General Secretary Farewell and Induction Service from Connexion on December 2nd 2023:
Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for December 3rd 2023:
Lectionary Theme: Our hope is in the redemption of Christ.
Occasion: 1st Sunday in Advent
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 80: 1- 7, 17-19
Isaiah 64: 1-9
1 Corinthians 1: 3-9
Mark 13: 24-37
[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.
Come and join the celebration.
Joy to the world.
Hark the herald angels sing.
Christmas is a time.
We wish you a merry Christmas.
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 80
1 Shepherd of Israel, you lead the descendants of Joseph,
and you sit on your throne
above the winged creatures.
Listen to our prayer and let your light shine
2 for the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Save us by your power.
3 Our God, make us strong again! Smile on us and save us.
4 LORD God All-Powerful, how much longer
will the prayers of your people make you angry?
5 You gave us tears for food,
and you made us drink them by the bowlful.
6 Because of you, our enemies who live nearby
laugh and joke about us.
7 But if you smile on us, we will be saved.
17 But help the one who sits at your right side,
the one you raised to be your own.
18 Then we will never turn away.
Put new life into us, and we will worship you.
19 LORD God All-Powerful, make us strong again!
Smile on us and save us.
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Isaiah 64
1 Rip the heavens apart! Come down, LORD;
make the mountains tremble.
2 Be a spark that starts a fire causing water to boil.
Then your enemies will know who you are;
all nations will tremble because you are nearby.
3 Your fearsome deeds have completely amazed us;
even the mountains shake when you come down.
4 You are the only God ever seen or heard of
who works miracles for his followers.
5 You help all who gladly obey and do what you want,
but sin makes you angry.
Only by your help can we ever be saved.
6 We are unfit to worship you;
each of our good deeds is merely a filthy rag.
We dry up like leaves;
our sins are storm winds sweeping us away.
7 No one worships in your name or remains faithful.
You have turned your back on us
and let our sins melt us away.
8 You, LORD, are our Father.
We are nothing but clay,
but you are the potter who moulded us.
9 Don’t be so furious or keep our sins
in your thoughts forever!
Remember that all of us are your people.
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1 Corinthians 1
3 My prayer is that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
4 I never stop thanking my God for being kind enough to give you Christ Jesus, 5 who helps you speak and understand so well. 6 Now you are certain that everything we told you about our Lord Christ Jesus is true. 7 You are not missing out on any blessings, as you wait for him to return. 8 And until the day Christ does return, he will keep you completely innocent. 9 God can be trusted, and he chose you to be partners with his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Mark 13
24 In those days, right after that time of suffering,
“The sun will become dark,
and the moon will no longer shine.
25 The stars will fall,
and the powers in the sky will be shaken.”
26 Then the Son of Man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 He will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the earth.
28 Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know summer is near. 29 So when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time has almost come. 30 You can be sure that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. 31 The sky and the earth will not last forever, but my words will.
32 No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. 33 So watch out and be ready! You don’t know when the time will come. 34 It is like what happens when a man goes away for a while and places his servants in charge of everything. He tells each of them what to do, and he orders the guard to keep alert. 35 So be alert! You don’t know when the master of the house will come back. It could be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or in the morning. 36 But if he comes suddenly, don’t let him find you asleep. 37 I tell everyone just what I have told you. Be alert!
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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – November 26th 2023.]
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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