Your God gives the order:

“Comfort my people.
Comfort them.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
cry out and tell her that she has served her time;
tell her that she has paid her penalty;
that she has given the pound of flesh, and then some,
due for the crimes she committed.”

A voice cries out:

“Get the road through the wilderness ready.
The LORD is coming! Clear the track!
Straighten out the road through the desert,
so that it is ready for our God.

Fill the potholes, bridge the valleys,
cut through the mountains to level the grade.
Where the going is rough, smooth it out;
lay a new surface over the old corrugations.

Then the LORD will come,
radiant in glory.
Everyone on earth will see it together,
we have the LORD’s word on it.”

A voice says, “Make the announcement!”
And I replied, “What announcement?”

“Announce that people are as fickle as the weather;
all of them, about as constant as a cut flower.

The weather does one thing one day, and another the next;
one breath from the LORD and flowers fade and wilt.
No kidding, all people are as fickle as that.

The weather sweeps through and is gone;
the flower fades and is tossed out;
but every word our God says
stands rock solid for all time.

Take a stand where the whole of God’s city will hear you,
and broadcast the message everyone has been waiting for.
You are the bearer of good news for God’s people,
so open your mouth and don’t hold back;
there’s nothing to be scared of; just go for it!
Broadcast it through all the cities in the land,
saying, ‘Here is your God!’

Look, the Lord GOD comes with a show of strength,
arms punching the air in triumph.
The Lord carries the spoils of victory,
the rewards of a job well done.

Like a farmer hand-rearing the lambs,
the LORD will gather us in loving arms,
cuddle us close,
and gently lead us where we need to go.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

LORD, you smiled on your land
and brought back the good times for your people.

You struck out the record of our guilt
and pardoned all we had done wrong.

We are eager to hear all you have to say, LORD God,
for your words bring peace and wellbeing
to those who stick with you
and leave behind their foolish ways.

Surely for all who respect you,
the life you saved us for is within reach.
Our land will be ablaze with your presence.

What a life it will be!
Love and loyalty will link arms;
justice and peace will become lovers.

Faithfulness will sprout and reach for the sky;
integrity will beam down on the earth.

You will give us every good thing, LORD,
and the land will give bumper crops.

Justice and integrity will spring up as you approach,
lining the road to welcome you among us.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

My dear friends, keep in mind the fact that the Lord is not bound by the same sort of time lines as we are. The Lord can do more in a day than we could do in a thousand years, and yet to the Lord, a thousand years pass like a mere day. Some people think that if the Lord was going to come in glory as he promised, he would have done it by now, but really, we should be thankful that he is not in a rush. The Lord wants everyone to turn their lives around and survive, and he is willing to hold back a bit to give them the chance. But he won’t hold back forever. The day of the Lord will hit without warning like a redback in a dark dunny. Then, with a deafening roar, the sky will be destroyed and there will be a fiery meltdown of the galaxies. The earth and everything that goes on here will be totally exposed for all to see.

So, if everything is headed for this total meltdown, how should we be living here and now? We should be living lives that are utterly dedicated to God and which are patterned on the way God does things. We should be in a state of patient readiness, constantly working to turn around anything that might be causing God to hold back the coming of that ultimate day. Even though that day will see the universe will go up in flames, vaporising the sky and melting down the cosmic elements, we know that God has promised us a renewed earth – a place worth waiting for – a place where justice and integrity will be at home.

So then, my dear friends, while you are waiting for all this to happen, do your utmost to make sure that when it does, the Lord will find you living in peace, and without even a hint of corruption. As for how much longer the Lord will hold back; how ever long it is, you can think of it as a sign of patience and an opportunity for even more to be saved.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

This is the great news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. The prophet Isaiah had already written about the opening scene:

“Take note: I am sending my messenger ahead of you
to blaze the trail for your arrival.
In the desert a voice is shouting:

‘The Lord is coming!
Get the road ready.
Clear the track. Straighten it out for him.’”

John the baptiser showed up in the desert preaching to the people. He called them to be baptised, to completely turn their lives around and receive God’s forgiveness for their toxic ways. Everyone came flocking to John from Jerusalem and from all the rural districts of Judea. They owned up to their wrongdoing and were baptised by John in the Jordan River, promising to mend their ways.

John was dressed in rough clothes made of camel hair and animal skins. He lived on bush tucker – grasshoppers and wild honey. This was the guts of his message: “After me comes the One who is way out of my league – I wouldn’t even qualify to get down on my knees and lick his boots. I’m only baptising you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for in you, salvation is drawing near,
the day when love and fidelity will embrace,
and peace and justice kiss.

The heavens, the earth and all that is in them
came into being, and will pass away, at your say so.
You spoke to your people through the prophets,
calling them to prepare the way for your justice,
and promising to hold them tenderly
like lambs to your breast.

Through the preaching of John the Baptiser,
you prepared the way for your coming Messiah,
— your child, Jesus —
who was baptised into death
but who you raised to new life.
Through him you baptise your people
with your Holy Spirit,
and so now, in hope and gratitude,
we wait for the day when you will establish
new heavens and a new earth
where righteousness will be at home.

Therefore with .....

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you for your promise to come to us like a shepherd
and to bring about the day
when love and fidelity embrace, peace and justice kiss,
and new heavens and a new earth are established
where righteousness will be at home.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for in you, salvation is drawing near,
the day when love and fidelity will embrace,
and peace and justice kiss.

The heavens, the earth and all that is in them
came into being, and will pass away, at your say so.
You spoke to your people through the prophets,
calling them to prepare the way for your justice,
and promising to hold them tenderly
like lambs to your breast.

Through the preaching of John the Baptiser,
you prepared the way for your coming Messiah,
— your child, Jesus —
who was baptised into death
but who you raised to new life.
Through him you baptise your people
with your Holy Spirit,
and so now, in hope and gratitude,
we wait for the day when you will establish
new heavens and a new earth
where righteousness will be at home.

Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

The Lord is patient with us,
not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
If we will turn back to God,
God has promised to bring us to the promised land,
forgetting our guilt, and forgiving our sins.

Sisters and Brothers,
  your sins are forgiven;
    be at peace.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now: wait and work for the coming of the day of God.
In the wild places prepare a straight path for the Lord.
Lead lives of holiness and godliness,
strive to be found at peace,
and speak freely of the Lord’s comfort and promise.

And may God our shepherd gather you in loving arms;
May Christ Jesus reconcile justice and peace within you;
And may the Holy Spirit baptise you into the life of God.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
   In the name of Christ. Amen.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net