am reading from the Common English Bible.

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out of the tombs. This man lived among the tombs, and no one was ever strong enough to restrain him, even with a chain. He had been secured many times with leg irons and chains, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one was tough enough to control him. Night and day in the tombs and the hills, he would howl and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from far away, he ran and knelt before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!”
He said this because Jesus had already commanded him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
He responded, “Legion is my name, because we are many.” They pleaded with Jesus not to send them out of that region.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. “Send us into the pigs!” they begged. “Let us go into the pigs!” Jesus gave them permission, so the unclean spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.
Those who tended the pigs ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside. People came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who used to be demon-possessed. They saw the very man who had been filled with many demons sitting there fully dressed and completely sane, and they were filled with awe. Those who had actually seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man told the others about the pigs. Then they pleaded with Jesus to leave their region.
While he was climbing into the boat, the one who had been demon-possessed pleaded with Jesus to let him come along as one of his disciples. But Jesus wouldn’t allow it. “Go home to your own people,” Jesus said, “and tell them what the Lord has done for you and how he has shown you mercy.” The man went away and began to proclaim in the Ten Cities all that Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

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.

We study together

*What do you notice? What is Jesus showing us here? What is he telling us?

*How do you feel when you see the man — when he’s possessed, and again when he’s well?

*What reaction do you have to the loss of the herd of pigs?

*What would you want to say to Jesus about that?

*”What do you have to do with us?” the Legion says to Jesus…how do we sometimes try to keep Jesus separate from other parts of life, believing there are realms or situations or realities that are not his business?

*What would it look like for Jesus to heal the Body of Christ by purging out the empire that possesses us, and how would we feel about that?

Listen to the reading again, and notice what stands out differently after you have thought and prayed about these questions.

*What do you think is the good news for us in this story?

*What do you think is God’s challenge or calling to us through this story?

*How will you show and tell what Jesus has done back in your own everyday community?

Amen.

*Hymn 362: Heaven Shall Not Wait
Heaven shall not wait
for the poor to lose their patience,
the scorned to smile, the despised to find a friend:
Jesus is Lord;
he has championed the unwanted;
in him injustice confronts its timely end.

Heaven shall not wait
for the rich to share their fortunes,
the proud to fall, the elite to tend the least:
Jesus is Lord;
he has shown the master’s privilege –
to kneel and wash servants’ feet before they feast.

Heaven shall not wait
for the dawn of great ideas,
thoughts of compassion divorced from cries of pain:
Jesus is Lord;
he has married word and action;
his cross and company make his purpose plain.

Heaven shall not wait
for triumphant hallelujahs,
when earth has passed and we reach another shore:
Jesus is Lord;
in our present imperfection:
his power and love are for now and then for evermore.

Offering

*Sanctuary Offering Response: God Our Gifts We Lay Before You (words: Leith Fisher; tune: Abbot’s Leigh)
God, our gifts we lay before you,
gifts of hand and heart and mind;
these we offer to adore you;
may you ever in us find
willing hands for costly giving,
spirits faithful, spirits true,
shaping in our daily living
gifts of worth to honour you.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer (Rob)
Heavenly Father, our hearts are full of gratitude, thank you for the countless blessings you have bestowed upon us.

We are grateful for the life-changing lessons of your Word and that your healing touch brings liberation and restoration. We thank you for your constant presence in our lives. Thank you for breaking the chains unseen by human eyes. We ask that you keep us from wandering from you in whom we find fullness.

Thank you for the nation and culture in which we live, which while imperfect is amongst the freest in history. We ask that your word and law would continue to inspire our leaders, inform our culture shapers and strengthen our communities. We are aware how fragile the peace and prosperity we enjoy is.

We lift up those who do not know you, who do not accept your laws and your love. Those who are offended by the cross. Make us ambassadors of your grace, fill us with your spirit and use us Lord to bring the lost in to your fold.

We also pray for our wider Church community, asking for unity, understanding, and compassion among us. Help us to recognise the love of Christ in our brothers and sisters across the world who worship differently than us.

We join our voices on the 28th day of January as we pray for:

Clydeview Academy — for the young people, the teachers, the staff, and the families. Bless them with bright minds and open hearts and willing spirits, with friendship and laughter and the graciousness it takes to be in community together. May the school have the resources it needs and the families the support they need to ensure the children grow in mind, body, and spirit into the people you are calling them to be.

For those who use the building at St John’s — may they encounter your grace in our hospitality — and for the volunteers who keep the building clean and in good repair.

For the land, people, and governments of the nations of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bahamas, Bermuda, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and Cuba.

Lord, guide and inspire us to be instruments of your peace and agents of your love.

And now we join our voices together as one as we pray in the way the Lord Jesus taught us:

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: Build Your Kingdom Here (praise band)
Come set Your rule and reign
 In our hearts again
 Increase in us we pray 
Unveil why we’re made 
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
 Like wildfire in our very souls
 Holy Spirit come invade us now 
We are Your church
 We need Your pow’r in us

We seek Your kingdom first 
We hunger and we thirst 
Refuse to waste our lives
 For You’re our joy and prize
 To see the captives’ hearts released
 The hurt the sick the poor at peace
 We lay down our lives for heaven’s cause 
We are Your church 
We pray revive this earth

Build Your kingdom here
 Let the darkness fear 
Show Your mighty hand 
Heal our streets and land 
Set Your church on fire
 Win this nation back 
Change the atmosphere
 Build Your kingdom here we pray

Unleash Your kingdom’s pow’r
 Reaching the near and far
 No force of hell can stop
 Your beauty changing hearts 
You made us for much more than this
 Awake the kingdom seed in us 
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ
 We are Your church 
We are the hope on earth

Build Your kingdom here
 Let the darkness fear 
Show Your mighty hand
 Heal our streets and land 
Set Your church on fire 
Win this nation back 
Change the atmosphere 
Build Your kingdom here we pray

Benediction
Go to live in the way of Christ — the way that makes demons tremble. By the power of the Spirit, challenge the way it’s always been, reach out to the ones who have been pushed to the side, seek out opportunities to renew life. And may you know that when you do, it is the God who brings life out of death and shines light in the darkness who goes with 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

The next Bowl & Blether is next Monday the 5th of February, doors open at 11:30 and soup and toasties are served from 12-1:30. All are welcome!

We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and all 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.

Starter Packs are in need of of Kitchen Roll, Tea Bags, Shaving Foam and Razors.
The FoodBank are in need of UHT milk, rice pudding, long-life fruit juice & cooking sauces. 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, please contact Teri or Anne Love to get 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 directly to the work of the new parish assistant, speak to Anne Love about how to go about directing new donations to that new item in the budget.

Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm most weeks.

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

Sunday service for 21 January 2024

Sunday 21 January 2024 — NL2-22
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Manse: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Rob, student minister: RThomson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music

Welcome & Announcements

Call to Worship
Teri: Listen!
All: What are we meant to hear?
Teri: Stories of how God works…
1: in seeds and soil,
2: in the darkness of the earth,
3: in the unexpected consequences of growth,
4: in people whose methods surprise us.
All: What if we don’t understand?
Teri: Listen again!
All: Thankfully, nothing is hidden forever…we come to hear.

Hymn 716: Come and Find the Quiet Centre

Prayer
Your good news, O God, is precious to us,
and we confess that sometimes we treat it like it’s fragile, rare, and meant only for the few.
All the while you are out scattering good news everywhere,
with no thought as to whether the recipients are worthy or ready.
Forgive us, extravagant God,
for our tendency to judge what communities deserve your grace,
and which can safely be ignored while we focus on those most likely to be a success story.
Forgive us, God of abundant life,
for hoarding your love for ourselves
and assuming those other places and people wouldn’t know what to do with it.
Forgive us, creator God,
for focusing so much on the right way to share your good news
that we stunt our growth and restrict your harvest.
Turn us aside from the empire’s insistence on efficiency and productivity and control
and toward your kingdom ways of sharing far and wide,
trusting in your mysterious work under the surface.
Let the light of your grace shine today,
in and through us,
in and through your word,
in and through the community in which you plant us,
bringing growth to your garden.
Let your light shine today,
and re-orient us and our habits and our attention,
so that more and more light might shine forth,
making your kingdom way of life not only visible but accessible,
that all may grow in faith, hope, and love.
We ask in the name of the One who is the Light of the world.
Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn 604: Holy Wisdom, Lamp of Learning

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Scripture Reading: Mark 4.1-34 (English Standard Version)
Last week we heard about Jesus healing and teaching, both in ways that stretched the minds and hearts of people around him to their limits and beyond. He continued to heal and teach and challenge people’s understanding and expectations, to the point that people questioned whether perhaps he was actually possessed by a spirit, and his family came to try to bring him home! But he replied that those who do God’s will are his true family, and he carried on. We pick up the story today in the gospel according to Mark, chapter 4, and I am reading from the English Standard Version.

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that
“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,  and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

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: Good Soil
Last week we touched upon the perseverance, and I think it would be fair to say bold faced insistence, of the friends of the paralysed man. I, like Teri, think that there is a lot in that story. What jumps out for me is a willingness to quite literally damage the established architecture, if that’s what it takes to carry someone to witness God’s grace. We then reflected on what it looks like to honour things and acknowledge their usefulness or lack of usefulness in given circumstances, be they traditions, musical styles, attitudes, skill sets, buildings, or wine skins.

This week is all about the parables, I was recently taught that a parable is “the presentation of some spiritual truth under the guise of an incident belonging to the material sphere”. A very fancy textbook definition. C.S. Lewis, the author of ‘the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’ said: “parables are like windows through which the light of heavenly truths shine into our earthly minds”. A very fancy artistic sounding definition. My own understanding is that a parable is a simple story with a complicated lesson. Perhaps a very oversimplified definition.

I wondered to myself as I prepared for this Sunday, while reflecting on last Sunday’s ponderings on honouring the usefulness of things, why did Jesus use parables? What made them useful in the circumstances He was in and what made them timeless enough that they make up a third of his teaching? Frankly, I am a pretty straightforward person, I am not very creative, or artsy and while I can read and write well enough to get by, I don’t love poetry, flowery language, or metaphors. I much prefer to have things explained to me in as logical and straightforward a way as possible. I sort of hate everything about parables, they are difficult for me to honour.

But I considered this – Jesus could have delivered detailed systematic theological lectures, laying out precise doctrines and principles. Yet, in His literally divine wisdom, He chose a method that goes beyond academic understanding. Parables engage the heart, prompting self-reflection and invite personal response. Just like digging a hole in some unfortunate disciple’s roof they require a lot of effort, and depending on where you are standing, they might be offensive or even destructive. They might hurt the head of a chronically left-brained person like me, who would rather have a step-by-step instruction manual than a lesson within a story.

It’s almost as if the Bible, God’s revealed word, authored over thousands of years, wasn’t written just to make me comfortable. Yet, honestly, most days that would suit me well. I would like God’s Word to provide me with comfortable cosy solutions, inspiring one liners, clear cut rules and a how to guide on how to live. Sometimes it does, often it brings up more questions, more things that I need to dive in to, more information for me to learn or attitudes to unlearn, more work for me to do.
Trying to read and understand God’s Word can be really tiring, and honestly since becoming Christian, things haven’t been easy for me. Sometimes it feels like someone is conspiring against me, whispering in my ear that God’s promises are for other people, not for me. Friends and family members have, to varying degrees, turned their backs on me, at times fallen out with me, shouted at me, even disowned me because I confessed Christ. I have struggled with money, worried about the rent, people have tried to break into my house. Since becoming Christian, God has blessed me with a much calmer demeanour than I had previously. However, I still struggle with a love of things that frankly aren’t Godly, and which although I have a lid on them, they make me feel unworthy to be a Christian and are constant temptations. Some of this might sound familiar to you, maybe not the specifics but the general overarching themes. Self-doubt, conflict, distractions, and temptations.

Its just as Jesus said in the parable of the sower, the farmer sows the Word. But the little voice telling us that we aren’t good enough, that we don’t fit the bill, that God would never love someone like us. That voice is Satan, whatever or whoever we understand him to be, he is the adversary, accuser, and the tempter. If we let him, he will stop us from listening to the Word of God, snatching the seed away.

It’s just as Jesus says the farmer sows the Word. But some people won’t like us and that is just a fact of life, part of being human and living in community, but sometimes they will hate us because we are Christian, or not the right kind of Christian. That can be hard to deal with, the pressure to believe or say we believe something that we don’t. Sometime people will demand that we defend God’s Word and, in my experience, often deal with people’s uncharitable and factually inaccurate ‘straw man’ opinions on what it says. Which can lead to arguments and debates that we just don’t feel equipped to have. Sometimes it can be easier to just be surface level. Not to let God’s presence in our life grow and take up too much space, cause too many arguments. But this means it doesn’t really take root in our lives, it can’t thrive like it should, and we miss out.

It’s just as Jesus says the farmer sows the Word. But we need to work overtime, the dogs need walked, someone needs a lift to the hospital, the roof is leaking, and that’s just Tuesday. In some ways we have easier and more convenient lives than ever before, but in other ways we have more demands on our time than ever, and we are never switched off, never disconnected, never on our own. Finding time to breathe, do some self-care, or to pray and really dive into God’s word is incredibly difficult. I know that I haven’t managed to have a full cup of hot coffee outside of a meeting in 3 months. It is literally part of my job to read the Bible and with what I have going on in my life, I am pretty much lucky if I manage a few verses a week. The thorns grow thick and fast, and they won’t be ignored.

It turns out that whether or not I like parables, at some point in my journey, the three poor soil types in this parable have perfectly described my life. There are lessons for me to learn from this, that a straightforward list of rules could never teach me. The way in which I view this parable today compared to when I first read it is a stark contrast. I am ashamed to admit that when I first read this parable I assumed I was obviously the good soil and I felt pretty superior to all those silly, shallow, easily distracted, poor soil people, who weren’t really listening to the Word. Now, I think it might have been me that was missing the point all along.

When I think about the times I have struggled the most in my spiritual journey and how I have got through the darkness and deepened in my faith, there is always a friend or a Church family member involved, heaping on the fertilizers of encouragement, accountability and prayer. The bad news is that none of us is the fertile soil all the time, the great news is that we don’t have to do any of this alone. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the next parable Jesus tells is the parable of the lamp. Encouraging us to let our light shine to provide light to other people and show them the way when they are struggling.

So yes, Jesus is challenging us to be good listeners and to persevere, making God’s Word a priority over the concerns of the world, even in the face of trouble. But what I am taking away from today’s parables is not a feeling of soil superiority, but a charge to recognise when others in my community need help to cut back the thorns. As we know God can do a lot with a little, so let’s commit together today to do what we can to model the kingdom of God to other people. Or if we feel like we just don’t have it in us to do that, let’s give ourselves a little bit of grace and acknowledge that a garden overgrown with thorns isn’t ruined. It isn’t ruined, it just needs a little bit of work, and it probably won’t be fixed overnight. The point of being in community is that we can water each other’s plants when needed.

Anyway, that’s enough from me, and certainly enough with the plant imagery for one day, may God bless us all, amen.

Sanctuary Hymn 606: Lord You Sometimes Speak in Wonders

Sanctuary Offering (choir to sing Gracious Spirit Holy Ghost)

Sanctuary Offering Response: God Our Gifts We Lay Before You (words: Leith Fisher; tune: Abbot’s Leigh)
God, our gifts we lay before you,
gifts of hand and heart and mind;
these we offer to adore you;
may you ever in us find
willing hands for costly giving,
spirits faithful, spirits true,
shaping in our daily living
gifts of worth to honour you.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
O God the Master Gardener,
you provide for all your creation so generously,
and you offer us abundance we can hardly imagine when we grow within your garden,
and so we give you thanks and praise.
We come with both awe and confusion at your ways.
We don’t understand how you work,
we can’t see the full picture,
but we see your kingdom sprouting here and there,
and we long for more.
Make us ready to play our part,
whatever your plans for the next step.
We see the burden creation bears, and the damage done to it,
and we pray for the strength of will to work toward healing the earth,
that it may be a source of life for all.

We see the communities that have been neglected, overlooked, and trampled down,
and we pray for the courage to reach out to those the world deems unworthy,
that they may know themselves beloved.

We see the unintended consequences, both good and bad, of choices made generations ago,
and we pray for the wisdom to make decisions with your future in mind,
that those who come after us may enjoy gifts we cannot yet imagine.

We see the difference between your kingdom values
and the priorities of our economic and political systems,
and we pray for the discernment to recognise and act accordingly,
that we may live as your Body on earth, reflecting your will as it is in heaven.

We see the hurt and need of our neighbours near and far,
and we pray for your healing to flow into every place,
and we pray too that we might be your hands and feet serving your people,
planting and watering seeds of hope and peace.

And on this 21st day of the month, we join our hearts together as your church family to pray:
*For local community groups — for the Community Council, our locality Communication & Engagement Group, and other voluntary organisations (such as the Bothy, the Shore Street Garden, Literati, Scouts, Bookbug, the Bunny Park, Library, etc). We pray for the community to be strengthened and built up in friendship as we get to know one another and work together for the common good
*For those who use the building at St John’s — may they encounter your grace in our hospitality — and for the volunteers who keep the building clean and in good repair.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Australia, New Zealand, and the continent of Antarctica.

May your seeds take root this day,
and grow in us to bear more seed that we can scatter far and wide,
that your harvest may multiply in the most surprising of ways.
Give us light enough to take the next step,
confidence enough to share your good news,
and love enough to see you at work in every place and people.
We ask in the name of your Word incarnate, Jesus the Christ,
who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn: For All the Saints Who Show Your Love (John L Bell; tune: Church Triumphant (129))

Benediction
Now let us go from this place with a willingness to give love and encouragement, to receive help and accountability. To turn up for each other and to be an example to those who do not yet know God, not just through sharing His word but by preparing the ground by giving grace and understanding. As we do may the may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us and all those we love, now and forevermore. Amen

Postlude Music

Announcements

* The Contact Group meets THIS Tuesday the 23rd of January at 2pm, with Margaret Foggie talking about Zimbabwe.

* Starter Packs are in need of of Kitchen Roll, Tea Bags, Shaving Foam and Razors.
The FoodBank are in need of UHT milk, rice pudding, long-life fruit juice & cooking sauces. You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm most weeks.

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

Sunday service for 14 January 2024

Sunday 14 January 2024 — NL2-21
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
Email Rob, student minister: RThomson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

Prelude Music

Welcome & Announcements

Call to Worship
Teri: Come, gather round —
1: seeking a word,
2: seeking hope,
3: seeking healing,
All: Jesus, living Word of God, is here.
Teri: Come, gather round, for Jesus is calling us —
1: from ordinary work,
2: from long traditions,
3: from friends and family,
All: Jesus invites us to new life with him.

Sanctuary Hymn: God of History — Recent, Ancient (text: Jane Parker Huber 1926-2008; tune: Hyfrydol)

Prayer
The crowds gathered around you, Jesus…
what did you say to them?
What will you say to us, today?
We who come to hear your word,
to see your power,
to marvel…or to grumble…
what will you reveal today?
We pray for great wonders, of course,
and also for understanding of your way,
and courage to walk it,
which would be a wonder for all the world to see.
You say now is the time, and yours is the way,
but we admit we aren’t quite ready for what you’re proposing.
Forgive us when we look down on the very people you came to love and serve.
Forgive us when we can’t quite stretch to include all your people in our own community,
and when we insist no one else should either.
Forgive us for the many times when your Body, the Church, does not reflect your life on earth.
Gather us in and open our hearts to sit at table with all your people,
celebrating and creating the community of love you bring to fulfilment in Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray.
Amen.

Hymn 187: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Scripture Reading: Mark 2.1-22 (Common English Bible)
Last week we heard about Jesus being baptised in the Jordan River, spending time in the wilderness being tempted, and then healing and teaching in Capernaum before going out to other towns and villages to spread the word of God’s kingdom, because that is his mission. Today we pick up the story in Mark chapter 2, beginning at verse 1, and I am reading from the Common English Bible.

After a few days, Jesus went back to Capernaum, and people heard that he was at home. So many gathered that there was no longer space, not even near the door. Jesus was speaking the word to them. Some people arrived, and four of them were bringing to him a man who was paralysed. They couldn’t carry him through the crowd, so they tore off part of the roof above where Jesus was. When they had made an opening, they lowered the mat on which the paralysed man was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven!”
Some legal experts were sitting there, muttering among themselves, “Why does he speak this way? He’s insulting God. Only the one God can forgive sins.”
Jesus immediately recognised what they were discussing, and he said to them, “Why do you fill your minds with these questions? Which is easier—to say to a paralysed person, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk’? But so you will know that the Son of Man has authority on the earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralysed, “Get up, take your mat, and go home.”
Jesus raised him up, and right away he picked up his mat and walked out in front of everybody. They were all amazed and praised God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”
Jesus went out beside the lake again. The whole crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he continued along, he saw Levi, Alphaeus’ son, sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and followed him.
Jesus sat down to eat at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples. Indeed, many of them had become his followers. When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?”
When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
John’s disciples and the Pharisees had a habit of fasting. Some people asked Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but yours don’t?”
Jesus said, “The wedding guests can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
“No one sews a piece of new, unshrunk cloth on old clothes; otherwise, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and makes a worse tear. No one pours new wine into old leather wineskins; otherwise, the wine would burst the wineskins and the wine would be lost and the wineskins destroyed. But new wine is for new wineskins.”

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: a perpetual supply of new wineskins
Many of you know that Mark is my favourite gospel, and that the story of the four people who won’t be deterred in carrying their friend to Jesus is my favourite story in the entire gospel…literally if I had to choose just one story from the whole New Testament, I think it would be that one. I was all ready to preach about this story again because I could talk endlessly about how it’s so amazing — it teaches us that our faith can affect other people, that perseverance in faith matters, that community and holding each other up and carrying each other through the hard times, bringing each other to Jesus when we can’t get there ourselves, is important. It’s what church is supposed to be. And Jesus doesn’t just heal the man’s body, but his spirit and life, he starts with what’s most important and then proves his ability to forgive — which is really proving his identity as God in the flesh — by telling the man to get up and walk. And everyone is amazed and says they’ve never seen anything like it. I could probably preach a month’s worth of sermons on it, at least.

But this week I have not been able to stop thinking about the end of this reading instead of that story I love so much. “No one pours new wine into old leather wineskins; otherwise, the wine would burst the wineskins and the wine would be lost and the wineskins destroyed. But new wine is for new wineskins.”

I was so looking forward to spending more time with the four friends, but those last two sentences will not let go of my mind. So let’s talk about wineskins.

A wineskin is just that — an animal skin, stitched into a pouch, lined with pitch or resin, and used for wine. New wine would still have fermenting to do and as the yeast does its thing it would expand, so you need a nice supple new skin that will stretch and grow with the wine…an old wineskin, which is done stretching and is beginning to dry out, won’t work. You can use an old wineskin to store mature wine, and to travel with already-aged wine, or maybe even for water, but not for new wine. And at some point the used wineskins dry up and crack can’t be used again.

And of course, every new wineskin becomes an old wineskin.

Just as once playing the organ in a church service was an innovation requiring permission of the presbytery and even the general assembly…just as once our favourite hymns were newfangled tunes no one liked to sing…just as the idea that every person could talk directly to God, and read God’s word for themselves, was once a heresy the church wanted to put a stop to…every new wineskin becomes an old wineskin. The ideas that once were new, and rough around the edges, the things we started doing in worship that maybe had potential or maybe just made your mouth pucker or your eyes roll, the activities that still needed work but some people inexplicably loved…they matured, we got used to them, and they became normal. The new wine becomes matured wine, the new wineskin becomes an older wineskin, that fits us like a glove and is comfortable and familiar. It also becomes a bit more rigid, more structured, less able to adapt or accommodate, because why would we want to when it’s such a good fit for us as we are? Those beliefs and traditions and activities and buildings — the institution that is our container — holds everything we need for us to enjoy the life of faith, right?

Jesus is clear in telling this parable that he doesn’t mean that old wineskins are useless, and that he doesn’t want to see the structures that have held us together simply torn apart. They have use for those for whom they fit perfectly…but he does tell us to take care because of their limited capacity. They become travel-size wineskins, which is okay because there’s also a diminishing amount of wine to be kept in them.

But that means we need a perpetual supply of new wineskins.

If we were to decide not to make any new ones, then that would also mean no new wine. The wine we have, aging nicely, is good enough, after all…why do we need new? New wine isn’t usually very delicious, it takes a long time to get to a drinkable state, the effort is significant and the payoff is months or even years down the line. Let’s just stick with our old wine and old wineskins. The stuff we know we like, we’re comfortable with, nourishes us and makes us feel good.

Until the wine runs out…and we haven’t got any coming up behind to continue the tradition.

Sound familiar?

This is normally the point where we panic and try to make new wine in a hurry, and just pour it into the existing structures because after all, they’re the right size for what we like, they fit us like a glove, they’re comfortable and familiar, so they must work for everything and everyone, right? Unfortunately, Jesus says, doing that will actually mean we lose the lot — the old comfy wineskin AND the new wine. We’re left with nothing, it all blows up and runs away and all we have are broken pieces and stains and regrets.

Doesn’t that also sound kind of familiar?

How often have we seen the church try to contain something new within the existing structures, only to find that actually, both the institution and the new thing are damaged in the end? How often have we tried to patch the holes in “we’ve always done this” by just plugging in new people and ended up with a bigger hole when they tear apart in different directions as the visions diverge and the reality of life in a different time pulls at the edges?

Jesus told this parable in response to being asked about why his followers don’t do the same spiritual practices as other people. And that questions was kind of a follow-up from the previous question about why Jesus and his friends sat down and ate with people who were different, who were sinners and tax collectors, who weren’t good enough for the religious systems of the day. And that question was really a follow up from the friends who lowered the man through the roof and Jesus, acting like God, forgave his sins and healed his body all in one conversation…in which no one ever actually asked for anything, he simply saw the faith of four guys and turned his attention to their friend in need.

And the traditions and institutions and worldviews struggled to stretch that much.

The question is: can ours?

Or more to the point, perhaps, are we willing to make new wineskins, and be side by side with each them? Because there clearly is a place for the old wine skins and the beautiful old wine, even as the supplies dwindle. We don’t want that destroyed. And also, over time it becomes travel-sized, and rigid, and cracked, and eventually it runs out. But luckily what was once a new wineskin eventually becomes an old one…comfortable, fits us just right…and we have to be aware that it too becomes rigid. Perhaps not unlike my love for the first story, and the things I want to see there…while the Spirit has things to say about other parts of the gospel and I want everything to fit into that one story I love so much.

Where are our new wineskins? The ones flexible enough to stretch in new directions, to hold a different vintage, to give space and support for it to bubble and change and develop into the mature wine and the old wineskin of the future. If we want mature wine, we have to have new wine, and that requires a perpetual supply of new wineskins.

If we want mature Christians, we also need to constantly be putting in the effort for new Christians…and also on making the new wineskins for them, so that we don’t end up losing both the old and new ways. Because there’s no value judgment here on the wineskins, though we often get defensive and think there is. But actually there’s only a reminder to use each for its purpose so that it can be most effective. Perhaps we, who have grown up in Christ, matured in faith, and find that our traditions and structure fit us perfectly but don’t have much stretch to include the new, still-fermenting and expanding faith that God is growing in others, could continue our own journey by allowing and helping create the spaces for the kingdom to keep growing. Not by replicating our own ways but by resourcing the new and letting them get on with it, and cheering them on when those wineskins grow into a different shape than ours did but we can still see that it’s the Spirit bubbling up inside. Not every vintage is the same, that’s what makes wine interesting and what makes the Church interesting too! And ultimately…every new wineskin becomes an old one. Every generation’s tradition was a previous generation’s innovation.

Perhaps some of us even see ourselves still having some maturing to do, still having new wine in us — we’re still expanding and stretching, the Spirit is still working in us, and actually we find we like the flexibility of the new wineskin too, it makes room for God to do something we hadn’t been able to see before.

If we’re not willing to allow and make space and provide resources for new wineskins to be made, and if we don’t want to put in the effort to make new wine, then we should not be surprised when the wine runs out in our generation.

Scholars say this little saying is the keystone for an over-arching story that lasts several chapters of Mark…and I can see why. The people who encounter Jesus in these early chapters of Mark’s telling of Jesus’ life have one of two reactions to him: either they are amazed and their amazement bubbles over into discipleship, or they are unwilling or unable to stretch to see a new thing, all they see is how if he’s allowed to continue, the things they love about their faith tradition will come apart at the seams. Isn’t that still true? We see Jesus at work and either we want to join in, or we want to put a stop to it because we’re afraid of the damage he’ll do to the systems that keep the world comfortable for us.

The roof will have to come off, and we need a perpetual supply of new wineskins, if we truly want the amazing abundant life Jesus has to offer.

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn: God Beyond Knowledge (text: Pat Bennett b. 1957, tune: 500 Slane)

Sanctuary Hymn: Faith Begins By Letting Go (text: Carl P Daw Jr b. 1944, tune: Dix)

Offering

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Gracious, merciful and loving God,
We come before you with hearts full of gratitude and reverence, thankful for the opportunity to gather as your family, sing songs of love and to hear your Word.
Today’s reading reminds us of the deepness of your mercy and kindness towards us.
Thank you, Lord, for the power of the good news of salvation. We are so grateful for the healing power of your Son, who has the power not merely to restore physical health but to forgives sins and bring spiritual renewal. In moments of weakness, may we turn to you, trusting in your mercy and grace to heal our brokenness.
Thank you for the relative warmth and shelter provided by our homes. For those who keep our homes, towns, and cities safe from fire, rushing towards danger. To the men and women in our armed forces dedicated to protecting us from danger. For those who serve in our intelligence services, cyber security, civil services, and administration keeping everything from power stations to water processing safe and functional.
We pray for those in our community who need healing—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Be with those who are burdened by illness, grief, or challenges, offering them comfort and strength in their times of need. We pray for the caregivers, the doctors, and all those who extend a helping hand, that they may be instruments of your love and compassion. Most of all we pray for those who struggle on, feeling that they have no need of a relationship with you, may they hear and respond to your voice and be comforted.
Lord, we also bring before you the broken systems and structures in our world. May your justice prevail, and may we, as your people, be agents of change and reconciliation. While we are thankful for all the many privileges, we enjoy we acknowledge that we contribute to a system that views medicine, security and even war as products to be profited from. Guide our leaders with wisdom and empathy, that they may govern with justice and compassion.
On this the 14th day of the month we join our hearts as a Church family to pray
*For all who live and work in the Cardwell Bay and upper Cardwell Bay areas.
*For those who use the building at St John’s — may they encounter your grace in our hospitality —and for the volunteers who keep the building clean and in good repair.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Comoros.
As we pray, help us to be mindful of your call to love one another as you have loved us. Empower us to be vessels of your grace, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with those who have yet to experience the depth of your love.
We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer.
Now we join together, our voices as one, as we pray in the way Jesus taught His disciples to pray:

Sanctuary Hymn: God Beyond Knowledge

Benediction
Beloved in Christ,
Just as Jesus reached out to the paralysed man, calling him to rise and walk, we are called to embrace and demonstrate the transformative power of Christ in our lives. Go forth with a heart full of compassion and a willingness to reach out to those in need. And as you do, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.

Postlude Music

Announcements

***If you use offering envelopes, please speak to Anne Love to get the new year’s envelopes and ensure your name is connected to your number! Also PLEASE make sure your Gift Aid form is up to date. We have at least one person giving faithfully with an envelope we don’t have a name for, so please double check as that means we can’t claim Gift Aid without a form, and gift aid increases your generosity by 25% without you doing anything else!

* The next Bowl & Blether is TOMORROW 15 January, with doors open from 11:30-1:30. It’s a great opportunity to get out and meet some people and have a meal and some social time!

* A service to celebrate the union of Inverkip and Skelmorlie/Wemyss Bay congregations will take place in the Skelmorlie church building on Tuesday 16 January at 7pm, and Teri is the preacher.

The Kirk Session will meet on Thursday, 18th January, 2024, at 7.30pm.

* The Contact Group meet next on Tuesday the 23rd of January at 2pm with Margaret Foggie talking about Zimbabwe.

* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and all 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.

* Starter Packs are in need of Kitchen Roll, Tea Bags, Shaving Foam and Razors.
The FoodBank are in need of UHT milk, rice pudding, long-life fruit juice & cooking sauces. You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm most weeks.

* Young Adult Bible Study meets on Zoom on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 7pm, contact Teri for the Zoom link.

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

Sunday service for 4 February 2024

sunday service for 28 January 2024

Sunday service for 21 January 2024

Sunday service for 14 January 2024

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