I, Daniel, had some alarming dreams and visions as I lay in bed one night. I got up and wrote them down. This was during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign as king of Babylon. In my first vision that night, the four winds blew in from the sky and whipped up a great storm at sea. Up out of the stormy sea came four monstrous beasts, each one different from the others.

This vision was deeply disturbing and left me badly shaken, so I went straight to the nearest aide and asked him to help me to make sense of what it meant. He interpreted the dream for me saying:

“The four monstrous beasts indicate the rise of four powerful nations that will reign on earth. But nevertheless, the ones who will reign over God’s earth forever and ever will be the people who have been dedicated solely to the Most High God.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

You are the greatest, LORD!

We sing your praises like we’ve never sung before, LORD,
along with all your faithful people everywhere.

Our greatest joy is knowing
that you made us as your people.
With all the children of your holy city,
we celebrate you as our King!

Every mention of your name sets us singing and dancing;
we strike up the band in your honour.

For you, LORD, delight in your people;
you share the spoils of victory with ordinary folk.

Your faithful ones revel in your glory,
and bask in the sheer joy of praising you.

Put your words in their mouths
and your sword in their hands, God,
so that they can bring the nations to justice
and execute your sentence on every population.
Deliver every despot and dictator into their hands
to be tried and sentenced
and put behind bars where they belong.

May all your faithful ones share in this glory, LORD,
for you are the greatest!

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Now that we are united to Christ, we have been promised a share of all that belongs to Christ. This is our destiny, because God chose us and made plans for us from the start, and when God’s mind is set on something, you can be sure it will happen. It was always God’s intention that those who put their hope in Christ — and we were among the first — would live lives that were a shining testimony to the glory of Christ. You have been in on this too, since the moment you heard the truth about Christ, recognised it to be the message that would save you, and put your trust him. Then and there, the Holy Spirit wrote God’s name on you, marking you out as one of those who have been given a guaranteed place among God’s people when God finally puts everything right. You’ll certainly be a shining testimony to God’s glory then!

Having heard of your deep trust in the Lord Jesus and your active love for his people, I could hardly stop thanking God for you. And I’m praying for you too. I ask the glorious God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will fill you with wisdom and insight as you get to know God. That way you’ll get a clear picture of all that God wants you to see:

• • the promised goal of the mission to which you are called;
  • the extravagant generosity of God’s provision for us;
  • and the immense capacity of the dynamic power which is put to work in us when we trust God.

This dynamic power is the same energy that God put to work in the Messiah when he raised him from death and enthroned him in heaven. Now the Messiah sits at God’s right hand, reigning over the entire universe, and there is not a single authority that can overrule him, now or ever. Every religious hierarchy and military regime; every legal jurisdiction and people-power movement; every economic imperative and moral principle; God has put them all under the feet of the Messiah. God has decreed that all things will answer to him. The church, then, is central to what the Messiah is doing, for it is his body, already filled with the presence of the one who is filling each and every part of the entire universe.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus taught his followers, saying:

“You who own next to nothing have got it made,
because you are already at home in the culture of God.

“You who don’t have enough to eat now have got it made,
because you will be filled with good things.

“You who are grief stricken now have got it made,
because you will be all smiles and laughter.

“And if people hate you and shut you out, treat you like dirt and drag your name through the mud because of your association with me, then you really have got it made! You’re in great company because in every generation they’ve done the same thing to all God’s faithful messengers. So sing! Dance! Celebrate! Heaven is coming and you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams!

“But the writing is on the wall for you who have got it all now.
That’s it for you. You’ve got nothing more to look forward to.

“And the writing is on the wall for you who consume to excess.
You’ve had your share. You’re going to go hungry.

“The writing is on the wall for you who think it’s all a big joke now.
The smile is going to be wiped right off your face.

“And if everybody is fawning over you and saying how wonderful you are, then the writing is well and truly on the wall. They come from a long line of people who fawned over every religious charlatan that ever tickled their ears.”

“If you are ready to hear the truth then I have this to say: Love! Love even your enemies. Treat even those who hate you with love. If anyone mouths off at you or treats you like dirt, wish them all the best and pray for them. If someone gives you a smack around the ear to humiliate you, stand tall and stick your chin out, and invite them to have another crack. Absorb the hostility – don’t escalate it. If someone nicks your coat, just say, ‘Hey, if you’re needing that, you’ll be needing these,’ and hand over your hat and scarf as well. Give to everyone who asks something of you, and don’t go hassling people to give back what they’ve got from you. Live generously, and don’t go keeping score and looking to balance the ledger.

“If you want to know how to treat someone, just ask yourself what you’d be hoping for if you were in their shoes. Treat others the way you’d like to be treated, not just the way you aretreated.

©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.

We do indeed give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for by your great power you have called us to a rich hope
and pledged us a glorious inheritance among the saints.

In time before dreaming you sent the wind
to stir up the sea of chaos and bring forth the earth.
Through your law and prophets
you promised us that your Kingdom would belong forever
to those who embraced your holiness.

Through your son, Jesus Christ,
you proclaimed a day when the hungry will feast
and the mourners laugh.
When he was killed on the cross
you raised him from the dead
and seated him at your right hand.
In him you give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that we might know that hope to which you have called us
and embody the fullness of Christ who fills all in all.

Therefore with .....

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you for calling us with great power to a rich hope,
for promising that your Kingdom would belong forever
to those who embrace your holiness,
and for pledging us a glorious inheritance among the saints.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you thanks and praise, O God,
for by your great power you have called us to a rich hope
and pledged us a glorious inheritance among the saints.

In time before dreaming you sent the wind
to stir up the sea of chaos and bring forth the earth.
Through your law and prophets
you promised us that your Kingdom would belong forever
to those who embraced your holiness.

Through your son, Jesus Christ,
you proclaimed a day when the hungry will feast
and the mourners laugh.
When he was killed on the cross
you raised him from the dead
and seated him at your right hand.
In him you give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that we might know that hope to which you have called us
and embody the fullness of Christ who fills all in all.

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 delights in saving those who need help.
Having heard and believed the word of truth
– the gospel of salvation –
we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit
as the pledge of our redemption.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now with your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love open to all God’s people.
Bless those who curse you,
love those who hate you,
and treat others as you would wish them to treat you.

And may God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation;
May Christ Jesus count you among his saints for eternity;
And may the Holy Spirit mark you out
for fullness of redemption.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net