Sunday Worship

Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for April 12th 2026:

Lectionary Theme: The resurrection’s transformative power: from doubt to hope

Occasion: 2nd Sunday of Easter

Lectionary readings:
Psalm 16
Acts 2: 14a, 22-32
1 Peter 1: 3-9
John 20: 19 -31

[Click or tap on a Bible reference above to jump down the page to the Bible reading to read it for yourself (and/or to listen to it) and then click or tap on Back to top to come back here.]

Songs:

Here are the songs for Sunday morning service. Click or tap on a song to open it in YouTube.

Bonganini uJehova.
Because He lives.
Mweya wangu uno Muponisi.
Changamire! Muponisi.
Now is eternal life.
Makwenziwe indumiso.

Prayers:

You can listen and join in with prayers from the English Methodist Service Book. They can be found at the Prayers for worship webpage.

Children’s Address:

Sermon:

Bible readings:

Psalm 16

1 Protect me, LORD God! I run to you for safety,
2 and I have said, “Only you are my LORD!
Every good thing I have is a gift from you.”

3 Your people are wonderful, and they make me happy,
4 but worshippers of other gods will have much sorrow.
I refuse to offer sacrifices of blood to those gods
or worship in their name.

5 You, LORD, are all I want!
You are my choice, and you keep me safe.
6 You make my life pleasant, and my future is bright.

7 I praise you, LORD, for being my guide.
Even in the darkest night,
your teachings fill my mind.
8 I will always look to you,
as you stand beside me and protect me from fear.
9 With all my heart, I will celebrate,
and I can safely rest.

10 I am your chosen one.
You won’t leave me in the grave
or let my body decay.
11 You have shown me the path to life,
and you make me glad by being near to me.
Sitting at your right side, I will always be joyful.

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Acts 2

14 Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:

22 Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved that he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. 23 God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. 24 But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power. 25 What David said are really the words of Jesus,

“I always see the Lord near me,
and I will not be afraid
with him at my right side.
26 Because of this, my heart will be glad,
my words will be joyful, and I will live in hope
27 The Lord won’t leave me in the grave.
I am his holy one,
and he won’t let my body decay.
28 He has shown me the path to life,
and he makes me glad by being near me.”

29 My friends, it is right for me to speak to you about our ancestor David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is still here. 30 But David was a prophet, and he knew that God had made a promise he would not break. He had told David that someone from his own family would someday be king.
31 David knew this would happen, and so he told us that Christ would be raised to life. He said that God would not leave him in the grave or let his body decay. 32 All of us can tell you that God has raised Jesus to life!

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1 Peter 1

3 Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. 4 God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.
5 You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. 6 On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. 7 Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honour and glory when Jesus Christ returns.
8 You have never seen Jesus, and you don’t see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy 9 you are to be saved. That’s why you have faith.

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John 20

19 The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. He greeted them 20 and showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they became very happy.
21 After Jesus had greeted them again, he said, “I am sending you, just as the Father has sent me.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they will be forgiven. But if you don’t forgive their sins, they will not be forgiven.”

24 Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn’t with the others when Jesus appeared to them. 25 So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But Thomas said, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!”
26 A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples 27 and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!”
28 Thomas replied, “You are my Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said, “Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!”

30 Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.

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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – April 5th 2026.]