Sunday service for 10 May 2026, sixth Sunday of Easter

Sunday 10 May 2026, Sixth Sunday of Easter
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

If the video doesn’t play here, please click here to view on our YouTube channel!

Sanctuary Prelude Music (praise band)

Welcome
*loop
*tea/coffee
*visitors etc
*Bible Study Wednesday 7:30ish in the manse
*Exploratorium volunteers — especially kitchen and shepherds
*Prayer groups

God-sightings

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.

Opening Responses
One: God who knows us calls
All: inviting us to know God, too.
One: God who seeks us calls
All: inviting us to be curious enough to seek, too.
One: God who loves us calls
All: inviting us into life anew.

Sanctuary Hymn GWA202: God, May Our Church Reflect Your Grace

Easter Prayer

You were and you are and you will be, O God,
and by your word all things were created.
You cannot be contained by our ideas,
let alone by our buildings or our books,
and yet you let yourself be known to us
and you continually reveal your goodness.
While we fumble about seeking,
reaching for everything but you,
still you are near to us.
While we make you in our own image
confining you to our imaginations,
still you call us your own children
and bring forth your image in us.
God beyond,
we pray you would move us out of our bubble today.
Take us out of our comfort zone
and show us who you would have us meet,
what you would have us learn,
how you would have us share.
Give us hearts open to recognise you in the most unexpected places,
give us words to share your good news,
give us grace to go beyond as you do.
We praise you for your resurrection power
at work in your world even when we weren’t looking for it,
drawing us ever more into your grace
day by day,
wherever we find ourselves
in your beloved world as your beloved people.
We offer you all we are,
in worship and gratitude
in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus the Christ.
Amen.

Online Hymn: As We Gather (Resound)
Sanctuary Hymn GWA216: Build a Longer Table (tune: Noel Nouvelet)

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Scripture Reading: Acts 17.16-34
Last week we heard about Paul and Silas in Philippi. When they left there, they went on to Thessalonica, and then when a riot began there, they moved to Beroea, but once again the crowds rioted and it was decided that the group would split up — Paul would go to Athens and wait there for the rest of the team to join him once they had gotten things calmed down. We pick up today with Paul in Athens, in the book of Acts, chapter 17, beginning at verse 16, in the New Revised Standard Version.

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and also in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this pretentious babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all peoples to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps fumble about for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we, too, are his offspring.’
“Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

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: if we are looking
Paul found himself in Athens — the city that considered itself the centre of culture, the birthplace of democracy, the home of the gods, and so much more. Athens was THE place to be for theatre, music, art, literature, philosophy, history, architecture, mythology, and religion. Athenians were basically the influencers of their day, the ones who determined if a new trend was…well, trendy. They talked about the newest thing, and tried to convince others to join in, to buy what they were selling whether it was ideas, worship, or the arts.

Paul walked around the city, like any tourist would, taking in all the sights. He listened to what people were talking about. He had conversations with people who lived there, both in the synagogue and the marketplace. Now remember he was in Athens because there had been riots in the last two towns he had visited, and the one before that he’d been flogged and thrown in prison…his companions were trying to calm things down and hoping he would stay out of trouble in a big city like Athens. So naturally Paul went round arguing with everyone about God…but in Athens they were so interested in new ideas, it went very differently than in those other towns.

By the time Paul came to the attention of the big name influencers, the philosophers who spoke in the agora and gathered followers, he had also been listening to what was going on around him, taking in some of the culture and surroundings. So when they asked him to come and teach at the Areopagus — the hill of the gods, where the big temples were, and also where the important conversations in the city would take place, whether philosophical or political — he was ready.

This was a completely different context than anyplace he’d been before. He was no longer speaking to people who shared his religion or culture. They were all in the Roman Empire and they spoke Greek but that was where similarity ended. So when he began to speak to them, he started out by trying to find common ground with them — he sees how spiritual and religious they are, and so is he! And this unknown God that they would make offerings to — just in case, you know, they didn’t want to miss out giving thanks to a god who had helped them when they didn’t realise it, because they didn’t want to make any gods angry, so the unknown god was a sort of catch-all to make sure they didn’t miss anyone. Paul knew who that would be, since of course there’s only one God, and they hadn’t realised yet. Thus he began to explain to them that actually that unknown god was the only One they needed to know…

And then from there he started to pull in other bits and pieces of their own culture to make connections they had never realised were there. He quoted a famous philosopher. He quoted a popular poet. He used the pop culture of the day to bring the presence of God to life in ways they recognised already.

There were nuggets of truth tucked into those writings and songs, for those with eyes and hearts to see. God is speaking everywhere, through every means possible, and the only question is whether we are paying attention. Paul showed the Athenians that they could look at their own pop culture with a different lens, and see something new. He didn’t just insist they put away all their literature and music and art and turn to only purposely-godly stuff, he heard the voice of God speaking through things that the artists didn’t even realise they had done.

That’s still true today, of course. There’s plenty of art, music, writing, television, films, and so on that can reveal messages from God if we are looking — even when that wasn’t what it was originally made to do. It might just be a line in a song, or a scene in a film. It might be an overarching message even in a storyline that appears at first glance to be contradictory or silly and shallow — one example from last year: KPop Demon Hunters is actually a story about how being real and vulnerable makes us stronger and makes it possible to build community, but trying to pretend we have it all together ends up making us weak and isolated…if we say we have no sin we deceive only ourselves, and cause more hurt and division, but when we are honest and tell the truth, there’s room for God to do something new and incredible. Now did the people who made that film intend to tell a story about confession and grace and God bringing people together across boundaries? Probably not. But God can certainly get the message across if we’re open to seeing it.

Paul says that we, God’s beloved creations, are always searching for God, fumbling about and perhaps even finding him, until we discover that God is actually so close we could reach out and touch anytime — our whole being, our whole lives, are actually held in God’s presence. We live our life in the context of God — and our cultural context is a part of that.

God doesn’t confine Godself to just one form of literature or music or art. What we call sacred is one medium, but God is just as capable of speaking through the secular…it’s us who makes that sacred-secular division, not God. And that division makes it harder to then talk about God with people outside our sacred bubble. If someone doesn’t know our holy writings or our church music, then it can feel like an impenetrable barrier. But Paul gives us an example of crossing that barrier — but notice it’s HIM that crosses it. He doesn’t insist that the Athenians come into his house of worship, read his scripture, sing his songs, and just get it. He crosses outward and listens, learns, enters their culture, and then makes the connections for them, to show them God speaking in their poets, in their songs, in their art, in hopes that they will want to know more.

What if we did that? What if we listened and watched and engaged with the culture of our day looking for God speaking…and when we find a tidbit, a line that resonates with the voice of God, we shared that? Even if the rest of the song seems an unlikely place to find God, a line or two can be powerful. Even if the setting of the film feels like the opposite of what we normally think of as holy, the message may be true and it can help us make a connection that someone might never have seen.

God is speaking everywhere, using every medium and every method, because God wants to be found, to be known. God wants us to recognise Christ in our midst, not only in our little separate sacred box but alive in the world, bringing people from every place and time, every culture and background, together in the kingdom. So Paul shows us how to keep our eyes open, to look and listen for God’s voice using the media of our day, and to make connections that reach people where they are and show them that God is closer than we ever imagined. As George MacLeod put it, God is closer than our hands and feet, nearer than our own breath. So of course we will see God just as active in our pop culture as in the Athenian poetry and philosophy and sculpture…if we are looking.

May it be so. Amen.

Sanctuary Silence for Reflection

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

Sanctuary Offering and Response: Response 410 v. 4 (organ)
Sing we to our God above: Alleluia!
Praise eternal as his love: Alleluia!
Praise him, all you heavenly host: Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia!

Sanctuary: Blessing Charlene on her Journey
Online: Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You are the source of life and ground of being,
and we find ourselves at home in your presence,
giving thanks for your grace that calls us into community
and guides us as people of good news in the world.
And yet the world begs for good news,
for a blessing that so often feels far off.
And so we bring our prayers today
for the building of your community of hope,
that we may seek out others we can learn from,
and find common ground,
to work together toward your kingdom.
We bring our prayers today
for those communities that are being torn apart instead.
We see the sowing of division,
the blossoming of hatred,
the persistence of violence.
We ask you to make us both willing and able
to stand up for the truth,
to reach out with love,
to demand better,
to work for peace in our own words and ways.
May your grace be a model for our living.
We bring our prayers today
for those places where people seek but so rarely find —
for our neighbours who live on the edge, uncertain if there will be enough food this month,
for our neighbours who are isolated or lonely, wishing for someone to talk to,
for our neighbours who fill their emptiness with things that can never satisfy,
and find themselves caught in cycles of addiction,
for our neighbours who fear what tomorrow may bring.
Make your abundant life real, loving God.
Provide from your bounty
and set them free from all that harms them.
We trust you are the One who holds all life in your hands,
and we pray you would hold them especially close in your heart,
and that you would open our hearts to hold them close, too,
in prayer and in action.
On the 10th day of the month we bring our prayers as your St John’s family
*For all who live and work in the Midton and Trumpethill areas.
*For the Contact Group and other fellowship groups at St John’s, that they may learn and deepen friendships together in your presence.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Libya, Malta, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Cape Verde.

Set our curiosity and our passion to the service of your kingdom,
by loving our neighbour as you have loved us.
We ask our prayers and we offer you all we are,
in worship and gratitude in the name of the One whose resurrection
brings life to us all,
and who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn GWA176: My Lighthouse (praise band)

Sending
God is always speaking and reaching out to us — may you live with eyes and heart open to recognise God’s presence in the unexpected connections.
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.

Sanctuary Postlude Music (praise band)

Announcements

* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and Sunday worship is also online.

* The first Sunday of the month at 11am is an all-age service, with different ways of encountering God’s word without a traditional sermon. All people — young and old, different personalities and learning styles, are welcome! You’ll find a more informal service with a variety of music, a Bible story, prayer, and some more interactive elements. The online service for the first Sunday will therefore also be different — there will still be a reading, prayers, and music, but usually not a sermon.

* Starter Packs are in need of Shampoo, Deodorant, Shaving Foam, Bathroom/Kitchen Cleaner.

The FoodBank are short of cereal, biscuits, UHT milk, juice, and tinned meals.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Bowl & Blether is on the first Mondays of the month, with doors open from 11:30-1:30, and lunch served from noon. All are welcome for a bowl of soup, a toastie, a friendly chat in our warm hall! See you next month on the 1st of June!

* Registration will be open soon for the summer exploratorium: On Holy Ground, an Inverclyde Staycation, the week of 27 July! We are looking for some volunteers — especially in the kitchen, and in crafts, as well as in shepherding groups. If you would be interested in learning more about volunteering, please speak to Teri or Graham Bolster.

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

* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £3000 per week and we are currently running about £500 short? 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.

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email newsletter! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word and Theology Thursday on Youtube, get snippets of thought or inspiration following Teri on TikTok, and of course keep up with announcements and events on Facebook and our weekly email.

Sunday service for 3 May 2026, fifth Sunday of Easter

Sunday 3 May 2026, Fifth Sunday of Easter
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143 
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

If the video doesn’t play, please click here to visit our YouTube channel and view it there! Sometimes our website and YouTube don’t play nicely together as they should. 

Sanctuary Prelude Music (praise band)

Welcome

We Gather As God’s Family (As the Bible is brought in, we stand and sing)
A family gathered in love,
striving for justice and joy,
blessing the broken-hearted,
and sharing the hope of God’s kingdom.

Opening Responses
1: Praying together is powerful
2: Singing to God with one voice is powerful
1: Creating a new reality
2: Creating possibility for justice
Leader: Worship is powerful!
So come, let us join in heart, mind, and voice
All: To worship in spirit and truth.

Sanctuary Hymn: Come People of the Risen King (praise band)

Easter Prayer
Liberating God,
You set us free for new life with you,
and we give you thanks and praise
for as you opened the tomb
so also you open the locked doors and the innermost cells
and call us out into your life.
When we are unable or unwilling to live fully in your kingdom way,
when we choose instead self-interest that obscures our view of consequences
and when our frustration overshadows our faith,
still we trust that you are bringing us ever nearer,
drawing us along the path
and growing us into your likeness.
When we find ourselves trapped by our own actions,
give us the opportunity not only to make it right
but also to share your goodness with others.
You give us a new identity in Christ, O God,
and we pray today that you would also give us
power to live from that identity:
to lead lives worthy of our calling,
to love others as we have been loved,
to recognise our shared humanity
and seek the good of our neighbours
as we walk the journey of this life.
When we are in your arms,
we can never be bound by the powers of death,
so teach us again to bear your resurrected life in our bodies
so there is no place for fear or arrogance or injustice within us,
only songs of praise for your grace
and blessings for all whom we meet.
We ask in the name of the One who overcame death
and who raises us to new life with him, even now,
Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn 425: The Saviour Died, but Rose Again (organ)
Online Hymn: God Beyond Knowledge (text: Pat Bennett b. 1957, tune: 500 Slane)

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Scripture Reading: Acts 16.16-40
Since last week when Jesus met Paul and turned his life around on the road to Damascus, Paul has been learning from disciples in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and also beginning his journey teaching about Jesus. He and Silas have begun to travel about, and this week we find them in the Greek city of Philippi, where they have joined a community of God-seekers who meet by the river, led by a local businesswoman named Lydia. I am reading from the book of Acts, chapter 16, beginning at verse 16, in the New Revised Standard Version.

One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men, these Jews, are disturbing our city and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to adopt or observe.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptised without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison, and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens, so they came and apologised to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home, and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.

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: it’s messy
This is one of those weeks when I don’t have any cute stories or pithy sayings to get started with because this passage hits basically all my buttons. So we’re going straight in, but I will tell you that this is a sermon in three acts, just as the story is in three acts: the slave girl, the prison, and the empire.

Act 1, the slave girl.
Paul and Silas and their traveling companions, who seem to include Luke who is writing this all down — notice he says “us” — were in Philippi. They had met Lydia and her gathering of god-worshippers, and that wee community had become followers of the Way. Lydia was an independent woman with her own household and business, and she will become the leader of the church in Philippi, which meets at her house. While Paul and Silas and their entourage were in Philippi, staying with Lydia, they went about in the city each day and started to be followed around by a slavegirl.

We don’t know the age of this enslaved girl but the word used for her is a young word, not an adult word. We do know that the spirit possessing her is named using the same word as the oracle at Delphi — so the type of prophesy that was sought after by people seeking the voice of the greek gods. We also know that historians estimate that anywhere between 35 and 50% of girls in the roman empire were enslaved — many sold by their fathers in order to support the rest of the family — and that many of those girls were used for sex work, which is a sad reality that has often accompanied large military occupations throughout history. The average life expectancy of a girl whose owners sold her body in that way was less than 5 years. While the numbers are different today, the horrific life experience of being trafficked is the same — and in actual numbers, more people are enslaved today than at any other time in human history. This is not a long-ago past story for far too many people.

For this slave-girl to have this spirit of telling oracles and predicting the future was a much more lucrative prospect for her owners than other options, and it was also, in many ways, safer for her.

Until she met Paul and Silas. At which point, the spirit within her did what spirits did when they met Jesus, too…started loudly proclaiming the truth at the top of her voice, following them around shouting that these guys are the real deal.

Now you might think — great! She’s telling the truth, people already trust and pay for her oracles, so surely having her pointing to them would be good news, right? They must want everyone to know that they’re proclaiming the true God and the way of salvation, what better way than to have a promoter?

She followed them around for many days.

And Paul got annoyed.

Paul didn’t immediately think “oh my goodness she’s possessed, I should heal her” the first time it happened, like Jesus did when this happened to him. He didn’t make a plan to set her free from bondage to the spirit of the false god or free from the bondage of slavery. In fact, he doesn’t seem to have thought about the girl at all. He was just annoyed, and he snapped.

The girl annoyed the powerful man, and he turned on her.

Now we can absolutely celebrate that she was set free from this spirit, that at last her mind and her voice would be her own.
But her body still belonged to someone else…and they would have to find another way to make money with it now.

And I am 1000% sure that Paul gave no thought to that whatsoever. His motivation was his own annoyance, not her freedom or healing or flourishing. She was just an object causing him grief, not a person who would have to live with the consequences of his actions.

It rubs me the wrong way, to celebrate Paul using the name of Jesus to exorcise a competing spirit out of irritation, and even more so when we then gloss over what happens to the girl next. It wasn’t a considered prayerful action. It wasn’t for her healing. It was because the girl annoyed the men — she was too loud, too persistent, too much truth-telling.

And we know what happens to women who are too loud and too persistent with the truth, because this is a story that plays out far too often, still today. When we see something in the Bible that doesn’t seem right, it should prompt us to look for where we can play a part in transforming it in our world today — because we can’t change what happened to that girl, but we can change the culture we live in where speaking up to a man is still too often dangerous, and we can be part of making God’s kingdom visible in our days.

~~~
Act 2: prison.
The people whose income will be diminished were upset about this situation, but rather than claiming that Paul now owed them a debt — like he could have bought her freedom, presumably, but he didn’t — they dragged Paul and Silas into the town square and accused them of being different. They didn’t accuse them of exorcism without consent, they didn’t accuse them of ruining their business, they accused them of being troublemakers from an occupied people with a different religion. Which sort of makes sense if the spirit possessing the girl was the one who spoke on behalf of the greek gods. But ultimately, this battle of the gods ends up with Paul and Silas publicly beaten in the square, and then locked into the darkest, dankest, interior room of the jail. It was bleak. It was disgusting. It was pitch black. They were bruised and possibly bleeding, yet also shackled in the most uncomfortable positions available.

And they sang hymns.

I’m reminded of protest movements that sing during marches and sit-ins, and what a difference it can make to create a sense of solidarity and to improve morale, to lift our voices and hearts in song together. It really does change reality, even when the physical stuff is the same. They sang hymns all night which I’m sure the other prisoners must have loved…it cracks me up that it says they were listening — like what other choice did they have? But in any case, they heard these two men, battered and bruised, singing and praying about light that shines in the darkness. What a beautiful image of resistance, to sing for what is right and against all that is wrong.

And their songs changed their situation — both spiritually and physically. The doors opened and the chains fell off, and their bodily reality began to reflect their spiritual reality: that in Christ is freedom from bondage and fear and death.

Then when the jailer realised things had changed, his first thought was that he would be held responsible by those who give the orders. He would have to bear the consequences. But this time, Paul intervened.

Then the changed reality began to spread. It started with singing hymns in the innermost darkest room in the prison…and it spread out of there into the jailer’s house, where because he was changed, so was his family. From hymns to midnight hospitality to an entire household from oldest to youngest, patriarch to servant, baptised into the Way of Jesus.

We don’t know what happened next with the jailer and his household, but it’s a fair guess that they likely joined the community of Christ-followers gathering at Lydia’s house, and the story of singing changing things would spread…so that later, one of the first hymns recorded of the early church will be in Paul’s letter to that same church in Philippi! Singing changes reality — both inside and outside.

~~
Act 3: empire.
In the morning, the proverbial stuff hit the fan. The authorities tried to dismiss them quietly — as if Paul and Silas were objects who were annoying, and they could just brush them off.

But Paul, in a twist, refused to be treated as an object. Instead he demanded to be treated according to his rights as a citizen.

Isn’t it fascinating that the complaint made against them was that they were different. They were Jews, not Romans. Except it turns out that they are Jews AND Romans — a possibility that had never crossed the minds of any of the authorities.

A possibility that never crosses many minds, if we’re honest. I have heard people say out loud that you can’t be both black and Scottish, for instance, among many other assumptions about identity that we base on how someone looks or sounds at first glance.

Everyone had just assumed that these people proclaiming the one true God made known in Christ, who was a Jew, would be inferior to real Roman citizens. To discover that they had inadvertently treated a Roman the way they treated non-citizens was a disaster. They could not only lose their positions, they could lose their lives for that kind of mistake, so it’s no wonder they were afraid.

It was kind of a genius move by Paul, to hold onto the fact of their citizenship until after…because it forced the issue of assumptions, it highlighted the poor treatment non-citizens were subjected to, and ultimately, by demanding a public apology for their public flogging, humiliated the empire authorities. It’s a great example of turning the other cheek — nonviolent resistance that forces the other party to recognise your equal humanity or to walk away from the fight. In this case, the authorities were forced to do both!

We don’t need to imagine a system in which noncitizens are treated as less than human, in ways that would never be acceptable if they happened to us — it’s the world we live in. What we do need to imagine is a world in which the apology is public, and the shame is placed where it belongs: on the people who made assumptions and who treated human beings as disposable. Because if we can’t imagine a world where nonviolent resistance works, then we can’t do it either. A better world will always remain out of reach as long as we are willing to accept the status quo. Someone has to stand up and say no, and refuse to go quietly, and Paul gives us a model to follow when the empire is insisting we are required to follow their rules. No we’re not…and challenging them in the name of Jesus is part of our calling as followers of the Way. Even if it doesn’t make things better for us, it may change for those who come after us, and so the kingdom is built, one resistance at a time.

~~
Finale.
If this was an opera or a musical or something, there’d be a wrap up that tied all three acts into a nice little bow. Instead what we have is a flawed human being trying to follow Jesus. I actually think that trying to untangle it into something neat and tidy would be an injustice to the way life actually is. None of us are perfect, most of our life journeys are messy, and our faith is sometimes in the lead and sometimes in the background and so we get things right and we get things wrong, we think we’re doing something good that turns out to have unintended consequences, or we don’t think at all and just act, or we pray and pray, and sometimes get to rejoice. I suppose what I hope we’ll take from all of this is that living out a Jesus-following life in the world of the empire can be complicated, and it takes continual attention and effort to the way of Christ — a way that cares for all, not just some; a way that changes reality and brings freedom; a way that stands up to the empire and makes visible the kingdom of God. And when our attention falters and someone else pays the price, I hope we will have learned to make it right, rather than pretend it’s all fine and move on. When our songs falter, I hope we will pick up each other’s tunes. When we are tempted to put up with the status quo, I hope we will stand up for what is right even if it doesn’t directly benefit us. Following Jesus in the empire is complicated, and we are human and won’t always get it right, but it is worth the effort.

May it be so. Amen.

Silence for Reflection

Sanctuary Hymn: God Beyond Knowledge (text: Pat Bennett b. 1957, tune: 500 Slane)
Online Hymn GWA129: Build Your Kingdom Here

Sanctuary Offering and Response: Response 410 v. 4 (organ)
Sing we to our God above: Alleluia!
Praise eternal as his love: Alleluia!
Praise him, all you heavenly host: Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia!

Concerns of the Church
*Bowl & Blether tomorrow
*Bible Study Wednesday 7:30ish in the manse
*youth service off…highland games // Charlene’s last day as paid parish assistant
*could host 2 students 21st-24th?
*Prayer groups

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Holy God,
we rejoice together in your presence
for all the wonders we have seen
and the new life you have given us.
And we also pray together in your presence
for all our neighbours who are not yet free in this life.
We lift up to you all those who are being exploited,
their bodies and their labour used and abused for others’ gain,
their spirits shackled by people or systems who care nothing for their wellbeing.
We especially pray today for all who have been trafficked,
for children and women and men enslaved for pleasure and for profiteering,
so often in plain sight yet invisible to us.
We ask your forgiveness for when we have unknowingly benefitted from their labour,
and we pray for their protection and liberation from all that harms them.
May all people be free from abuse, exploitation, and fear.
…
We lift up to you all whose identity is wrapped up in their position,
those whose work has become who they are,
those who cannot see value beyond productivity.
We ask your forgiveness for when we have unwittingly participated
in commodifying and therefore dehumanising others and ourselves.
May they too be free,
free from seeing themselves or others mainly as a job they can do,
and may they know your love for them simply because they are human beings made in your image.
…
We lift up those, including ourselves,
who allow frustration to get the better of us.
When everything in the world adds weight to our burden
and our tempers run short
we pray you would bless us with a pause before we speak,
with hearts that care for those who annoy us,
with minds that seek a more excellent way.
…
We lift up those around the world and close to home
who live under oppression and violence,
those who have been made to feel “other,”
those who are easy to mistreat because they don’t have the right papers,
those who are wrongfully detained, so easily disappeared,
or caught in a system that cares nothing for their humanity.
We pray for those who long to just take an easy breath of fresh air,
who are afraid to go out the door,
who wait for the next violence and wonder if it will reach them.
May there be justice that leads to peace,
may your courage sustain them
and also call us out to serve.
…
On the 3rd day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to lift up
*your other Churches in Gourock: for St Ninian’s RC Church, Old Gourock & Ashton Parish Church, Gourock Community Baptist Church, Struthers Church, Bethany Hall, the Vineyard Church, and other independent churches.

*the leaders of St John’s congregation: for the elders, the Kirk Session, the Session Clerk, and the Treasurer.
*the land, people, and governments of the nations of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Andorra, Spain, and Portugal.
…
Form and re-form us in your likeness, living God,
that we may reveal your divine presence here and now,
that we may radiate your goodness and care,
that we may gather your people into your new family
and so together be rescued,
saved from all that harms and separates,
holding fast to your resurrection power and life.
We ask these and all things in the name of Christ who was raised
and who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn GWA129: Build Your Kingdom Here (praise band)

Sending
May you live grounded in the truth of God’s love, grounded in the power of Christ’s resurrection, grounded in the possibility of the Holy Spirit — and so live always as a blessing to 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 (organ)

Announcements

* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and Sunday worship is also online.

* The first Sunday of the month at 11am is normally an all-age service, with different ways of encountering God’s word without a traditional sermon. All people — young and old, different personalities and learning styles, are welcome! You’ll find a more informal service with a variety of music, a Bible story, prayer, and some more interactive elements. The online service for the first Sunday will therefore also be different — there will still be a reading, prayers, and music, but usually not a sermon.

* Starter Packs are in need of Shaving Foam, Shampoo, Soap, Hand Wash.

The FoodBank are short of diluting juice, cereal, noodles/microwave rice, jarred sauce, biscuits, UHT milk, and tinned meat/soups/vegetables.
You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* Bowl & Blether is on the first Mondays of the month, with doors open from 11:30-1:30, and lunch served from noon. All are welcome for a bowl of soup, a toastie, a friendly chat in our warm hall! See you TOMORROW the 4th of May.

* Registration will be open soon for the summer exploratorium: On Holy Ground, an Inverclyde Staycation, the week of 27 July! We are looking for some volunteers — especially in the kitchen, and in crafts, as well as in shepherding groups. If you would be interested in learning more about volunteering, please speak to Teri or Graham Bolster.

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

* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £3000 per week and we are currently running about £500 short? 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.

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email newsletter! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word and Theology Thursday on Youtube, get snippets of thought or inspiration following Teri on TikTok, and of course keep up with announcements and events on Facebook and our weekly email.

Sunday service for 26 April 2026, fourth Sunday of Easter

Sunday 26 April 2026, Fourth Sunday of Easter
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: TPeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Email Charlene, Parish Assistant: CMitchell (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

If the video doesn’t play, please click here to visit our YouTube channel and view it there! Sometimes our website and YouTube don’t play nicely together as they should. 

Sanctuary Prelude Music (praise band)

Welcome

We Gather As God’s Family (As the Bible is brought in, we stand and sing)
A family gathered in love,
striving for justice and joy,
blessing the broken-hearted,
and sharing the hope of God’s kingdom.

Opening Responses
One: Come, you who think you have it all figured out
All: We come to make room for God to speak.
One: Come, you who have faithfully followed Jesus for a long time
All: We come to hear what new thing Jesus might call us to do.
One: Come, you who have been stopped in your tracks
All: We come to wait for the Lord.
One: Come, you who can only wonder what God will do next
All: We come to seek the One whose light still shines.

Sanctuary Hymn 416: Christ is Alive! (Tune: TRURO) (organ)

Easter Prayer
Risen One,
your light shines around us
and we hardly know where to look.
Your voice echoes
and we still strain to hear.
You are alive
and out in the world
not just in the places we keep you
but out on the road
and even out beyond our borders.
You call us by name
and set us about your work in the world.
When your call starts with a stop sign
and your word changes everything about our lives,
help us to recognise you
and to open our hearts to receive.
When your call comes through our everyday faith
and asks us to take it to the next level,
help us to recognise you
and to open our hearts to receive.
When your call sends us to situations we’d rather avoid
and gives us a part to play in your bigger picture,
help us to recognise you
and to open our hearts to receive.
Raise us up with you
to walk in new life that loves, blesses, and transforms the world.
Shine your light in us
and through us
that we may trust your grace
and follow your Way.
We ask in the name of our risen Lord Jesus the Christ.
Amen.

Online Hymn 416: Christ is Alive! (Tune: TRURO) (organ)

Sanctuary Children’s Time

Sanctuary Special Music: He put a New Song in my Heart by Michael Barrett (choir)

Scripture Reading: Acts 9.1-19a
For the next few weeks we will hear stories of the early church trying to work out how to follow Jesus after his resurrection. What did it mean to follow a risen Lord who was no longer physically present on earth? Today we hear about some of the opposition they encountered from within. I am reading from the book of Acts, chapter 9, beginning at verse 1.

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.
Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptised, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

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: sliding doors
You know how sometimes we say things like “I wish I could just get a clear sign about what I’m supposed to do”….whether it’s about what to study, what job direction to take, whether to have a family, or to move house, or whatever big decisions might have been in front of us throughout our lives, often we wish it would just be obvious what to do.

Well….what about a flash of light so bright it literally blinds you and throws you to the ground?

Be careful what you wish for, when wishing for a sign!

Of course Saul wasn’t wishing for a sign. He was absolutely sure he was doing the right thing. He just knew that God had called him to this particular ministry, and no matter what others thought he was certain. His calling in life was to defend God, his religious tradition, and way of life, against those people who wanted to change things. He had no doubt about his purpose or his methods. He knew the direction of his life and he was pursuing it with his whole heart.

And while he was on the path that he definitely knew was his to follow, he essentially ran into a brick wall covered in a stop sign with flashing lights.

When the voice spoke to him — calling his name twice, as often happens in biblical stories where a person needs to be stopped from doing something, but isn’t paying attention the first time — Saul was so confused. Who could possibly be speaking to him? He knew what God wanted him to do, and this voice was stopping him from doing it, which means the voice couldn’t be God. There was no way. He would surely recognise God’s voice, and God would be approve his direction of travel, right? So this voice, stopping him from his zeal…he had no clue who or why or what or how.

Can you imagine how scary it must have been to get up from the ground and realise he couldn’t see? To become so vulnerable, having been so powerful just moments before. His traveling companions helped him get into a safe place, but then what? He wouldn’t have known how long it was going to last…maybe this was his life now? Maybe he would never see again, and the last thing he had seen was the light of the world he didn’t believe in. Maybe it was God who stopped him, but why? Maybe it was actually Satan, the adversary. Maybe his life was over. All he knew was that for some reason, the door had been slammed and the thing he thought he was supposed to do, he wasn’t allowed to do anymore. What was he supposed to do now?

I would guess some of us, maybe even many of us, have had those moments. Maybe not as dramatically, but we have probably had doors close in front of us, things we thought were right for us disappear before our eyes — relationships, opportunities, plans. Perhaps we’ve gotten good at just saying “well, what’s for ye’ll no go by ye” and moving on, but underneath the cliche is still the pain of running headlong into a closed door. And it can be really confusing, really vulnerable, like we’re groping around in the dark trying to figure out what to do next. We don’t know what Saul did with that time, when he didn’t know it would be only three days, apart from fasting. Did he think about why God might have stopped him following that path? Or did he assume he’d been attacked by an evil spirit trying to stop him from fulfilling his divine mandate? Did he pray for healing, or for a new vision? Did he wallow in his fear and frustration? Did he just wish to get back to normal so he could carry on and try again? What do we do, when it happens to us?

I admit that when God has closed doors in front of me, my first response is pretty much always to wallow and to lament how unfair it is. I probably need at least three days to feel sorry for myself and to complain to all my friends. Most of my prayers during the wallowing time are just me whining “whyyyyyyyyy” while Jesus looks on with arms crossed, waiting for me to look him in the eye so I can listen to the truth. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a little wallowing, because recognising our emotions and dealing with them is important, ignoring them leads to other problems! But we can’t stay wallowing…Jesus stopped Saul because the only way Saul would listen was if he physically couldn’t carry on his own ideas…a bit like Jonah in the fish. A hard stop can actually make space for God to be heard, because then we aren’t keeping ourselves too busy and distracted to listen.

So when the door closes, we feel the grief and then look and listen…what might God be trying to say? What might we have misunderstood about who God is and what God calls us to do? What gifts have we used for a different purpose than God intended when giving them to us? What gifts might we have overlooked or tried to conjure up so we could justify what we wanted, or what we thought others wanted of us?

Those days of darkness were a chance for Saul to feel, and to listen, and they prepared him for what was coming next.

Meanwhile, across town, God was opening a door that no one wanted opened.

When Jesus called to Ananias, his response was the opposite of Saul’s, and the same as so many people we’ve heard before in scripture: Here I am, Lord. I’m present, I’m listening, I’m tuned in, I’m with you. And then, as we have heard many times before in scripture, God asked him to do something outrageous: to be a conduit of healing for the very man who was coming to arrest him and punish him for daring to follow Jesus’ Way.

Ananias even asked — as many prophets had done before him — are you sure, Lord? Like….that guy? You’re absolutely certain you want to open that door?

I would guess many of us have had that kind of experience too, when something falls into our lap and we kind of can’t believe it. Like really, this is what you want from me? Maybe it’s an unexpected opportunity that we aren’t really qualified for but… Maybe it’s a person that crosses our path. Maybe we’re drawn to something no one in our family or friend group has done before. We question our sanity in going for it, we question God’s sanity in opening it to us, maybe we’re even tentative or afraid to take the step…double checking with God, like Ananias does. Are you sure, God? Because this doesn’t make sense.

The thing is…the door that opened for Ananias was to reach out to someone who wanted him dead. Someone who was his enemy. Someone very different, with a different worldview, a different understanding of the same God, a different personality. Ananias knew about this guy. He knew he was dangerous. He knew they would not get on. He knew. He was sure. The way some people on social media and news media and political circles are sure.

And yet God opened the door and said: trust me. I am doing a new thing.

And Ananias did. On behalf of the fledgling church, he walked through that door, and when he saw this man who had come here to harm him and his friends and family, this man who had started out with fury and power, and was now vulnerable and dependent, Ananias’s first words were: “brother Saul.” He called him family. It feels extreme, like a way-too-fast move for someone who four days ago wanted you dead! But Jesus spoke and said things were changing, so…Ananias had to change too.

I wonder what would have happened if Ananias chose to look away from God opening an unexpected and unwanted door. Or if he couldn’t trust God enough to step through it. Or if he hadn’t changed his own mind, but instead looked at Saul and seen only who he used to be, refusing to acknowledge his journey or any possibility of transformation.

Because I think we often do that. We don’t like change…not for ourselves and we don’t really believe it’s true for other people, and certainly not for God. We want stability and predictability, not something new. The idea that someone else might change, thus requiring us to change the way we think about them or relate to them, also requires us to think about our own journey and whether we can change…it’s a lot. I think we’d rather jiggle the handle of the firmly closed door than turn and walk through a newly opened one that we aren’t sure where it leads.

Saul could have kept pounding on the door the risen Christ had closed in front of his face. Ananias could have shut the door the risen Christ opened. But since they didn’t, they became siblings in God’s family. They couldn’t be more different, but that happens with siblings sometimes, doesn’t it. The hothead and the quietly faithful, the passionate and the thoughtful. The Body of Christ needs them all…just as we are. Notice that Jesus doesn’t ask either of them to become somebody different in order to be part of the family. Instead, Jesus asks them to use their gifts for his kingdom rather than for their own agendas. God didn’t need Saul to protect him from Jesus-followers…and God didn’t need Ananias to protect him from people like Saul. And so for one the door closed, and for the other the door opened, because God needed them both to turn their attention out to the world God so loves, and take their passion and their compassion, their fire and their prayerfulness, just the way they are, and put them to kingdom work. We don’t know how Ananias lived out that calling after this day — like most of us, he was faithful in his community without needing to make the news. We do know what happens to Saul — when he unexpectedly heads out into the gentile world, he’ll use the greek form of his name: Paul. And his zeal turned toward the good changed the world.

So it is today…sometimes God closes a door we were so sure was right, and we have a grief journey to go on. Sometimes God opens a door we were so sure was wrong, and we need to ask all our questions. Sometimes God calls the wrong people. Sometimes God asks us to change our minds. All the time, God says: I love you and made you, and your gifts are for kingdom work, so trust me enough to follow, even if it isn’t where you thought.

May it be so. Amen.

Silence for Reflection

Hymn: Take It Easy (praise band)

Sanctuary Offering Hymn: Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord (praise band)

Sanctuary Offering Response: Response 410 v. 4
Sing we to our God above: Alleluia!
Praise eternal as his love: Alleluia!
Praise him, all you heavenly host: Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia!

Concerns of the Church
*new members gathering after worship today or tomorrow night at the manse
*Bible Study Wednesday 7:30ish in the manse
*Stedfast Silver Band concert this afternoon
*Prayer groups

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
We praise you, Loving God,
for you reveal your glory in unexpected ways
and you set and re-set our feet on your Way.
We give you thanks for all your faithful people
who answer your call to reach across barriers with your good news,
who shine your light even in difficult places.
Guide and protect them by your Spirit
that they may speak boldly and truthfully.
And we bring you our prayers today
for those who have missed the mark in their proclamation,
who have tried to impose their own faith on others,
who have shared in ways that sound like bad news.
We also pray for those who use violence to impose their vision
and those who believe they need to defend you with force.
Show them your way of peace,
your irresistible beauty,
your community of hope.
We lift up our prayers for our neighbours
who have been hurt by people using faith as a weapon,
especially those who have been traumatised, excluded, or abused in your name.
Heal their hearts, minds, and spirits with your grace,
and lead them into a community practicing your more excellent way.
We bring you our prayers for your Church,
seeking your direction and yet so often fractured,
proclaiming your love and yet so often withholding it,
hearing your word and yet so often unable to share it.
Show us how to love one another as you have loved us,
and give us courage to step up when we would rather step back.
We bring you our prayers for the community and nation and world in which we live,
where so often despair and division are the order of the day.
Let your presence flash like lightning and your voice resound,
filling every corner
with courage to be vulnerable rather than projecting a curated image,
with strength to stand up for what is right,
with peace that spreads beyond our hearts and into our streets,
with hope that opens doors rather than closing them,
with healing that draws us into your resurrection life.

On the 26th day of the month we join our hearts as your St John’s family to pray:
*For Gourock Primary School — for the children, 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.
*For the Contact Group and other fellowship groups at St John’s, that they may learn and deepen friendships together in your presence.
*For the land, people, and governments of the nations of Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada, St Vincent & Grenadines, Barbados, St Lucia, and Martinique
Whatever it takes to bring about your transformation, O God,
we pray that we will be ready to participate when you call.
Thank you for calling all kinds of people
with all kinds of personalities
from all kinds of backgrounds.
Help us to do your work,
And help us to accept the work others do too.
Bring us together today as your family.
We ask these and all things in the name of the One who confounds our expectations
and calls us beyond ourselves into your kingdom,
Jesus the Christ, who lives even now
and who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Sanctuary Hymn 727: In the Bulb There Is a Flower (organ)

Sending
Go from this time of worship to put your passion to work in service of the gospel, knowing the blessing of the living God and sharing that blessing with all whom you meet.
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.

Sanctuary Postlude Music (organ)

Announcements

* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and Sunday worship is also online.

* The first Sunday of the month at 11am is an all-age service, with different ways of encountering God’s word without a traditional sermon. All people — young and old, different personalities and learning styles, are welcome! You’ll find a more informal service with a variety of music, a Bible story, prayer, and some more interactive elements. The online service for the first Sunday will therefore also be different — there will still be a reading, prayers, and music, but usually not a sermon.

* Starter Packs are in need of Shaving Foam, Shampoo, Soap, Hand Wash.
The FoodBank are short of diluting juice, cereal, noodles/microwave rice, jarred sauce, biscuits, UHT milk, and tinned meat/soups/vegetables.

You can bring donations to the church and place them into the boxes in the vestibule. Thank you!

* The new members group is meeting today after the service or tomorrow (Monday 27th) in the evening. Speak to Teri for details!

* Bowl & Blether is on the first Mondays of the month, with doors open from 11:30-1:30, and lunch served from noon. All are welcome for a bowl of soup, a toastie, a friendly chat in our warm hall! See you a week on Monday, the 4th of May.

* The Contact Group is hosting a fundraising concert THIS AFTERNOON Sunday 26 April at 3pm in the sanctuary with special guests the Stedfast Silver Band! All are welcome. Tickets are £8 and available at the door.

* The Anchor Boys end-of-session display will be on Tuesday evening the 28th at 6:30pm. You’re welcome to come along and celebrate what they’ve been doing this year!

* Registration will be open soon for the summer exploratorium: On Holy Ground, an Inverclyde Staycation, the week of 27 July! We are looking for some volunteers — especially in the kitchen, and in crafts, as well as in shepherding groups. If you would be interested in learning more about volunteering, please speak to Teri or Graham Bolster.

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

* Did you know that the ministry we do at St John’s costs about £3000 per week and we are currently running about £500 short? 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.

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email newsletter! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word and Theology Thursday on Youtube, get snippets of thought or inspiration following Teri on TikTok, and of course keep up with announcements and events on Facebook and our weekly email.