Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for June 22nd 2025:
Lectionary Theme: Jesus is the one who sets free
Occasion: 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 or Psalm 22: 19-28
1 Kings 19: 1-4,(5-7),8-15a or Isaiah 65: 1-9
Galatians 3: 23-29
Luke 8: 26-39
[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.
Praise to the Lord.
Amazing Grace (my chains are gone).
As the deer.
I worship you, almighty God.
For the fruits of his creation.
Dear Lord & Father of mankind.
In Christ there is no east or west.
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 42
1 As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water,
I truly am thirsty for you, my God.
2 In my heart, I am thirsty for you, the living God.
When will I see your face?
3 Day and night my tears are my only food,
as everyone keeps asking, “Where is your God?”
4 Sorrow floods my heart, when I remember
leading the worshippers to your house.
I can still hear them shout their joyful praises.
5 Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless?
I trust you! And I will praise you again
because you help me, 6 and you are my God.
I am deeply discouraged as I think about you
from where the Jordan begins at Mount Hermon
and from Mount Mizar.
7 Your vicious waves have swept over me
like an angry ocean or a roaring waterfall.
8 Every day, you are kind,
and at night you give me a song
as my prayer to you, the living LORD God.
9 You are my mighty rock. Why have you forgotten me?
Why must enemies mistreat me and make me sad?
10 Even my bones are in pain,
while all day long my enemies sneer and ask,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless?
I trust you! And I will praise you again
because you help me, and you are my God.
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Psalm 43
1 Show that I am right, God!
Defend me against everyone who doesn’t know you;
rescue me from each of those deceitful liars.
2 I run to you for protection.
Why have you turned me away?
Why must enemies mistreat me and make me sad?
3 Send your light and your truth to guide me.
Let them lead me to your house
on your sacred mountain.
4 Then I will worship at your altar
because you make me joyful.
You are my God, and I will praise you.
Yes, I will praise you as I play my harp.
5 Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless?
I trust you! And I will praise you again
because you help me, and you are my God.
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Psalm 22
19 Don’t stay far away, LORD!
My strength comes from you, so hurry and help.
20 Rescue me from enemy swords
and save me from those dogs.
21 Don’t let lions eat me.
You rescued me from the horns of wild bulls,
22 and when your people meet,
I will praise you, LORD.
23 All who worship the LORD, now praise him!
You belong to Jacob’s family and to the people of Israel,
so fear and honour the LORD!
24 The LORD doesn’t hate or despise the helpless
in all of their troubles.
When I cried out, he listened and did not turn away.
25 When your people meet, you will fill my heart
with your praises, LORD,
and everyone will see me keep my promises to you.
26 The poor will eat and be full,
and all who worship you will be thankful
and live in hope.
27 Everyone on this earth will remember you, LORD.
People all over the world will turn and worship you,
28 because you are in control, the ruler of all nations.
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1 Kings 19
1 Ahab told his wife Jezebel what Elijah had done and that he had killed the prophets. 2 She sent a message to Elijah: “You killed my prophets. Now I’m going to kill you! I pray that the gods will punish me even more severely if I don’t do it by this time tomorrow.”
3 Elijah was afraid when he got her message, and he ran to the town of Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there, 4 then walked another whole day into the desert. Finally, he came to a large bush and sat down in its shade. He begged the LORD, “I’ve had enough. Just let me die! I’m no better off than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down in the shade and fell asleep.
Suddenly an angel woke him up and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 Elijah looked around, and by his head was a jar of water and some baked bread. He sat up, ate and drank, then lay down and went back to sleep.
7 Soon the LORD’S angel woke him again and said, “Get up and eat, or else you’ll get too tired to travel.” 8 So Elijah sat up and ate and drank.
The food and water made him strong enough to walk forty more days. At last, he reached Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, 9 and he spent the night there in a cave.
While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the LORD asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”
10 He answered, “LORD God All-Powerful, I’ve always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”
11 “Go out and stand on the mountain,” the LORD replied. “I want you to see me when I pass by.”
All at once, a strong wind shook the mountain and shattered the rocks. But the LORD was not in the wind. Next, there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 Then there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.
Finally, there was a gentle breeze, 13 and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.
The LORD asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”
14 Elijah answered, “LORD God All-Powerful, I’ve always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”
15 The LORD said:
Elijah, you can go back to the desert near Damascus.
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Isaiah 65
1 I, the LORD, was ready to answer even those
who were not asking
and to be found by those
who were not searching.
To a nation that refused to worship me,
I said, “Here I am!”
2 All day long I have reached out
to stubborn and sinful people going their own way.
3 They keep making me angry by sneering at me,
while offering sacrifices to idols in gardens
and burning incense to them on bricks.
4 They spend their nights hiding in burial caves;
they eat the meat of pigs,
cooked in sauces made of stuff unfit to eat.
5 And then they say to others, “Don’t come near us!
We’re dedicated to God.”
Such people are like smoke, irritating my nose all day.
6 I have written this down; I won’t keep silent.
I’ll pay them back just as their sins deserve.
7 I, the LORD, will make them pay for their sins
and for those of their ancestors
they have disgraced me by burning incense on mountains.
8 Here is what the LORD says:
A cluster of grapes that produces wine is worth keeping!
So, because of my servants, I won’t destroy everyone.
9 I have chosen the people of Israel and Judah,
and I will bless them with many descendants.
They will settle here in this land of mountains,
and it will be theirs.
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Galatians 3
23 The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. 24 In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God. 25 But once a person has learned to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.
26 All of you are God’s children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. 28 Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. 29 So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham’s family, and you will be given what God has promised.
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Luke 8
26 Jesus and his disciples sailed across Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa. 27 As Jesus was getting out of the boat, he was met by a man from that town. The man had demons in him. He had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard.
28 The man saw Jesus and screamed. He knelt down in front of him and shouted, “Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do you want with me? I beg you not to torture me!” 29 He said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him.
The man had often been attacked by the demon. And even though he had been bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard, he smashed whatever bound him. Then the demon would force him out into lonely places.
30 Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”
He answered, “My name is Lots.” He said this because there were ‘lots’ of demons in him. 31 They begged Jesus not to send them to the deep pit, where they would be punished.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus let them go. 33 Then the demons left the man and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the men taking care of the pigs saw this, they ran to spread the news in the town and on the farms. 35 The people went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they also found the man. The demons had gone out of him, and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus. He had clothes on and was in his right mind. But the people were terrified.
36 Then all who had seen the man healed told about it. 37 Everyone from around Gerasa begged Jesus to leave, because they were so frightened.
When Jesus got into the boat to start back, 38 the man who had been healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him off and said, 39 “Go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you.” The man then went all over town, telling everything that Jesus had done for him.
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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – June 15th 2025.]
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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