Sunday Worship

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Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for August 23rd 2026:

Lectionary Theme: Serving God with sacrifice empowered by His promises

Occasion: 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary readings:
Psalm 138
Isaiah 51: 1-6
Romans 12: 1-8
Matthew 16: 13-20

[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.

When I survey.
Take my life.
Hide me now.
Lord of all good.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
Forth in thy name.
Great is thy faithfulness.
Day by day.

Prayers:

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

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Children’s Address:

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Sermon:

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Bible readings:

Psalm 138

1 With all my heart I praise you, LORD.
In the presence of angels I sing your praises.
2 I worship at your holy temple
and praise you for your love and your faithfulness.
You were true to your word
and made yourself more famous than ever before.
3 When I asked for your help,
you answered my prayer and gave me courage.

4 All kings on this earth have heard your promises, LORD,
and they will praise you.
5 You are so famous that they will sing
about the things you have done.
6 Though you are above us all,
you care for humble people,
and you keep a close watch on everyone who is proud.

7 I am surrounded by trouble,
but you protect me against my angry enemies.
With your own powerful arm you keep me safe.

8 You, LORD, will always treat me with kindness.
Your love never fails.
You have made us what we are. Don’t give up on us now!

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Isaiah 51

1 If you want to do right and obey the LORD,
follow Abraham’s example.
He was the rock from which you were chipped.
2 God chose Abraham and Sarah to be your ancestors.
The LORD blessed Abraham, and from that one man
came many descendants.

3 Though Zion is in ruins, the LORD will bring comfort,
and the city will be as lovely as the garden of Eden
that he provided.
Then Zion will celebrate; it will be thankful
and sing joyful songs.

4 The LORD says: You are my people and nation!
So pay attention to me.
My teaching will cause justice to shine like a light
for every nation.
5 Those who live across the sea are eagerly waiting
for me to rescue them.
I am strong and ready; soon I will come to save
and to rule all nations.

6 Look closely at the sky! Stare at the earth.
The sky will vanish like smoke;
the earth will wear out like clothes.
Everyone on this earth will die like flies.
But my victory will last; my saving power never ends.

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Romans 12

1 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.
3 I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. 4 A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. 5 That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.
6 God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. 7 If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. 8 If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

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Matthew 16

13 When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, “What do people say about the Son of Man?”
14 The disciples answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet.”
15 Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter spoke up, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus told him:
Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You didn’t discover this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven. 18 So I will call you Peter, which means “a rock.” On this rock I will build my church, and death itself will not have any power over it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth. But he will not allow anything that you don’t allow.

20 Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Service? It can now be found at Worship Archive – August 16th 2026.]