Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for September 13th 2026:
Lectionary Theme: God’s sovereign mercy enables forgiveness and trust
Occasion: 16th Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 103: (1-7),8-13
Genesis 50: 15-21
Romans 14: 1-12
Matthew 18: 21-35
[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.
The Lord Jehovah reigns.
Forgive our sin as we forgive.
He is Lord.
Lord of all good.
What a friend.
Saviour from sin.
May the Lord.
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:
Sermon:
Bible readings:
Psalm 103
1 With all my heart I praise the LORD,
and with all that I am I praise his holy name!
2 With all my heart I praise the LORD!
I will never forget how kind he has been.
3 The LORD forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick,
4 and protects us from death.
His kindness and love are a crown on our heads.
5 Each day that we live, he provides for our needs
and gives us the strength of a young eagle.
6 For all who are mistreated, the LORD brings justice.
7 He taught his Law to Moses
and showed all Israel what he could do.
8 The LORD is merciful! He is kind and patient,
and his love never fails.
9 The LORD won’t always be angry and point out our sins;
10 he doesn’t punish us as our sins deserve.
11 How great is God’s love for all who worship him?
Greater than the distance between heaven and earth!
12 How far has the LORD taken our sins from us?
Farther than the distance from east to west!
13 Just as parents are kind to their children,
the LORD is kind to all who worship him,
^ Back to top. ^
Genesis 50
15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said to each other, “What if Joseph still hates us and wants to get even with us for all the cruel things we did to him?”
16 So they sent this message to Joseph:
Before our father died, 17 he told us, “You did some cruel and terrible things to Joseph, but you must ask him to forgive you.”
Now we ask you to please forgive the terrible things we did. After all, we serve the same God that your father worshipped.
When Joseph heard this, he started crying.
18 Right then, Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to the ground in front of him and said, “We are your slaves.”
19 But Joseph told them, “Don’t be afraid! I have no right to change what God has decided. 20 You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing. 21 Don’t be afraid! I will take care of you and your children.” After Joseph said this, his brothers felt much better.
^ Back to top. ^
Romans 14
1 Welcome all the LORD’S followers, even those whose faith is weak. Don’t criticize them for having beliefs that are different from yours. 2 Some think it is all right to eat anything, while those whose faith is weak will eat only vegetables. 3 But you should not criticize others for eating or for not eating. After all, God welcomes everyone. 4 What right do you have to criticize someone else’s servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right.
5 Some of the LORD’S followers think one day is more important than another. Others think all days are the same. But each of you should make up your own mind. 6 Any followers who count one day more important than another day do it to honour their Lord. And any followers who eat meat give thanks to God, just like the ones who don’t eat meat.
7 Whether we live or die, it must be for God, rather than for ourselves. 8 Whether we live or die, it must be for the Lord. Alive or dead, we still belong to the Lord. 9 This is because Christ died and rose to life, so that he would be the Lord of the dead and of the living. 10 Why do you criticize other followers of the Lord? Why do you look down on them? The day is coming when God will judge all of us. 11 In the Scriptures God says,
“I swear by my very life
that everyone will kneel down and praise my name!”
12 And so, each of us must give an account to God for what we do.
^ Back to top. ^
Matthew 18
21 Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?”
22 Jesus answered:
Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! 23 This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like:
One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. 24 As he was doing this, one official was brought in who owed him fifty million silver coins. 25 But he didn’t have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt.
26 The official got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!” 27 The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.
28 As the official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him a hundred silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, “Pay me what you owe!”
29 The man got down on his knees and began begging, “Have pity on me, and I will pay you back.” 30 But the first official refused to have pity. Instead, he went and had the other official put in jail until he could pay what he owed.
31 When some other officials found out what had happened, they felt sorry for the man who had been put in jail. Then they told the king what had happened. 32 The king called the first official back in and said, “You’re an evil man! When you begged for mercy, I said you did not have to pay back a cent. 33 Don’t you think you should show pity to someone else, as I did to you?” 34 The king was so angry that he ordered the official to be tortured until he could pay back everything he owed. 35 That is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don’t forgive each of my followers with all your heart.
^ Back to top. ^
[Did you miss last week’s Sunday Service? It can now be found at Worship Archive – September 6th 2026.]
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
You must be logged in to post a comment.