Lift your voices, all you children of Israel.
Sing and shout for joy!
Let your hair down, Jerusalem.
Celebrate with all your heart!

The LORD has let you out of jail
and forced your enemies to turn tail and run.
The one who rules over Israel – the LORD –
is right alongside you, so you have nothing to fear.
No disaster can touch you now.

The great day is coming, Jerusalem,
when you will hear this message:

“Relax! Don’t be afraid, people of Zion.
Your hands can stop trembling now!
The LORD, your God, is right alongside you;
a champion who always comes out on top.
God will be bursting with joy over you,
celebrating as though it was always your birthday!
God will nourish you with love
until the spring is back in your step.”

The LORD, your God, says to you:

“I will bring your misfortune to an end;
and set you free from its humiliation.
Those who have kicked you around
will have me to deal with!
I will rescue and reunite
the crippled and the refugees.
No longer will they be treated with contempt.
I’ll see that they are honoured all over the world.
When that time comes,
I will gather you together and bring you all home.
With your own eyes
you’ll see me restore all that is rightly yours.
Then you will be honoured everywhere.
Everyone on earth will sing your praises.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

You alone, LORD, are able to set us free,
so we put our trust in you, and have nothing to fear.
All our strength and power come from you, LORD GOD,
you have become our hero, our saviour!

You will put your saving love on tap,
deep draughts to be enjoyed by everyone.
On that day we will all say to one another,
“Thank the LORD! Let God’s name be on everyone’s lips!”

We will tell the world what you have done,
we will shout your name and declare you to be number one.
We will sing your praises because of all you have accomplished,
and give you the glory all over the earth.
With all the citizens of Zion, we lift our voices to you
with shouts and laughter and songs of celebration,
for you are the ultimate, the greatest, the Holy One,
and you live among us, your people!

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Celebrate the Lord non-stop. I repeat - celebrate! Let your hair down! See that you get a reputation for gentleness - pushiness only gets up everyone’s nose and we can’t afford that when the Lord is so close.

Don’t go getting anxious about anything, but pray about everything. Worrying never fixed anything, so take action: repackage your concerns as prayers. Spell out to God what it is you want, giving thanks in advance, and get it off your chest. You’ll find it is such a relief! The peace of God, which no one can ever make sense of, will move in and take over. The fears and anxieties will be pushed aside and your troubled hearts and minds will take refuge in Christ Jesus to relax and recover.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John’s baptism became the ‘in thing’ and people flocked out to be baptised by him. John was not convinced by them though, and bellowed, “You slippery bunch of snakes! What makes you think that running down here for a quick wash will get you off scot free when the judgment comes? You’ve got to walk the walk. Show by your actions that you’ve turned your lives around as you say you have. And don’t go thinking that you’ve got the inside running just because you can trace your family tree back to Abraham. I’m telling you straight: descendants of Abraham are thick on the ground and, at the snap of a finger, God could turn these rocks into a few more. Family trees count for nothing. It is what sort of fruit the tree bears that matters. If the fruit is rubbish, God will have no hesitation in wielding the axe, cutting the tree off at the ground and tossing it on the fire.”

That got their attention! “What should we do then?” they asked him.

John replied, “Live differently. If you have two coats and someone else has none, then share. If you have food, do the same again – share. That’s the sort of thing you should do.”

Even some of the people who collected taxes for the Roman occupation forces came out to be baptised. “Teacher, what should we do?” they asked.

John replied, “Don’t rip anybody off. Collect only what the law prescribes and no more.”

Some members of the security forces came too and asked, “What about us? What should we do?”

“No stand-over tactics and no protection rackets,” John replied. “No intimidation or throwing your weight around to extort money out of people. You get paid your wages – be satisfied with that.”

John’s activities struck a chord with the deep yearning for a national saviour, and people began to speculate that perhaps John might be the one who God had chosen. John was quick to hose down such ideas, saying, “I’m only baptising you with water. The One who is coming is way out of my league – the chance to polish his boots would be more than I could aspire to. When he gets started, it won’t be just water that he’ll be plunging you into. He’ll baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He’s ready to start with his flame thrower in hand. He’ll release an uncontrollable fire into the dry bushland of your lives, completely incinerating the rubbish and germinating the good seeds that lie in wait for that day.”

John made a lot of speeches like that. He was constantly on the job, getting the word out, bringing the people up to speed with the good news about what God was doing.

©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 are coming in the fire of love
to baptise your people and gather them home.

In love, you created the earth and its inhabitants
and sent faithful prophets like your servant John,
to call us, and all Abraham’s children,
to turn to you and bear fruits of justice and mercy.

In your child, Jesus, you made your home in our midst.
Liberating the lame and gathering the outcast,
he confronted our oppressors
and lifted us from shame to honour.
When he was cut down and killed
you raised him to resurrection life.
Now, as the day of his coming draws near,
he plunges us into his Spirit and fire
to renew us in love, and banish our fear,
so that we might praise your name forever
and draw freely from the well of your salvation.

Therefore with .....

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We give you thanks that you come
to baptise us in your Spirit and fire,
renewing us in love and banishing our fear,
so that we might praise your name forever
and draw freely from the well of your salvation.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you are coming in the fire of love
to baptise your people and gather them home.

In love, you created the earth and its inhabitants
and sent faithful prophets like your servant John,
to call us, and all Abraham’s children,
to turn to you and bear fruits of justice and mercy.

In your child, Jesus, you made your home in our midst.
Liberating the lame and gathering the outcast,
he confronted our oppressors
and lifted us from shame to honour.
When he was cut down and killed
you raised him to resurrection life.
Now, as the day of his coming draws near,
he plunges us into his Spirit and fire
to renew us in love, and banish our fear,
so that we might praise your name forever
and draw freely from the well of your salvation.

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.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

God is your saviour; you have nothing to fear.
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you
and invited you to draw freely
from the well of salvation.

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

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now and rejoice in the Lord always.
Do not be afraid or worried about anything,
but in everything trust God and pray.
Bear fruits worthy of repentance,
sharing what you have and being gentle with all.

And may God rejoice over you with gladness;
May Christ Jesus renew you in his love;
and may the Holy Spirit give you peace beyond understanding
to guard your hearts and minds in Christ.

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

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net