Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for October 8th 2023:
Lectionary Theme: Press on towards the goal.
Occasion: 19th Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 19
Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Philippians 3: 4b-14
Matthew 21: 33-46
[Click or tap on a Bible reference above to jump down the page to the Bible reading to 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.
Guide me O Thou great Jehovah.
Love Divine.
One more step along the world I go.
When we walk with the Lord.
Day by day.
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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Exodus 20
1 God said to the people of Israel:
2 I am the LORD your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves.
3 Do not worship any god except me.
4 Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth.
7 Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.
8 Remember that the Sabbath Day belongs to me. 9 You have six days when you can do your work,
12 Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long time in the land I am giving you.
13 Do not murder.
14 Be faithful in marriage.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not tell lies about others.
17 Do not want anything that belongs to someone else. Don’t want anyone’s house, wife or husband, slaves, oxen, donkeys or anything else.
18 The people trembled with fear when they heard the thunder and the trumpet and saw the lightning and the smoke coming from the mountain. They stood a long way off 19 and said to Moses, “If you speak to us, we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die!”
20 “Don’t be afraid!” Moses replied. “God has come only to test you, so that by obeying him you won’t sin.”
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Philippians 3
4b Others may brag about themselves, but I have more reason to brag than anyone else. 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old, and I am from the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a true Hebrew. As a Pharisee, I strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. 6 And I was so eager that I even made trouble for the church. I did everything the Law demands in order to please God.
7 But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. 8 Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, 11 so that somehow I also may be raised to life.
12 I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. 13 My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. 14 I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.
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Matthew 21
33 Jesus told the chief priests and leaders to listen to this story:
A land owner once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country.
34 When it was harvest time, the owner sent some servants to get his share of the grapes. 35 But the renters grabbed those servants. They beat up one, killed one, and stoned one of them to death. 36 He then sent more servants than he did the first time. But the renters treated them in the same way.
37 Finally, the owner sent his own son to the renters, because he thought they would respect him. 38 But when they saw the man’s son, they said, “Someday he will own the vineyard. Let’s kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves.” 39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 Jesus asked, “When the owner of that vineyard comes, what do you suppose he will do to those renters?”
41 The chief priests and leaders answered, “He will kill them in some horrible way. Then he will rent out his vineyard to people who will give him his share of grapes at harvest time.”
42 Jesus replied, “You surely know that the Scriptures say,
‘The stone that the builders tossed aside
is now the most important stone of all.
This is something the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.’
43 I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands. 44 Anyone who stumbles over this stone will be crushed, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew that Jesus was talking about them. 46 So they looked for a way to arrest Jesus. But they were afraid to, because the people thought he was a prophet.
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[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Services? They can now be found at Worship Archive – October 1st 2023.]
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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