The Lord says:

Let me introduce to you the one who serves me,
the one I am backing all the way.
I have chosen him,
and I am bursting with pride over him.
I have given him my spirit in full measure,
and he will bring about justice everywhere on earth.

He won’t go thrusting himself into the public eye,
or grandstanding in the street with pompous speeches.
He won’t exploit the vulnerability of damaged people,
or squeeze the last drops out of those who are running on empty.
He will be completely fair dinkum
about making justice a reality.

He will not run out of steam or throw in the towel
until his mission is accomplished;
until justice holds sway everywhere on earth
and the world’s peoples are eager to learn from him.

I am the one who created the universe
and stretched out the skies;
the one who constructed the earth
and produced everything that grows from it;
the one who breathes life into the world’s people
and kindles the spark of life within them;
I am the LORD your God;
so listen to what I have to say:

I, the LORD, have called you to stand for what is right.
I have put my arm around you and kept you safe.
I have made you a shining light for all the earth to see,
to draw all people everywhere
into a permanent alliance with me.
I have given you a privileged role
as the one who enables the blind to see the light;
the one who opens the gates of the stifling detention centres
and welcomes the prisoners into the fresh air of freedom.

I am the LORD, that is my name;
I don’t allow pretenders to cash in on my glory
or rip off my image to promote their frauds.

Take note: everything I warned you about has happened on cue.
Now I am announcing my new projects;
I’m letting you in on them even before they get started.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

LORD God, like your angels in heaven
we speak of you in glowing terms,
for your glory and strength deserve rave reviews.
We give you a huge rap, LORD;
we put up you name in lights
and hold a huge ticker tape parade
but it still falls short of the worship you deserve.

Your voice, LORD, rings out like thunder;
resounding over the waters,
drowning out even the waves of the sea.
Your voice echoes with power;
it would bring anyone to their knees.

Your voice, LORD, shatters the Ironbark tree,
and splinters the Mountain Ash like match sticks.
Your presence makes Mount Bogong jump like a calf;
Uluru like a rock wallaby.

Your voice, LORD, strikes fire from stone.
The sound of your voice convulses the wilderness;
the Simpson Desert shudders in labour.

Your voice, LORD, is like a cyclone,
howling through a rainforest,
stripping the leaves from the trees.

We all gather to worship and cheer with all our might;
for you rule forever, LORD,
and neither surging flood
nor tidal wave can undermine you.
Give strength to your people, LORD!
Bless your people with peace!

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Peter addressed the gathered people saying:

“Now it is all perfectly clear to me — God does not play favourites! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, if you take God seriously and do the right thing, God will welcome you with open arms! Jesus the Messiah preached God’s message about a peace deal to the people of Israel, but clearly it did not stop with them — he is Lord of all! No doubt you have heard the news about Jesus of Nazareth, because since it sparked off in Galilee, it has spread like wildfire all over Judea. The story began after John started calling everyone to turn their lives around through baptism. God singled Jesus out then and there, charging him with the Holy Spirit’s power. From then on, Jesus travelled around working for good and helping people out from under the devil’s thumb and back onto their feet. God was with him in all this. We saw it all ourselves; everything he did in the Judean backblocks and in the city of Jerusalem. They strung him up on a post and killed him, but three days later God raised him to life and let us see him. Not everybody got to see him, but God had picked us out to be the ones who would know first hand what had happened. We got to spend time sharing meals and a few drinks with him after he was brought back from the dead. He gave us the job of getting his message out to the people and going public with the fact that he is the one who God has appointed to make the final assessment of everybody on earth, past and present. You don’t have to take our word alone on this; all the prophets back us up. Everyone who puts their trust in Jesus receives pardon for their sins on his say so.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He presented himself to John and asked to be baptised. At first John wouldn’t have a bar of it, saying, “You’ve got it all back to front. It is me that needs to be baptised by you.”

But Jesus insisted, saying, “For now, it is the right thing to do. Baptise me, for it is good for us to do everything that God asks of anyone.

So John gave in and baptised Jesus. As he came up from the water, he saw the sky suddenly opening up and the Spirit of God coming down like a diving kookaburra and taking hold of him. And a voice filled the air, saying, “You are my Son; the love of my life. You fill me with pride.”

©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 and through you all righteousness is fulfilled.

When your voice first thundered over the seas
you created the heavens and spread out the earth.
You breathed the Spirit of life into us
and called your people to be a light to the nations.

When the time came to declare new things among us
you gave us your servant, Jesus the Christ,
your chosen one in whom you are well pleased.
You anointed him with Holy Spirit and with power
and sent him to open eyes long blind
and to release those imprisoned in darkness.
When he was put to death,
you raised him on the third day,
making the earth shudder with the birth pains of new life,
and raising with him all those who have died with him
in the waters of baptism.

Therefore with .....

©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you for Jesus Christ,
your chosen in whom you are well pleased,
whom you anointed him with Holy Spirit
and raised from the dead,
making the earth shudder with the birth pains of new life,
and raising with him all who have died with him
in the waters of baptism.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for in you and through you all righteousness is fulfilled.

When your voice first thundered over the seas
you created the heavens and spread out the earth.
You breathed the Spirit of life into us
and called your people to be a light to the nations.

When the time came to declare new things among us
you gave us your servant, Jesus the Christ,
your chosen one in whom you are well pleased.
You anointed him with Holy Spirit and with power
and sent him to open eyes long blind
and to release those imprisoned in darkness.
When he was put to death,
you raised him on the third day,
making the earth shudder with the birth pains of new life,
and raising with him all those who have died with him
in the waters of baptism.

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.

©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

All the prophets testify about Jesus Christ
that everyone who believes in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now as a light to the nations.
Honour the Lord;
preach what you know of the risen Christ,
and fulfil all righteousness.

And may God strengthen you and bless you with peace;
May Christ Jesus bring forth justice for you and among you;
And may the Holy Spirit alight on you
and affirm you as God’s beloved ones.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net