Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for January 18th 2026:
Lectionary Theme: Witnesses of the Covenant: Called to share the light
Occasion: 2nd Sunday after Epiphany
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 40: 1-11
Isaiah 49: 1-7
1 Corinthians 1: 1-9
John 1: 29-42
[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.
Tell out my soul.
I the Lord of sea and sky.
Lord I come before your throne of grace.
We bow down.
In loving kindness Jesus came (He lifted me).
Just as I am.
Let earth and heaven agree.
To God be the glory.
Prayers:
You can also 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 40
1 I patiently waited, LORD, for you to hear my prayer.
You listened 2 and pulled me from a lonely pit
full of mud and mire.
You let me stand on a rock with my feet firm,
3 and you gave me a new song,
a song of praise to you.
Many will see this, and they will honour
and trust you, the LORD God.
4 You bless all of those who trust you, LORD,
and refuse to worship idols or follow false gods.
5 You, LORD God, have done many wonderful things,
and you have planned marvellous things for us.
No one is like you!
I would never be able to tell all you have done.
6 Sacrifices and offerings are not what please you;
gifts and payment for sin are not what you demand.
But you made me willing to listen and obey.
7 And so, I said, “I am here to do what is written
about me in the book, where it says,
8 ‘I enjoy pleasing you. Your Law is in my heart.’ “
9 When your people worshipped, you know I told them,
“Our LORD always helps!”
10 When all your people met, I did not keep silent.
I said, “Our LORD is kind.
He is faithful and caring, and he saves us.”
11 You, LORD, never fail to have pity on me;
your love and faithfulness always keep me secure.
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Isaiah 49
1 Everyone, listen, even you foreign nations
across the sea.
The LORD chose me and gave me a name
before I was born.
2 He made my words pierce like a sharp sword
or a pointed arrow;
he kept me safely hidden in the palm of his hand.
3 The LORD said to me, “Israel, you are my servant;
and because of you I will be highly honoured.”
4 I said to myself, “I’m completely worn out;
my time has been wasted.
But I did it for the LORD God,
and he will reward me.”
5 Even before I was born, the LORD God chose me
to serve him and to lead back the people of Israel.
So the LORD has honoured me and made me strong.
6 Now the LORD says to me, “It isn’t enough for you
to be merely my servant.
You must do more than lead back survivors
from the tribes of Israel.
I have placed you here as a light for other nations;
you must take my saving power to everyone on earth.”
7 Israel, I am the holy LORD God,
the one who rescues you.
You are slaves of rulers
and of a nation who despises you.
Now this is what I promise:
Kings and rulers will honour you
by kneeling at your feet.
You can trust me! I am your LORD,
the holy God of Israel,
and you are my chosen ones.
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1 Corinthians 1
1 From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from Sosthenes, who is also a follower.
2 To God’s church in Corinth. Christ Jesus chose you to be his very own people, and you worship in his name, as we and all others do who call him Lord.
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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John 1
29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said:
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.” 31 I didn’t know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.
32 I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. 33 Before this I didn’t know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” 34 I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.
35 The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” 37 John’s two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.
38 When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, “What do you want?”
They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” The Hebrew word “Rabbi” means “Teacher.”
39 Jesus replied, “Come and see!” It was already about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.
40 One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”
42 Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.”
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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – January 11th 2026.
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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