Service starts at 11:15am in Riverside and online.
Welcome
You must be renewed in mind and spirit, and put on the new nature created in God’s likeness.
Ephesians 4: 23-4
Hymn 157 Sing of the Lord’s goodness
Opening Prayer
We praise you, we bless you
Your love is so great
Time and again you are ready to forgive us
and give us a new start
gently encouraging us and prompting us to go in the right direction
but your love does not stop at telling us what to do
you came in Jesus
to experience the fullness of human life
to show us what to do
to show us that being human
and living holy lives are not mutually exclusive
to suffer and die for us and set us free
to be our true selves and to serve you
to break the power of sin and death through his rising again
giving us new life and hope
We praise you, we bless you
we marvel at Jesus’ faithfulness
and your love
but we also marvel at our own lack of faithfulness and love
We ask for your forgiveness
We ask you to give us a new start
We ask for your Spirit’s guiding
to be the people you want us to be
people who have experienced the joy and wonder
of encountering the Risen Jesus today and every day
Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
Admission of new member
i) PREAMBLE
God invites us to be part of his family, the church
to know him as our Heavenly Father
Jesus as our Saviour, Lord and most faithful friend
and his Spirit as our constant companion, helper and guide
Baptism, however it is administered,
is acknowledged as the sign and symbol
of becoming part of the church
Many people are baptised as children
when promises are made on their behalf
but there comes a time
when they want to reaffirm those promises for themselves
and take a fuller part in the life of the church
John McLeary is such a person
and has now indicated that he would
like to be a member of the Church of Scotland
in Dumbarton Riverside congregation.
The Kirk Session were very pleased to hear this
and we now proceed to admit him to full membership
2. PRAYER
Heavenly Father
We praise you and thank you
for all that you did for us in Jesus
for all that you promised us in Jesus.
We thank you that John wants
to affirm publicly that he is yours
and wishes to walk in the way of Jesus our Lord.
Guide, guard and strengthen him
In Jesus’ Name
3. PROFESSION OF FAITH
John, would you come and stand in front of the Table here.
You come of your own choice
to acknowledge God’s promises made to you through Jesus
to reaffirm the promises made on your behalf at your baptism
In as much as any of us can understand God, or what he did for us through Jesus, do you affirm your faith in God as Father, and Jesus as our Saviour and Lord I DO
Do you reaffirm the promises made when you were baptised? I DO
4. CHARGES
As a follower of Jesus we encourage you
to follow Jesus Christ in your daily life
and grow ever closer to him as the years pass
to share in the worship and service of the church
of what you are and what you have
to take your part in God’s mission to the world
seeking justice and peace
and the renewing of all life
5. DECLARATION
John, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ
the King and Head of the Church
and by the authority of the Kirk Session
I welcome and receive you
within the fellowship of the Lord’s Table
and admit you
to the full privileges of the children of God
and to the responsibilities of membership
of the Church of Scotland within this congregation
of the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
May your sharing in our life together
bring blessing to you and to us all.
6. PRAYER
Lord, grant that John may know in his heart
your faithful, forgiving loving-care
the grace of your Son, Jesus Christ
and the strength, guidance and power of the Spirit
7. WELCOME
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Usually, as a sign of our welcome
we give the right hand of fellowship,
but we can’t do that at the moment, so…
Members of the church,
will you enable John to feel welcome at all times
find the love of Jesus here
and be enabled to use his God-given gifts here WE WILL
and now, elders and members,
would you wave, clap, rummel your feet or whatever
to welcome him among us
Hymn 204 I am the church
Bible reading
Luke 4: 21-30
Reflection
Matthew and Mark also tell us about Jesus going to the synagogue in Nazareth and being rejected. But they tell the story slightly differently. In Luke people are impressed by how well Jesus read and spoke, but then he says things that seem deliberately designed to upset them – which is what happens. In the other two accounts, people start off with the attitude, ’Who does he think he is standing up there and saying that? We remember him as a wee boy, and we know his family.’ Commentators don’t seem to be clear on why Luke tells the story as he does, so maybe we’ll just go with the version presented by Matthew and Mark.
If someone has known you for a long time – maybe since you were a child, a teenager, a trainee at work – it can be hard in later years to get them to see you as the person you are now, an adult with qualifications, experience and maturity. [Nominating Committee] Indeed, many people from a range of careers don’t seek permanent employment where they have trained, done a placement or served their time.
As followers of Jesus, once we become adults, we can’t uproot ourselves and go to the far side of the world just so that we don’t have to live surrounded by people who have known us since we were children or teenagers. We have to live out our Christian lives among people who know us, trying to live by his values and standards, trying to let our faith grow and come to know him better.
At one time it was unusual not to go to church, now it’s rather the reverse – especially in the younger generations. Most people don’t take any notice of people who go to church, or think that they are in any way strange. But there is a small vocal minority who will tease, taunt or bully, and it is said that it does happen among teenagers on social media. We aim to be an inclusive, tolerant society, but it doesn’t always work like that, and who knows which way things will go in the future.
We don’t need to be ‘super-holy’ in how we behave, but we do need to reflect on what is appropriate for people who are following Jesus, and how he would wish us to treat other people. One of the easiest jibes to throw at anyone, and one of the hardest to disprove, is calling someone a ‘hypocrite’. None of us is perfect, we all make mistakes, but Jesus wants us to strive to be more like him in all that we do, and to be ready to speak out against injustices, corruption and things that do not match God’s values and standards. That means thinking carefully about how we live (will our actions match our words?) and thinking carefully about how we phrase things if we do speak out.
If they find out that we go to church, pray, read the Bible, some people may also tease or taunt us for being ‘holy, holy’ people. Again something we may have to live with – although we don’t need to deliberately affect an air of ‘holiness’ (as we may perhaps have encountered with some folk). [Auntie one Sunday] Jesus was undoubtedly ‘holy’ in his relationship with God, his commitment to God, and his concern to live out and speak openly about God’s values and standards. But no one ever accused Jesus of affecting airs of ‘super-holiness’. In fact it was usually the reverse – they criticised him for mixing with people that they considered unholy, not respectable.
Whether we are younger or older, being followers of Jesus isn’t easy, but part of the calling of the church is to help and support each other in seeking to follow Jesus’ way in our everyday lives, in our everyday situations. God also provides us with his Spirit to be our constant, faithful and reliable guide and help in every situation.
Hymn SGP 34 God’s Spirit is in my heart
Prayers for others
Gracious God
Help us to find that right balance between being faithful followers of Jesus
and appearing ‘holy, holy’ folk
help us to get the balance between trying our hardest
-and making mistakes-
and being accused of being hypocrites
because word and action don’t match up
Support and encourage all those
who face taunts and abuse
because of their faith
help us to be supportive too
we pray for all who are ill,
those who look after them
and those who worry about them
those waiting for or receiving treatment
and those for whom there is no treatment
those who are lonely, feeling down, or grieving a friend or loved one
those who are worried about home, work or money
a friend or a relative
those who are living with the after-effects of natural disasters
those who do not have enough to eat, or somewhere to call home
those who long to live in peace and safety
those who have fled from their homes seeking safety
We pray for the Queen, the Government
all in positions of leadership in this and every land
we pray for you church
the worldwide church
the wider church in Dumbarton
our own congregation
help us always to be faithful to Jesus our Lord
We bring to you our prayers for people and situations of special concern to us
And we sum up our prayers in the words of the prayer Jesus gave us
Hymn 198 Let us build a house
Blessing (3-fold Amen)
May the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ
shine in your hearts,
transform your lives,
and brighten the world
and the blessing of God Almighty
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
rest and remain with you
today, and every day, and for ever
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