Worship at Hand – Pentecost 9 | 26 July 2026

Worship at Hand Complete Lectionary-Based Worship Services for Sundays in the Church Year By Philip Garside
Pentecost 9 - 26 July 2026 Sermon Seeds for 19 July 2026

Listen to Philip summarise the content of this week's Worship at Hand resource and provide Sermon Seeds for preachers.

Click for audio 6 mins About today's material

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 13:31-33 and 44-52, we hear Jesus speak of the Kingdom of Heaven through mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure, a pearl, and a net full of fish.

These parables invite us to notice God’s reign not as escape from this world, but as something quietly growing within ordinary life through compassion, justice, hospitality, and shared humanity.

We will explore how small, hidden, and sometimes messy acts of faith can become signs of God’s abundant and inclusive love.

As we worship together, may we be open to discovering the Kingdom hidden in plain sight among us.

Reminder:
Do check out the A4 Leader's version of the Order of Service which contains a sermon, and suggestions for hymns and children's talks, in addition to the prayers and liturgy.

About Worship at Hand

You can purchase packages for individual Sundays or for a whole month.

( to purchase Worship at Hand for the Whole of July 2026)

Use these flexible, all-in-one service scripts to:

- Prepare thoughtful, spiritually grounded worship with minimal stress
- Engage congregations with inclusive, poetic language
- Follow the Revised Common Lectionary with confidence and creativity
- Offer well-structured, theologically liberal worship experiences
- Save time with ready-made sermons and prayers, and children’s talk ideas
- Inspire participation with interactive and multi-age elements.
Features

A weekly worship resource based on the Revised Common Lectionary readings that comprises:

- Prayers for a complete liturgy
- A 1000 to 1200-word sermon included for each service
- 10 engaging “Introducing the Theme / Story Time" ideas
- 12 hymn suggestions from Hymnbook Trust music books
- A royalty free image illustrating the theme to use on the cover of the Order of Service, PowerPoint slides.
- An A4 PDF with a black and white line art drawing of the week's image suitable for colouring in

Material for each week comprises a zipped file containing:

- The Leader’s A4 version of the Order of Service (includes the liturgy, sermon, hymn suggestions and Introducing the Theme / Story Time ideas), in Word and PDF formats
- A draft A5 Congregation version of the Order of Service, ready for you to add hymn and Bible reading texts, in Word and PDF formats
- A.jpg format image
- An A4 PDF with a black and white line art drawing of the week's image suitable for colouring in

You will be emailed a link to download the zipped file when you complete your purchase.

You will also get a link to download the unzipped Word document of the Leader’s A4 version of the Order of Service

Philip Garside Publishing Ltd (2026)

Worship at Hand is your weekly solution for creating meaningful, high-quality church services that are theologically grounded and easy to lead. Designed for clergy, lay preachers, and worship leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond, each downloadable service in this growing collection includes everything you need to lead a complete Sunday gathering.

Each service is based on the Revised Common Lectionary.

Liturgies are responsive, reflective, and action-oriented – inviting congregations to participate deeply in the rhythm of worship.

Whether you’re preaching every week or leading occasionally, Worship at Hand gives you everything in one place. Just open, read, and adapt as needed. Services are created with beauty, care, and a deep love for the church’s task of telling the Good News.

These services are crafted with pastoral insight, theological depth, and liturgical artistry. Use them as supplied or adapt to suit your context – each service includes permission for use with attribution.

While you can present them as is, we suggest that you personalise the sermons provided by adding your own stories and messages relevant to your congregation and local community.
About the Author

Philip Garside is a Methodist lay preacher, worship leader, publisher, and singer / musician based in Aotearoa New Zealand. With over 15 years of experience leading creative, multimedia services, he brings a special blend of theological depth