The LORD gave me a message for Jerusalem, saying:

“When disaster comes, you will know about it, Jerusalem;
this is the warning your people will hear:

“The invading army is bearing down on you
like a tornado from the desert.
It is the hot breath of my judgment;
an angry wind sweeping away all in its path.

“You will pay for your madness, my people,
for you have totally ignored me.
You are a pack of half-wits
with nothing between your ears.
You are experts only at corruption.
You haven’t got a clue about doing good.”

The LORD gave me a vision:

I saw the earth – it was an empty wasteland.
I saw the skies – the lights had gone out.

I saw the mountains – shuddering and shaking.
I saw the hills – trembling like jelly.

I looked and looked, but there was no one to be seen.
Not even the scavenging birds had hung around.

Croplands and orchards alike were scorched earth.
Cities and towns were nothing but rubble.

Everything had fallen before the LORD;
before the blazing anger of the LORD.

The LORD gave me this message:

“The whole land will be destroyed,
and yet not beyond repair.
The earth will be wracked with grief
and the skies will dress in black.
But I have made up my mind and I will not change it.
I have given my word and will not take it back.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Heartless, mindless scum kid themselves
that there is no God.

They are corrupt and callous.
The things they do would make you sick.
There is not an ounce of good among them.

The LORD scans the human race, one at a time,
looking for any who are still wise;
for even one who still has a heart for God.

But it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!
They’ve all lost the plot.
Everyone is caught up
in their own perverse ways.
Every last one of them.

Don’t they know where all this will get them?
They never look to the LORD for anything;
they chew up God’s people and spit them out.

But it will soon be their turn to cringe in fear,
because God sides with those who play straight.

If you think you can trample
the dreams of the battlers,
Watch out! The LORD will be there for them.
We can hardly wait to hear the songs of freedom
as justice marches down from God’s mountain!

What a day it will be
when the LORD redistributes the wealth
and God’s people are compensated
for their suffering!

Our ancestors will rise up with joy!
The streets will fill with singing and dancing!

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

I am so thankful to Jesus Christ our Lord. It is him who gives me the strength to do what I do. He reckoned he could trust me, so he gave me this work to do for him. This was despite the fact that I had a history of violence and all I had ever done was drag his name through the mud and victimise his people. I was shown mercy because I had acted without understanding what I was doing. I hadn’t known who Jesus was. Now though, our Lord has been extravagantly generous and flooded me with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

Here is a line you can write down and stake your life on: Jesus Christ came into the world to rescue sinners. I should know, I was the number one sinner. By putting his mercy to work in me — the number one sinner — Jesus Christ clearly demonstrated just how much he was willing to endure to get through to us. He has made me an example to show others how to put their trust in him and so gain life without limit.

And now I give all the glory
and every honour
to the One who rules forever;
beyond life and death;
out of sight;
the one and only God.
And so say all of us!

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

For much of the time, a crowd of people hung around Jesus, listening to everything he had to say. The crowd was full of disreputable characters whose lifestyles were offensive to the more respectable members of society. The devoutly religious Pharisees and the experts in religious law got their noses out of joint over this, and began denouncing Jesus. “He keeps company with people whose behaviour is beyond the pale,” they said, “and he doesn’t even draw the line at eating with them.”

Jesus responded to their objections by telling a story. He said, “If you had care of a hundred sheep and one of them got lost, what would you do? Like anyone else, you would leave the other ninety-nine grazing in the paddock and go off looking for the lost one until you found it. And when you found it, you would be so relieved that you would hoist it up on your shoulders and dance home with a spring in your step. Not only that, you would then call all your friends and neighbours around for party, saying, ‘The shout’s on me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’”

Jesus said, “Let me assure you that it is just like that in heaven. One screwed-up person getting back on the right track causes far more celebration than ninety-nine respectable people who never left it.”

He continued with another story, saying, “If you had ten coins – all collector’s items – and you lost one of them, what would you do? Like anyone else, you would turn on all the lights and go over the house with a fine-toothed comb until you found it. And when you found it, you would call all your friends and neighbours around for party, saying, ‘The shout’s on me, for I have found the coin that I lost.’”

Jesus said, “Let me assure you that the angels party like that over each wayward person who turns their life back towards 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 said to Moses:

“Get back down there on the double! That mob of yours, who you brought out of the land of slavery, have gone completely off the rails. In the blink of an eye, they have turned their backs on the path I set them on. They have cast an idol in the shape of a calf, and they are worshipping it and giving offerings to it as expressions of their devotion. They are saying that it is the god who brought the nation out of the land of slavery. I have had a gutful of this people. They are always kicking against the traces. Now stand aside and let me give full vent to my blazing anger and blast them off the face of the earth. I’ll start again with you and build a great nation from your offspring.”

But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, saying:

“LORD, why are you letting your anger at your people burn out of control? You proved yourself to be the strongest and the greatest when you brought these people out of the land of slavery. Are you now going to turn around and give our enemies grounds to accuse you of planning genocide from the start? They will allege that you only took the people into the outback to slaughter them. Swallow your anger! Rethink this, and don’t stamp out your people. Follow through on the promises you made to your trusty servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You gave them your word, your personal guarantee. You said, ‘I will multiply your descendants until they outnumber the stars in the sky, and they will inherit the land I promised to give to your family forever.’”

And so the LORD was persuaded to rethink the situation and to abandon the plan to wipe out the people with a disaster.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

O God, your love never gives up.
Have mercy on me now!

I’m relying on your record of generous mercy:
please wipe my slate clean!

Scrub away the filth I’ve been living in;
Scour away the stain of my sin.

I know only too well what I’ve done;
my sins stare me in the face.

It is you I’ve double-crossed, you I’ve betrayed;
I’ve done things which I knew you despised.

You have all the facts and you know what I deserve;
what ever you decide is fair enough.
I’ve been on the wrong side of you forever.
I turned my back on you before I was born.

You want honesty that comes from deep within,
so teach me your wisdom,
let it take root in my heart.

Get the bleach out and give me the treatment!
Soak me and wash me
until I’m as white as snow.

Open my ears to laughter and music.
Though you ground me into the dirt,
let me now rise to the sounds of joy.

Turn a blind eye to my record;
disregard my prior convictions.

Renovate me from the inside, O God;
rebuild my heart and rewire my brain;
install in me a new fault-free operating system.

©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 you are the immortal invisible King of the ages,
and your grace has overflowed for us in Christ Jesus.

You created the earth from a formless void
and filled it with living things.
In every age you have looked for faithfulness
and found instead depravity, corruption and evil.
The hot winds of anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert
but always your merciful love has continued searching
for those who would be saved.

You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us to save sinners.
His hospitality and compassion so scandalised the religious
that he was killed,
but you raised him to new life.
In him you are turning us from our pasts,
lifting us joyously onto your shoulders
and appointing us to your service
as an example for all who would trust you for eternal life.

Therefore with .....

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you that though the hot winds of your anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert,
your son, Jesus Christ, came into the world to save sinners
and all heaven rejoices over every lost one who repents.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you are the immortal invisible King of the ages,
and your grace has overflowed for us in Christ Jesus.

You created the earth from a formless void
and filled it with living things.
In every age you have looked for faithfulness
and found instead depravity, corruption and evil.
The hot winds of anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert
but always your merciful love has continued searching
for those who would be saved.

You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us to save sinners.
His hospitality and compassion so scandalised the religious
that he was killed,
but you raised him to new life.
In him you are turning us from our pasts,
lifting us joyously onto your shoulders
and appointing us to your service
as an example for all who would trust you for eternal life.

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

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
We have received mercy,
for the grace of our Lord has overflowed for us
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now, overflowing with faith and love
and seek out those who are lost.
Side with the poor and sit with the just;
mourn for the earth
and rejoice with heaven over any who turn to God.

And may God judge you faithful;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you;
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with wisdom and grace.

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

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net