Peter addressed the gathered people saying:

“Now it is all perfectly clear to me — God does not play favourites! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, if you take God seriously and do the right thing, God will welcome you with open arms! Jesus the Messiah preached God’s message about a peace deal to the people of Israel, but clearly it did not stop with them — he is Lord of all! No doubt you have heard the news about Jesus of Nazareth, because since it sparked off in Galilee, it has spread like wildfire all over Judea. The story began after John started calling everyone to turn their lives around through baptism. God singled Jesus out then and there, charging him with the Holy Spirit’s power. From then on, Jesus travelled around working for good and helping people out from under the devil’s thumb and back onto their feet. God was with him in all this. We saw it all ourselves; everything he did in the Judean backblocks and in the city of Jerusalem. They strung him up on a post and killed him, but three days later God raised him to life and let us see him. Not everybody got to see him, but God had picked us out to be the ones who would know first hand what had happened. We got to spend time sharing meals and a few drinks with him after he was brought back from the dead. He gave us the job of getting his message out to the people and going public with the fact that he is the one who God has appointed to make the final assessment of everybody on earth, past and present. You don’t have to take our word alone on this; all the prophets back us up. Everyone who puts their trust in Jesus receives pardon for their sins on his say so.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

I, the LORD, am on the verge of making the heavens and the earth brand new again. The traumas of the past will be long forgotten, fading from memory. Kick up your heels and start the party! Celebrate what I’m bringing into existence. I’m creating Jerusalem as a place of joy, a place full of happy peaceful people. Jerusalem will be my pride and joy. Its people will be my greatest delight. Cries of fear will no longer be heard there. The sounds of grieving will be gone for good. Never again will there be babies who die young, or adults who don’t live to a ripe old age. If anyone dies at a hundred, people will say they were cut down in their prime. If they fall short of a hundred, it will seem like some horrible curse. They will live secure in the houses they have worked for. They will enjoy the fruits of their own labours. Never again will anyone build a house, only to have the bank confiscate it. Never again will anyone sweat and toil only to see the profit go to someone else. My people will live long and sturdy like the great trees. My chosen people will love their work and enjoy its fruits. Their work will not be wasted. Their children will not be doomed. I, the LORD, will see that their children flourish, and that all will be well for their children’s children. Before their prayers pass their lips, I will answer. I’ll tune in before they’ve opened their mouths. The dingo and the lamb will feed side by side. The crocodile will go vegetarian. Snakes will bite nothing but the dust! There will be no killing or maiming on my holy mountain; I, the LORD, have given my word! ©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Thank you, LORD, thank you! Thank you for your goodness! Thank you for your love — rock solid and timeless! May all your people recognise that your love and loyalty last forever. Our energy and strength come from you, LORD; our peace and safety were won by you. The sound of singing rings out from the homes of all who are honest and true. They sing of what you have done, LORD, for you raised your hand and saved the day. Now we know that our lives are safe; we will live to tell of what you have done. You gave us the tough medicine we deserved, LORD, but you didn’t let death get its claws into us. The minute they open the city gates — the gates of justice — we’ll be the first through, LORD; eager to tell you how thankful we are. These gates belong to you, LORD, those you have put right can come on through. Thank you for answering our prayers, LORD; for coming to our rescue and putting us right. From a rejected stone found in a rubbish pile you cut and polished a priceless jewel. This is obviously your work, LORD, and we can hardly believe our eyes! Today is your day, LORD, a day to honour you; we will celebrate with joy and laughter. ©2001 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

If we’ve put all our eggs in the Messiah’s basket and it has made no difference to how much life we’ve got — we will still just die and that will be the end of it — then we must be the sorriest bunch of losers who ever drew breath. But the fact of the matter is that the Messiah has been raised from the dead and is more alive than ever. And he’s just the first. Now that he’s set the precedent you can rest assured that there are plenty more to come! The precedent for throwing away life came through one human being, and now the precedent for throwing off death has come through another. Just as our solidarity with Adam sent us into grave, so now our solidarity with the Messiah will see us join him in rising from the grave to live. But we have to take our place in the queue and wait our turn. Jesus the Messiah, as the trail-blazer, comes first. Then, when he steps back onto the stage, those who have signed on with him will follow. And then comes the big finale. Having wiped out the competition — all those systems and structures and powers that seek to rule our lives — the Messiah’s new culture will be complete and he will present it in triumph to God who conceived us all. For the Messiah’s influence must continue to grow until all the enemies of life have fallen beneath his feet. And, of course, the final enemy to be destroyed will be death itself. ©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Peter addressed the gathered people saying:

“Now it is all perfectly clear to me — God does not play favourites! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, if you take God seriously and do the right thing, God will welcome you with open arms! Jesus the Messiah preached God’s message about a peace deal to the people of Israel, but clearly it did not stop with them — he is Lord of all! No doubt you have heard the news about Jesus of Nazareth, because since it sparked off in Galilee, it has spread like wildfire all over Judea. The story began after John started calling everyone to turn their lives around through baptism. God singled Jesus out then and there, charging him with the Holy Spirit’s power. From then on, Jesus travelled around working for good and helping people out from under the devil’s thumb and back onto their feet. God was with him in all this. We saw it all ourselves; everything he did in the Judean backblocks and in the city of Jerusalem. They strung him up on a post and killed him, but three days later God raised him to life and let us see him. Not everybody got to see him, but God had picked us out to be the ones who would know first hand what had happened. We got to spend time sharing meals and a few drinks with him after he was brought back from the dead. He gave us the job of getting his message out to the people and going public with the fact that he is the one who God has appointed to make the final assessment of everybody on earth, past and present. You don’t have to take our word alone on this; all the prophets back us up. Everyone who puts their trust in Jesus receives pardon for their sins on his say so.”

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Early on Sunday, the first day of the week, even before it began to get light, Mary Magdalene went to visit the tomb where Jesus had been buried. When she got there, she discovered that the stone had been removed and the tomb was open. She fled as fast as she could, and found Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus had been closest to. Mary blurted out, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have taken him.” So Peter and the other disciple set off on the double. They were both running at full tilt, but the other disciple was faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. He didn’t go in, but he bent down to peer inside and saw that the linen burial shroud had been unwrapped and left behind. Moments later, Simon Peter arrived, and barged straight into the tomb. He too, saw the unwrapped shroud lying there, and noticed that the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head was not with the rest of the shroud, but had been rolled up and left in a different spot. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, followed Peter in. They had not yet got their minds around the scriptures that said that Jesus must rise from the dead, but what he saw was enough to convince him that this was no grave robbery, but something far more extraordinary. The two men left, and headed off to their homes, but Mary stayed behind and stood weeping outside the tomb. A little later she bent down to look into the tomb, and through her tears she saw two angels dressed in white. They were sitting where the body of Jesus had previously been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She replied, “Someone has taken away my Lord, and I have got no idea where they might have put him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing behind her, but she didn’t realise it was him. Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Mary assumed that he was the cemetery gardener, so she said to him, “Mister, if you have removed his body from the tomb, please tell me where you have put him, and I will take him off your hands.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She spun around and said, “Rabbouni!”, which is a Hebrew word meaning ‘Dear Teacher’. Jesus said to her, “Don’t try to hold on to me, because I have not yet fully risen to the Father. But go now, and tell my whole family of disciples that I am rising up to the one who conceived me and conceived you, to my God and your God.” So Mary Magdalene went straight to the disciples, and was the first to make the announcement, “I have seen the Lord!” She went on to fill them in on all that he had said to her. ©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Among the followers of Jesus there were some women who had come from Galilee with him. At the crack of dawn on the Sunday, they came to the tomb where his body had been laid, bringing with them the embalming spices that they had prepared. They found the tomb open with the stone rolled out of the way. They went in, but there was no sign of the body. They were standing there shocked and confused when, out of the blue, two men appeared right beside them. Their clothes were dazzling light and the terrified women had to look away. The two men said, “Why are you looking in a graveyard for one who lives? You won’t find him here. He has risen! Remember what he told you back in Galilee. He said that the New Human would be handed over to godless people and executed, but that on the third day he would rise to life again.” Suddenly the memory of those words came flooding back to them. They returned from the graveyard and told all these things to the eleven and to all the other followers too. Now the group of women who brought this news included Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; but even so, the men wrote it off as some sort of hysterical delusion and they didn’t believe a word of it. Peter was the only one who ran off to look for himself. He bent down and peered into the tomb. All he could see was the linen grave clothes lying there by themselves. He went home scratching his head, with no idea what to make of it all. ©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 have raised Christ from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. You created the earth and your steadfast love endures forever for all the people of every nation. As the prophets testified, you sent your child Jesus into the world preaching peace, You anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power and he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed. Like a stone rejected by the builders he was put to death, hanging on a tree, but you raised him on the third day and made him the cornerstone of your kingdom. Now he meets us in our grief, eating and drinking with us and raising us all to life in him, so that he might present the kingdom to you, having destroyed the last enemy: death itself. Therefore with ..... ©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We thank you for your risen Son, Jesus Christ, who meets us in our grief, eating and drinking with us and raising us all to life in him, so that he might present the kingdom to you, having destroyed the last enemy: death itself. ©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion) We give you all thanks and praise, O God, for you have raised Christ from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. You created the earth and your steadfast love endures forever for all the people of every nation. As the prophets testified, you sent your child Jesus into the world preaching peace, You anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power and he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed. Like a stone rejected by the builders he was put to death, hanging on a tree, but you raised him on the third day and made him the cornerstone of your kingdom. Now he meets us in our grief, eating and drinking with us and raising us all to life in him, so that he might present the kingdom to you, having destroyed the last enemy: death itself. 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. ©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

God shows no partiality, but has sent Jesus to us all, preaching peace and healing those oppressed by evil. Everyone who puts their trust in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Sisters and Brothers,   your sins are forgiven;     be at peace. ©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now, glad and rejoicing, for this is the day that the Lord has made, and Christ is risen, that all may be made alive in him. Put your hope in the risen Christ, and testify that he is the one ordained by God to be Lord of all. In his name, preach peach, do good, and proclaim the forgiveness of sins without partiality. And may God be your strength and your might; May Christ Jesus meet you in your grief and become your salvation; and may the Holy Spirit raise you to life in Christ. We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,    In the name of Christ. Amen. ©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net