Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for January 26th 2025:
Lectionary Theme: God reveals himself to humanity
Occasion: 3rd Sunday after Epiphany
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 19
Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10
1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a
Luke 4: 14-21
[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.
Put on the garment of praise.
Lord I lift your name on high.
The servant King.
Hail to the Lord’s anointed.
To God be the Glory.
May the Lord.
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 19
1 The heavens keep telling the wonders of God,
and the skies declare what he has done.
2 Each day informs the following day;
each night announces to the next.
3 They don’t speak a word,
and there is never the sound of a voice.
4 Yet their message reaches all the earth,
and it travels around the world.
In the heavens a tent is set up for the sun.
5 It rises like a bridegroom
and gets ready like a hero eager to run a race.
6 It travels all the way across the sky.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The Law of the LORD is perfect; it gives us new life.
His teachings last forever,
and they give wisdom to ordinary people.
8 The LORD’S instruction is right;
it makes our hearts glad.
His commands shine brightly, and they give us light.
9 Worshipping the LORD is sacred;
he will always be worshipped.
All of his decisions are correct and fair.
10 They are worth more than the finest gold
and are sweeter than honey from a honeycomb.
11 By your teachings, LORD, I am warned;
by obeying them, I am greatly rewarded.
12 None of us know our faults.
Forgive me when I sin without knowing it.
13 Don’t let me do wrong on purpose, LORD,
or let sin have control over my life.
Then I will be innocent,
and not guilty of some terrible fault.
14 Let my words and my thoughts
be pleasing to you, LORD,
because you are my mighty rock and my protector.
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Nehemiah 8
1-2 On the first day of the seventh month, the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the LORD had given his people. Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. 3 From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully.
5 Ezra was up on the high platform, where he could be seen by everyone, and when he opened the book, they all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the great LORD God, and the people shouted, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed with their faces to the ground and worshipped the LORD.
7-8 After this, the Levites . . . . . went among the people, explaining the meaning of what Ezra had read.
9 The people started crying when God’s Law was read to them. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who had been teaching the people all said, “This is a special day for the LORD your God. So don’t be sad and don’t cry!”
10 Nehemiah told the people, “Enjoy your good food and wine and share some with those who didn’t have anything to bring. Don’t be sad! This is a special day for the LORD, and he will make you happy and strong.”
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1 Corinthians 12
12 The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. 13 Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God’s Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit.
14 Our bodies don’t have just one part. They have many parts. 15 Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, and so I’m not part of the body.” Wouldn’t the foot still belong to the body? 16 Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, and so I’m not part of the body.” Wouldn’t the ear still belong to the body? 17 If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn’t hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn’t smell a thing. 18 But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.
19 A body isn’t really a body, unless there is more than one part. 20 It takes many parts to make a single body. 21 That’s why the eyes cannot say they don’t need the hands. That’s also why the head cannot say it doesn’t need the feet. 22 In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. 23 We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, 24 but we don’t have to be modest about other parts.
God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. 25 He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. 26 If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honoured, the whole body will be happy.
27 Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body. 28 First, God chose some people to be apostles and prophets and teachers for the church. But he also chose some to work miracles or heal the sick or help others or be leaders or speak different kinds of languages. 29 Not everyone is an apostle. Not everyone is a prophet. Not everyone is a teacher. Not everyone can work miracles. 30 Not everyone can heal the sick. Not everyone can speak different kinds of languages. Not everyone can tell what these languages mean. 31 I want you to desire the best gifts.
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Luke 4
14 Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere. 15 He taught in the Jewish meeting places, and everyone praised him.
16 Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, 17 he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,
18 “The LORD’S Spirit has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news to the poor.
The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers,
19 and to say, ‘This is the year the Lord has chosen.’ “
20 Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus.
21 Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.”
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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – January 19th 2025.]
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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