Shout for joy, you who call the holy city home.
Celebrate the goodness of the LORD your God.
The LORD has done the right thing by you,
sending you good rains, just like in the old days;
autumn and spring rains right on cue.

Your silos will bulge with grain.
Your vats will overflow with wine and olive oil.

I, the LORD your God, will make up for the bad years;
for the seasons when locusts destroyed everything in sight.
I sent them like an invading army,
swarming over your land,
stripping your crops bare.

But now you will have more than you can eat,
and will gladly give credit to me, the LORD your God.
I have done amazing things for you.
You will never be humiliated again.

You, my people, will know that I am among you,
and that I, the LORD, am your one and only God.
You are my people,
and you will never be humiliated again.

Then, after that, I will do even more:
I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.
Your sons and your daughters will speak as prophets.
The elderly among you will dream dreams,
and the young will see visions.

In those days, I will even pour out my Spirit
upon men and women whose rights no one cares about.

I will perform miraculous signs in the sky and on the earth,
blood, and fire, and clouds of smoke.

The sun will go black and the moon blood-red
before the dawning
of my awesome and glorious day.

And everyone who cries out to me will be rescued,
for there will be survivors on my holy mountain
and in my holy city.
I, the LORD, have promised this,
and among the survivors will be the people I have called.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

You deserve all the credit we can give you, O God.
We will gather on your holy mountain
and make good on all we have promised you.

You are the one who answers prayers
and everyone on earth will turn to you.
When we are weighed down by our guilt,
you wipe away the record of our wrongs.

What a privilege it is to be among your chosen ones;
to be invited to live in your presence.
Everything we could want is provided
here in your sacred temple.

You take action in awesome ways, O God;
you step in and rescue us when we call.
You are the answer to the hopes of people everywhere,
in every land and across the seas.

You rolled up your sleeves
and lifted the mountains into place.
You tamed the angry seas,
silencing both roaring waves
and frenzied crowds.

From one end of the earth to the other,
everyone is mind-boggled by what you do.
Dawn and sunset join their voices
as all the earth shouts for joy.

You tend the earth like a garden,
enriching the soil and keeping it watered.
Your rivers never run dry, God,
and the fields you have plowed
yield a bumper harvest to feed your people.

You level the uneven ground
and nourish the soil;
you water it with softening showers
and set the seeds growing and flourishing.

The year is crowned with a bumper harvest
and everything you touch is bursting with life.

Wilderness fields erupt in flower,
mountains and hills pour forth joy;
paddocks are clothed with healthy flocks,
barren land is ablaze with golden grain.

All of them shout for joy;
all the earth breaks into song.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Timothy, I am passing the baton on to you now. My time is up. The last few drops of my life are being poured out as a final offering to God. I have given my best in the struggle. I have run the full course that was set before me. I have kept the faith, no matter how tough the going got. The event has been judged by the Lord, who always gets it right, and all that lies ahead of me now is the medal ceremony. On that day, the Lord will hang the medal around my neck to show that I have made the grade. And there on the podium, receiving their medals alongside me, will be everyone else who has eagerly awaited the Lord’s arrival.

At my first committal hearing, there was no one taking my side. Everyone bolted and left me in the lurch. God forgive them! The Lord was there for me though, standing along side me and giving me strength. That made it possible for me to get the message out; to broadcast it in full for those who had never heard it before. Then, and countless times since, the Lord rescued me from the midst of the circling sharks so that I might safely enter the kingdom of heaven.

All the glory belongs to the Lord!
Always has, always will!
And so say all of us!

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus told a story to some people who held a very high opinion of their own moral character and a very low opinion of everybody else. He said, “Two men went into the place of worship to pray. One of them was a member of the devoutly religious Pharisee party, while the other was working as a debt collector for the Roman occupation forces and so was despised as a traitor. The religious man struck a pose in full view of everybody and prayed out loud, saying, ‘God, I give you thanks that I am not dishonest, corrupt or perverted like other people. I especially thank you that I am not like that traitor over there. I fast religiously twice a week, and donate ten percent of all my income to you.’

“Meanwhile the traitor fell to his knees in a quiet corner and, with his face buried in his hands, prayed, ‘God, I know that I have failed you. Please have mercy on me!’”

“You can take it from me,” said Jesus, “that it was this second man rather than the other who was in the good books with God when he headed for home. The fact is that those who big-note themselves will end up with egg all over their faces, while those who remain down to earth and presume nothing will be promoted by God.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prior to the revision of the Lectionary in 1992, the 1st reading and the psalm that responded to it were chosen to link thematically with the gospel reading. After hearing the critique of those who said that the Hebrew Scriptures, from which the first reading is usually chosen, should be allowed to speak with their own voice rather than just add support to the gospel reading, the Lectionary was revised so that during Ordinary Time, the 1st reading runs in its own semi-continuous series, working through various books of the Hebrew Bible. The older themed series continues to be available as an alternative.

The weekly prayers offered here at LaughingBird Resources are based on the four readings above, and do not draw on the themed 1st reading and psalm.

The Lord God has shown enormous generosity to you,
so be as generous as you can in your offerings to God.

Invest in the Lord and the returns are guaranteed.
Whatever you give, you’ll get back many times over.

But don’t ever try to buy God’s favour.
The Lord will never accept a bribe or a kick-back.

The Lord hands down justice with a perfectly even hand,
judging each case fairly and never playing favourites.

God is no bleeding heart who always believes the poor,
but anyone who has been wronged will have their case heard.

The Lord will never dismiss anyone without a fair hearing.
Even the most down and out
– those with no rights, no family, and no influence –
will have their grievances heard by God.

©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Take on our case, LORD,
even though we are as guilty as hell.
Defend us for the sake of your own reputation,
even though we have a long record of treachery
and we have done the wrong thing by you.

You are known as the hope of our nation,
as the one who always saves us.
Don’t let yourself be seen as a mere blow-in in your own land;
as an outside observer, watching on, but uninvolved.

Why should you be seen as a toothless tiger,
as an armed soldier who doesn’t know which side he’s on?
Come on, LORD, you have made your base here.
Everyone associates your name with us.
Don’t give up on us now!

What you have said about us is all true, LORD;
that we are unfaithful;
that we have itchy feet and are always going astray.
You have said that you are sick of the sight of us,
and that you will not overlook our offences
or hold back on punishing us as we deserve.

Have you written us off completely, LORD?
Do you now hate and despise us?
Surely you would never knock us down
and leave us with no chance to get back on our feet?
We look for peace, but we look in vain.
We wait for healing and rebuilding,
but all we hear are threats of terror.

We have confessed our crimes, LORD.
We did do the wrong thing by you,
and we continued the atrocities of our ancestors.

Don’t give up on us, LORD.
Your reputation is at stake here.
Don’t give yourself and your authority a bad name
by breaking the alliance you made with us.

How useless are the things other nations put their trust in!
Can their idols bring even a drop of rain?
Aren’t you the one in charge, O LORD our God?
You are our only hope!
You are the one who makes things happen!

©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

The place where you live is just exquisite,
O LORD, ruler of all!
With everything inside me, I long to be there;
I go all weak at the very thought of it.
I want to be there, body and soul,
singing my heart out for you, O God of life.

Even the birds find a home in your house;
there are nests in every nook and cranny
where pigeons and sparrows raise their young.
Bird song and incense rise together
to honour you, Sovereign God, ruler of all.
How privileged are those who live in your house;
joyous songs of praise are forever on their lips.

Those who have tapped into your strength
have got it made.
The highway to heaven begins within them;
a direct route to your holy presence.

They are like people who can find water in the desert;
they drink from life giving springs
that no drought can ever dry up.
They go from strength to strength,
and will see you face to face on your holy mountain.

©2000 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 you have dealt wondrously with us
and saved us for your heavenly kingdom.

With awesome power you created the earth
and everything you touch comes alive;
grain abounds and vats overflow with wine and oil.
You called a people to be your own
and you filled them with the plenty of your house.

In Jesus the Christ, your son and our brother,
you proclaimed the vindication
of those who humbled themselves,
casting themselves on your mercy
and looking to you for strength to run the race.
When he was crucified by those who would exalt themselves,
you raised him from the dead,
and gave him the crown of righteousness.
Through him, you pour out your spirit like rain on all flesh
and your people bring forth a wonderful harvest
of visions, prophesies, and songs of praise.

Therefore with .....

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you that you vindicate those who humble themselves,
and that you now pour out your spirit like rain on all flesh
bringing forth in your people a wonderful harvest
of visions, prophesies, and songs of praise.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you have dealt wondrously with us
and saved us for your heavenly kingdom.

With awesome power you created the earth
and everything you touch comes alive;
grain abounds and vats overflow with wine and oil.
You called a people to be your own
and you filled them with the plenty of your house.

In Jesus the Christ, your son and our brother,
you proclaimed the vindication
of those who humbled themselves,
casting themselves on your mercy
and looking to you for strength to run the race.
When he was crucified by those who would exalt themselves,
you raised him from the dead,
and gave him the crown of righteousness.
Through him, you pour out your spirit like rain on all flesh
and your people bring forth a wonderful harvest
of visions, prophesies, and songs of praise.

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.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved,
for Christ has promised
that those who humble themselves
and cry out to the Lord for mercy
will be justified.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now, rejoicing in the Lord your God.
Fight the good fight;
finish the race;
keep the faith.

And may God rescue you from every evil attack;
May Christ Jesus reserve for you the crown of righteousness;
And may the Holy Spirit flood you with grace
and overflow in you with visions and dreams of glory.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net