[Did you miss last Sunday’s services? They can still be found at Worship Archive – October 25th 2020.]
Sunday Services from Connexion for November 1st 2020:
Sunday Services from Hillside Circuit for November 1st 2020:
Theme: Practice what you preach
Occasion: 8th Sunday before Christmas
Psalm 107: 1-9; 33-37
Old Testament: Joshua 3: 7-17
Letter: 1 Thessalonians 2: 9-13
New Testament: Matthew 23: 1-12
[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.
Come, people of the risen King.
Lord reign in me (Over all the Earth).
Make me a channel of your peace.
Speak O Lord.
Take my life and let it be.
Now unto Him.
Prayers:
You can listen and join in with prayers from the Methodist Service Book, they can be found at the Prayers for worship webpage.
Sermons:
Bible readings:
Psalm 107
1 Shout praises to the LORD!
He is good to us, and his love never fails.
2 Everyone the LORD has rescued from trouble
should praise him,
3 everyone he has brought from the east and the west,
the north and the south.
4 Some of you were lost in the scorching desert,
far from a town.
5 You were hungry and thirsty and about to give up.
6 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the LORD, and he rescued you.
7 Right away he brought you to a town.
8 You should praise the LORD for his love
and for the wonderful things he does for all of us.
9 To everyone who is thirsty, he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
he gives good things to eat.
33 If you start doing wrong,
the LORD will turn rivers into deserts,
34 flowing streams into scorched land,
and fruitful fields into beds of salt.
35 But the LORD can also turn deserts into lakes
and scorched land into flowing streams.
36 If you are hungry, you can settle there and build a town.
37 You can plant fields and vineyards
that produce a good harvest.
Joshua 3
7 The LORD told Joshua, “Beginning today I will show the people that you are their leader, and they will know that I am helping you as I helped Moses. 8 Now, tell the priests who are carrying the chest to go a little way into the river and stand there.”
9 Joshua spoke to the people:
Come here and listen to what the LORD our God said he will do! 10 The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites control the land on the other side of the river. But the living God will be with you and will force them out of the land when you attack. And now, God is going to prove that he’s powerful enough to force them out. 11-13 Just watch the sacred chest that belongs to the LORD, the ruler of the whole earth. As soon as the priests carrying the chest step into the Jordan, the water will stop flowing and pile up as if someone had built a dam across the river.
The LORD has also said that each of the twelve tribes should choose one man to represent it.
14 The Israelites packed up and left camp. The priests carrying the chest walked in front, 15 until they came to the Jordan River. The water in the river had risen over its banks, as it often does in springtime. But as soon as the feet of the priests touched the water, 16-17 the river stopped flowing, and the water started piling up at the town of Adam near Zarethan. No water flowed toward the Dead Sea, and the priests stood in the middle of the dry riverbed near Jericho while everyone else crossed over.
1 Thessalonians 2
9 My dear friends, you surely haven’t forgotten our hard work and hardships. You remember how night and day we struggled to make a living, so that we could tell you God’s message without being a burden to anyone. 10 Both you and God are witnesses that we were pure and honest and innocent in our dealings with you followers of the Lord. 11 You also know we did everything for you that parents would do for their own children. 12 We begged, encouraged, and urged each of you to live in a way that would honour God. He is the one who chose you to share in his own kingdom and glory.
13 We always thank God that you believed the message we preached. It came from him, and it isn’t something made up by humans. You accepted it as God’s message, and now he is working in you.
Matthew 23
1 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
2 The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are experts in the Law of Moses. 3 So obey everything they teach you, but don’t do as they do. After all, they say one thing and do something else.
4 They pile heavy burdens on people’s shoulders and won’t lift a finger to help. 5 Everything they do is just to show off in front of others. They even make a big show of wearing Scripture verses on their foreheads and arms, and they wear big tassels for everyone to see. 6 They love the best seats at banquets and the front seats in the meeting places. 7 And when they are in the market, they like to have people greet them as their teachers.
8 But none of you should be called a teacher. You have only one teacher, and all of you are like brothers and sisters. 9 Don’t call anyone on earth your father. All of you have the same Father in heaven. 10 None of you should be called the leader. The Messiah is your only leader. 11 Whoever is the greatest should be the servant of the others. 12 If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honoured.
The message for November 1st 2020 in English, with Dr Christine Tenga:
I greet you all in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 107 and I encourage you to read it on your own.
Let us pray. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of life. You have afforded us an opportunity to praise and worship thee. We honour and glorify your name because we know you are holy you are compassionate and ever good to us.
Father we acknowledge our weaknesses before you. We ask for forgiveness for the wrongs we have done knowingly or ignorantly.
We remember Christians in the world. Protect them from the evils of this world.
We bring before you the less privileged, the sick and the elderly for providence and healing both physically and spiritually.
We thank you Lord and ask for your spiritual presence as we listen to your word.
You can choose your favourite hymn and sing it to draw close to God.
Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you O my Lord Saviour and redeemer.
Our theme today is:
Practise what you preach. This is a strong instruction to those who are called to preach the word of God not to just preach but to show in actions what they preach.
In Joshua 3, God will exalt Joshua before all Israel He will put him in a high position so that they know He has chosen him just as He did with Moses. God’s promise to Abraham will be fulfilled through Joshua. The promised land Canaan is God’s kingdom and we are still journeying there. Preachers must lead God’ s people there by preaching in a way that people may believe in what they say and even do. The way you live your life must speak to people. God spoke to Joshua about crossing the Jordan and Joshua took the words as they were to the children of Israel. He believed what God said and that God would do it. A preacher must believe in the word that he delivers to the people and act on it. The nations that were driven out of Canaan were sinful. God hates sin. When the word is preached, it must cause the hearer to repent in his old ways and live a transformed life. God ‘s kingdom belongs to the clean at heart. The Ark of the covenant was a constant reminder of God s promise to Israel and that promise and many other promises are
for every believer. God is God of all the earth and His word never fails. In order for the Israelites to trust Joshua s message, God performed a miracle similar to the one He performed when the Israelites crossed the red sea from Egypt. When it was time to cross the Jordan into the promised land , God parted the waters of the river and the people walked on dry land. God led them through. Surely how could they then doubt reaching the PROMISED LAND. In our lives too God does miracles, just look through your walk in your life and discover what God has done for you then you will believe in His word. God sets a good example for us when He fulfils His promises. When the word is preached and is seen working in people s lives , it can be trusted and believed. The preacher has a duty to speak and live the word of God so that his hearers emulate him to the glory of God and not himself.
The Pharisees being the teachers of the Old Testament 5 books and knowing the laws of Moses , were not doers of the law. They taught about the law of Moses but didn’t practise it. Jesus warned the people and disciples not to follow their way of living. Their conduct and behaviour was contrary to what they taught. They loved undeserved respect where ever they were be it in the synagogue or in the streets. What a pity! We have such leaders in our churches. They like positions but do not set an example. They order congregants to do this and that but they never participate. They do not lead by example. They are not guided by God ‘s word. Some people are even afraid of leaders or pastors and ministers because of the way they treat them. Leaders must be servants and not masters or bosses. Some women in churches even give more respect to their leaders more than their husbands. That is bad. Preachers must be responsible for the peoples spiritual needs. They must be there for them in difficult times, give comfort in times of sickness, bereavement, loneliness and so on. Encourage them when they need that. All that will make people see God s love and they will be drawn to Him. All what is done must draw people to God. May your actions not cause people to distance themselves from God. I have heard some people say its better to be a heathen than a Christian because the way they behave leaves a lot to be desired. Some husbands do not allow wives to go to church citing misconduct of church women. Our behaviour means a lot to believers and non believers alike. Jesus condemned wayward behaviour. Thus a warning we need to correct. Our theme today is a warning not only to leaders but to everyone because we are leaders in one way or another. Wherever you are as a Christian , be an ambassador for God be a role model.
The Apostle Paul set a good example of a leader. In the passage of 1 Thessalonians, Paul didn’t like to burden the new church. He laboured to support himself by making tents. One can preach the gospel as well as earn a living by doing a trade. At his time some people were quitting jobs to wait for the coming of Jesus. Paul worked and preached at the same time to avoid depending on the church. We have seen God’s word twisted and people forced to give even if they struggle because funds are needed. This can discourage followers. The whole purpose of the gospel may be destroyed. Many may fall before getting to the promised land. Paul was gentle with believers teaching them to live lives worthy of God, encouraging and comforting them. He was thankful because believers received the word and were aware that it wasn’t Paul’s word but God’s word.
In conclusion,
Preach God’s word and not yours. You are a messenger of God. He is the one who empowers you. Trust in Him and do what he instructs you to do. Through you God’s people must enter the kingdom thus why Christ gave the great commission to his disciples to preach the gospel to all corners of the world.
May God bless His word.
Amen.
The message for November 1st 2020 in Shona, with Mr Arnold Mahonye:
THEME: NGATIMIVONGE JEHOVAH NGUVADZOSE
KASIBONGENI UJEHOVAH SIKHATHI SONKE
CALL TO WORSHIP: PSALMS 100
OLD TESTAMENT – GENESIS 8: 15-22
NEW TESTAMENT – GOSPEL RAMATEU 6 : 25 – 33
1 NGATINAMATEI – Muzita renyu Mwari Baba, RoMwanakomana neMweya Mutsvene, tinouya pachigaro chenyu chenyasha nekutenda chipo cheupenyu, Rino izuva rakaitwa nemi Jehovah, ngatifare kwazvo. Tinongouyazvaka kutenda kereke yenyu nemhuri ese yakamirira nyika yose. Chipayi shoko renyu rakafanira uye rinotiropafadza nguva dzose, gadzirai mwoyo yedu iwane nzvimbo rekuviga iris home, Amen.
2 Mufaro wangu hama munaKristu, mukana wandapiwa naMusiki kuti tigoverane shoko rake. Ndinovimba tese tinomuziva murume ainzi Nowa, uyo akati nokururama kwake Mwari vakamuti iwe nemhuri yako pindai muAreka zvese nezvipfuyo zvako zwese, mukono ne hadzi nokuti kwasara mazuva manomwe (7), ipapo ndichanaisa mvura panyika mazuva anokwana makumi mana (40 days) zvipenyu zvose zvandakaita ndichazviparadza panyika. Nowa akaita zvose sezvakarairwa na Jehovah.
3 Yakauya mvura yemafashamu ikauraya zvose sokutaurwa kwakaitwa naJehovah asi Nowa nemhuri yake vakararama.
Genesis 8:15
Tinonzwa Mwaria achitaura naNowa vachiti Budai muAreka iwe nemukadzi wako nemhuri yako yese, budisawo pamwechete newe zvipenyu zvese zvenyama zvinewe, kubvira kushiri, nezvinikambaira kuti zviwande panyika.
Genesis 8:18
Nowa akabuda nevanakomana vake, nemukadxzi wake nemhuka dzose.
Genesis 8:20
Nowa akavakira Jehovah Atari, akatora dzimwe pamhuka dzose DZAKANAKA NESHIRI dzose dzakanaka, akapirisa zvipiro zvinopiriswa paAtari KURIKUTENDA JEHOVAH, Jehovah akanzwa kunhuwira kwakanaka Jehovah akati mumwoyo wakhe “HANDICHAZOTUKIZVE NYIKA NOKUDA KWOMHUNU KWAKAIPA.
QUESTION / MUBVUNZO / UMBUZO
Ko Nhai Baba, nhai Amai, nhai Shamwari, zvawanzvengeswa paCOVID 19, CYCLONE, PAZVIRWERE, PANJODZI DZAKASIYANA-SIYANA, Chii chawakaitira Jehovah, kungwara kwako here?, maSanitizer here?, maMask here?
Ndinoti kwauri mudikani, Jehovah akamirira Hwema unobva pachipiriso, chipiriso chinobva mumwoyo mako, wamutenda here mwari wako mukukunzvengesa kwaanoita siku nesikati.
Mathew 6 – 25 – Vhangeri rakanyorwa naMatewo rinoti, saka ndinoti kwauri, regai regai kufunganya pamusoro peuipenyu hwenyu muchiti ndichadyei kana ndichamwei, kana pamusoro pemuviri wenyu muchiti ndichapfekei ko.?.
Ndichipedzisa
Mamiriro ezvinhu muupenyu / Munyika anogona kuramba achioma zvingangopfuura patiri nhasi asi ngatitende mwari pane zvavanotipa nekutinzvengesa mumadzudzo akasiyana.
Benediction
Dzingati ngoni dzaIshe wedu Jesu Kristo, rudo rwenyu Mwari Baba, nekuwadzana kweMweya Mutsvene ngazvive nesu tose kubva zvino kusvika rinhi narinhi AMEN.
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 