[Did you miss last Sunday’s services? They can still be found at Worship Archive – August 28th 2022.]
Sunday Service from Connexion for September 4th 2022:
Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for September 4th 2022:
Lectionary Theme: The cost of discipleship
Occasion: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18
Jeremiah 18: 1-11
Philemon (1:) 1-21
Luke 14: 25-33
[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.
Come now is the time.
Lord the light.
I’m so secure.
In my life Lord, be glorified.
I want to walk with Jesus Christ (Follow Him).
O Jesus I have promised.
Jesus calls us.
Let there be love.
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:
Theme : The cost of discipleship.
Summary of what is in Jeremiah 18:1-11
Jeremiah was told by God to go to the potter’s house and he went there. At the potter’s house Jeremiah was observing what the potter was moulding. When the potter was moulding, his mould did not come as intended. So he destroyed the mould and started all over again to get his intended shape. God told Jeremiah to tell the house of Israel that like clay in the potter’s hand so they are in God’s hand. God will always do what he wants with them. He can bless them if they leave their bad ways. If they keep on doing bad things he will punish them. God was calling his people to repent and return to him.
Boys and girls we are like clay in God’s hand. God like the potter will mould us into whatever shape he wants. If we do not listen to God he punishes us and does not protect us from bad things. We are the disciples of God. Disciples don’t go where they want they just follow their leader and guided by him. We are to do God’s will and at times this may be some of the things we don’t enjoy. We have to lose some of the things that we like most. Like bad friends even if we like our friends as long they influence us to do bad things then we have to lose them. That boys and girls is doing the will of God and can be costly. Costing our friendship, our time and our desires.
Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we come before your throne of grace this morning. We are little children. We seek your guidance and protection. As we go back to school may you be with us Lord and protect us from bad things of the world. In mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sermon:
Bible readings:
Psalm 139
1 You have looked deep into my heart, LORD,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I am resting or when I am working,
and from heaven you discover my thoughts.
3 You notice everything I do and everywhere I go.
4 Before I even speak a word,
you know what I will say,
5 and with your powerful arm
you protect me from every side.
6 I can’t understand all of this!
Such wonderful knowledge is far above me.
13 You are the one who put me together
inside my mother’s body,
14 and I praise you
because of the wonderful way you created me.
Everything you do is marvellous!
Of this I have no doubt.
15 Nothing about me is hidden from you!
I was secretly woven together
deep in the earth below,
16 but with your own eyes
you saw my body being formed.
Even before I was born, you had written in your book
everything I would do.
17 Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding,
much more than I could ever imagine.
18 I try to count your thoughts,
but they outnumber the grains of sand on the beach.
And when I awake, I will find you nearby.
Jeremiah 18
1 The LORD told me, 2 “Go to the pottery shop, and when you get there, I will tell you what to say to the people.”
3 I went there and saw the potter making clay pots on his pottery wheel. 4 And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape.
5 Then the LORD told me to say:
6 People of Israel, I, the LORD, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay. 7 If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation 8 and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind.
9 If I promise to make a nation strong, 10 but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all.
11 So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won’t change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right.
Philemon (1)
1 From Paul, who is in jail for serving Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is like a brother because of our faith.
Philemon, you work with us and are very dear to us. This letter is to you 2 and to the church that meets in your home. It is also to our dear friend Apphia and to Archippus, who serves the Lord as we do.
3 I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
4 Philemon, each time I mention you in my prayers, I thank God. 5 I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and about your love for all of God’s people. 6 As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us. 7 My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God’s people.
8 Christ gives me the courage to tell you what to do. 9 But I would rather ask you to do it simply because of love. Yes, as someone in jail for Christ, 10 I beg you to help Onesimus! He is like a son to me because I led him to Christ here in jail. 11 Before this, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.
12 Sending Onesimus back to you makes me very sad. 13 I would like to keep him here with me, where he could take your place in helping me while I am here in prison for preaching the good news. 14 But I won’t do anything unless you agree to it first. I want your act of kindness to come from your heart, and not be something you feel forced to do.
15 Perhaps Onesimus was taken from you for a little while so that you could have him back for good, 16 but not as a slave. Onesimus is much more than a slave. To me he is a dear friend, but to you he is even more, both as a person and as a follower of the Lord.
17 If you consider me a friend because of Christ, then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 18 If he has cheated you or owes you anything, charge it to my account. 19 With my own hand I write: I, PAUL, WILL PAY YOU BACK. But don’t forget that you owe me your life. 20 My dear friend and follower of Christ our Lord, please cheer me up by doing this for me.
21 I am sure you will do all I have asked, and even more.
Luke 14
25 Large crowds were walking along with Jesus, when he turned and said:
26 You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.
27 You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and come with me.
28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. What is the first thing you will do? Won’t you sit down and figure out how much it will cost and if you have enough money to pay for it? 29 Otherwise, you will start building the tower, but not be able to finish. Then everyone who sees what is happening will laugh at you. 30 They will say, “You started building, but could not finish the job.”
31 What will a king do if he has only ten thousand soldiers to defend himself against a king who is about to attack him with twenty thousand soldiers? Before he goes out to battle, won’t he first sit down and decide if he can win? 32 If he thinks he won’t be able to defend himself, he will send messengers and ask for peace while the other king is still a long way off. 33 So then, you cannot be my disciple unless you give away everything you own.
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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