Come worship with us
Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church
Sunday, August 16, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
We welcome you to our worship service. We hope you find a place where your spirit is filled and refreshed – and a place to call home. If you need to stretch your legs at any time, please feel free to do so.
Greeting, Wave, & Announcements
Prelude #2242 “Walk with Me”
Please take time to prepare your heart and mind for worship.
The Light of the Candle Symbolizes Christ’s Presence Among Us
† Call to Worship † Please stand as you are able.
Leader: Amid the forces of death and destruction, it takes a village to save us.
People: Amid the rivers that would carry us out to sea, it takes willing souls to pull us from the water.
Leader: Amid the fear and hatred in our world, it takes ordinary people to reveal God’s mercy.
All: Come, let us worship.
† Hymn “The Church’s One Foundation” #545, verses 1, 2, 3, 4
† Please stand as you are able.
1. The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
2. Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth;
her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.
3. Though with a scornful wonder we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
4. Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation of peace forevermore;
till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
Unison Prayer You may be seated.
All: Gracious God, we present our very lives as holy and living sacrifices to Your purposes. During this time of worship, we seek the renewal of our minds and the strengthening of our spirits. Show us Your will, that we may know what is good, acceptable, and perfect in Your sight. Amen.
Children’s Time “This Little Light of Mine” (lyric video)
Woah-o this little light of mine, woah-o I’m gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Reading from the New Testament: Romans 12:1-8 (NRSVUE)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Leader: This is the Word of God, for the People of God.
All: Thanks be to God.
Hymn “Open My Eyes, That I May See” #454
1. Open my eyes, that I may see
glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
2. Open my ears, that I may hear
voices of truth thou sendest clear;
and while the wavenotes fall on my ear,
everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!
3. Open my mouth, and let me bear
gladly the warm truth everywhere;
open my heart and let me prepare
love with thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Joys and Concerns Silent Prayer Pastoral Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Reading from the Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20 (NRSVUE)
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Sermon “Some Enchanted Evening” by Pastor Marge
Hymn “Change My Heart, O God” #2152, sing twice
Change my heart, O God, make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God, may I be like you.
You are the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.
Change my heart, O God, make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God, may I be like You.
Offering: Giving back to God in gratitude for all He has given to us.
If you wish to donate online, the QR code is at right for convenience.
Guests: Please know that your presence is a gift to us and that we ask no other gift from you.
Offertory Music #2227 “We Are the Body of Christ”
† Hymn #2036 “Give Thanks” † Please stand as you are able.
Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy one, give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ His son. And now let the weak say, “I am strong”; let the poor say, “I am rich because of what The Lord has done for us.” Give Thanks.
† Prayer Of Thanksgiving † Please stand as you are able.
All: Loving God, accept our gifts as signs of our commitment to build Your realm in our midst. Accept our very lives as pledges of our commitment to pursue what is good, acceptable, and perfect in Your sight. May these gifts become resources to draw the endangered from the waters of death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
† Closing Hymn “He Leadeth Me” #128 † Please stand as you are able.
The Light of Christ Goes Before Us into the World
1. He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be, still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Refrain:
He leadeth me, he leadeth me, by his own hand he leadeth me;
his faithful follower I would be, for by his hand he leadeth me.
2. Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
by waters still, o’er troubled sea,
still ’tis his hand that leadeth me. [Refrain]
3. Lord, I would place my hand in thine,
nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see, since ’tis my God that leadeth me. [Refrain]
4. And when my task on earth is done,
when by thy grace the victory’s won,
e’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me. [Refrain]
Benediction
Postlude #2151 “I’m So Glad Jesus Lifted Me”