[Did you miss last Sunday’s services? They can still be found at Worship Archive – July 11th 2021.]
Sunday Service from Connexion for July 18th 2021:
Sunday Services from Hillside Circuit for July 18th 2021:
Theme: No longer strangers and sojourners
Occasion: 8th after Pentecost
Psalm 89: 20-37
2 Samuel 7: 1-14a
Ephesians 2: 11-22
Mark 6: 30-34
[Click or tap on a Bible reference above to jump down the page to the Bible reading to listen and/or 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, or go to the Songs for worship webpage to find them embedded.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Who is there like you?
Make me a channel of your peace.
The church’s one foundation.
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:
Sermons:
Bible readings:
Psalm 89
20 David, my servant, is the one I chose to be king,
21 and I will always be there to help and strengthen him.
22 “No enemy will outsmart David,
and he won’t be defeated by any hateful people.
23 I will strike down and crush his troublesome enemies.
24 He will always be able to depend on my love,
and I will make him strong with my own power.
25 I will let him rule the lands across the rivers and seas.
26 He will say to me, ‘You are my Father and my God,
as well as the mighty rock where I am safe.’
27 “I have chosen David as my first-born son,
and he will be the ruler of all kings on earth.
28 My love for him will last,
and my agreement with him will never be broken.
29 “One of David’s descendants will always be king,
and his family will rule until the sky disappears.
30 Suppose some of his children should reject my Law
and refuse my instructions.
31 Or suppose they should disobey all of my teachings.
32 Then I will correct and punish them
because of their sins.
33 But I will always love David
and faithfully keep all of my promises to him.
34 “I won’t break my agreement or go back on my word.
35 I have sworn once and for all by my own holy name,
and I won’t lie to David.
36 His family will always rule. I will let his kingdom last
as long as the sun 37 and moon appear in the sky.”
2 Samuel 7
1 King David moved into his new palace, and the LORD let his kingdom be at peace. 2 Then one day, as David was talking with Nathan the prophet, David said, “Look around! I live in a palace made of cedar, but the sacred chest has to stay in a tent.”
3 Nathan replied, “The LORD is with you, so do what you want!”
4 That night, the LORD told Nathan 5 to go to David and give him this message:
David, you are my servant, so listen to what I say. Why should you build a temple for me? 6 I didn’t live in a temple when I brought my people out of Egypt, and I don’t live in one now. A tent has always been my home wherever I have gone with them. 7 I chose leaders and told them to be like shepherds for my people Israel. But did I ever say anything to even one of them about building a cedar temple for me?
8 David, this is what I, the LORD All-Powerful, say to you. I brought you in from the fields where you took care of sheep, and I made you the leader of my people. 9 Wherever you went, I helped you and destroyed your enemies right in front of your eyes. I have made you one of the most famous people in the world.
10 I have given my people Israel a land of their own where they can live in peace, and they won’t have to tremble with fear any more. Evil nations won’t bother them, as they did 11 when I let judges rule my people. And I have kept your enemies from attacking you.
Now I promise that you and your descendants will be kings. 12 I’ll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried in the tomb of your ancestors. I’ll make him a strong ruler, 13 and no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son.
Ephesians 2
11 Don’t forget that you are Gentiles. In fact, you used to be called “uncircumcised” by those who take pride in being circumcised. 12 At that time you did not know about Christ. You were foreigners to the people of Israel, and you had no part in the promises that God had made to them. You were living in this world without hope and without God, 13 and you were far from God. But Christ offered his life’s blood as a sacrifice and brought you near God.
14 Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body 15 to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace. 16 On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peace between us and God by uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body. 17 Christ came and preached peace to you Gentiles, who were far from God, and peace to us Jews, who were near God. 18 And because of Christ, all of us can come to the Father by the same Spirit.
19 You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. 20 You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. 21 Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. 22 And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live.
Mark 6
30 After the apostles returned to Jesus, they told him everything they had done and taught. 31 But so many people were coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone and get some rest.” 32 They left in a boat for a place where they could be alone. 33 But many people saw them leave and figured out where they were going. So people from every town ran on ahead and got there first.
34 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd that was like sheep without a shepherd. He felt sorry for the people and started teaching them many things.
Text version of Children’s Address for Hillside Circuit on July 18th 2021, with Mrs Ngonidzashe Mariga:
Greetings in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Before the coming of Christ there was a lot of division and people were differentiated from one another for one reason or the other.
The law Moses brought names and inequalities among the Israelites. There were the circumcised and the uncircumcised and this brought about a lot of challenges among the people.
However the coming of Christ abolished and erased all differences. In short, boys and girls, once you belong to Christ you are no longer condemned. In Christ no one is greater, smarter or richer than the other. We are all equal through him who died for us on the cross. Christ made us whole.
I want you to understand this :
1 In Christ we all belong
2 No need to be afraid of anything because we are always with Christ.
3 We were all sinners before the coming of Christ, but are now a new creation through him who died and resurrected.
Therefore no point for hatred or divisions anymore for he brought love to humanity.
Let’s pray.
Thank you Father for being with us always. We are happy to partake in your mercy and glory. Thank you for dying for us on the cross and uniting us as one. Help us as your children to do your work and protect us always. Amen.
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 