I had a vision of the Lord during the year that King Uzziah died. The Lord was high above, sitting on an imposing throne. The Lord’s presence dwarfed everything else so totally that just the cuffs of his robe filled the temple. Awesome fiery creatures, known as Seraphim, were there, serving the Lord. Each Seraph had three pairs of wings. They used one pair to shield their faces, one to shield their bodies, and the third for flying. They cried out to one another saying:

“Holy! Holy! Holy!
Holy is the LORD who rules over everything.
The whole earth is full of God’s glory.”

The sound of their voices shook the place to its foundations, and clouds of smoke billowed through the temple. And I said:

“This is the end of me.
I’ll never get out of here alive.
If I so much as open my mouth
the ugliness inside is exposed for all to see,
and the same could be said of everyone I know;
yet I’ve stumbled into the presence of the Ruler of Heaven.
Here I am, naked before the all-consuming
holiness of the LORD!”

Then one of the seraphim flew right up to me carrying a pair of tongs in which it held a red hot coal – straight from the fire on the altar. The seraph touched my mouth with the glowing coal and said:

“Look! This holy fire has touched your lips.
Your sinfulness is forgiven.
Your slate is wiped clean.”

After this I heard the voice of the Lord saying

“Is there someone I can send?
Is there anyone who will go on our behalf?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me if you will!”

So the Lord told me to announce this message to the people:

“You can listen all you like, but it will never make sense to you.
    You can look and look, but it will still be as clear as mud.”

The Lord gave me further instructions, saying:

“Make these people stubborn and thick-headed!
        Make them plug their ears and cover their eyes,
    so that they can’t see or hear or understand,
        so they won’t wake up to themselves
            and turn to me and be healed.”

“How long will it be like this, Lord?” I asked, and the Lord replied:

“Until everything has been destroyed.
Until the cities are uninhabitable,
        the houses deserted,
            and the land laid waste;
    Until I have sent everyone off as refugees,
        and there is nothing left but scorched earth.
    Even if ten percent survive,
        the land will be burned again.

But just as there are seeds that only germinate
        after the bushfire has destroyed everything else,
    so too will the few who are dedicated to me
        bear the seed of new life.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Thank you, LORD, thank you!
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
I will stand and sing your praises
in the face of every would-be god!

Wherever I am, I turn towards your holy Temple
and fall to my knees in gratitude,
thanking you for your rock-solid love and loyalty;
With everything you say and everything you do
your reputation continues to go through the roof.
The minute I called, you were there for me,
you put steel in my spine,
gave me the guts to go on.

When the things you have been saying sink in, LORD,
all the earth’s powerful rulers will give credit to you.
They’ll join the party, singing and dancing in your honour,
celebrating the wonderful things you do.

As great as you are,
you never think of ordinary people as beneath you,
but you don’t waste your time
on those who are pretentious and stuck-up.

Although I must often walk into dangerous situations,
you protect me from hatred and hostility;
your invisible hand is always there, keeping me safe.

You, LORD, have made plans for me
and you will see them through to completion.
Your love is as timeless and dependable as the rock;
you have made us what we are
and you never give up on us.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

My friends, let me spell out the guts of the message I’ve been preaching one more time. This is the message which you welcomed so eagerly and gladly put your names to. It is the message through which your lives are being saved, assuming of course, that your faith has got sticking power and wasn’t just a flash in the pan. What a waste that would have been!

In my preaching I passed on to you the really crucial stuff, exactly as it had been told to me. Let me recite it again:

The Messiah died to deal with our sins,
backing up what the scriptures say.
After three days in the grave, he was raised to life,
backing up what the scriptures say.
He appeared alive to Peter,
and then to his closest followers.
He also appeared to a gathering
of more than five hundred of his followers.
Of those who saw him, only a few have since died;
most are still alive to tell the story.
He spent some time with James
and the others he had picked out
to be the leaders of his church.

At the end of the line – like the perpetual late-comer I am – I too was privileged to have him appear to me. If anyone deserved to be left out, it was me and I have certainly never deserved my place among the leaders of his church because I spent my early years trying to wipe God’s church out of existence. But God is extremely generous and has made me what I am. I’ve driven myself hard to make sure that God’s investment in me was not wasted. I reckon I’ve been the hardest worker on the team, although I can’t really take the credit when it is actually God who is so generously working through me. It makes no difference which of us God was using at the time. Whether you heard it from me or from them, what matters is that you heard the message we were preaching and that you put your trust in what we had to say.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

One day Jesus was on the beach at Lake Galilee. There was a crowd hanging on his every word, eager to hear God’s message, and he was getting a bit cramped for space as they pressed in around him. He spotted a couple of fishing boats pulled up on the beach, so he went and spoke with the crew who were scrubbing down their fishing tackle at the end of their shift. The skipper of one of the boats, a man named Simon, agreed to put his boat out a few metres off the beach and let Jesus continue teaching the people from the bow of the boat. When he had finished speaking to the crowd, Jesus said to Simon, “How about some fishing? Head off shore and we’ll put the nets down for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Look here, Boss. We’ve been busting a gut out there all night and what have we caught? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! But hey, if you say put the nets down, you’re the boss. I’ll put the nets down.”

Well, you wouldn’t read about it! They had the most unbelievable catch – more fish than their nets could handle. They called for help from their mates in the other boat, but the size of the catch weighed down both boats so low that they were beginning to take on water over the sides. Simon Peter just looked at Jesus and sank to his knees. “Don’t come near me, Lord,” he said. “Leave me alone. I’m a godless sort of a mongrel, and I can’t handle the company of the likes of you.”

He and all his mates were completely unnerved by what had happened, because they knew that this was no natural catch of fish. James and John, Simon’s partners who ran the other boat for their father Zebedee, were feeling exactly the same way. But Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t worry, there’s no need to panic. If you think that was really something, just wait. From now on you’ll be bringing in people, not fish.”

They pulled their boats back up onto the beach and left them where they lay. They turned their backs on everything and followed Jesus.

©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 your love and fidelity last forever
and you entrust to us the news of your grace and salvation.

From the deep waters of chaos
you brought forth the earth, bursting with life,
and through your prophets and apostles
you have made known the glory of your name
and your promise.

In your child, Jesus Christ,
you have touched us with your mercy,
and in the fire of your holiness
you have consumed our impurity.
Although Jesus was killed
by those whose eyes and ears are closed,
you did not abandon him to the grave,
but raised him to life on the third day.
Appearing to more than five hundred of his followers,
he called us to follow him
and to cast wide the net of your love,
gathering in all those in need of your grace.

Therefore with .....

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We give you thanks for the news of salvation in which we stand
for in your Son, Jesus Christ, you have touched us with your mercy,
consuming our impurity in the fire of your holiness,
and sending us to cast wide the net of your love.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for your love and fidelity last forever
and you entrust to us the news of your grace and salvation.

From the deep waters of chaos
you brought forth the earth, bursting with life,
and through your prophets and apostles
you have made known the glory of your name
and your promise.

In your child, Jesus Christ,
you have touched us with your mercy,
and in the fire of your holiness
you have consumed our impurity.
Although Jesus was killed
by those whose eyes and ears are closed,
you did not abandon him to the grave,
but raised him to life on the third day.
Appearing to more than five hundred of his followers,
he called us to follow him
and to cast wide the net of your love,
gathering in all those in need of your grace.

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

The Lord has created you and will not abandon you.
Christ, who died for our sins and was raised again,
has reached out his hand in mercy to save us,
consuming our impurity
in the searing heat of his own holiness.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now, and forsaking everything else, follow Christ.
By the grace of God, be all you have been called to be,
and cast wide the net of God’s love.
Remind one another of the good news,
and hold firmly to faith that is saving you.

And may God give you a vision of glory;
May Christ Jesus touch you with the fire of mercy;
And may the Holy Spirit hear your prayers and renew your strength.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net