Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for December 14th 2025:
Lectionary Theme: Hope, renewal and coming of Messiah
Occasion: 3rd Sunday of Advent
Lectionary readings:
Luke 1: 46b-55
Isaiah 35: 1-10
James 5: 7-10
Matthew 11: 2-11
[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.
Long ago, prophets knew.
As with gladness men of old.
Meekness and Majesty.
Emmanuel.
This is my desire.
Rejoice! the Lord is King.
Who is he?
Angels from the realms.
To God be the Glory.
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:
[No Children’s Address was received today.]
Sermon:
Bible readings:
Luke 1
[46 Mary said:]
46b With all my heart I praise the Lord,
47 and I am glad because of God my Saviour.
48 He cares for me, his humble servant.
From now on, all people will say
God has blessed me.
49 God All-Powerful has done great things for me,
and his name is holy.
50 He always shows mercy
to everyone who worships him.
51 The Lord has used his powerful arm
to scatter those who are proud.
52 He drags strong rulers from their thrones
and puts humble people in places of power.
53 God gives the hungry good things to eat,
and sends the rich away
with nothing.
54 He helps his servant Israel
and is always merciful to his people.
55 The Lord made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his family forever!
[56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went back home.]
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Isaiah 35
1 Thirsty deserts will be glad;
barren lands will celebrate and blossom with flowers.
2 Deserts will bloom everywhere and sing joyful songs.
They will be as majestic as Mount Lebanon,
as glorious as Mount Carmel or Sharon Valley.
Everyone will see the wonderful splendour
of the LORD our God.
*3 Here is a message for all who are weak,
trembling, and worried:
4 “Cheer up! Don’t be afraid.
Your God is coming to punish your enemies.
God will take revenge on them and rescue you.”
5 The blind will see, and the ears of the deaf will be healed.
6 Those who were lame will leap around like deer;
tongues once silent will begin to shout.
Water will rush through the desert.
7 Scorching sand will turn into a lake,
and thirsty ground will flow with fountains.
Grass will grow in wetlands, where packs of wild dogs
once made their home.
8 A good road will be there,
and it will be named “God’s Sacred Highway.”
It will be for God’s people; no one unfit to worship God
will walk on that road.
And no fools can travel on that highway.
9 No lions or other wild animals will come near that road;
only those the LORD has saved will travel there.
10 The people the LORD has rescued will come back singing
as they enter Zion.
Happiness will be a crown they will always wear.
They will celebrate and shout because all sorrows
and worries will be gone far away.
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James 5
7 My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the spring and summer rains to make their valuable crops grow. 8 Be patient like those farmers and don’t give up. The Lord will soon be here! 9 Don’t grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.
10 My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer.
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Matthew 11
2 John was in prison when he heard what Christ was doing. So John sent some of his followers 3 to ask Jesus, “Are you the one we should be looking for? Or must we wait for someone else?”
4 Jesus answered, “Go and tell John what you have heard and seen. 5 The blind are now able to see, and the lame can walk. People with leprosy are being healed, and the deaf can hear. The dead are raised to life, and the poor are hearing the good news. 6 God will bless everyone who doesn’t reject me because of what I do.”
7 As John’s followers were going away, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John:
What sort of person did you go out into the desert to see? Was he like tall grass blown about by the wind? 8 What kind of man did you go out to see? Was he someone dressed in fine clothes? People who dress like that live in the king’s palace. 9 What did you really go out to see? Was he a prophet? He certainly was. I tell you that he was more than a prophet. 10 In the Scriptures God says about him, “I am sending my messenger ahead of you to get things ready for you.” 11 I tell you that no one ever born on this earth is greater than John the Baptist. But whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.
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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – December 7th 2025.]
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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