Worship Archive – March 16th 2025

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Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for March 16th 2025:

Lectionary Theme: Relying on God’s promises

Occasion: 2nd Sunday in Lent

Lectionary readings:
Psalm 27
Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18
Philippians 3: 17 – 4: 1
Luke 9: 28-36

[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.

Isn’t it good to be together.
Praise to the Lord.
Hide me now (Still).
Holy, holy, holy holy, holy holy, Lord God Almighty.
To God be the glory.
O love of God.
Now unto him.

You can listen and join in with prayers from the English Methodist Service Book. They can be found at the Prayers for worship webpage.

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Children’s Address:

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Sermon:

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Bible readings:

Psalm 27

1 You, LORD, are the light that keeps me safe.
I am not afraid of anyone.
You protect me, and I have no fears.
2 Brutal people may attack and try to kill me,
but they will stumble.
Fierce enemies may attack, but they will fall.
3 Armies may surround me, but I won’t be afraid;
war may break out, but I will trust you.

4 I ask only one thing, LORD:
Let me live in your house every day of my life
to see how wonderful you are
and to pray in your temple.

5 In times of trouble, you will protect me.
You will hide me in your tent
and keep me safe on top of a mighty rock.
6 You will let me defeat all of my enemies.
Then I will celebrate, as I enter your tent
with animal sacrifices and songs of praise.

7 Please listen when I pray!
Have pity. Answer my prayer.
8 My heart tells me to pray.
I am eager to see your face,
9 so don’t hide from me.
I am your servant, and you have helped me.
Don’t turn from me in anger.
You alone keep me safe. Don’t reject or desert me.
10 Even if my father and mother should desert me,
you will take care of me.

11 Teach me to follow, LORD,
and lead me on the right path
because of my enemies.
12 Don’t let them do to me what they want.
People tell lies about me and make terrible threats,
13 but I know I will live to see how kind you are.

14 Trust the LORD! Be brave and strong and trust the LORD.

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Genesis 15

1 Later the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don’t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”
2 But Abram answered, “LORD All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own. 3 You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”
4 The LORD replied, “No, he won’t! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” 5 Then the LORD took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That’s how many descendants you will have.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD was pleased with him.

7 The LORD said to Abram, “I brought you here from Ur in Chaldea, and I gave you this land.”
8 Abram asked, “LORD God, how can I know the land will be mine?”
9 Then the LORD told him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram obeyed the LORD. Then he cut the animals in half and laid the two halves of each animal opposite each other on the ground. But he did not cut the doves and pigeons in half. 11 And when birds came down to eat the animals, Abram chased them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and everything became dark and frightening.

17 Sometime after sunset, when it was very dark, a smoking cooking pot and a flaming fire went between the two halves of each animal. 18 At that time the LORD made an agreement with Abram and told him:
I will give your descendants the land east of the Shihor River on the border of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River.

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Philippians 3 & 4

3: 17 My friends, I want you to follow my example and learn from others who closely follow the example we set for you. 18 I often warned you that many people are living as enemies of the cross of Christ. And now with tears in my eyes, I warn you again 19 that they are headed for hell! They worship their stomachs and brag about the disgusting things they do. All they can think about are the things of this world.
20 But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Saviour to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ 21 has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.

4: 1 Dear friends, I love you and long to see you. Please keep on being faithful to the Lord. You are my pride and joy

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Luke 9

28 About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 While he was praying, his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. 30 Suddenly Moses and Elijah were there speaking with him. 31 They appeared in heavenly glory and talked about all that Jesus’ death in Jerusalem would mean.
32 Peter and the other two disciples had been sound asleep. All at once they woke up and saw how glorious Jesus was. They also saw the two men who were with him.
33 Moses and Elijah were about to leave, when Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But Peter did not know what he was talking about.
34 While Peter was still speaking, a shadow from a cloud passed over them, and they were frightened as the cloud covered them. 35 From the cloud a voice spoke, “This is my chosen Son. Listen to what he says!”
36 After the voice had spoken, Peter, John, and James saw only Jesus. For some time they kept quiet and did not say anything about what they had seen.

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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – March 9th 2025.]