Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for August 9th 2026:
Lectionary Theme: The zeal to serve God demands sacrifice
Occasion: 11th Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 85: 8-13
1 Kings 19: 9-18
Romans 10: 5-15
Matthew 14: 22-33
[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.
Jesus is Lord!
Dear Lord and Father.
Breathe on me.
Lord of all good.
How sweet the name.
May the Lord.
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 85
8 I will listen to you, LORD God,
because you promise peace to those
who are faithful and no longer foolish.
9 You are ready to rescue everyone who worships you,
so that you will live with us in all of your glory.
10 Love and loyalty will come together;
goodness and peace will unite.
11 Loyalty will sprout from the ground;
justice will look down from the sky above.
12 Our LORD, you will bless us;
our land will produce wonderful crops.
13 Justice will march in front,
making a path for you to follow.
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1 Kings 19
9b While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the LORD asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”
10 He answered, “LORD God All-Powerful, I’ve always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”
11 “Go out and stand on the mountain,” the LORD replied. “I want you to see me when I pass by.”
All at once, a strong wind shook the mountain and shattered the rocks. But the LORD was not in the wind. Next, there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 Then there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.
Finally, there was a gentle breeze, 13 and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.
The LORD asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”
14 Elijah answered, “LORD God All-Powerful, I’ve always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”
15 The LORD said:
Elijah, you can go back to the desert near Damascus. And when you get there, appoint Hazael to be king of Syria. 16 Then appoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat to take your place as my prophet.
17 Hazael will start killing the people who worship Baal. Jehu will kill those who escape from Hazael, and Elisha will kill those who escape from Jehu.
18 But seven thousand Israelites have refused to worship Baal, and they will live.
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Romans 10
5 Moses said that a person could become acceptable to God by obeying the Law. He did this when he wrote, “If you want to live, you must do all that the Law commands.”
6 But people whose faith makes them acceptable to God will never ask, “Who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down?” 7 Neither will they ask, “Who will go down into the world of the dead to raise him to life?”
8 All who are acceptable because of their faith simply say, “The message is as near as your mouth or your heart.” And this is the same message we preach about faith. 9 So you will be saved, if you honestly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. 10 God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others.
11 The Scriptures say that no one who has faith will be disappointed, 12 no matter if that person is a Jew or a Gentile. There is only one Lord, and he is generous to everyone who asks for his help. 13 All who call out to the Lord will be saved.
14 How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? 15 And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news.
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Matthew 14
22 Right away, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and start back across the lake. But he stayed until he had sent the crowds away. 23 Then he went up on a mountain where he could be alone and pray. Later that evening, he was still there.
24 By this time the boat was a long way from the shore. It was going against the wind and was being tossed around by the waves. 25 A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples. 26 When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming.
27 At once, Jesus said to them, “Don’t worry! I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid.”
28 Peter replied, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come on!” Jesus said. Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward him.
30 But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Right away, Jesus reached out his hand. He helped Peter up and said, “You surely don’t have much faith. Why do you doubt?”
32 When Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 The men in the boat worshipped Jesus and said, “You really are the Son of God!”
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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Service? It can now be found at Worship Archive – August 2nd 2026.]
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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