The LORD spoke to Abram in a vision, saying, “Abram, don’t you worry about a thing. I am your armour-plated protection and you will be greatly rewarded for your loyalty to me.” But Abram said, “Thank you, Lord GOD, but the only thing I really want is the one thing you’ve never given me: children. I have longed for children of my own but you have not given me any. When I die, there will be no one to carry on my family name, and since the only person born in my house is Eliezer, my Turkish servant; he will inherit everything I own. But the LORD spoke to Abram again, saying, “Eliezer will not be your heir. You will be able to pass on your property to a child of your own.” The LORD took Abram outside and said, “Look at the night sky, Abram. See if you can count how many stars there are. You can’t, can you? Well, your descendants will be as uncountable as the stars in the night sky.” Abram took the LORD’s word on trust, and for that the LORD regarded him as a good man. The LORD spoke to Abram further, saying, “It was me who brought you safely here when you emigrated from the Chaldean land of Ur. It was me who gave you this land.” But Abram said, “Lord GOD, how can I know for sure that this land is mine to keep?” The LORD replied, “Okay, I’ll go through the ritual of a binding promise. On pain of death, you will have my word. You go and set up what is customary for the ceremony.” So the next morning, Abram slaughtered three animals: a heifer, a ram, and a female goat — each three years old. He cut them in half and laid the halves opposite each other in two lines. He also killed a turtledove and a pigeon and laid one in each line. For the rest of the day, while he waited for the ceremony to commence, he was kept busy protecting the carcasses from the birds of prey. When the sun went down, Abram was surrounded by a dense and awesome darkness, and he fell into a deep sleep. When the last glow was gone from the sky and everything was pitch black, the presence of the LORD appeared as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, and passed between the pieces of animal carcass. That completed the ritual, and in that way, the LORD made a binding promise to Abram, saying, “You have my word that I will give this land to your descendants, all the way from the Egyptian border to the great Euphrates river.” ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Your light leads me to safety, LORD; I’ve got nothing to fear. You shelter me like a fortress, LORD; I’m afraid of no one! Vicious thugs can close in like sharks, ready to eat me alive; but savage violence is no match for you; they’ll fall flat on their faces. They could give my name to a death squad and I’d still be at peace; their armies could lay siege to my house, but I’d still feel safe with you. Only one thing I ask of you, LORD, the one thing that really matters: let me live out the whole of my life right here in your presence; let me lose myself in your beauty, and abandon myself to prayer. Let me hide here in safety with you, when trouble gets too much; You are as secure as a bomb shelter, a protected place to rest and recover. You have lifted me beyond the reach of those who wanted to tear me down, so I am here to express my thanks, to offer you whatever I can give; to sing your praises till I raise the roof, to put on a concert in your honour. Don’t ever stop being generous, LORD; hear me and answer me when I call for help! My heart tells me to search for you. Please don’t stay hidden from me. My desire is to know you, face to face. Don’t slam the door on me in anger; Help me again and I’ll go on serving you. Don’t give up on me now, don’t turn your back on me; You alone can save me, God! Even if my own parents kicked me out, you’d still be there for me, LORD. Give me clear directions, LORD; keep me on the right track so I don’t stumble into the path of my enemies. Don’t let them get their claws into me. With every breath they fill the air with false allegations and violent threats. I know I can rely on you, LORD, I’ll see your goodness win out and live to tell about it. I wait patiently for you, LORD; I’ll hang in there and keep my chin up; I’ll sit tight, and trust in you! ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

My friends, follow my lead. Keep your eyes on those who are on the same track as us and are living out what we’ve taught you. There are plenty of people who push a different line. I know you’ve often heard me going on about this, but you can tell by the way they live that they are dead-set against Christ — against the idea that the way of the cross might be God’s way. It brings tears to my eyes every time I bring this up, but it has to be said. These people are living on borrowed time — racing headlong towards their own destruction. They boast about the depths of degradation they have wallowed in. If their stomach rumbles they drop everything to do its bidding, as though it were a god. They never give a thought to anything beyond the mundane concerns their own little world. Our allegiance is to a quite different world — heaven itself — a world that will come to rescue and rule this world in the person of Jesus Christ. We are eagerly looking forward to his arrival, because he has the power to bring absolutely everything back under control. We can hardly wait for him to use that power on us because when he does, our human desires, which have so often let us down, will be brought up to the standard of his own. So hang in there, friends. I love you greatly. You always make me so happy and proud, and I can’t wait to see you again. Whatever you do, dig your heels in and don’t let anyone pull you off God’s track. ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Some members of the Pharisee party came to Jesus and said, “Clear off. Don’t show your face around here again or you’ll be killed. Herod wants your blood.” Jesus replied, “You can go and give that vicious dog this message from me: ‘Whether you like it or not, I’m going to keep on booting out the demonic forces and healing the sick – today, tomorrow and the third day, until I’m finished.’ “I’ve got nothing to fear from Herod around here. Since when did prophets ever get killed any place other than Jerusalem? And that’s where I’m headed over the next three days.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you shoot the messenger every time. Your streets are awash with blood, the blood of the prophets sent to warn you! So often I have been filled with longing for you; yearning to gather your children into safety. Like a mother swan gathering her brood under her wing, I have offered to protect you, but you refused my care! So now the nest will be deserted. There will be nothing left for you. You won’t be seeing me again until the day when you shout, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus had spoken to his followers for the first time about his impending death in Jerusalem and the fact that following him meant putting their lives on the line. About a week later, he took Peter, John and James and went up to the top of a mountain to pray. As he was praying, a visible change came over his face and his clothing became so white it was dazzling. Suddenly two more men could be seen in deep conversation with Jesus. They were Moses and Elijah, and the glory of heaven could be seen in them. They spoke with Jesus about how he was about to escape to freedom through the waters of death in Jerusalem. Peter and his mates nearly missed all this because, although they had come to pray too, they were falling asleep. However, they roused themselves in time to see Jesus in all his glory standing with the two men. As the two were finishing up with Jesus, Peter – shooting his mouth off without thinking – said, “Boss, this is fantastic! What a moment! How about we knock up three huts, so that you, Moses and Elijah can all stay here longer.” Even before he finished getting the words out, an awesome cloud engulfed them all and they were quaking in their boots. Deep within the cloud, a voice boomed forth: “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him!” When the voice finished, everything suddenly looked normal again, and Peter, James and John saw no one there but Jesus. They were dumbfounded by what they had seen and in the coming days they didn’t breathe a word about it to anyone. ©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 gather us safely under your wings and we have nothing to fear. You created the earth and sky as a home where we can worship you and enjoy your beauty. You made a lasting covenant with Abraham and with all who trust your promises. Your child, Jesus Christ, wept over the sins of your people and their failure to put their trust in you, and even when his enemies were breathing violence. he continued to cast out demons and heal the sick. Like many faithful prophets before him, he was killed in Jerusalem, but you raised him to resurrection life. Now he makes us citizens of heaven, and we eagerly await his coming as Saviour and Lord, for then he will conform our bodies to his own glory and fulfil all things under his rule. Therefore with ..... ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who weeps over the sins of your peoples and will come as Saviour and Lord, to gathers us in safety under your mothering wings and make us citizens of heaven. ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion) We give you all thanks and praise, O God, for you gather us safely under your wings and we have nothing to fear. You created the earth and sky as a home where we can worship you and enjoy your beauty. You made a lasting covenant with Abraham and with all who trust your promises. Your child, Jesus Christ, wept over the sins of your people and their failure to put their trust in you, and even when his enemies were breathing violence. he continued to cast out demons and heal the sick. Like many faithful prophets before him, he was killed in Jerusalem, but you raised him to resurrection life. Now he makes us citizens of heaven, and we eagerly await his coming as Saviour and Lord, for then he will conform our bodies to his own glory and fulfil all things under his rule. 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

Even if all others reject you, God will not shut you out in anger or abandon you. Trust in the Lord, and it will be credited as righteousness. God will save you - body, mind and spirit, and enfold you in the wings of mercy. Sisters and Brothers,   your sins are forgiven;     be at peace. ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now, trusting in God’s promises. Seek the presence of the Lord and abandon yourself to prayer. Follow those who are faithful to God, stand firm against evil and seek healing for all. And may God be your saving light and fortress; May Christ Jesus gather you into the safe wings of mercy; And may the Holy Spirit make you citizens of heaven. We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,    In the name of Christ. Amen. ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net