Worship Archive – August 6th 2023

Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for August 6th 2023:

Lectionary Theme: A call for righteousness

Occasion: 10th Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary readings:
Psalm 17: 1- 7
Isaiah 55: 1 – 5
Romans 9: 1-15
Matthew 13: 13-21

[Click or tap on a Bible reference above to jump down the page to the Bible reading to read it for yourself 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.

Lord have mercy.
In Christ alone.
King of the ages.
Jesus name above all names.
Be Thou my vision.
Rock of ages.
O for a heart to praise my God.
May the mind of Christ my Saviour.
Christ be beside me.

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 17

1 I am innocent, LORD!
Won’t you listen as I pray and beg for help?
I am honest! Please hear my prayer.
2 Only you can say that I am innocent,
because only your eyes can see the truth.

3 You know my heart,
and even during the night you have tested me
and found me innocent.
I have made up my mind never to tell a lie.
4 I don’t do like others.
I obey your teachings and am not cruel.
5 I have followed you, without ever stumbling.

6 I pray to you, God, because you will help me.
Listen and answer my prayer!
7 Show your wonderful love.
Your mighty arm protects those who run to you
for safety from their enemies.

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Isaiah 55

1 If you are thirsty, come and drink water!
If you don’t have any money, come, eat what you want!
Drink wine and milk without paying a cent.
2 Why waste your money on what really isn’t food?
Why work hard for something that doesn’t satisfy?
Listen carefully to me,
and you will enjoy the very best foods.

3 Pay close attention! Come to me and live.
I will promise you the eternal love and loyalty
that I promised David.
4 I made him the leader and ruler of the nations;
he was my witness to them.
5 You will call out to nations you have never known.
And they have never known you,
but they will come running because I am the LORD,
the holy God of Israel, and I have honoured you.

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Romans 9

1 I am a follower of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is a witness to my conscience. So I tell the truth and I am not lying when I say 2 my heart is broken and I am in great sorrow. 3 I would gladly be placed under God’s curse and be separated from Christ for the good of my own people. 4 They are the descendants of Israel, and they are also God’s chosen people. God showed them his glory. He made agreements with them and gave them his Law. The temple is theirs and so are the promises that God made to them. 5 They have those famous ancestors, who were also the ancestors of Jesus Christ. I pray that God, who rules over all, will be praised forever! Amen.
6 It cannot be said that God broke his promise. After all, not all of the people of Israel are the true people of God. 7-8 In fact, when God made the promise to Abraham, he meant only Abraham’s descendants by his son Isaac. God was talking only about Isaac when he promised 9 Sarah, “At this time next year I will return, and you will already have a son.”
10 Don’t forget what happened to the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. 11-12 Even before they were born or had done anything good or bad, the Lord told Rebekah that her older son would serve the younger one. The Lord said this to show that he makes his own choices and that it wasn’t because of anything either of them had done. 13 That’s why the Scriptures say that the Lord liked Jacob more than Esau.
14 Are we saying that God is unfair? Certainly not! 15 The Lord told Moses that he has pity and mercy on anyone he wants to.

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Matthew 13

13 I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. 14 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,
“These people will listen and listen,
but never understand.
They will look and look, but never see.
15 All of them have stubborn minds!
Their ears are stopped up, and their eyes are covered.
They cannot see or hear or understand.
If they could, they would turn to me,
and I would heal them.”
16 But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear! 17 Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.

18 Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer:
19 The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. 20 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. 21 But they don’t have deep roots, and they don’t last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – July 30th 2023.]