LaughingBird

Proper 24 - Year A
2029-10-21 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 33: 12-23

Moses said to the LORD, “Look here. You have given me the job of getting this people from one place to another, but you have not given me any idea who you are going to send with me to back me up. You have told me that you know me inside out and that I am in your good-books. So if you are so on-side with me, let me know you. Let me see what makes you tick, so that I can really know you and do the right thing by you. And this is not just about me; keep it in mind that these people belong to you.”
The LORD replied, “I will go with you myself, and I will give you a place of rest.”
But Moses continued, saying, “If you are not going to stick with us for the long haul, then don’t even move us from here. After all, how will anyone be able to tell that I and your people are in your good-books unless you go with us all the way? It is your presence with us that will distinguish us from all the other peoples on the face of the earth as the one who belongs to you.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Okay, I will do for you exactly what you have asked for, because you are in my good-books and I know who you really are.”
Moses said, “Let me see you in all your glory. Please!”
The LORD replied;
“With your own eyes, you are about to see the full extent of my goodwill to all life. With your own ears, you will hear me, the LORD, and you will know who I really am. I will put in my good-books the one I choose to put in my good-books. I will let off the hook the one I choose to let off the hook. But you can not see me face to face in all my glory, because no one could survive such an encounter. Look here, though. There is a place just over here where you can stand on the rock. I am going to pass by in all my glory, and while I do, I will put you in a hole in the rock and shield you with my hand until the danger has passed. Then I will take away my hand and you will see my rear end; but you will not see me face to face.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 99

You, LORD, rule over everything!
Enthroned in glory, surrounded by awesome creatures,
your presence sends shivers down our spines
and makes even the earth tremble and quake!
LORD, your greatness is celebrated in Zion,
and in every nation you are number one.
At the mere mention of your name,
people everywhere burst into praise,
for your greatness and holiness are awesome!
Ruling in strength; loving justice with a passion;
you have seen to it that everyone gets a fair go.
You have laid down the law
so that your people will do what is right.
We fall at your feet and sing your praises, O LORD our God,
for your greatness and holiness are awesome!
Moses and Aaron served you as priests,
Samuel was another who reached out to you.
They cried out to you on the world’s behalf,
and from the awesome cloud you answered them.
They stuck to what you had told them, LORD,
and did whatever you asked of them.
When they did wrong you set them straight,
in no uncertain terms;
but you forgave them, LORD,
and never failed to answer them.
We sing your praises, O LORD our God.
We climb your holy mountain to worship you,
for your greatness and holiness are awesome!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10

To the church in Thessalonica; a people who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah.
This letter comes to you from the three of us: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.
We greet you and wish you all the best — God’s love and peace.
We are always thanking God for you all and including you in our prayers. The memories of your work, so full of faith and love, and your rock-solid hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah, are constantly in our minds, fuelling the prayers we bring to the God who conceived us all. You are our brothers and sisters, and it is clear to us that God loves you greatly and has chosen you for something special. We are sure of this because when our message — the great news about God’s love — came to you, your response was not just a matter of words, but was full of the power and passion and confidence that are clear signs of the Holy Spirit at work. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and we could tell that you were made of the right stuff, just as you could tell what kind of people we were from what you experienced of us at that time.
When you first received the Word of God, you responded to it with whole-hearted enthusiasm inspired by the Holy Spirit, and you were not deterred by the flak you copped as a result. You set about modelling your lives on us and on the Lord, and you did such a good job of it that now all the believers in the regions of Macedonia and Achaia look up to you as their model for how to live the Christian life. You have served to amplify the word of the Lord all over the place. People are talking about your faithful trust in God well beyond Macedonia and Achaia. Wherever we go it seems that we don’t have to tell people about you. Instead we hear from them the stories about how you welcomed us and what we had to say, and how you turned your lives around, giving your whole-hearted service to the living and true God and giving up your devotion to other things. We hear too of how you are now living in faithful expectation of the arrival of God’s Son from heaven, the one whom God raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the vengeful fury that is threatening to explode everywhere.
©2023 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 22: 15-22

Some members of the devoutly religious Pharisee Party were out to get Jesus. They put their heads together and came up with a plan to get him to trip himself up with what he said in public. They sent a delegation to him consisting of some of their own followers and some members of Herod’s party. The group approached him in the Temple and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You are honest and straight down the line in your teaching about the way of God. It is clear that you do not think anyone is above the law, because you call a spade a spade, without fear or favour, no matter who is listening. So give us your opinion on this: is it okay by our law to pay taxes to the Roman emperor, or not?”
But sensing the venom that lay behind their attempts to butter him up, Jesus replied, “Why are you trying to force me into a catch twenty-two, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that is required for paying the tax.”
So they handed him one of the Roman coins that was the only legal tender for the tax. He held it up and said to them, “Who is shown in this graven image? Who is named with a divine title on this coin?”
They answered, “The emperor.”
"Well then,” said Jesus, “if it belongs to the emperor, then give it to the emperor. But don’t go short-changing God. Give to God everything that rightly belongs to God.”
His reply left them in shock, and they turned tail and left.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Isaiah 45: 1-7

I, the LORD, have chosen you, King Cyrus of Persia,
as a messiah to do my work.
I am leading you by the hand to subdue world powers
and to strip despots of the trappings of office.
Because I am with you, every door will open to you
and you will come and go wherever you please.
I will go before you
to smooth the way.
I will smash down every obstacle
and blast through the strongest defences.
I will hand their ill-gotten gains over to you;
the fortunes they have stashed away in secret.
Then you will know that it is I
– the LORD God whom the Israelites worship –
who has singled you out for this job.
I am calling you by name and giving you your title,
even though you do not know who I am.
I am doing this for the benefit of my own people,
my chosen ones, Israel, who serve me.
I am the LORD, the one and only.
There is no other god, just me.
I am the one who arms you,
even though you do not know who I am.
From one end of the earth to the other,
in every place under the sun,
everyone will know that there is no god but me;
that I am the LORD, the one and only.
I create all things and commission them.
Light and dark, good times and bad,
I, the LORD, am at work in them all.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 96: 1-9, (10-13)

We sing like we’ve never sung before, LORD;
singing to you with all the earth.
Every mention of your name sets us singing your praises.
We never tire of telling the story of how you bailed us out;
all over the world, we speak of your incredible accomplishments;
everyone we meet hears us giving the credit to you.
You are the greatest, LORD; we can’t praise you enough!
When it comes to gods, you are in a league of your own;
all other objects of devotion are powerless.
But you, LORD, created the whole cosmos;
you are surrounded by majesty and celebration;
strength and beauty are signs of your presence.
People of every race and creed recognise you, LORD;
they recognise you behind all that is strong and true;
they name you as the one who deserves all the glory.
We offer ourselves to you, LORD;
we fall to our knees in this beautiful place of worship;
with all the earth, we celebrate you alone.
You are our king, LORD; we’ll tell everyone everywhere!
You have set the world on firm foundations,
and with you in charge, everyone will get a fair go.
Let the heavens and the earth celebrate;
let the roar of the sea join in;
let everything that walks, flies or swims join the party!
You are on your way, LORD,
and even the roadside trees cheer as you approach,
for you are coming to set things right on the earth.
You will sort things out and put things right,
and reveal the truth about everything and everyone.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 love justice and strengthen the upright,
and you have shown us your goodness.
You are the living and true God who created all things
and whose voice sets the earth shaking.
You rescued a people from slavery
and promised your presence to go with them.
To Moses you revealed your glory
and through your prophets you made known your justice.
In your child, Jesus, you have come to us in person,
teaching us your ways in sincerity and truth.
In him we have learned to give to you all that is yours —
the work of faith, the labour of love, and a steadfast hope.
Though his enemies put him to death,
you raised him from the dead
and through the power of his gospel in the Holy Spirit
you have given us mercy and rest.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give thanks for your child, Jesus,
who came to us teaching your ways in sincerity and truth.
In him we have learned to give to you all that is yours —
the work of faith, the labour of love, and a steadfast hope —
and in him you have given us mercy and rest.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you love justice and strengthen the upright,
and you have shown us your goodness.
You are the living and true God who created all things
and whose voice sets the earth shaking.
You rescued a people from slavery
and promised your presence to go with them.
To Moses you revealed your glory
and through your prophets you made known your justice.
In your child, Jesus, you have come to us in person,
teaching us your ways in sincerity and truth.
In him we have learned to give to you all that is yours —
the work of faith, the labour of love, and a steadfast hope.
Though his enemies put him to death,
you raised him from the dead
and through the power of his gospel in the Holy Spirit
you have given us mercy and rest.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
we have seen God’s goodness and generous mercy.
It is God’s pleasure to forgive all who cry out for help.
Jesus has rescued us from the fury that is coming.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2023 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now as those who have found favour in the sight of God.
Be imitators of Jesus Christ
and an example to all of the life of faith.
To the world in which you live, give your love and service,
and to God, give all that you are and all that you shall be.
And may the glory of God’s goodness be revealed to you;
May the grace and peace of Jesus Christ take root in you;
And may the inspiration of the Holy Spirit fill you with joy.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Caesar and GodA sermon on Exodus 33: 12-23, Matthew 22:15-22 and 1 Thesallonians 1: 1-10 by Rowland Croucher

The Authority of the EmpireA sermon on Matthew 22:15-22 by Ross Langmead

Allegiance to JesusA sermon on Matthew 22:15-22 and 1 Thesallonians 1: 1-10 by Andrew Woff

Whose Image is This?A sermon on Exodus 33: 12-23 & Matthew 22:15-22 by Nathan Nettleton

Image Conscious DiscipleshipA sermon on Matthew 22:15-22 by Nathan Nettleton

Image ManagementA sermon on Exodus 33: 12-23, Matthew 22:15-22 and 1 Thesallonians 1: 1-10 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 23 - Year A
2029-10-14 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 32: 1-14

Moses was on the mountain with the LORD for such a long time that the people gave up on him. They turned to Aaron and said, “It’s up to you now. Give us a god who we can follow on our journey from here on. Moses led us out of the land where we had been slaves, but now he is missing, presumed dead.”
Aaron said to the people, “Collect up all the gold jewellery that you and your families possess, and bring it all to me.”
So the people took up a collection of all the gold jewellery that they had been wearing, and brought it all to Aaron. He took all the gold, melted it down, and recast it in the shape of a calf. When the gold calf was put on display for the people, they began to shout, “Here is our god, the god who brought our nation out of the land of slavery!”
When Aaron saw how popular it was, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow we will hold a festival in honour of the LORD.”
The festivities started early the next morning. The people sacrificed the traditional burnt offerings on the altar and offered the customary gifts to celebrate good times. Then they ate and drank and partied hard, really letting their hair down.
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

Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23

We sing your praises, LORD!
We overwhelmed with gratitude for all your goodness;
your love and loyalty go on forever.
Words cannot describe all the amazing things you have done;
we can’t praise you highly enough, LORD.
Those who stick to the ways of justice are on a winner;
those who always do the right thing will have plenty to smile about.
Count me in, LORD, when you hand out the perks to your people;
don’t overlook me when you come to bail them out.
I want to be there to see your chosen people come into their own;
I want to join in their celebrations
and bask in the glory of the future you have set up.
We have done the wrong thing by you,
just as our ancestors did before us;
we have acted corruptly;
we have done what is evil.
Our forebears made an idol in the shape of a calf;
they worshipped the work of their own hands.
They switched from basking in your glory
to making fools of themselves over a toy cow!
They forgot that you were the God who saved them,
who took powerful action to free them from slavery;
who did amazing things in the land where they were oppressed
and awesome acts of power to get them through the Red Sea.
You were justifiably angry, LORD;
you were planning to wipe them out,
and you would have gone through with the plan
if it had not been for Moses, your chosen leader.
He stood up to you and held you back;
he calmed your anger and talked you out of destroying them.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Philippians 4:1-9

My brothers and sisters in Philippi, I love you dearly and long to see you. You are my pride and joy. I urge you to keep your feet planted firmly in the Lord’s way.
I have a special message for two of you, Euodia and Syntyche. You both belong to the Lord, so for God’s sake get your heads together and iron out your differences.
And a message to you, my loyal colleague (you know who you are!). Please do what you can to help these two women sort things out between them while you’re there. In the past they have put in some solid sweat and tears with me getting the Word out, and with Clement and the rest of the team. God has got all their names in the book of life.
Celebrate the Lord non-stop. I repeat - celebrate! Let your hair down! See that you get a reputation for gentleness - pushiness only gets up everyone’s nose and we can’t afford that when the Lord is so close.
Don’t go getting anxious about anything, but pray about everything. Worrying never fixed anything, so take action: repackage your concerns as prayers. Spell out what it is you want to God, giving thanks in advance, and get it off your chest. You’ll find it is such a relief! The peace of God, which no one can ever make sense of, will move in and take over. The fears and anxieties will be pushed aside and your troubled hearts and minds will take refuge in Christ Jesus to relax and recover.
One final thing, my dear friends, give your hearts and minds some healthy stuff to chew on. Authentic stuff, principled stuff, uncontaminated stuff. Things that are worthwhile, fulfilling, and straight as a die. Things of integrity that make for a fair go for all. These are the kind of things you should fill your minds with - quality stuff instead of shoddiness. Meditate on these things and you can’t go wrong. Keep yourselves on track, putting into practice what you picked up from me, from my teaching and from the example I set. Rest assured, the God of peace will be right there with you.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 22: 1-14

While speaking with the chief priests and the political leaders in the Jerusalem Temple, Jesus used another story to illustrate his point, saying, “Here is a good illustration of the culture of heaven. The son of a powerful king was getting married, and the king had invited many guests to the wedding feast. When the day came, he sent his chauffeurs to collect the guests, but they wouldn’t come. The king sent a second lot of chauffeurs with instructions to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come. The dinner is ready to serve. No expense has been spared and the table is laden with good things. The finest meats have been cooked to perfection. Come and feast with us!’
But the invited guests thumbed their noses at the invitation and went on their way. Some headed off to their farms, others opened their offices for business, while others attacked the chauffeurs, roughing them up and killing them. The king blew his stack. He sent the army after those murdering thugs to wipe them off the face of the earth and reduce their city to scorched earth. Then he said to his chauffeurs, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who I first invited did not deserve to be on the guest list. So go out onto the streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.’
The chauffeurs went out onto the streets and gathered up everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and brought them in until every seat in the reception hall was filled.
But when the king arrived on the scene to greet the guests, he discovered one man among them who had failed to put on the required wedding attire. The king said to him, ‘Mister, how did you get in here without getting dressed appropriately?’
There was nothing but a terrifying silence until the king called the security guards and said, ‘Chain him up, hand and foot, and throw him into the deepest, darkest dungeon where everyone will be cursing themselves and tearing their hair out.’
“And so,” Jesus concluded, “many are invited to stand up and be counted, but few make the grade.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Isaiah 25: 1-9

LORD, you are my God;
I will put your name up in lights and sing your praises,
because you have followed through on the fantastic things
that you planned and promised so long ago.
You have reduced the evil city to rubble;
the stronghold of corruption lies in ruins;
the foreign oppressors are now homeless,
and their city will never be rebuilt.
Now even the most powerful nation will honour you;
ruthless tyrants will fall to their knees in your presence.
You have proved yourself to be a safe refuge for those in need;
a welcome haven for the poor and suffering;
a shelter from the cold rain, and a shade from the heat.
When the attacks of ruthless thugs
were as cold and vicious as icy rain;
when the arrogance of the occupying troops
sucked the life out of us like the desert heat;
you were a protection from the elements,
and you put an end to their arrogant slogans.
Every people on earth will be invited to the sacred mountain
for the huge party thrown by the LORD who rules over everything.
It will be the feast to end all feasts,
with the very finest of foods and wines:
choice meats, wines aged to perfection,
gourmet delicacies to make every mouth water!
And right here on this sacred mountain
the LORD will tear off the pall of death
and release the nations from the coffin that held them.
The LORD will swallow up death once and for all.
With that, the Lord GOD will wipe the tears from every eye,
and God’s people will no longer be humiliated and despised;
The LORD says so and that settles it.
When that happens people will say,
Wow! This is our God!
We hoped, we waited, we trusted God to save us.
And our waiting has not been in vain.
The LORD has not let us down.
Celebrate! Sing and dance,
for God has come to our rescue and set us free.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 23

You, LORD, are my guide in the wilderness;
there is nothing more I could need.
You set up camp in places of beauty and shelter;
you lead the way on secluded tracks
beside creeks of cool clean water.
I feel my spirit breathing freely again;
your reputation puts me at ease;
I leave the navigating to you, and follow.
Even if we hike through a perilous valley,
where crows keep a menacing watch,
fear will still not get the better of me.
As long as I stick with you
I know I’ll make the distance;
with a knife and a bit of rope
you seem able to tackle any challenge.
You cook up a feast for me,
as those who wanted to feed on me watch, frustrated.
You pamper me like an honoured guest
and constantly top up my glass.
My life feels charmed, each and every day.
Love, mercy and all good things
keep falling into my lap.
I’m with you for life, LORD,
where you go, I’ll go;
where you live, I’ll live.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 Lord of lasting love,
and you invite good and bad alike to feast with you.
With great power and a mighty hand
you created the universe and filled it with life.
You freed your people from slavery,
and even when they offered to a statue of gold
the worship due to you alone,
you listened to the fervent prayer of your servant Moses
and turned from your fierce anger.
Even now, when you anger is inflamed
by those who say “Yes” to your call
but refuse to robe themselves in righteousness,
you accept the prayers of your anointed child, Jesus,
who, though shunned and killed by his own wedding guests,
was raised to life by you
and now intercedes for the world without ceasing,
winning for us your peace that passes all understanding.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give thanks that even when we have been faithless
and offered to other things the worship due to you alone,
you have listened to the prayers of your anointed child, Jesus,
and turned away your anger,
offering us instead the peace that passes all understanding.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you are the Lord of lasting love,
and you invite good and bad alike to feast with you.
With great power and a mighty hand
you created the universe and filled it with life.
You freed your people from slavery,
and even when they offered to a statue of gold
the worship due to you alone,
you listened to the fervent prayer of your servant Moses
and turned from your fierce anger.
Even now, when you anger is inflamed
by those who say “Yes” to your call
but refuse to robe themselves in righteousness,
you accept the prayers of your anointed child, Jesus,
who, though shunned and killed by his own wedding guests,
was raised to life by you
and now intercedes for the world without ceasing,
winning for us your peace that passes all understanding.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ has stood alone before God,
pleading for our salvation.
In the mercy of Christ, you are robed in righteousness
and welcomed into the banqueting room of heaven.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, rejoicing always in the Lord.
Stand firm in Jesus Christ and be of one mind in him.
Always act with justice;
let your gentleness be known to everyone,
and yield up your worries on the altar of prayer.
And may God give you peace that passes all understanding;
May Christ Jesus guard your hearts and minds;
And may the Holy Spirit plant within you
all that is honourable, just and pure.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Ready to PartyA sermon on Matthew 22: 1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

No Jacket – No EntryA sermon on Matthew 22: 1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

The Impulse for ImagesA sermon on Exodus 32. 1-14 by Garry Deverell

Can anything good come out of Bethel?A sermon on Exodus 32 and Matthew 22:1-14 by Mark Brett

Mind What Your Mind’s OnA sermon on Philippians 4:1-9 & Matthew 22:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Confronting Terrorist TextsA sermon on Exodus 32:1-14 & Matthew 22:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

The Temptation of CertaintyA sermon on Exodus 32:1-14 & Matthew 22:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 21 - Year A
2029-09-30 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 17: 1-7

The whole gathered people of Israel pushed on from the Sen Desert, making the journey in manageable stages as the LORD directed them. At the end of one stage, they set up camp at a place called Rephidim, only to find that there was no drinking water in the area. The people started getting stuck into Moses again and demanding that he provide them with water to drink. But Moses said to them, “What are you taking it out on me for? Are you trying to provoke the LORD into losing patience with you?”
But the people’s thirst was becoming severe, and the more desperate they became, the more they blamed Moses. “Now look at the mess you’ve got us into,” they said. “Is this what you dragged us all out of Egypt for: to watch us die in a parched desert, and our children and livestock with us?
So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What am I supposed to do with these people? They are nearly ready to tear me limb from limb.”
The LORD replied, “Take some of the Israelite tribal leaders with you, and go on ahead of the people. Take your hiking stick with you — the same one you used to strike the waters of the Nile. I will be waiting for you at the rock at Mount Sinai. Give the rock a good thump with your stick, and water will come pouring out of it for everyone to drink.”
In full view of the tribal leaders, Moses did as the LORD had told him, and sure enough, there was water for everyone. From then on, Moses referred to that place by either of two names: Massah, which means ‘testing’, because the people had tested the LORD’s patience; and Meribah, which means ‘dispute’, because the people had questioned the LORD’s loyalty.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16

We are keen to learn of you, LORD;
your people are eager to hear what you have to say.
We listen to those who pass on the old stories;
the dark mysteries of ancient wisdom.
These are things we must hear and know,
for the wisdom of our ancestors must not be lost.
We will not deprive our children of these things.
We will pass on the stories to the next generation, LORD,
stories of the wonderful things you have done,
so that they know how great and amazing you are.
Our ancestors saw the miraculous things you did
when they were still doing hard labour in the land of slavery.
You cut a track through the sea and let them escape;
you made the angry waters stand aside to let them through.
You sent a cloud to guide them in the daytime,
and a fire to light the way for them at night.
In the parched outback, you broke open rocks,
bringing drinking water flooding up from deep below.
You made fresh water pour from the rock;
a river of life flowing in the desert.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Philippians 2: 1-13

If you have indeed experienced the encouragement of being united to Christ, and the support that genuine love offers, and the deep bonds of a shared life formed in the Spirit; if indeed you have any compassion and concern for me, then make my dreams come true: get your heads tuned to the one wavelength so that you will share a common love, a common dedication to the one cause, and a common mindset. Don’t let yourself be driven by self-centred ambitions or empty egotism, but keep your feet firmly on the ground and promote others ahead of yourself. To each one of you, I would say, don’t focus on doing what is in your own best interests, but on what is in the best interests of others. Model your attitude on the attitude of the Messiah, Jesus.
Although Jesus was the same as God in every way,
he did not think of his God-like privileges
as something to be milked for all they were worth.
Instead, he laid it all aside
and, with no more privileges than a slave,
was born as a human being.
Having become a human being,
he was the model of humility.
He didn’t demand his own way
but let God set the agenda;
even when it included his own death,
and a gruesome public death at that.
Because of all this,
God has raised him to the status of number one
and honoured him more highly
than anyone else in the universe.
So now, just the mention of the name ‘Jesus’
should bring everyone to their knees;
everyone who has ever lived or ever will.
Everyone, everywhere will honour God
by openly acknowledging
that Jesus the Messiah is Lord of all!
Therefore, my dear friends, there is work to do. You have always stuck to the agenda that was set for you, so keep it up, not only when I am around but even more when I am gone. Continue to work at living the life for which you are being saved, and do so with such an awareness of how high the stakes are, that it fills you with awe and makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. For this is awesome stuff: it is God who is at work within you, making it possible for you to set your mind on what God wants and to work for those things which are ultimately pleasing to God.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 21: 23-32

While Jesus was teaching the people in the Jerusalem Temple, the chief priests and the political leaders came up and challenged him, saying, “What authority do you have for what you are doing, and who authorised you to do these things?”
Jesus replied, “I’ve got a question for you too, and if you tell me the answer to mine, I’ll answer yours and tell you what authority I have for what I am doing. Where did John’s authority to baptise people come from? Was it from God, or did he just dream it up himself?”
They thought for a moment, weighing up their options and saying to themselves, “If we tell him we think God was behind it, then he’ll want to know why we failed to get on board. But if we say that John just dreamed it up himself, we will be in trouble with the people, because the popular opinion says that John was a messenger from God.”
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
And so Jesus said to them, “Well then, neither am I going to answer your question about what authority I have for what I am doing. Listen to this story though, and tell me what you think.
A man had two teenage sons. One day he said to one of them, ‘Son, the garden needs a bit of work. Would you give us a hand?’ The boy said, ‘No way!’ but later he had second thoughts and went and got stuck into it. Meanwhile, the father went to his other son with the same request. The boy answered, ‘Sure, Dad, I’ll get into it in a few minutes,’ but he never got around to it. Which of the two did what the father would have hoped for?”
They replied, “The first one.”
Jesus looked at them and said, “I kid you not; when it comes to becoming part of the culture of God, the prostitutes and the collaborators who sell out to the occupation forces are miles ahead of you lot. Why? Because John was on the right track when he came to you, and you didn’t believe him. But the people you had written off as moral garbage did. They took what he said seriously, and even though you saw the difference it made to them, your minds were set like concrete and you wouldn’t take any notice of him.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Ezekiel 18: 1-4, 25-32

I received another message from the LORD:
Why are you repeating the old saying, “The parents eat junk, and their kids’ teeth rot”? I am the Lord GOD and I swear I do not want to hear this saying from any of my people ever again. Get this into your heads: I have the power of life and death over everyone, both the parents and the children, and it is only the person responsible for the sin who will die for it.
Yet I hear you whingeing, “The way the Lord treats us is not fair.” Well listen up, my people: is it my ways that are not fair? Isn’t the reality that it is your ways that are not fair? When people who have previously done the right thing turn their backs on what is right and start doing things that are corrupt, they are making a fatal mistake. They will die because of the corrupt things they have done. On the other hand, if corrupt people mend their ways and begin living by what I have taught and doing the right thing by others, they will save their lives. They have woken up to themselves, turning their backs on corruption and getting their lives back on track, and so they will no longer be under sentence of death. And yet I hear my people whingeing, “The way the Lord treats us is not fair.” Give me an answer, my people: is it my ways that are not fair? Isn’t the reality that it is your ways that are not fair?
So, my people, I am telling you that I, the Lord GOD, will judge each of you on the basis of how you, yourself, live. Give up corrupt ways and get your lives back on track; otherwise corruption will be your downfall. Put behind you all the corrupt things you have done against my express instructions, and make a fresh start. Get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why go on trudging towards death, my people? I am the Lord GOD, and I am never happy to see anyone die, no matter who they are. So do an about face and live!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 25: 1-9

I gladly offer you everything I am, LORD .
I have put my trust in you, God;
please don’t let me down;
don’t give my enemies grounds to gloat.
Be there for those who hang in there for you, no matter what:
don’t leave them with egg on their faces.
Save that for the two-faced scabs who deserve it.
Let me in on your way of doing things, LORD;
teach me how to follow your tracks.
Steer me along your ways of truth, and teach me all about them.
Only you can save me from disaster, God,
so I’ll wait for you before setting out.
Your love and mercy have been as timeless and dependable as the rock;
please don’t change your mind about them now!
Don’t keep a record of everything I’ve done wrong in the past.
Let your unshakable love colour your view of me,
and keep your reputation for generosity intact!
You always do what is good and right, LORD,
and so you patiently retrain those who do wrong.
You pilot a safe course for those who are not too full of themselves;
you give lessons on your ways to the humble folk.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 at work among us,
conforming our will and our work to your sacred purposes.
In the first of your mighty wonders,
you divided the waters
and brought forth a newborn earth.
You rescued your people from slavery,
and though their faith dried up in the desert,
you split the rocks and quenched their thirst
with waters welling up from ancient depths.
Your child Jesus, though one with you,
was born as one of us and humbled himself,
passing through the ancient waters of baptism
and following the ways of righteousness
even to the point of death on a cross.
Therefore you raised him to life
and exalted him above every other power.
Now you embrace all who in action confess him as Lord,
baptising them in his name into the life of your Kingdom.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your child Jesus who,
having humbled himself even to the point of death on a cross,
was raised by you and exalted above every other power,
and now lives to bring life to your thirsty people
from the ancient wellspring of love and consolation.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you are at work among us,
conforming our will and our work to your sacred purposes.
In the first of your mighty wonders,
you divided the waters
and brought forth a newborn earth.
You rescued your people from slavery,
and though their faith dried up in the desert,
you split the rocks and quenched their thirst
with waters welling up from ancient depths.
Your child Jesus, though one with you,
was born as one of us and humbled himself,
passing through the ancient waters of baptism
and following the ways of righteousness
even to the point of death on a cross.
Therefore you raised him to life
and exalted him above every other power.
Now you embrace all who in action confess him as Lord,
baptising them in his name into the life of your Kingdom.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Though Christ was one with God,
he humbled himself and become obedient
even to the point of death on a cross,
so that we might drink deeply from the well of grace
and know the mercy of God at work within us.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now to will and to work for God’s purposes.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Be filled with the same love
and look to the interests of others.
With reverence for God, work out your salvation.
And may God quench your thirst with love and consolation;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you and encourage you;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on and make your joy complete.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

The Power of GodA sermon on Exodus 17:1-7; Philippians 2:1-13 & Matthew 21:23-32 by Mark Brett

Wellspring from the RockA sermon on Exodus 17:1-7 by Nathan Nettleton

Grabbing at GloryA sermon on Philippians 2:1-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Hey Kids! Come Work in the Garden!A sermon on Philippians 2:1-13 & Matthew 21:23-32 by Alison Sampson

By What Authority?A sermon on Matthew 21:23-32 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 20 - Year A
2029-09-23 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 16: 2-15

Once they were on their own in the outback, the Israelite people began to lose their nerve and worry about how they were going to survive, and the whole crowd started whingeing and criticising Moses and Aaron. The people were saying, “We would have been better off waiting for the LORD to kill us back in Egypt. At least there was always a pot of stew on the boil there, and as much bread as we could eat. But you two have dragged us out into the scrub so that you can starve us all to death out here.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “I am going to make bread fall from the sky like rain for you. Each day the people are to go out and collect enough for that day only. I am going to test out the people to see whether or not they will do what I tell them. They are not to stockpile it, except on the day before the Sabbath day off, when there will be twice as much as usual for them to collect and prepare.”
So Moses and Aaron spoke to the people saying, “You have been whingeing about the LORD, and the LORD has heard you and is going to do something about your complaint. This evening you will be convinced that it was the LORD who got you out of the land of slavery, and in the morning you will witness the glory of the LORD. So stop giving us such a hard time.”
And Moses added, “You will know that it is the LORD's doing when you have meat for dinner in the evening and all the bread you can eat in the morning, because the LORD has listened to your complaints and responded. Then you will realise that we had nothing to do with it, and that your whingeing has not been about us but about the LORD.”
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Give this message to the whole Israelite congregation: ‘Draw close to the LORD, for the LORD has listened to your complaints.’”
And even as Aaron was addressing the gathered people, they looked out across the desert and witnessed an awesome display of the LORD’s glory in the clouds.
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, “Because I have listened to the people’s problems, I want you to give them this message: ‘At sundown you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have plenty of bread. Then you will know for sure that I am the LORD your God.”
That evening, an enormous flock of game birds came in and settled all over the camp where the people could pick them off with ease. Then in the morning, the ground was covered in dew, and as the dew dried, it left a layer of fine flaky stuff on the ground. It looked like a light sprinkling of snow on the desert floor. When the people saw it, they had no idea what it was and began to ask one another, “What on earth is this stuff?”
Moses told them, “This is the bread that the LORD has provided for you to gather up and eat.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45

We shout your name and give you thanks, LORD;
we will tell everyone what you have done for us.
We sing your praises in your presence,
and publicise your wonderful achievements.
We put your name up in lights, your name alone;
our hearts burst with joy when we approach you.
It is you we want most of all, you and your strength;
we try to keep near to you all the time.
Like all the descendants of Abraham and Jacob,
and all your chosen children,
we remember all the astonishing things you have done
and the breath-taking wisdom of your decisions.
You led Israel out of slavery,
carrying off money and goods,
and every one of them made it out safely.
The local people were glad to see the last of them,
because they were terrified of them.
You rolled out a cloud like a blanket for them,
and lit up the night with a fire.
They asked for meat and you gave them quail;
all they could eat, you dropped from the sky.
You opened a rock and water poured out,
flowing like a river in the desert.
You were true to your word, LORD,
just as you promised your trusty worker, Abraham.
Your led your chosen people to freedom,
laughing and singing with joy.
You gave them lands as a gift
and made them rich at the expense of others.
In return you asked that they follow what you said,
and stick to doing things your way.
You are the greatest, LORD!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Philippians 1: 21-30

I am on a winner whether I live or die, because for me living is positively full of the Messiah and dying is full of positives! If I was to go on living in the here and now, that would allow me to keep working and score a few more goals. I don’t know which to wish for! If I was given a say in it, I’d be hard pressed to choose between them. On the one hand, I can hardly wait for the day when I shuffle off this mortal coil to be with the Messiah. That will be the ultimate! But on the other hand I know it would be better for you if I were to stick with you. Because I know that that is the case, I’m pretty sure that I will be sticking around and continuing to get stuck into it with all of you, helping you to grow in the faith and enjoy it to the full. My arriving among you again will give you even more cause to trumpet on about being on the winning side with Jesus the Messiah, and I’ll get to share in the celebrations with you.
One thing though! See to it that as a community, your common life measures up to the message we proclaim about the Messiah. If it does, I won’t have to worry about whether I make it back to be with you or whether I only ever get to hear occasional news of you. Either way I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit and working together shoulder to shoulder with your minds set on the one goal of fully living out the faith we talk about. And I will know that you are not backing down in the least before the threats that are being made against you. Such a life will stand as a warning to those who are out to get you, pointing to the terrifying fate which awaits them and to the life of salvation which awaits you. This, of course, is all God’s doing. God has been generous enough to not only allow you to live with your trust in Christ, but to give you the privilege of suffering for the Messiah as well. That is why you are now up against it so severely. I was up against the same things last time you saw me — I still am — and now it’s your turn to share in it for the sake of the Messiah.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 20: 1-16

While teaching his followers, Jesus said, “Here is a good illustration of the culture of heaven. A building contractor turned up at his job site first thing in the morning and found a queue of casual labourers at the gate looking for work. He offered to pay them the award wage for a day’s labour, and on that understanding, they signed on for the day and got stuck into it. At morning smoko, the boss wandered out the front gate and found another group of labourers standing around with nothing to do, so he said to them, ‘Come and work the rest of the day on my site, and I’ll pay you whatever is right.’
They signed on and got stuck into it. At lunchtime and again at afternoon smoko, the boss went down to the gate and signed on still more labourers. About an hour before they were due to down tools, the boss went down to the gate again and found still more unemployed labourers. He said to them, ‘What are you doing standing around here with your hands in your pockets?’
They replied, ‘We’re out of work and nothing has come up for us today.’
The boss said to them, ‘The day’s not done. Sign on here and you can work on my site for the rest of the shift.’
At knock-off time, the building contractor said to his leading hand, ‘Call the labourers into the site office and give them their wages, starting with those who signed on last and working through to those who signed on first thing.’
When those who had only been on the job for an hour reported in, they were each paid the award wage for a full day’s labour. So when those who had been hired first came in, they figured that they would get a substantial bonus, but each of them was also paid the award wage for a day. When they saw what they had been paid, they were ropeable, and sent one of their number in to take it up with the boss, saying, ‘Some of these blokes barely worked an hour, and you’re treating them as though they were worth the same as us who worked our guts out in the blazing sun for the whole day.’
But the boss replied, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong by you, Mister. You signed on for the usual daily wage didn’t you? Well, that’s what I’ve paid you, so put it in your wallet and get off home. I can pay the latecomers as much as you if I want. It’s my site and my money, so I can do what I like with them, can’t I? Or are you offended by my generosity?’”
“And so things will be completely different,” Jesus concluded. “The last will be first, and the first will be last.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Jonah 3:10 - 4:11

When the people of Nineveh called a day of repentance, God saw that they really were turning away from evil and getting their lives back on track. So God had a change of heart, and cancelled the disaster that had been planned for the people of Nineveh.
But this outcome was the last thing that Jonah wanted to see, and his anger raged like a bushfire. He exploded in prayer, saying, “Stuff it all, LORD! Right from the start I said that you couldn’t be trusted to destroy Nineveh! This is exactly what I was trying to avoid by running away in the first place. I knew that you were a God who is compassionate and generous, as eager to forgive as a doting mother. Your love and loyalty always hold back your anger, and given half a reason you withhold sentence and let everyone off the hook. Well LORD, I’ve had a gutful of it. Just kill me now and get it over with. I’d rather die than live, if this is how it is going to be.”
The LORD replied, “Do you think this burning anger is justified?”
But Jonah just stormed out of the city, heading east, and made a camp for himself in the bush. He plonked himself down on the ground and waited to see what would become of the city.
The LORD commissioned a small tree to shoot up and provide Jonah with shade in an effort to cool his head, so Jonah was pretty happy about the tree. But before the sun came up the next morning, God commissioned a grub to bore into the tree so that it shrivelled up. When the sun rose in the sky, God commissioned a hot muggy wind to blow on Jonah. With the heat of the sun boring into his head, Jonah was almost passing out from heatstroke and wishing he could just die and get it over with. He said to himself, “I would be better off dead anyway.”
The LORD said to Jonah, “Do you think this burning anger is justified over losing the tree?”
Jonah snarled back, “It is perfectly justified, even if it kills me!”
Then the LORD said:
“You felt a wave of compassion for the tree,
whose greatness was no thanks to anything you did,
and who sprouted one night and perished the next.
So what makes you think that I should not have compassion
for the great city of Nineveh,
whose streets are home to a hundred and twenty thousand people
who left to their own devices
wouldn’t know which way to turn,
and whose animals live there too?”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 145: 1-8

We will declare you to be the greatest, God our king,
and put your name up in lights forever.
Every day, without fail, we will sing your praises,
we will honour your name now and forever.
You are wonderful, LORD; you deserve the highest praise,
and your greatness is more than we can comprehend.
Each generation tells the next what you have done,
and speaks with awe about your accomplishments.
We will fill our minds with your splendour and glory,
and with the stories of your amazing exploits.
We will publicise the news of your mighty deeds
and let everyone know how great you are.
Then everyone will celebrate your generous love;
and applaud your justice with singing and dancing.
You are generous and compassionate, LORD;
slow to anger, and rich in love and loyalty.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 provide for the needs of your people
with a generosity beyond our comprehension.
In the first of your mighty wonders you created the earth
and filled it with good things.
When you led your people out of slavery,
you heard their cries in the desert
and gave them food from heaven
so that they might eat and give thanks to you.
So too, you feed us through your child, Jesus,
the bread of heaven,
who came to nourish us and strengthen us in the faith.
Though he was killed, you raised him to life,
and now he gives himself with scandalous extravagance
to all who respond to his call,
the early comers and late comers alike.
So now for us, through your gracious gift of faith,
to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for the bread of heaven
which you give with scandalous extravagance
to all who respond to your call,
so that for us, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you provide for the needs of your people
with a generosity beyond our comprehension.
In the first of your mighty wonders you created the earth
and filled it with good things.
When you led your people out of slavery,
you heard their cries in the desert
and gave them food from heaven
and water from the rock.
So too, you came among us in your child, Jesus,
to nourish us and strengthen us in the faith.
Though he was killed, you raised him to life,
and now he gives himself with scandalous extravagance
to all who respond to his call,
the early comers and late comers alike.
So now for us, through your gracious gift of faith,
to live is Christ and to die is gain.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

All who respond to God’s call to repentance
are embraced in the generous mercy of God.
Whether you responded to God’s call at the first opportunity,
or whether you are responding for the first time now,
God’s gracious forgiveness is yours, in Jesus Christ.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out in the strength of God’s gracious gifts.
Live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Stand firm in one spirit.
Strive with one mind for the faith of the gospel.
And may the power and the presence of God go with you.
May the Call of Christ lead you into fruitful labour.
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with the joy of grace.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

The Gracious InjusticeA sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Bread in the WildernessA sermon on Exodus 16: 2-15 by Nathan Nettleton

Sometimes Grace StinksA sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 & Exodus 16: 2-15 by Nathan Nettleton

Shortchanged?A sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 & Exodus 16: 2-15 by Nathan Nettleton

Resenting EqualityA sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Affirmative Action and the GospelA sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 19 - Year A
2029-09-16 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 14: 19-31

When the Israelite people were caught between the Red Sea and the pursuing Egyptian army, the angel of God who had been in front of the Israelites moved around and took up a new position, covering them from the rear. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front of them and settled in a position behind them, making it impossible for the Egyptians and the Israelites to see each other. The cloud shrouded the Egyptian camp in darkness and lit up the night over the Israelite camp, and the night passed without any contact between the two camps.
Then Moses stretched out his hand towards the sea, and, with a violent wind that blew all night, the LORD forced back the sea, carving out a track of dry ground right through the middle of the water. The Israelites trooped into the sea on the dry track with the angry waters towering over them on either side. The Egyptian soldiers gave chase, charging into the middle of the sea aboard their horses and armoured vehicles. Just before dawn, the LORD looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and began to wreak havoc among them, bogging their vehicles and leaving them stuck in the middle. In panic, the soldiers began shouting, “Run for your lives! Get away from these Israelites because the LORD is on their side fighting against us!”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand towards the sea again so that the water will surge back over the Egyptian army and all their soldiers and armoured vehicles.”
So Moses stretched out his hand towards the sea, and as the dawn broke, the sea came crashing back down on top of the fleeing army. The LORD trapped the soldiers in the middle of the sea, and when the waters had closed over and returned to normal, there wasn’t a soldier or a vehicle left. The Israelites had walked through the sea on a dry track with the angry waters towering over them on either side, but the entire army of the King of Egypt had been swallowed up by the sea while pursuing them.
So that day the LORD rescued the people of Israel from their oppressors, and the people saw all the dead soldiers washed up on the shore. When they saw the power of the LORD’s action against their oppressors, the people were in awe of the LORD and put their trust in the LORD and in Moses who was working for the LORD.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 114

When we were led out of the land of slavery
- the people of Israel, coming out from under the foreign thumb -
the land of Judah became a sacred place,
the land of Israel came under sovereign rule.
The wild sea took one look, and turned tail and ran,
the Jordan river backed off and headed the other way.
The mountains skipped like a rock wallaby;
the hills were as jumpy as a kelpie pup.
What was it that made the wild sea turn tail?
What was it that made the Jordan back off?
What made the mountains quiver and jump?
What made the hills shudder and shake?
It was awe of you, LORD, God of our ancestors.
The whole earth trembles in your presence.
For you are the one who melts rocks into pools of water;
the one who brings springs bubbling up from hard baked ground.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Exodus 15: 1b-11, 20-21 (alternative canticle)

The prophet Miriam, who was Aaron’s sister, led the women in a dance of celebration, playing tambourines and singing:
Our song is for you, LORD,
for you have won a glorious victory!
You have tossed the soldiers and warhorses into the sea!
We would be nothing without you, LORD,
but with you, we are strong.
You are our God, and we sing your praises;
the God of our ancestors,
and we applaud you long and loud.
You are the greatest hero, LORD;
LORD by name, LORD by reputation.
You swept the tyrant’s armoured vehicles and soldiers into the sea;
all his top brass disappeared beneath the waves.
The surging waters closed over them,
and they sank like a stone into the murky depths.
With your bare hands, LORD,
you put on an awesome display of power;
you rolled up your sleeves and decimated the enemy.
With the full force of your majestic power,
you defeated your opponents;
they ignited your anger
and were gone like dry grass in a bushfire.
The fearsome blast of your fury cut a swathe through the waters;
the surging depths were heaped up on each side;
the wild ocean set like jelly, all the way down.
The tyrants said, “We’ll give chase, we can catch them.
All that they have will be ours, all we could ever want.
We will turn our weapons on them and wipe them out.”
You sent your wind howling after them and closed the sea over them;
they sank like a stone and were never seen again.
You are in a league of your own, LORD;
Nothing else is worthy of our devotion.
Nothing can compete with you for awesome grandeur;
Nothing else can match your record
for getting the job done against the odds.
Our song is for you, LORD,
for you have won a glorious victory!
You have tossed the soldiers and warhorses into the sea!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 14: 1-12

Don’t put anyone down for being timid in their faith. Welcome them into the congregation, and don’t give them a hard time for being hung up about things that cause you no concern. Some people believe that it is okay to eat anything, while those who are more timid would rather eat only vegetables than risk eating meat that might not be kosher. Those who eat with confidence must not make fun of those who play it safe; and those who play it safe must not pass judgment on those who eat. The fact is that God has extended a welcome to both. What gives you the right to criticise the workers in someone else’s employ? They don’t rise or fall on your say so. It will be sorted out between them and their Lord directly, not through you; and they will get the thumbs up, because the Lord is quite capable of getting them to stand where they should without your help.
Some people are of the opinion that certain days should be treated as special and sacred, while others reckon that no day is any more important than any other. There are good arguments either way, so let everyone faithfully practice what they believe to be right. Those who observe a particular day as special are celebrating it in honour of the Lord. Those who eat meat without asking questions are eating in honour of the Lord, and you can see this in the way they thank God for the food. Likewise, those who abstain from eating certain things are doing so in honour of the Lord, for they too give thanks to God.
You see, we are not our own bosses; we do not have the final say on how we are to live or die. We dance to the Lord’s tune in our lives, and we will dance to the Lord’s tune when we die. We belong to the Lord for the entire journey. The Messiah made this possible by dying and returning to life again. Having been through it all, he is now able to call the shots among everyone in life and in death.
So, you there! Why would you write off another brother or sister as too lax? Or you: why would you look down your nose at another sister or brother for their lack of confidence? Everyone of us will have our day in court, and it will be God who brings down the verdict on what we have done. As the scriptures say:
“Every knee will bow to the Lord who lives,
and every tongue will sing the praises of God.”
So, at the end of the day, each and every one of us is accountable to God for the way we live our lives and the way we treat one another.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 18: 21-35

While Jesus was teaching his followers, Peter raised a question: “Lord, how many times should I forgive someone in the congregation who does the wrong thing by me? Is seven times enough second chances, or should I draw the line before that?”
Jesus replied, “Try seventy times seven and then some! Take it from me; you should still be forgiving when you can’t count any more!”
He went on to say:
“That’s why this story is a good illustration of the culture of heaven. A corporate boss wanted to end his investment in a small single-operator subsidiary. He called up the operator and demanded repayment of almost one billion dollars. The operator was unable to pay, and unable to adequately account for the money, so the corporate boss ordered the repossession of the operator’s house and all his belongings, casting him and his family into the street, and began proceedings to have him arrested for fraud. But the operator fell to his knees and begged for mercy, saying, ‘Just give me a little more time and I will pay you the full billion.’
And in a sudden fit of compassion, the corporate boss let him go and wrote off the entire debt. But later the same day, the operator called in one of his own contractors who owed him just five grand. He grabbed him by the lapels, pinned him to the wall, and said, ‘Cough up, now!’
The contractor fell to his knees and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Just give me a little more time and I will pay you every cent.’
But the operator would have none of it, and repossessed his house and all his belongings and had him and his family thrown out into the street. When some of his fellow contractors saw what had happened, they were absolutely gutted, and went to the big boss and blew the whistle on the operator. The boss called the operator back in and tore strips off him. ‘You scumbag! I wrote off your entire debt out of the goodness of my heart. Don’t you think you could have gone easy on your contractor the same as I went easy on you? At the very least you could have given him more time.’
And in anger the boss called in some of the boys and had the operator beaten to a pulp, and then had the claim for the billion dollars served on him again.
And you can take it from me, that if you are not generous in your forgiveness of one another, you can expect the same kind of response from the One we answer to in heaven.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Genesis 50: 15-21

After Jacob’s funeral, Joseph’s brothers began to worry that Joseph might still be carrying a grudge against them for selling him into slavery and faking his death all those years before. They were afraid that he might have just been waiting until their father was dead before taking his revenge. So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Shortly before he died, your father put a message in his will for you, saying, ‘To my son, Joseph, I beg you to forgive your brothers for their horrendous crime against you and for all the hurt they caused you.’ So please forgive us for our crime against you. We too are in the service of the God of your father.”
Joseph broke down in tears when he got the message. His brothers came and fell to their knees before him, saying, “We are here at your mercy to do whatever you demand of us.”
But Joseph spoke to them kindly and bent over backwards to reassure them, saying, “Relax! You’ve got nothing to fear from me. I’m not setting myself up as God, so get up off your knees! I know you meant the worst for me then, but God was at work to make the most of what you did. To this day, God is working through what you did to keep the growing multitude of God’s people safe. So don’t worry. I will personally set you up for life, you and your families.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 103: (1-7), 8-13

With all our hearts, we praise you, LORD,
from the depths of our being
we name you as our one and only.
With all that we are we sings your praises, LORD;
how could we ever forget all you have done for us?
When we do wrong, you forgive us;
when we are sick, you make us well;
when our lives fall apart, you put us back together.
With love and mercy, you treat us like royalty;
you shower us with good things all our lives;
you makes us feel as young and free as an eagle.
You are there for those who are victimised, LORD;
you clear their names and bring them justice.
Through Moses, you let us know what you are on about;
through Israel, you let us see what you can do.
Your mercy and generosity are extravagant, LORD;
your patience and love are as solid as rock.
When we do things that anger you,
you don’t keep dredging them up forever.
You never deal with us as harshly as we deserve;
despite the wrong we have done, you let us off lightly.
We could no more climb to the moon on a step ladder
than measure the limits of the love and loyalty
you show to those who respect you.
We could no more swim the ocean from pole to pole
than cover the distance you put between us and our sins.
Your care and concern for those who honour you
is as tender as that of parents for their children.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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,
with every knee bowed
and every tongue giving you praise,
for in you is extravagant mercy
and salvation from all that would destroy us.
In the first of your mighty wonders, you created the earth,
dividing the watery chaos and bringing forth dry land.
In the days of Moses you divided the sea again
and delivered your people from their oppressors,
leading them by fire and cloud to the land of freedom.
In your child, Jesus the Christ,
your reign of love and mercy has embraced all who live
and even in our weaknesses you uphold us.
He was killed but lived again
so that he might be Lord of both the living and the dead.
Now whether we live or die we belong to you
and in gratitude we share your love and mercy with all.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your child, Jesus,
who died but lived again,
opening a way of escape for us through the waters of death.
Now whether we live or die we belong to you
and in gratitude we share your love and mercy with all.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
with every knee bowed
and every tongue giving you praise,
for in you is extravagant mercy
and salvation from all that would destroy us.
In the first of your mighty wonders, you created the earth,
dividing the watery chaos and bringing forth dry land.
In the days of Moses you divided the sea again
and delivered your people from their oppressors,
leading them by fire and cloud to the land of freedom.
In your child, Jesus the Christ,
your reign of love and mercy has embraced all who live
and even in our weaknesses you uphold us.
He was killed but lived again
so that he might be Lord of both the living and the dead.
Now whether we live or die we belong to you
and in gratitude we share your love and mercy with 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The God who calls us to be a merciful people
is overwhelmingly merciful to us.
God knows our weaknesses
and lifts us when we fall.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now into the world and live for Christ.
Whatever you do, do it in honour of the Lord
giving thanks to God.
Show forgiveness to one another
as in Christ you have received forgiveness.
And may God provide an escape from all that threatens you;
May Christ Jesus shower mercy on you and through you;
And may the Holy Spirit uphold you as you stand in Christ.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Conservatives v’s Progressives – the never ending struggleA sermon on Romans 14:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Waiting for a Way OutA sermon on Exodus 14:19-31 & Matthew 18:21-35 by Nathan Nettleton

A Way Out when there is No Way OutA sermon on Exodus 14:19-31 & Matthew 18:21-35 by Nathan Nettleton

Radical Forgiveness in a World at WarA sermon on Exodus 14:19-31; Romans 14:1-12 & Matthew 18:21-35 by Nathan Nettleton

Who causes suffering when we fail to forgive?A sermon on Exodus 14:19-31 & Matthew 18:21-35 by Alison Sampson

You did what in honour of the Lord?!A sermon on Romans 14:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

The Feast of the Holy Cross
2029-09-14 00:00 - 23:59 UTC
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Numbers 21: 4b-9

As they travelled, the people began losing the plot and mouthing off against God and Moses. They were whinging, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt if we are just going to die out here in the desert? There is no food. There is no water. And we can’t stand this lousy stuff we’ve got to eat.”
At that, the LORD let loose some dangerous snakes among the people. The snakes had a fiery venom and many people were bitten and died. The people came to Moses and pleaded with him, saying, “We were wrong to mouth off against the LORD and against you. Please ask the LORD to get rid of the poisonous snakes that are plaguing us.”
So Moses prayed for the the people, and the LORD spoke to him, saying, “Make a statue of a poisonous snake, and set it up on a pole where the people can see it. Whenever anyone is bitten, they are to look at the statue of the snake, and they will survive.”
So Moses made a snake out of bronze, and set it up on a pole. Whenever anyone was bitten by one of the snakes with the fiery venom, they would fix their gaze on the bronze snake, and they would live.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 98: 1-5

We sing like we’ve never sung before, LORD,
because you have done fantastic things.
With your sleeves rolled up you got stuck in
and came out on top.
Your victory has made the headlines, LORD,
now the whole world can see that you were right all along.
You have never defaulted on your rock-solid love,
or your loyalty to your chosen people.
From one end of the earth to the other,
everyone has seen your victory.
With all the world, LORD, we raise a noisy celebration,
singing our lungs out and shouting your praise.
The bands strike up in your honour, LORD,
filling the air with festive music.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Psalm 78: 1-2, 34-38 (Alternative Psalm)

We are keen to learn of you, LORD;
your people are eager to hear what you have to say.
We listen to those who pass on the old stories;
the dark mysteries of ancient wisdom.
When your anger cut down our ancestors, they sought your mercy;
they pleaded with you and promised to mend their ways.
They remembered that you are as solid as rock;
that you are the greatest; the one who puts things right.
But they were all words and no action,
trying to pull the wool over your eyes with sweet talk.
They were fickle and two-faced;
they did not stick to the terms of their alliance with you.
And yet you remained compassionate;
you continued to let them off the hook
and refrained from wiping them out.
Over and over you swallowed your anger
and chose not to let your fury have its day.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Corinthians 1: 18-24

The message about the cross sounds like a lot of mindless cock-and-bull to those who have thrown their lot in with this present world order and are going down with the ship. But to those of us who are being saved from that, it is nothing less than the power of God! God spoke about this in the Scriptures:
“I will expose the brilliant insights of your experts
and the wise counsel of your gurus;
I will expose them for what they really are,
a load of codswallop!”
So where are the intellectuals now? Where are the religious experts? Where are those who have an answer for everything? What have they got to show for all their cleverness now that God has turned all the conventional wisdom on its head and made it look foolish? Seeing that no amount of human cleverness had ever woken anybody up to God’s ways, God made the wise decision to use something that seemed utterly foolish to everyone — our preaching! — to rescue those who would trust the message. Most people want something more than this. Those with a religious world view demand to see miraculous signs to prove that it is from God. Those with a modern rational world view insist that it should have to prove its intellectual credibility. But what we are preaching is a Messiah who was strung up and killed. The religious people find this unthinkable, and the intellectuals regard it as primitive nonsense; but to those who have heard the call of God, whatever their background, it is the ultimate good news of God’s chosen one — as miraculous and profound as one could ever wish for!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 3: 13-17

Jesus said:
“No one has ever gone up and stood face to face with God. The only one who has done that is the New Human, the one who came from God in the first place. You know the old story from the desert: the one about Moses lifting up the hand-made snake so that the people could look at something that would help them to focus their trust in God. Well, the New Human is going to be lifted up for much the same reason. Everyone who looks up to him in trust and hope will receive life without limit.
“God’s love for the world is so overwhelming that even giving up his own son was not too great a cost to ensure that no one need succumb to death. All those who put their trust in him can have boundless life instead.
“God didn’t put his son’s life on the line merely to bring down the hammer and pass sentence on us. Rather, God saw the world in desperate trouble and sent the Son on a cosmic rescue mission.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Eating from the Tree of LifeA sermon for the Feast of Holy Cross by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 18 - Year A
2029-09-09 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 12: 1-14

After the King of Egypt had refused to listen to all the warnings, the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron again, saying:
“Rewrite your calendars — from now on, this month is to be the beginning of the new year. Put the word out among all the Israelite people that on the tenth day of the month, each household is to obtain a lamb or a young goat to be eaten. Small households can combine with their neighbours to share one, dividing it up so that there is enough for everyone to have some. The lamb must be a healthy male yearling with no deformities — not a runt. Having obtained the lamb, the household is to keep it at home for four days. Just after sunset on the fourteenth, all the Israelites are to slaughter the lambs ready for cooking. Take some of the blood and paint it on the frame of the front door of the house where you are eating the lamb. Cook and eat it that night. Don’t serve it raw or boiled. Don’t even cut it up or gut it. Spit-roast it whole over the fire and serve it with unleavened flat-breads and bitter herbs. Eat it all that night. If there is any left over in the morning you are to burn it. When you eat it, you are to eat as though you were in a hurry and about to leave on a journey. You should be dressed and packed, with your walking boots on and your stick at hand. In this way you are to keep the feast of Passover in honour of me, the LORD.
That night, I will pass through Egypt, killing the firstborn sons of every family and the firstborn male animals. I am the LORD, and I will carry out the sentence I have passed on the gods of Egypt this night. The lamb’s blood painted on your door frames will be the sign that your households are to be exempted. I will pass over every house that I see marked with the blood, and you will not be touched by the plague that will strike down the Egyptians.
Remember this day and, in every generation to come, celebrate it as an annual festival to honour me, the LORD.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 149

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

Romans 13: 8-14

Keep yourselves out of debt. Let the only thing you owe anyone be love. If you are loving others you are measuring up to the standard that God’s law has always been seeking. The law contains lots of detailed commandments such as don’t betray your marriage partner, don’t kill anybody, don’t pinch other people’s stuff, and don’t get preoccupied with the desire to possess things you don’t have. All such commandments can be summarised into the one simple instruction: “Love your neighbour as attentively as you love yourself.” Love never does the wrong thing by anybody, so if you really love, you will measure up to the whole law without even thinking about it.
You will realise how important these things are, because you understand the significance of the times we are living in. It is time to wipe the sleep out of your eyes; to be on your feet, fully alert. Salvation is at hand. It has been approaching ever since we first put our trust in God, and it is now drawing near. The night is almost gone; the new day is about to dawn. So let’s make sure that we get rid of any old ways of living that belong to the darkness of our past. Let us live our lives in such a way that we’ll be able to hold our heads high when the broad light of day shows up everything for what it really is. Avoid the desperate pursuit of pleasure with its common pitfalls of substance abuse, sexual sleaze, hostile belligerence, and crippling jealousy. Instead, take on the persona of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and don’t give any encouragement to the selfish desires that clamour for your attention and seek to hijack your life.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 18: 15-20

While teaching his followers, Jesus said, “If another one of the brothers or sisters in the congregation does the wrong thing by you in some serious way, go and try to sort it out between the two of you. If the offender takes on board what you have to say, then you have rebuilt the relationship. If your approach is rejected, have another try, but this time take one or two others with you, so that there will be witnesses to all that is said and done between you. If the offending brother or sister still refuses to accept responsibility for the problem, then bring the issue to the congregation. If even the congregation’s decision is rejected, then it is time for them to sever ties and to relate to the offender as they would to anyone else whose behaviour is beyond the pale and who is yet to respond to the call to turn around and become part of the people of God. I kid you not, when you make decisions together about what may and may not be done as you live your life in the congregation, heaven will back you up. And again I’m not kidding when I say that if two of you make a joint commitment to something in prayer, then my Father in heaven will support you in it. For whenever two or three people gather together, identifying themselves with me, I will be right there with them in the gathering.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Ezekiel 33: 7-11

The LORD God said to me:
“Ezekiel, I have given you the job of standing guard over my people. You are to pass on to them, word for word, every warning you hear from me. If I give you a message for those who have gone off the rails, saying, ‘You people are corrupt and it is going to destroy your lives and kill you,’ you are to give it to them in no uncertain terms. If you fail to warn them of the need to turn their lives around, then they will continue on their fast track to an early grave, and I will hold you culpable for their deaths. But if you give them fair warning to mend their ways, and they take no notice, then they will still end up dead, but you won’t have their blood on your hands.
“Now, young man; can you hear what my people are saying? They are saying that their past has caught up with them, and that the mistakes that they once made will go on ruining their lives from now on. They think they are stuck with no way out, and no life to look forward to. This is what I want you to tell them, Ezekiel: ‘I am the LORD your God who lives forever, and I can assure you that I take no pleasure in seeing those who have done wrong pay for it with their lives. I would so much rather see them mend their ways and rebuild their lives. So you people who think your past is killing you, turn around and get your lives back on track. Come, my people, why should you let these things kill you when there is a way out?”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 119: 33-40

LORD, teach me the way of life you have set for us
and I will stick to it for keeps.
Help me to get my head around what you want
and I will throw myself wholeheartedly into doing it.
Guide me down the track you’ve mapped out for us,
for nothing pleases me more than being where you want me.
Keep me focussed on the values you’ve spelt out;
don’t let me get sucked into grabbing everything for myself.
Put the blinkers on me so I see only your life-giving ways
and am not distracted by fashionable froth and bubble.
Reassure me that I am in on what you promised to all
who respect you and work for you.
Protect me with your good teachings
so that I won’t disgrace myself as I fear I could.
See how much I long to do things your way;
please do the right thing by me and give me real life.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 delight is in your people,
and the day of our salvation is near.
You are our King and our maker,
for all things came into being at your command.
You came to save your people from slavery,
striking the land of their oppressors,
and setting free all who identified themselves
with the blood of your lamb.
In your child, Jesus, you have again come to save us.
In his love we have seen the fulfilment of your law
and the revelation of your desire to reconcile all people –
to yourself and to one another.
When he was killed you raised him to life,
and marked us for salvation with his blood.
Now wherever two or three gather,
clothed in his love,
you are present in the midst of us
and we rejoice in you forever.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your child, Jesus,
in whose love we have seen the fulfilment of your law
and whose presence in our midst
we know and celebrate whenever we gather in your name.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for your delight is in your people,
and the day of our salvation is near.
You are our King and our maker,
for all things came into being at your command.
You came to save your people from slavery,
striking the land of their oppressors,
and setting free all who identified themselves
with the blood of your lamb.
In your child, Jesus, you have again come to save us.
In his love we have seen the fulfilment of your law
and the revelation of your desire to reconcile all people –
to yourself and to one another.
When he was killed you raised him to life,
and marked us for salvation with his blood.
Now wherever two or three gather,
clothed in his love,
you are present in the midst of us
and we rejoice in you forever.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ has called us to lay aside the works of darkness
and to confess our sins and be reconciled to God.
You have confessed your sin in the company of God’s people.
Your forgiveness, declared on earth, is sealed in heaven.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out in love, reconciled to one another in Christ.
Lay aside the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light.
Live honourably,
fulfilling the law through love for all.
And may God mark you out for salvation;
May Christ Jesus be present among you always,
And may the Holy Spirit reconcile you to one another
and fulfil the law of love among you.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

The Rituals of FaithA sermon on Matthew 18:15-20; Romans 13:8-14 & Exodus 12:1-14 by Garry Deverell

Our Egyptian Identity?A sermon on Exodus 12:1-14 by Alison Sampson

Love – reaching for the impossibleA sermon on Matthew 18:15-20 & Romans 13:8-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Love, Desire and LawA sermon on Matthew 18:15-20; Romans 13:8-14 & Exodus 12:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Owe Only LoveA sermon on Romans 13:8-14 by Will Small

Proper 17 - Year A
2029-09-02 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 3: 1-15

Moses married the daughter of a Midianite priest named Jethro, and worked for him droving his sheep. One day he drove the sheep out back of beyond, and he ended up grazing them on the slopes of Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. While he was there, he saw a bush burst into flames and the messenger of the LORD appeared in the fire. As Moses watched the fire, he was amazed to see that although the fire was intense, the bush was not being burned up and reduced to ash, so he decided to go closer to see if he could work out what was going on. Having got Moses’ attention, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“At your service,” Moses replied.
“Don’t come any closer!” God said. “And take your boots off, because you are standing on a sacred site. I am the God of your ancestors; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
At that, Moses pulled his coat over his face because he was afraid to stand face to face with God. Then the LORD said:
“I have seen how my people have been chewed up and spat out in Egypt. I have heard their desperate cries for help as the slave-drivers work them into the ground. The truth is, I know what their suffering is like, and I have come down to break them free, and to bring them up out of the land of slavery. I will bring them into good land of wide open spaces, a land rich with milk and honey. It is presently occupied by the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but I will give it to my people. The cries of the Israelites have gotten through to me, and I have seen how the tyrants are grinding them into the dirt. So come on Moses, up and at it. I will send you to the king of Egypt to bring my people, the Israelites, out of slavery in his country.”
But Moses said to God, “Hang on a minute! Why me? I must be about the least qualified person on the face of the earth for the job of negotiating with the king of Egypt for the release of his Israelite slaves!”
But God replied, “I will be with you! And this is how you will know that I have been with you: when you have got the people out of Egypt, you will worship me right here on this mountain.”
But Moses continued to protest, saying, “If I go to the Israelites and try to tell them that the God of their ancestors has sent me to them, they’ll never believe me. They will say, ‘And what name does this God go by?’ What am I to tell them then?”
God replied, “I AM who I AM. So you go and tell the Israelites that the one named I AM the LORD has sent you to them. And you can further tell them that the LORD, the God of their ancestors; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent you to them. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be addressed from now on.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 105: 1-6, 23-26, 45c

We shout your name and give you thanks, LORD;
we will tell everyone what you have done for us.
We sing your praises in your presence,
and publicise your wonderful achievements.
We put your name up in lights, your name alone;
our hearts burst with joy when we approach you.
It is you we want most of all, you and your strength;
we try to keep near to you all the time.
Like all the descendants of Abraham and Jacob,
and all your chosen children,
we remember all the astonishing things you have done
and the breath-taking wisdom of your decisions.
Your people turned up in Egypt;
yes, Jacob migrated to Africa.
You let them breed there like rabbits, LORD,
and they grew stronger than the native population.
The Egyptians grew fearful and bitter
and plotted to force your people into slavery.
You sent your trusty worker, Moses,
and his chosen right hand man, Aaron.
You are the greatest, LORD!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 12: 9-21

See to it that your love is for real and without pretence. Avoid corruption like the plague. Dig your heels in and don’t be budged from the side of good. Love one another, and not just in theory but with warmth and friendly affection. If you need something to compete over, see who can score the most points for treating everyone else like royalty. Don’t let your enthusiasm get slack, but keep yourselves on the boil and work hard for the Lord. Celebrate in anticipation of all that is to come. When you are being put through the wringer, tough it out, and pray all the harder. Do what you can to help out other Christians who are in need, and work at making strangers feel welcome and at home among you.
When others persecute you, wish them all the best and pray that God will look after them. Seek the best for them; don’t wish disaster on them. When others are celebrating, celebrate with them. When others are hurting, share the pain with them. Stay in tune with one another, living a shared life based on common commitments. Don’t be full of yourselves, but hang out with those who the world writes off as nobodies. Don’t go getting over-inflated opinions about how smart you all are.
If anyone does the wrong thing by you, don’t go trying to pay them back in kind. Instead, take a deep breath and find a way to respond that anyone else would think of as going above and beyond the call of common decency. Do all that can be done at your end to live at peace with everyone else in the society around you. My dear friends, never take the law into your own hands to get revenge. Leave it up to God to sort the offenders out. As the scripture says, “Vengeance is my job, says the Lord, and I will give them what is coming to them.” So, follow the proverb instead: “If those who hate you are hungry, give them a feed; if they are thirsty, pour them a beer; because that’s the way to spark a meltdown in their heads.” Do not let what is evil get the upper hand over you, but get the upper hand over what is evil by doing what is good.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 16: 21-28

Once his followers had identified him as the Messiah, Jesus began to make it clear to them that he would have to go to Jerusalem where he would be put through the wringer by the politicians, the priests and the religious lawyers. He told them that he would be executed there, but that three days later he would be raised to life. But Peter would have none of it. He pulled Jesus aside and gave him a piece of his mind, saying, “God forbid! Lord, this can’t be allowed to happen to you!”
But Jesus turned on Peter, saying, “Get out of my face, you satan! You’re like a roadblock in my path because you have got no idea what God is on about. You’re just pursuing the same things as everyone else.”
Then he spelt it out to his followers, saying: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to hand over the keys, sign their own death warrant, and then do as I do. If you try to hold on to control of your life, you’ll end up losing the lot. But if you let go, even if you pay the ultimate price for your commitment to me, you’ll discover real life. What’s the point of getting control of the whole world if getting it kills you. There’s no trade-in on a burned out soul. The New Human is going to arrive on the scene, full of the glory of God and surrounded by the angels, and he will see that everyone is paid what they deserve for what they have done. I kid you not, there are some people around now who will live to see the New Human arrive and take charge.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Jeremiah 15: 15-21

Jeremiah poured out his complaint to the LORD, saying:
Come on, LORD. You know what is going on here.
Don’t forget it is for you that I am copping this abuse.
Don’t keep giving my enemies second chances.
Dish out a harsh dose of justice before they finish me off.
When I first came across your words,
I consumed them with great gusto.
They were the best thing I had ever tasted.
They were a feast for my whole being!
Being named as one who belongs to you
filled me with pride, O LORD, ruler of everything.
But now I don’t get invited to parties any more,
and I’ve got nothing to smile about.
Doing what you asked of me cost me all my friends
because you made me so serious and angry.
Why must I live with this constant pain?
Why does my wound fester and refuse to heal?
The fact is, you are like a mirage in the desert, God,
all promise but no action.
This is what the LORD said in response to Jeremiah’s complaint:
If you wake up to yourself and get back on track,
I will accept you and put you back on your feet.
If you choose your words well and quit your whingeing,
then you can continue to speak on my behalf.
Then the people will come seeking you,
instead of you always crawling to them.
I will give you a thick skin, like a steel plated wall,
to protect you from these people.
They can attack you all they like,
but they won’t be able to bring you down
because I am on your side
to keep you safe and see you through.
I am the LORD, and I give you my word.
I will break the grip of these evil people and set you free;
I will rescue you from their ruthless hands
and bring you back to where you belong.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 26: 1-8

Clear my name, LORD.
I’ve been true to my word;
I’ve staked everything on you and stood my ground.
Check me out thoroughly, LORD;
weigh up my every thought and desire.
I keep myself focussed on your rock-solid love,
and I stay in step with you all the time.
I don’t hang around with worthless scum;
and I keep clear of those who talk the talk
but never walk the walk.
I can’t stand corrupt company,
and I keep my distance from liars and cheats.
There’s no blood to wash off my hands;
I can dance round your altar with a clear conscience
singing a song of thanks to you, O LORD,
and telling the stories of the great things you’ve done.
O LORD, I love the temple you call your own,
the place where we can bask in your presence.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 meet us in our suffering
and the fire of your love and compassion burns forever.
In the first of your mighty wonders
you created the earth and made it holy.
You heard the cries of your oppressed people
and from the blazing power of your presence
you sent Moses and Aaron to lead them to freedom.
Once again, in your child, Jesus,
you have come down to deliver us.
He suffered at the hands of the authorities in Jerusalem,
and was killed,
but you overcome evil with good
and raised him to new life on the third day.
And now you have called us to follow him,
taking up the cross and relinquishing our lives,
so that united with him we may enter your life -
the life which is worth more than the world itself.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for the fire of your love which burns forever,
making all places holy with the power of your presence
and leading us into your life
which is worth more than the world itself.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you meet us in our suffering
and the fire of your love and compassion burns forever.
In the first of your mighty wonders
you created the earth and made it holy.
You heard the cries of your oppressed people
and from the blazing power of your presence
you sent Moses and Aaron to lead them to freedom.
Once again, in your child, Jesus,
you have come down to deliver us.
He suffered at the hands of the authorities in Jerusalem,
and was killed,
but you overcome evil with good
and raised him to new life on the third day.
And now you have called us to follow him,
taking up the cross and relinquishing our lives,
so that united with him we may enter your life -
the life which is worth more than the world 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The blazing fire of God’s presence refines us,
but in mercy it does not destroy us.
God does not repay evil for evil,
but comes to deliver us and restore us to life.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and follow Jesus in the way of the cross.
Rejoice in hope,
hold fast to what is good,
persevere in prayer.
Do not be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good.
As far as is possible, live peaceably with all.
And may God hear your cries and deliver you;
May Christ Jesus repay you with fullness of life;
And may the Holy Spirit be with you always
nourishing you in love and hope.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

How to pass yourself off as a ChristianA sermon on Romans 12:9-21 by Nathan Nettleton

Peter – from rooster to feather duster!A sermon on Matthew 16:21-28 by Alan Marr

“Called” or “uncalled” that is the question?A sermon on Exodus 3: 1-15 by Sylvia Sandeman

Fight or flight or … ?A sermon on Matthew 16:21-28 & Romans 12:9-21 by Nathan Nettleton

Audrey’s First Letter to the Apostle PaulA sermon on Romans 12: 9-21 by Audrey Kateena

Burning Identity QuestionsA sermon on Exodus 3: 1-15 & Matthew 16:21-28 by Nathan Nettleton

Recognisably Christian?A sermon on Romans 12:9-21 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 16 - Year A
2029-08-26 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Exodus 1:8 - 2:10

A new king came to power in Egypt, and he knew nothing of Joseph’s place in the history of his nation or why the Israelite people had been welcomed to live there. In his speeches to his people, he appealed to nationalist sentiments and stirred up racial hostility, saying:
“Look at what is going on. There are too many of these Jews in our country and they are getting to powerful. We need to exercise sound management to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand. Otherwise these people will overrun us, and in the event of war they will side with our enemies, fight against us, and escape, leaving our economy in ruins.”
So the Egyptian authorities brought in a policy of oppression, forcing the Israelites into slave labour gangs with harsh taskmasters cracking the whip. These labour gangs were used in the king’s huge infrastructure program, and among other things, they built the massive royal storage facilities in the cities of Pithom and Rameses. However, the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more land they occupied, and that in turn fuelled the fear and hostility towards them. The taskmasters became increasingly ruthless in the way they worked the labour gangs, and life for the workers became a bitter misery as they were worked to the bone on the building sites and in every kind of heavy outdoors work. The productivity targets were outrageous and the treatment of the workers was utterly inhumane.
The policies of oppression became increasingly genocidal. The two Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, were given orders from the king that when they assisted Hebrew women giving birth, they were to kill all the male babies born and allow only the female babies to live. But the midwives cared more about about what God thought than what the king said, so they did not obey the order and continued to let the all the babies live. When he realised that his order had not been carried out, the king called in the midwives and demanded an explanation: “Why have you allowed these baby boys to live?”
The midwives answered, “The Hebrew women seem to have more oomph than the Egyptian women. They pop their babies out so quickly that by the time we arrive, it’s all over.”
And so because the midwives had done the right thing by God, God did the right thing by them and enabled them to have families of their own. The Hebrew people continued to multiply and become a more powerful presence within the country. Eventually the king issued a new order to everyone in his nation: “You are to throw every Hebrew boy that is born into the Nile River. Only the girls are allowed to live.”
A man and a woman from the tribe of Levi got married and fell pregnant. When the child was born, it was a strong and healthy baby boy, and his mother kept him hidden for three months. When he became too boisterous to keep him hidden, she made a little lifeboat for him by plastering a cane basket with tar. She placed him in the little lifeboat and floated it among the reeds near the bank of the river. The baby’s older sister kept watch from a distance to see what would happen to him.
Before long, the daughter of the king came down and took a dip in the river while her bodyguards walked along the bank. She spotted the little lifeboat among the reeds and sent one of her servant girls to get it. When the king’s daughter opened the lid and saw the baby crying inside, she began to feel all clucky. “This must be one of the slave children,” she said.
Then the baby’s sister spoke up and asked the king’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find a slave woman to nurse the baby for you?”
“Yes,” said the king’s daughter. “Go and get one right away.”
So the girl went off and came back with the baby’s mother. The king’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse it for me. I will pay you to be his nanny.”
So the mother took the baby home and raised him. When he had grown up enough, she delivered him back to the king’s daughter, who adopted him as her own. She named him Moses, because it sounded a bit like the word meaning to pull someone out of the water.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 124

If you had not sided with us, LORD,
we all know where we’d have ended up.
If we had not had you on our side
when people turned against us,
attacking with the fury of a wounded shark,
they would have made mince meat out of us.
Their frenzied rage would have dragged us under,
their lust for blood would have torn us apart.
The thrashing waters would have closed over us,
hiding the violence,
concealing our fate.
All the credit and all the honours go to you, LORD;
it was you who saved our flesh
from the teeth of our enemies.
Thanks to you, we have shaken off their grip,
and soared to safety, as free as a bird.
Their savage attack was repelled,
and we have escaped unharmed.
It is you, LORD, the creator of heaven and earth,
who guarantees our safety.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 12: 1-8

Sisters and brothers, in light of all the generous breaks God has given you, I urge you to offer in return the only thing you have that comes within cooee being enough: your whole selves, bodies and all. Hand them over to God as the ultimate offering; the living gift of all you are and all you do. Dedicate your lives wholly and solely to God, for this is the nature of true worship and is the only sacrifice God is looking for.
Do not model your life on the usual aspirations of the world around you. Instead, allow God to completely remodel your life. This will start with changing the way you think, so that you will be able to tune in to what God wants, which of course is always what is good and worthwhile and for the best.
As one who knows what it means to be treated far better than I deserve, I would warn you not to go getting over-inflated opinions of yourselves. Take a good hard look at yourselves, and be realistic about what you can and can’t do with the gifts and faith God has given you. You are all different, and there is no point in measuring yourselves against each other. It would be like expecting all the different parts of your body to be able to do each other’s jobs. How ever many of us there are, together we are all one body in Christ. As different parts of the body, we belong to one another and need one another, but we are not the same as one another. In the generosity of God, we have been given to one another, each with our own job to do and the unique gift needed to do it. And so just as a human body works best when each part is doing what it was designed to do, so too the body we all belong to works best when everybody faithfully exercises the gift they have been given: the prophets proclaim the message they trust; the ministers perform their ministries; the teachers do the teaching; the encouragers spur others on; the resource people share what they have with uncomplicated generosity; the advocates are spirited in their defence of the community; and the aid-workers carry out their acts of mercy with warmth and good cheer.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 16: 13-20

Jesus and his followers were in the Roman district of Caesarea Philippi when he asked them, “What’s the word on the streets about the New Human? Who do they reckon I am?”
His followers replied, “Most of the betting is on one or another of the prophets. Some have you picked as John the Baptiser. Others say Elijah, and still others are going for Jeremiah.”
“So what about you lot?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah who everyone has been waiting for; the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Good on you, Simon son of Jonah! You could never have worked that out for yourself – no mere mortal could. Only my Father in heaven could have let you in on this. And let me tell you who you are. You are the Rock, and on this rock I will build my church – the new people of God – and not even the deadly powers of the grave will ever drag it down. I will give you the keys that will unlock the truth of the culture of heaven here on earth. You will be the one who teaches people how to live this truth – what may and may not be done – and heaven will back you up.”
Then he gave his followers strict instructions not to breathe a word to anyone about him being the Messiah.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Isaiah 51: 1-6

If you want to sort out your relationship with me,
and to start living out what is right,
then listen to what I, the LORD, have to say.
Look at your own family history.
You are a chip off the old block.
Look back to your ancestor Abraham,
and to Sarah who gave birth to your family line.
They were just one couple when I called them,
but I set them up for life and from them came a huge family.
Although the city is in ruins now and only a few of you are left,
I will put the smile back on your faces, my people.
The land lies waste, but I will make it like Eden once more.
The scorched earth will again be like my own garden.
The land will ring to the sounds of laughter and singing.
Happiness and thankfulness will overflow.
Listen to me, my people.
Let the whole nation tune in to what I have to say.
I am going to teach you what you need to know.
I will teach you justice that will light up the world.
I am coming on the double to set you free.
My rescue mission has been launched,
and I will personally take charge.
From coast to coast they are hanging out for my arrival;
eager to see me take charge and put things right.
Take a good look at the skies.
Take a good look at the earth beneath your feet.
They are both on their way out.
The sky will disappear like a puff of smoke.
The earth will wear out like an old shirt.
Those who live on it will drop like flies.
But the life I am saving you for will last forever.
When I put things right, they will stay right for good.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 138

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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,
offering ourselves as a living sacrifice,
for you have never allowed the gates of Hell
to prevail against us.
You are the creator of the earth and sky;
the author of all that is good, acceptable and perfect.
When your people were bitterly oppressed,
you acted to save them, raising Moses from the waters
to grow and lead your people to freedom.
In your child, Jesus, you have again been with us
to save us from the snares of the enemy.
In him people saw the courage of John the Baptiser,
the fiery passion of Elijah, the faithfulness of Jeremiah.
Though he was killed, you raised him to life
and revealed him to us as your chosen Messiah,
the one in whom we are reconciled as one body,
gifted and called to unlock your Kingdom on earth.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your child, Jesus,
who you revealed to us as your chosen Messiah,
the one in whom we are reconciled as one body,
gifted and called to unlock your Kingdom on earth.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
offering ourselves as a living sacrifice,
for you have never allowed the gates of Hell
to prevail against us.
You are the creator of the earth and sky;
the author of all that is good, acceptable and perfect.
When your people were bitterly oppressed,
you acted to save them, raising Moses from the waters
to grow and lead your people to freedom.
In your child, Jesus, you have again been with us
to save us from the snares of the enemy.
In him people saw the courage of John the Baptiser,
the fiery passion of Elijah, the faithfulness of Jeremiah.
Though he was killed, you raised him to life
and revealed him to us as your chosen Messiah,
the one in whom we are reconciled as one body,
gifted and called to unlock your Kingdom on earth.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

If the Lord was not for us
we would be forever ensnared in our sins.
But in Christ we have been cut free from our sins on earth,
and all who are freed on earth will be freed in heaven.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, strong in the mercies of God.
Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your minds,
so that knowing the will of God
your whole lives may become a sacrifice of praise,
holy and acceptable to God.
And may God, the Creator of earth and sky, be your help;
May the Son of the Living God ground you on solid rock;
And may the Holy Spirit equip you with all the gifts and graces of Christ.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Offering Sacrifice in Christian WorshipA sermon on Romans 12: 1-8 & Matthew 16:13-20 by Nathan Nettleton

Squeezed into the mould or re-mould from within?A reflection on Romans 12:2 by Sylvia Sandeman

Salvation takes the work of manyA sermon on Exodus 1:8 – 2:10 by Alison Sampson

Sorting Out The SacrificesA sermon on Romans 12: 1-8 & Matthew 16:13-20 by Nathan Nettleton

Who do YOU say I am?A sermon on Matthew 16:13-20 by Karen Quah

Proper 15 - Year A
2029-08-19 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 45: 1-15

As his brothers spoke, Joseph was getting very emotional, and he didn’t want his servants to see him crying so he ordered them all out of the room. Once he was alone with his brothers, he blurted out the truth about his identity. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, and promptly burst into tears. His sobbing was so loud that his Egyptian servants heard it from outside and sent a message about it to the Pharaoh’s palace.
Amidst his tears, Joseph asked his brothers whether his father was still alive, but they were in such a state of shock and panic that they couldn’t even answer him. Joseph called them to gather close around him and, when they did, he said:
“I am your brother, Joseph: the one you sold to the Egyptian slave traders. But don’t panic! Despite what you did, it has worked out for the best. Your actions played into God’s hands, because God was bringing me here so that I could save many lives. The land has been in the grip of drought and famine for two years already, and it’s only going to get worse. It will be another five years before crops can be sown and harvested again. You and your families would have all perished if God hadn’t brought me here ahead of you, but now you will be among the survivors. So, don’t kick yourselves: it was not you, but God, who brought me here. Because of what God has done, even Pharaoh looks up to me now. I run all his business for him, both in the palace and in the whole land of Egypt.”
Joseph then told his brothers that he wanted them to get home as quickly as possible and deliver a message to his father. This is what it said:
“Dear Dad, I am your son, Joseph, and I am alive! God has put me in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Move down here at once. I will set aside land for you in the region of Goshen so that you can live near me. There will be plenty of room for you, and for your children, your grandchildren, all your livestock, and all your possessions. The drought will last for another five years, but I will provide for you and all your family and livestock so that you will be protected from starvation.”
Joseph said to his brothers, “Now all of you, and especially my brother Benjamin, can see from what I’ve said that I really am Joseph. So don’t waste any time. Get back to my father and tell him what a big man I’ve become here in Egypt and bring him down here as soon as possible.”
Then Joseph threw his arms around Benjamin and wept openly. Benjamin, too, was crying as he hugged his brother. With tears flowing freely, Joseph hugged and kissed all his brothers, and they finally loosened up and were able to talk with him.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 133

What a great thing it is, LORD,
when people can get along with one another,
and live together in unity and mutual respect.
It is even more satisfying than holding the cup aloft
and dancing in the rain of champagne
on Grand Final day.
It is even more desirable than sitting by an open fire
sharing chocolates and fine wine with a loved one.
It is even more beautiful than the monsoon rains
turning the desert into a sea of wildflowers.
For you LORD created us to be one people,
committed to one another, honouring one another,
sharing the land and its blessings forever.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32

God’s chosen people, the people of Israel, have refused to let God put them on the right track through Christ. So the obvious question is, has God given up on them and written them off? The answer is No. No way! Look at me: I’m one of them; a descendant of Abraham, an Israelite born of the tribe of Benjamin. God went into this with eyes wide open and is not about to give up on these people now. When God has chosen a course of action, and commissioned and equipped the people involved, there is no going back. It is guaranteed and God will follow through on it, no matter what. In the past, it was you who were at odds with God, but when the people of Israel went off the rails, God reached out even wider in mercy, and so you were gathered in. But the widened reach of God’s mercy which gathered you in now ensures that there is a way for them to be gathered back in. It was God’s desire to show mercy to those who had gone off the rails, but the only way to do that without creating two classes of people was to ensure that everybody was implicated in the human race’s rebellion. Now we are all in the same boat and God can show mercy to us all.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Speaking to the crowd who had heard him arguing with the investigators from the devoutly religious Pharisee party, Jesus said, “Listen up and get this into your heads: it is not the foods that people put into their mouths that defile them. What really turns God’s stomach is the muck that comes out of their mouths.”
Some of his closest followers tapped him on the shoulder at this point and said, “Do you realise that the Pharisees have got their noses out of joint over what they are hearing you say?”
Jesus replied, “Don’t worry about them. All sorts of plants spring up in the garden, but anything that wasn’t planted by the One who planted me, is going to be ripped out by the roots. Leave them to stew. They are blind guides; as blind as the people they are trying to lead. And the blind leading the blind is a disaster waiting to happen.”
Peter said to him, “Explain what you were getting at with your illustration of what defiles people.”
“Haven’t even you got this sorted out in your head yet?” Jesus replied. “Can’t you see that even if a person eats something really disgusting, it just goes through their gut and ends up down the toilet? It doesn’t affect who they are. But the things that come out of people’s mouths reveal what they are really made of, and so it is these things that can defile them. It is in the depths of the human heart that you will find the roots of things like crooked dealings, murder, sexual conduct that betrays or trivialises others, theft, perjury and vilification. These are the things that God finds repulsive, not every little failure to religiously observe the social norms about personal hygiene and table etiquette.
After that, Jesus hit the road and headed across the border into the region of Tyre and Sidon. Soon after arriving, a local Canaanite woman began following him around, calling out, “Lord, you are the new King David! Have pity and help me out! My daughter is in the grip of some demon.”
But Jesus just ignored her and kept walking. After a while, his followers who were with him started urging him to get rid of her, because her shouting was driving them nuts. Jesus spoke up and said, “I have only been sent to work with those who have gone off the rails among the Israelite people.”
But the woman fell to her knees at his feet and said, “Lord, please help me.”
He answered, “It is just not right to take food out of the mouths of the children and throw it to little dogs.”
“Fair enough, Lord,” she replied, “but even dogs are not denied the scraps that fall off the family’s table.”
“Point taken,” Jesus replied. “Woman, your faith has got real guts! What you have asked for is now done.”
And sure enough, at that very moment, her daughter was healed completely.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8

This is what the LORD has to say:
“I am about to put things right.
Any day now, I will be there to save the world.
So do the right thing.
See that justice is done.
What will happen to the foreigners, you might ask.
What of those who were not among the chosen few,
but who nevertheless looked to me, the LORD, for refuge?
Look, they have devoted themselves to me.
They love me and honour my name.
They are happy to do whatever I ask of them.
They observe the Sabbath faithfully.
They don’t make a mockery of it.
They keep all the terms of the alliance with me.
And so I will give them free access to my sacred places.
I will see that they enjoy the celebrations in my house of prayer.
They can worship me just like anyone else.
I will welcome their gifts every bit as much as yours.
My house of worship will become known
as the house of prayer for all the peoples of the world.
I, the Lord GOD, give you my word on this.
Just as I welcomed home those who had been lost from Israel,
so too I will welcome others from outside,
and gather them together as one with you.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 67

Lord God, bless us generously;
smile on us kindly;
show yourself to everyone, everywhere
as the one who saves us with power.
Everyone has reasons to praise you, O God,
absolutely everyone should be singing your praises.
The whole world should celebrate you with joyful song,
for you are even-handed with all people
and your guidance is there for every nation.
Everyone has reasons to praise you, O God,
absolutely everyone should be singing your praises.
The land has produced a bumper harvest;
a clear sign of your goodness to us, God.
Keep it up, God, keep it coming;
the whole planet will honour you for it.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 gifts and calling are irrevocable
and you bless us with life forever.
You created the earth and everything in it,
and formed it’s peoples to live as one.
In ancient times you worked through your servant, Joseph,
sending him ahead of your people to preserve life
and open up a way of salvation.
And now, though never rejecting those you first chose,
you have thrown open the gates of mercy to all.
You sent your own child, Jesus, among us,
and when his eyes were opened
by the pleas of a gentile woman,
you made it known that no one
would have to scrape for crumbs of mercy
beneath your table.
When he was killed, you raised him to life,
and with him raised us all
and seated us in honour at your banqueting table.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks that you do not make us scrape
for crumbs of mercy beneath your table,
but that you sent your servant, Jesus,
before us to preserve life
and open up a way of salvation.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for your gifts and calling are irrevocable
and you bless us with life forever.
You created the earth and everything in it,
and formed it’s peoples to live as one.
In ancient times you worked through your servant, Joseph,
sending him ahead of your people to preserve life
and open up a way of salvation.
And now, though never rejecting those you first chose,
you have thrown open the gates of mercy to all.
You sent your own child, Jesus, among us,
and when his eyes were opened
by the pleas of a gentile woman,
you made it known that no one
would have to scrape for crumbs of mercy
beneath your table.
When he was killed, you raised him to life,
and with him raised us all
and seated us in honour at your banqueting table.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves,
for though we have sinned,
Christ has gone before us to create new life,
showing God’s mercy to all
and bringing us out of the prison of disobedience.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now as creators and preservers of life,
and live together as one.
Do not follow blind guides,
but always be prepared to hear the Word of God anew,
even challenging you from unexpected sources.
And may God bless you with life forever;
May Christ Jesus heal you of all that would harm you;
And may the Holy Spirit cleanse your hearts of all that would defile you.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Be open – welcoming the ‘other’A sermon on Matthew 15:21-28 & Genesis 45: 1-15 by Meewon Yang

Did Jesus mean to call her that, or was he just having a bad day?A sermon on Matthew 15:10-28 by Nathan Nettleton

What Comes Out Of His MouthA sermon on Matthew 15:10-28 by Samara Pitt

Recognising Patterns of ChangeA sermon on Matthew 15:10-28 by Josh Dowton

Proper 14 - Year A
2029-08-12 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 37: 1-4, 12-28

This is the story of the family of Jacob, who made his home in the land of Canaan where his father had settled as a migrant.
Jacob and his four wives had many children, but his favourite was Joseph who had been born to him when he was already an old man. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was working with four of his brothers herding sheep, and he dobbed them in to their father over some things they did wrong. Joseph was already offside with his brothers because of the favouritism their father showed him. They were especially galled that Jacob had singled out Joseph with a gift of a very classy coat. Things got to the stage where his brothers hated him and couldn’t say a civil word to him.
On one occasion, Joseph had stayed at home while the rest of his brothers went droving towards Shechem in search of good pasture for the sheep. Jacob called Joseph and said, “I’ve got a job for you.”
“No worries. I’m free,” said Joseph.
“Your brothers are droving the sheep out near Shechem,” said Jacob. “Go and track them down and see if all is well with them and the sheep, and then come back and let me know.”
So Joseph headed off from the Hebron Valley and began his search. While he was hunting high and low around Shechem, a man asked him what he was looking for, and he replied, “I am looking for my brothers who are droving sheep out this way. Can you tell me where they might be?”
The man replied, “They were here, but they are gone. They said they were going out Dothan way.”
So Joseph headed off on the trail of his brothers and found them out at Dothan. They saw him coming from a distance, and before he arrived, they put their heads together and plotted murder. They said to one another, “Here he comes; the one who dreams of lording it over us. Let’s knock him off and dump his body down a mine shaft. We can report that a wild animal dragged him off. Let’s see what comes of his dreams then!”
But when Reuben heard what they were up to, he stepped in to spare Joseph, saying, “Let’s not kill him. We don’t want his blood on our conscience. Why don’t we just put him down a mine shaft out here in the desert and leave him there?”
Reuben was actually thinking that he could make a hero of himself by coming back later and taking Joseph home to his father, but the suggestion seemed good to his brothers. So when Joseph pulled up alongside them, they tore off his coat – the classy coat that he like to strut around in – and dropped him down an empty mine shaft. There was no water in the mine shaft, but there was no way out either.
A short time later, as they were sitting down eating lunch, they saw a convoy of Ishmaelite traders coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded up with raw materials bound for processing in Egypt. Seeing them, Judah said to his brothers, “Hey, we could do better for ourselves than killing our brother and having to dispose of his body. We could make a nice profit on him if we sold him to the Ishmaelite traders. Then we wouldn’t have to live with the thought of having killed one of our own flesh and blood.”
The rest of the brothers were all in favour of this idea, so they flagged down the traders and struck a deal with them. They pulled Joseph out of the mine shaft and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelite traders took Joseph to Egypt where they sold him in the slave markets.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45c

We shout your name and give you thanks, LORD;
we will tell everyone what you have done for us.
We sing your praises in your presence,
and publicise your wonderful achievements.
We put your name up in lights, your name alone;
our hearts burst with joy when we approach you.
It is you we want most of all, you and your strength;
we try to keep near to you all the time.
Like all the descendants of Abraham and Jacob,
and all your chosen children,
we remember all the astonishing things you have done
and the breath-taking wisdom of your decisions.
When you sent a famine on the land,
destroying the crops and breaking the food cycle,
you had already sent a man ahead to provide help:
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
He had been dragged off in leg irons,
and chained by the neck.
You spoke to him, challenging him to tough it out,
until eventually his own words came true.
Sure enough, the Pharaoh ordered his release;
the most powerful man on earth set him free.
Pharaoh put him in charge of the palace,
and made him the manager of all his possessions.
He gave him authority over all other officials,
to tell them what to do and how to do it.
You are the greatest, LORD!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 10: 5-15

Moses said that to put yourself in the right by obeying the law, you would have to resolutely obey every bit of it. But if you are put right by trusting God, it is quite a different matter. Those who trust God don’t need to devise arduous schemes to save themselves by scaling the heights of heaven to collect Christ, or storming the gates of hell to bring him up to us from the dead. Rather they experience what the scriptures promised:
“The Word that saves is with you;
it is on the tip of your tongue;
it is beating in your heart.”
This is the message we’ve been preaching and it’s all about trust. If you put that trust into words, declaring that Jesus is the one you answer to; and embrace that trust in your heart, believing that Jesus lives because God raised him from the dead, then you will be put back on the right track with God. That’s what salvation is! When anyone allows that trust in God to rewrite the basic beliefs they live by, their heart is put right with God; and when those rewritten beliefs are expressed openly in what they say and do, then you know they are safely in God’s care. The scriptures back this up, saying, “No one who trusts God will ever be let down.” Your ethnic or religious background makes no difference in this: there is only one God, and that one God has the last word on everyone. God is equally generous to all those who call out in trust for help. As the saying goes, “Anyone who wants help from God only has to ask.”
But think about it for a moment. How is anyone going to ask for help if they don’t know who to ask? And how are they going to know who to ask if they haven’t even heard of the One who can be trusted? And how are they going to hear unless someone comes to tell them? And how is anyone going to come and tell them if no one is sent to tell them? As the scriptures say:
“What a sight for sore eyes is the arrival of those
who come to tell us the good news about God!”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 14: 22-33

Jesus loaded all his closest followers into the same boat and pushed them off, telling them to go on across the sea while he dismissed the crowds of people he had just fed. After sending the crowds on their way, he climbed up the mountain by himself so that he could be alone to pray. As the night closed in, he was still there by himself, but the boat was now a long way out from land, battling a head wind and getting badly bashed up by the waves. Just a few hours before sunrise, Jesus came striding towards them, trampling over the raging sea. But when his followers saw him walking on the sea, they thought he was a ghost, and panicked, screaming in terror. Jesus spoke up straight away, and said, “Get a grip on yourselves. Can’t you see who I am?! You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Peter called back, “Lord, if it is you, give the order for me to come out to you on the water.”
Jesus said, “Come on then.”
So Peter jumped ship, and began walking on the raging water by himself. He managed a few steps, but faced with the violent wind and the angry waves, he lost his nerve. As he began to go under, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and grabbed hold of him, saying, “Your faith is gutless! Why did you get cold feet?!”
As soon as they were all back in the same boat, the storm dropped. Those in the boat fell to their knees before Jesus, saying, “You are fair dinkum the Son of God.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

1 Kings 19: 9-18

After walking forty days to reach Mount Sinai, Elijah spent the night in a cave. The next morning, the LORD spoke to him, saying, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”
Elijah answered, “I’ve given my all for you, LORD God, ruler of everything. The people of Israel have turned their backs on their alliance with you. They have demolished the places of worship and massacred your prophets. I am the only one left and now they are hunting me down to kill me too.”
The LORD said, “Go outside and stand to attention on the mountain, because I am about to pass in front of you.”
As Elijah stood there, a cyclone hit the mountain, shattering the rocks and splintering the trees; but the LORD was not in the cyclone. After the cyclone, the mountain was shaken by an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a raging bushfire; but the LORD was not in the bushfire. Then, after all that, there came a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his coat over his face and stood stock still outside the entrance of the cave. Then, from the silence, came a voice, saying, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”
Elijah answered, “I’ve given my all for you, LORD God, ruler of everything. The people of Israel have turned their backs on their alliance with you. They have demolished the places of worship and massacred your prophets. I am the only one left and now they are hunting me down to kill me too.”
Then the LORD said to him, “Off you go. Head back down to the desert near Damascus. When you get there, you are to crown Hazael as the new king of Syria. Then you are to crown Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as the new king of Israel. Finally, you are to appoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat, to be your successor as my prophet. Hazael will begin wiping out all those who worship Baal. Any who escape him will fall to Jehu, and Elisha will finish off any who escape Jehu. But there are seven thousand people in Israel who have not bent their knees to Baal or kissed his statues, and they will survive the purge.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 85: 8-13

We are eager to hear all you have to say, LORD God,
for your words bring peace and wellbeing
to those who stick with you
and leave behind their foolish ways.
Surely for all who respect you,
the life you saved us for is within reach.
Our land will be ablaze with your presence.
What a life it will be!
Love and loyalty will link arms;
justice and peace will become lovers.
Faithfulness will sprout and reach for the sky;
integrity will beam down on the earth.
You will give us every good thing, LORD,
and the land will give bumper crops.
Justice and integrity will spring up as you approach,
lining the road to welcome you among us.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 Lord of all, without distinction
and you are generous to all who call on you.
In the first of your mighty wonders
you calmed the chaos and created a planet full of life.
You chose a people to carry your good news to the world,
and worked even through their acts of hatred and betrayal
to bring about your salvation.
So too when your child, Jesus,
was rejected and cast into the pit of death,
you raised him from the dead
and now save all who call on his name in faith.
Coming to us amidst the storms of destruction,
he pulls us up from the despair that would swallow us
and with a word, brings his terrifying peace,
bringing us to our knees in worship, saying,
“Truly you are the Son of God!”
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your child, Jesus,
who comes to us amidst the storms of destruction,
pulling us up from the despair that would swallow us
and with a word, brings his terrifying peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you are Lord of all, without distinction
and you are generous to all who call on you.
In the first of your mighty wonders
you calmed the chaos and created a planet full of life.
You chose a people to carry your good news to the world,
and worked even through their acts of hatred and betrayal
to bring about your salvation.
So too when your child, Jesus,
was rejected and cast into the pit of death,
you raised him from the dead
and now save all who call on his name in faith.
Coming to us amidst the storms of destruction,
he pulls us up from the despair that would swallow us
and with a word, brings his terrifying peace,
bringing us to our knees in worship, saying,
“Truly you are the Son of God!”
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God has promised that all who call on the name of Christ,
confessing him to be Lord and trusting in his resurrection,
will be saved.
Through your faith, God has declared you to be righteous.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and live in the righteousness that comes from faith.
Delight in seeking the Lord.
Recount what God has done
and proclaim the good news of Christ
so that all may hear and believe and be saved.
And may the power of the presence of God be with you.
May Christ’s word be near you,
on your lips and in your heart.
And may the Holy Spirit give you courage
and calm all your fears.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Don’t Be AfraidA sermon on Matthew 14.22-23 & Genesis 37: 1-4, 12-28 by Garry Deverell

All in the Same BoatA sermon on Matthew 14.22-23 by Nathan Nettleton

Walking Through StormsA sermon on Matthew 14.22-23 by Nathan Nettleton

Out On The WaterA sermon on Matthew 14.22-23 by Debie Thomas

Proper 13 - Year A
2029-08-05 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 32: 22-31

As he returned from his self-imposed exile, Jacob set up camp for a night at the place where the road crossed the Jabbok Creek. During the night, he got up and decided that it would be safer to shift everyone across to the other side of the creek. So he sent his two wives, his two maids, his eleven children, and all their belongings across the creek while he stayed on alone at the original campsite. There in the darkness, he suddenly found himself wrestling with a stranger. The fight continued until the first light of dawn. Unable to subdue Jacob, the stranger swung a low blow that caught Jacob off-guard and dislocated his hip. Still Jacob would not give up, and the stranger said, “Call it quits! The sun is coming up and you’ve got a big day ahead of you, so let me go.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not release my grip until you give me a blessing.”
So the stranger said, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he replied.
“Not any more,” the stranger said. “From now on you will be known as Israel, because you have struggled against God and against people and you have held your own.”
Then Jacob said to the stranger, “Please tell me your name.”
“Do you really need to ask who I am?” the stranger replied, and then gave Jacob a blessing.
As the stranger departed, Jacob said to himself, “I have come face to face with God and survived to tell the tale!” So he named that place ‘Peniel’ which means ‘face of God’. The sun was fully risen as he left Peniel, walking with a painful limp because of his dislocated hip.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 17: 1-7, 15

Give me a fair hearing, LORD;
pay attention to my plea.
Listen to what I have to say,
for I speak without a word of a lie.
I want you to be the one who declares me innocent,
for you always see things as they really are.
Put me under the microscope and see what I’m made of;
make a snap inspection anytime, day or night.
Cross examine me as thoroughly as you wish;
there are no skeletons in my closet;
I’ve got nothing to hide
and no tracks to cover.
I don’t just conform to what others do, LORD;
I take my cues from what you’ve said.
I have avoided straying down the path of violence,
and kept my feet firmly on the tracks you’ve shown.
I am calling to you, God,
because I know you will help.
Tune in to what I have to say
and hear me out.
Put your rock-solid love on display for all to see.
You are the one who rescues and shelters
those who seek asylum from violent persecution.
I know I will be proved innocent;
I will be able to hold my head up and look you in the eye.
I will rise to a new day, filled with your presence.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 9: 1-5

I feel all torn up inside and it won’t go away — it is like a constant stabbing pain, deep in my guts. I’m fair dinkum about this, without a word of a lie. My conscience is clear, and the Messiah and the Holy Spirit can back me up. What’s eating at me is where the Israelites are at. They are my own people, my own flesh and blood, and I would do anything — even have myself put under a curse and cut off from Christ forever — if it would bring them into the fullness of life God intended for them. The Israelites have had everything going for them. They have been God’s special adopted children. They have witnessed God’s glory again and again. They have enjoyed the privileges of special alliances with God, of receiving God’s teaching directly, of the wonderful traditions of worship, and of all the promises God has made to them. The great founders of the faith are their own ancestors, and from among them, sharing their own flesh and blood, came the Messiah, who is number one in all the universe, the God who deserves our worship forever. And so say all of us!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 14: 13-21

When Jesus heard that John the baptiser had been killed, he cleared off in a boat by himself, intending to lie low for a while. But the people from all the surrounding towns got wind of which direction he was heading, and followed him around the lake on foot. When he pulled ashore, there was already a large crowd waiting for him. Jesus felt for them deeply, and cured the sick among them.
When evening came, Jesus’s closest followers came to him and said, “We’re in the middle of nowhere out here. It is time to send the crowds on their way so that they can make it to the shops in the nearby towns to get something to eat before it’s too late.”
Jesus said to them, “There’s no need for the people to leave. You lot give them something to eat.”
They replied, “But we’ve got almost nothing ourselves; just five bread rolls and a couple of fish.”
Jesus said, “Bring them here.”
As the food was brought, he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Taking the five bread rolls and the two fish, he lifted his eyes and gave thanks and praise to God. Then he broke the bread and gave the pieces to his followers to pass around among the people. Everybody ate their fill, and when the leftovers were gathered up, there was enough to fill twelve bags. This was no small crowd that had been fed; there were about five thousand men and goodness knows how many women and children.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Isaiah 55: 1-5

This is what the LORD says:
Hey you! Are you thirsty?
Come, then. Drink from these fresh waters!
Are you too penniless even to eat?
Never mind! Come! Help yourselves; eat your fill!
Come and stock up with food, wine and milk.
What will it cost you? Not a red cent!
Why sink all your money into things that leave you hungry?
Why bust a gut working for things that can never satisfy?
Listen carefully to what I have to say
and you will feast at a rich banquet of fine foods.
Stick with me and tune in to what I’m saying,
for without my words, life is bland and tasteless.
I will surround your lives with love and loyalty,
making a permanent alliance, just as I did with David.
I gave him influence and authority over the nations,
and he was my witness among them.
You will be the same – a light to which others flock;
even those who don’t know you will come running;
they’ll be drawn to my glory, seen in you,
the glory of the LORD, the one and only God of Israel.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 145: 8-9, 14-21

You are generous and compassionate, LORD;
slow to anger, and rich in love and loyalty.
You are good to everyone, LORD,
and you care deeply about all you have created.
When people fall, you put them back on their feet;
when people are crushed, you stand them tall again.
Everyone looks to you for what they need,
and you meet their needs when the time is right.
You open your hands
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
Justice marks everything you do, LORD,
and generous love colours your every deed.
When honest hearts cry out to you, LORD,
you are right there alongside them.
You satisfy the desires of those who respect you;
you hear their cries and rescue them from death.
You watch out for those who love you, LORD,
and wipe out corruption when it threatens.
Your praises will be always on our lips, LORD,
and with all who live,
we will single out your name for the highest honour
forever and ever.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 offer us the banquet that feeds us abundantly
and fills us with your presence.
You strove against the darkness and chaos,
and you prevailed,
bringing forth creation in all its miraculous abundance.
You challenged your servant, Jacob, face to face,
and gave him your blessing and promise.
From his family you formed your covenant people,
in whom your glory, your law, and your worship
were revealed to the world.
But now, in these last days,
your Messiah, Jesus, has emerged from among them,
bringing your compassion and healing to all.
Though he was cursed and cut off for the sake of his people,
you raised him from death.
Now in him you offer food for our deepest hunger,
and it is in holding tight to him
that we see your face and receive your blessing.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your Messiah, Jesus,
who was cursed and cut off for the sake of his people,
but has been raised to bring your compassion and healing to all
and to offer us the banquet that feeds us abundantly
and fills us with your presence.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you offer us the banquet that feeds us abundantly
and fills us with your presence.
You strove against the darkness and chaos,
and you prevailed,
bringing forth creation in all its miraculous abundance.
You challenged your servant, Jacob, face to face,
and gave him your blessing and promise.
From his family you formed your covenant people,
in whom your glory, your law, and your worship
were revealed to the world.
But now, in these last days,
your Messiah, Jesus, has emerged from among them,
bringing your compassion and healing to all.
Though he was cursed and cut off for the sake of his people,
you raised him from death.
Now in him you offer food for our deepest hunger,
and it is in holding tight to him
that we see your face and receive your blessing.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God has probed our hearts and tried us by fire,
but Christ has compassion for us and has justified us.
Therefore, God now finds nothing wrong in us.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now into the world, strengthened by the gifts
with which Christ has fed you.
Be generous to others, for Christ has given extravagantly.
Live by God’s word, avoiding lies and violence.
Walk in God’s paths and never stray.
And may God’s wonderful love be with you everywhere;
May Christ Jesus feed you with his body and word;
And may the Holy Spirit confirm the truth in you
and fill you with God’s presence always.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Wounded and BlessedA sermon on Genesis 32: 22- 31 & Matthew 14: 13-21 by Nathan Nettleton

Reconciliation and WrestlingA sermon on Genesis 32:24-33:4 by Colin Hunter

AbundanceA sermon on Matthew 14: 13-21 by Nathan Nettleton

Wrestling with FaithA sermon on Genesis 32: 22-31 by Alison Sampson

Follow the TigerA sermon on Matthew 14: 13-21 by Richard Fabian

Proper 12 - Year A
2029-07-29 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 29: 15-28

To fulfil a promise to his father, Jacob travelled to his grandfather’s homeland to find a wife from among his own tribal group. He boarded there with his uncle, Laban, and when he had been there for a month, Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t have to work for me for nothing, just because you are related to me. Tell me what you think would be a fair wage.”
Now Laban had two grown daughters named Leah and Rachel. Leah was the older of the two and had a nice personality, but Rachel had a gorgeous face and a shapely body, and Jacob fell head-over-heels in love with her. So when Laban asked him about wages, he said, “I want to marry your younger daughter, Rachel, and I will work for you for seven years as the dowry payment.”
Laban replied, “You’ve got a deal. I’d much rather give her to you than have her marry some stranger.”
So Jacob put in seven years’ hard work in order to gain Rachel as his wife, but it seemed a small price to pay for one he loved so much, and the time flew. Then one day, Jacob said to Laban, “I’ve fulfilled my side of the deal. It is time for you to give me my wife in marriage so that I can make love with her.”
So Laban gathered together all the locals for a huge wedding feast, and they ate and drank long into the night. But the veiled woman who Laban gave away and who Jacob took to his bed and made love with, was Leah. When the morning sun came through the window, he discovered he was lying next to the wrong woman! He stormed off to Laban to demand an explanation. “What’s going on here? We made a deal that I was working for you in return for Rachel, so why have you conned me?”
Laban calmly replied, “It is not the done thing in this neck of the woods to marry off a younger daughter while her older sister is still unmarried. Do the right thing by Leah, and take her on her honeymoon, and as soon as you get back, I’ll let you marry Rachel as well. Then you can work for me for another seven years to pay off the second dowry. So Jacob copped it sweet and fulfilled his obligations to Leah. When their honeymoon was over, there was another wedding and Laban gave his daughter Rachel to Jacob to be his wife.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Psalm 105: 1-11, 45c (alt)

We shout your name and give you thanks, LORD;
we will tell everyone what you have done for us.
We sing your praises in your presence,
and publicise your wonderful achievements.
We put your name up in lights, your name alone;
our hearts burst with joy when we approach you.
It is you we want most of all, you and your strength;
we try to keep near to you all the time.
Like all the descendants of Abraham and Jacob,
and all your chosen children,
we remember all the astonishing things you have done
and the breath-taking wisdom of your decisions.
You are the LORD our God;
what you say, goes, everywhere on earth.
You never forget the alliance you have made with us;
you’ve been true to your word for a thousand generations.
You made the alliance with Abraham;
you promised Isaac you would stick to it;
you confirmed it in writing to Jacob,
promising Israel that the alliance was in place forever.
You gave them the land of Canaan as a family property,
to be passed on down from one generation to the next.
You are the greatest, LORD!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Psalm 128 (alt)

LORD, how good life is for all who respect you,
for all who stick to your tracks.
They work hard and enjoy the benefits;
smiles and laughter are never far away,
and things always seem to work out for them.
They enjoy a rich and satisfying love-life;
they look forward to going home each day.
Their children spring up like wildflowers,
and there is always laughter around the table.
Such health, fertility and prosperity are your gifts, LORD;
given to those who honour and respect you.
You rain down blessings from your holy mountain.
May we see only good times in our city, LORD,
for as long as we live.
May we live long enough to enjoy our grandchildren,
and may there always be peace in our land!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 8: 26-39

There will be times when our strength fails us and we will feel like just accommodating ourselves to the way things presently are, but the Spirit will always be there for us. Even when our prayer dries up and words fail us, the Spirit is there within us, keeping the communication lines open by turning our deepest achings and yearnings into prayers that pass wordlessly from heart to heart. And God, being of one mind with the Spirit, is able to hear the cries of our hearts because the Spirit offers them – along with the prayers of all God’s people – in language that connects with the cries of God’s heart. Because the Spirit is always on the job, we know that everything that happens will contribute something to bringing about the best for those who love God and have responded to the call to cooperate with what God is on about.
You see, being able to tell who they would be, God booked them all in ahead for a full reconstructive make-over. They will come out being just like God’s Son, all related to him and to one another, but he’ll still be the stand-out original. Having set this up for people, God contacted them individually and challenged them to get in on it. Those who were contacted were put in the good books with God, and once in the good books, they were lifted up and covered in glory.
So what are we to make of all this? If God is personally backing us, who can stand against us? Having spared nothing for us so far, and having continued to give freely to us all, even when it meant losing his own Son, God is clearly set on going the whole way and giving us the lot. So who would dare mouth off against one of God’s chosen ones? It is God who says who is in the good books. Who would dare condemn us when the one who is going to plead our case to God is the Messiah, Jesus, who died and was raised and is now God’s right hand man. Is there anyone or anything that can put us beyond the reach of the Messiah’s love? Can tough times do it? Or Grief? Can victimising us, or denying us food and shelter, or subjecting us to torture and violence do it? The scriptures suggest not:
“The violence we cop for God never seems to stop;
we are marched off like animals to be butchered.”
No, even when we are copping all these things, the One who already went through them and continued to love us sets us up as the ultimate winners. So I am dead-set sure that there is absolutely nothing – nothing living or dead, nothing wielding power in heaven or on earth, nothing in the past or in the future, nothing of authority or influence, nothing above or below or any place else in the entire universe – that will ever be able to come between us and the love of God that we have found in the Messiah, Jesus our Lord.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

Jesus used some more stories to teach those around him, saying, “Here is a good illustration of the culture of heaven. Someone takes a blackberry seed and plants it in the garden. One little seed; you wouldn’t even know it was there. But it grows into a huge bush, and then just keeps on going and no one can stop it. Eventually it is so big that a whole colony of rabbits can build a home under its branches!
“The culture of heaven is like some vodka that a woman secretly added to a huge vat of fruit punch at a party. No one realised it was there until it had the whole crowd under its influence!
“Here is another good illustration of the culture of heaven. A person took a shortcut through someone else’s property and stumbled across a reef of gold. Jumping for joy, he covered it over and ran off to sell everything he had so that he could buy the property.
“Here’s another illustration. A diamond trader is out to buy some fine diamonds. He comes across one of a quality far beyond anything he has ever seen before, so he goes and cashes in everything else he owns in order to buy it.
“Here is one more illustration of the culture of heaven for you. A couple of fishing boats pull a drag net through the sea, catching everything in its path. When it is full, they pull it ashore, and the crews sit down to sort out the catch. The good fish are put on ice ready for the market, and the rubbish is thrown away. The same sort of thing will happen at the end of the age. The angels will come and pick out those who are corrupt from among those who stick to the right track, and throw them into the incinerator. They’ll be cursing and kicking themselves then!”
Jesus asked his followers, “Are you beginning to cotton on to what I’m saying here?”
“Yes,” they answered.
So he went on to say to them, “You see then, when those who really know the scriptures are trained in the ways of the culture of heaven, they become like a good wine merchant who can, at a moment’s notice, bring out from the cellar just the right bottle; something new or something old as the occasion demands.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

1 Kings 3: 5-12

One night, while Solomon was staying in Gibeon, the LORD God appeared to him in a dream. God said to him, “Solomon, what would you most like me to give you?”
Solomon answered God, saying:
You always loved my father, your servant David. Your love was solid and unshakable, because he was good and honest and did what was right by you. As a sign of your love and loyalty to him, you gave him a son to inherit his kingdom. So here I am, LORD God. I am your servant, and you have made me king in place of my father, even though I’m little more than a boy and have no idea how to conduct myself properly. I am your servant and you have given me the job of ruling your chosen people, even though they are a great nation and there are more of them than anyone can count. So then, what I would most like you to give me is a sharp mind to rule justly and to be able to pick the difference between right and wrong every time. Without such a gift, no one could ever hope to rule your people.
The Lord was most impressed with Solomon’s request, and said to him:
You could have selfishly asked me to give you a long life, or to make you the richest man on earth, or to wipe out your enemies. But instead you have asked me for the wisdom to make the right decisions for my people. You have chosen well and I will give you exactly what you have asked for. You will have more wisdom and insight than anyone else who has ever lived or ever will.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 119: 129-136

The instructions you have given, LORD, are the best;
they find a ready welcome within me.
As your words become clear, they light up the world,
and even the simplest minds begin to understand.
In my thirst for more of your teachings,
I’m like a dog panting for water.
Look my way and give me the inside running,
as is your usual practice to those who love you.
Keep me safely on track as you promised you would,
and don’t let corruption get the better of me.
Rescue me from those who would stand over me;
keep me free to do what you want me to do.
I am your trusty worker;
smile on me and teach me your ways.
It tears my heart out
to see how so many defy you.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 faithful to the covenant you have made
with a thousand generations.
You are the creator and judge of all the earth
and in all things you work for good for your chosen ones.
Your servant Jacob laboured seven years
for the love of Rachel;
and for love of us,
your child Jesus has laboured all the way to death.
He came among us, sowing your Word,
and from that tiny seed your kingdom has grown,
a pearl of great price,
a treasure for which we would give everything,
a home of welcome and grace for all people.
Though rulers and powers turned against him
and he was killed,
you raised him to new life
and now there is nothing in all creation
that can separate us from the love given us in Christ.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your child Jesus
who came among us, sowing your Word,
a tiny seed from which your kingdom has grown,
and now there is nothing in all creation
that can separate us from the love given us in Christ.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you are faithful to the covenant you have made
with a thousand generations.
You are the creator and judge of all the earth
and in all things you work for good for your chosen ones.
Your servant Jacob laboured seven years
for the love of Rachel;
and for love of us,
your child Jesus has laboured all the way to death.
He came among us, sowing your Word,
and from that tiny seed your kingdom has grown,
a pearl of great price,
a treasure for which we would give everything,
a home of welcome and grace for all people.
Though rulers and powers turned against him
and he was killed,
you raised him to new life
and now there is nothing in all creation
that can separate us from the love given us in Christ.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The Spirit helps us in our weakness,
and Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us.
We have been chosen, called and put in the right
and nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now secure in the love of God
from which nothing can separate you.
Delight in seeking the Lord -
look always for the power and the presence of God,
and let love, like yeast in dough, permeate all you do.
And may God work for good in all things for you;
May Christ Jesus conform you in the image of his love;
And may the Holy Spirit help you in your weakness,
interceding for you, and in you, according to the will of God.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

When God Backs a ScamA sermon on Genesis 29:15-28 & Matthew 13:31-33 by Nathan Nettleton

The Kingdom and the Way Things Have Always BeenA sermon on Genesis 29:15-28 & Matthew 13:31-33 by Nathan Nettleton

Disreputable Parables in Violent WorldA sermon on Matthew 13:31-33 by Nathan Nettleton

The Gifts of DarknessA sermon on Matthew 13:31-33 by Francesca Nuzzolese

Proper 11 - Year A
2029-07-22 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 28: 10-19a

Jacob was travelling from Beer-sheba to Haran, and was camping out each night on the way. One night he set up camp in a suitable place, and bedded himself down using a rock that he found there for a headrest. In a dream he saw a ramp spanning the gap between earth and heaven, and God’s messengers were using the ramp to go up and down between the two. As he looked at it, the LORD came and stood beside him and said:
“I am the LORD, the God of your fathers, Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your descendants the land on which you are now camped. Your descendants will multiply like a cloud of dust, spreading out in all directions and settling all over the world. Life will be better for all the peoples of the world because of you and your descendants. And you can know for sure that I am with you. I will look after you wherever you go and I will get you safely back to this land. I will stick with you and make good on all my promises to you.”
Jacob woke up suddenly and said, “No bull, the LORD is right here in this place, and I didn’t realise it!” And he was shaking in his boots at the thought of it. “This place makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck,” he said. “This must fair dinkum be the house of God – the front gate of heaven itself!”
So when Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the stone he had used for a headrest and set it up as a monument. He poured oil on top of it to dedicate it to the LORD. He named the place ‘Bethel’, which means ‘House of God’.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Psalm 139: 1-12, 23-24

You have taken a good hard look at me, LORD,
and you know exactly what makes me tick.
You know when I’ve got my feet up and when I’m on the job;
you can read my mind like an open book.
You see where I am going and where I stop,
and you know all about what I do and why.
You know exactly what I am going to say, LORD,
even before I open my mouth.
You are in front of me, behind me, beside me;
your hand on my shoulder at every turn.
All this is more than I can get my head around;
I pinch myself, and struggle to take it in.
Could I hide from your spirit if I wanted to?
Is there anywhere I could go to escape you?
If I sped into outer space, you’d be there;
if I curled up in the bowels of the earth, you’d be there.
If I took to the skies and pursued the dawn;
crossed the globe and never came back;
I’d be no further from your reach;
you’d hold me tight and guide me just as easily.
If I hide in the shadows
and plead with the darkness to cover me,
you can still see me as clear as day,
for light and dark are all the same to you.
Take a good hard look at me, God;
check me out and read my thoughts.
Dig out anything corrupt in me,
and set my feet on the tracks that have proven true.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 8: 12-25

The truth is, brothers and sisters, that we owe nothing to the preoccupations of our former life. We need no longer have our lives dictated by the mindless pursuit of fashionable dreams and selfish desires. After all, the attraction was fatal. But thanks to God’s Spirit, we can now be rid of all that — give it a decent burial and get on with our new lives. All those who dance to the Spirit’s tune are God’s beloved children. We were not sold into slavery where we would grovel timidly in the dust, afraid to put a foot wrong. Rather we were adopted into a family full of love and joy. Like eager children crying, “Daddy! Mummy!” we come running to God, and with loving arms, God’s Spirit gathers us up, demonstrating clearly to whom we belong. And since we are children of God, we are actually on the same footing as Christ. With him we will inherit all that has been kept in trust for God’s children. But we have to take the good with the bad, and we know the price he paid. We need to be willing to cop it on the chin with him now if we want to share the glory with him later.
In my opinion, the worst that our current situation can dish up pales into insignificance next to the glory that is about to be brought out from under wraps. The whole creation is hanging out for this, for the day when the names are read out and the children of God come into their own. Until then, the whole creation is stuck in a rut, unable to make any progress. The creation didn’t bring this on itself, but rather it is being held in check so that, rather than hurtling headlong to destruction, the entire creation can be set free from its devastating addictions and be delivered into the glorious freedom that belongs to the children of God.
The time of deliverance is near. After a long pregnancy, the whole creation is now groaning and shuddering in the final stages of labour. And we are not just witnesses to this birth. We ourselves, having been impregnated by the Spirit, are labouring to bring the new life within us to fruition. For then, with our bodies set free, our longing to be God’s children will be fulfilled. This joyous expectancy ensures that our deliverance will come. If there was never to be anything more than our present reality, these longings within us would be in vain. But we are eager to see a promised new reality, and this hope sustains us.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

Jesus used another story to teach the crowd, saying, “Here is a good illustration of the culture of heaven. A farmer planted his fields with good quality seed. But that night, while all the workers were asleep, some mongrel came and dumped a load of weed seeds on the field, and then cleared off before anybody saw what had happened. So when the crop came up and the grain began to form, there were weeds coming up everywhere among it. The farmer’s workers came to him and said, ‘That was clean seed you sowed, wasn’t it, Boss? How come we’ve now got weeds all through the crop?’
The farmer replied, ‘Some mongrel has tried to sabotage it!’
The workers asked, ‘Do you want us to get stuck in and pull the weeds out?’
But the farmer replied, ‘No, it’s not worth the risk. You’ll uproot half the wheat crop trying to get them out. Just let them both grow together until harvest time, and then I’ll tell the harvesters to pull the weeds out first and bundle them up for burning. The good wheat can then be harvested and stored in my silo.’”
When Jesus had finished teaching the crowd, he went into the house with his closest followers. They asked him to explain the story about the weeds to them. He said, “The farmer who planted the good seeds in the story represents the New Human. The field is the world, and the good quality seeds are the people who are part of the new culture. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one, and the mongrel who sowed them is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the age – the grand finale – and the harvesters are God’s angels. The scene where the weeds are gathered up and thrown on the fire is just like what will happen at the end of the age. The New Human will send his angels to weed out of his culture all that cause corruption and participate in evil, and throw them into the incinerator. They’ll be cursing and kicking themselves then! After that, those who stayed on the right track will be seen in all their glory, shining like the sun in the new culture of their Father. Don’t miss what I’m saying: if you’ve got ears, use them!”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Wisdom of Solomon 12: 13, 16-19 (alt)

Lord, everything and everybody is under your care.
There is no other god to whom you have to answer
or prove that you have been fair to everyone.
It is your strength that results in things being put right.
It is because you are in charge of everything
that you are free to show mercy to all.
When people question whether you are up to the job,
you blow away their doubts with a show of strength.
If anyone has the gall to challenge your power,
you put them back in their place quick smart.
Although your power and authority are supreme,
you are gentle and compassionate in judging us.
You are more than capable of wiping us out if you wished,
but you show great tolerance in your rule over us.
In these things you have set an example for us,
showing us that those who are passionate for what is right
must also be gentle on others.
You have given your children every reason for hope,
because you give us the chance to turn our backs on corruption
and get our lives back on track with you.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Isaiah 44: 6-8 (alt)

I am the LORD, the commander of everything;
your ruler who puts things right for you.
I am the whole story, from beginning to end;
the one and only God.
Can anyone match me? Let’s hear from them!
Let them take the stand and set out their case.
In all the years since I set up the nation,
did they ever predict what was about to happen?
What’s going to happen next then?
Let’s hear from them.
My people, don’t worry. You’ve got nothing to fear.
Haven’t I always kept you informed?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any other god besides me?
Is there any other rock you can depend on?
No way! Not even one.
And I ought to know!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 86: 11-17

Teach me how to stick to your track, LORD,
so I won’t stray from your path of truth.
Keep my heart focussed on adoring you alone.
O Lord my God, I thank you with all my heart;
I will always name you as the to whom all the glory is due.
Your love for me is the best, and absolutely rock-solid;
you saved me when my whole being was plunging into the abyss.
A crass and arrogant mob are out to get me, God;
a bunch of thugs are trying to bump me off,
and they couldn’t care less about you.
But I know that you, Lord,
are a compassionate and generous God,
slow to anger, and rich in love and loyalty.
I am your servant, Lord,
and my mother was your servant too.
Take note of me, and treat me with compassion;
save me and give me strength.
Give me a sign that you are on my side;
something that will be seen by those who hate me
and send them off with their tails between their legs.
You, LORD, have come to my help;
you have given me comfort.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 formed in us the first fruits of your Spirit,
a harvest that will prevail when evil is uprooted.
It was your labour that brought forth creation,
and your love that formed the families of the earth.
You revealed yourself to Jacob,
promising that for all who are led by your Spirit,
every place would be filled with your presence.
In Jesus Christ you have thrown open the gate of heaven
and adopted us as your beloved children.
Though all creation yet groans in pain,
Christ suffers with us,
enduring death on the cross,
so that we might be glorified with him.
His Spirit groans within us as we await the end of the age
when your children will be revealed and,
with our bodies redeemed,
we will shine like the sun in your Kingdom.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We thank you for adopting us as your beloved children
who at the end of the age when evil is uprooted,
will be revealed with our bodies redeemed,
shining like the sun in your Kingdom.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you have formed in us the first fruits of your Spirit,
a harvest that will prevail when evil is uprooted.
It was your labour that brought forth creation,
and your love that formed the families of the earth.
You revealed yourself to Jacob,
promising that for all who are led by your Spirit,
every place would be filled with your presence.
In Jesus Christ you have thrown open the gate of heaven
and adopted us as your beloved children.
Though all creation yet groans in pain,
Christ suffers with us,
enduring death on the cross,
so that we might be glorified with him.
His Spirit groans within us as we await the end of the age
when your children will be revealed and,
with our bodies redeemed,
we will shine like the sun in your Kingdom.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God has searched our hearts, testing and judging our thoughts,
but through our hope in Christ we are saved.
We have been adopted as children of God
and given freedom and glory.
Our redemption has begun.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now with your hope set on Christ.
As children of God, let the Spirit of God lead you
and let your righteousness shine like the sun
until darkness and light are one.
And wherever you go,
whether you scale the heavens or plunge to the depths,
may God’s presence be inescapably with you;
May Christ Jesus welcome you into his inheritance;
And may the Holy Spirit assure you that you are God’s children.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

The labour pains of adoption!?A sermon on Romans 8:12-25 by Nathan Nettleton

Even the darkness in not dark to youA sermon on Genesis 28: 10-19a; Psalm 139:1-12; 23-4; Romans 8: 12-25 & Matthew 13: 24-30; 36-43 by Jill Manton

The Temptation to WeedA sermon on Matthew 13: 24-30; 36-43 by Nathan Nettleton

A Certain PlaceA sermon on Genesis 28:10-22 by Nathan Nettleton

Jacob the Trickster vs the nice ChristiansA sermon on Genesis 28:1-19a and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 by Alison Sampson

Stairway to Heaven or Highway to Hell?A sermon on Genesis 28:10-22 by Orestes Roca

Proper 10 - Year A
2029-07-15 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 25: 19-34

This is the story of the children of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham, and he was forty years old when he married Rebekah. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel and the sister of Laban – Arameans from northern Syria. Despite many years of trying, Isaac and Rebekah were unable to get pregnant, so Isaac prayed to the LORD for help. The LORD granted his request, and Rebekah fell pregnant. Her pregnancy was so difficult that it seemed as though there was a war going on in her womb and she felt like she would be better off dead. In desperation she went to ask the LORD what was going on, and the LORD said to her:
“You are going to have twins who will grow into two nations;
two peoples who will always be at each other’s throats.
The firstborn will have brute strength on his side,
but he will end up serving the younger one.”
Sure enough, when the time came for her to give birth, she delivered twins. The first one was such a hairy baby that he looked like he was wrapped in a red rug. They named him Esau. His brother followed him out of the womb with his hand holding tightly on to Esau’s heel. They named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when his sons were born.
As the boys grew up, Esau proved to be the rugged outdoors type; a skilled bushman and hunter. Wild game-meat was Isaac’s favourite food, so Esau’s hunting skills made him the favourite with his father. Jacob, on the other hand, was the quiet type who spent most of his time around the home, and he became his mother’s favourite.
One time when Esau came in from the bush, he was famished, and he found Jacob cooking up a pot of lentil stew. “Give me a plate of that red stuff,” Esau said to Jacob. “I’m starving to death!” (That’s how he got his nickname, “Edom” or “Red”.)
Jacob said, “You are not getting any of this until you sign over to me your privileges and inheritance as the firstborn.”
Esau said, “What good is my inheritance to me when I’m about to starve to death?”
Jacob said, “Sign on the line first.”
So Esau put pen to paper and signed over to Jacob the privileges and inheritance that were his as the firstborn. Then Jacob served him up a meal of bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank, and then got up and went about his business as though his birthright had meant absolutely nothing to him.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Psalm 119: 105-112

What you say, LORD, lights up the track in front of me
so I can see where to put my feet.
I am committed to doing what you say is right;
I’ve given my word and signed on the line.
I have been put through the wringer here, LORD;
put me back on my feet, just as you promised.
I am giving you the credit for everything, LORD;
accept my gift and teach me how to do things your way.
Even though my grip on life is shaky,
I never forget what you have taught me.
Ruthless thugs are always trying to derail me,
but you have shown me the right track and I’m sticking to it.
Your guidance is a rich heritage for my future;
it has put a smile on my face forever.
My mind is fixed on following your directions,
come what may, forever.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 8:1-11

For those who are now united to Jesus the Messiah, all records of wrongdoing and any outstanding punishments have been cancelled. When life is lived in union with Jesus the Messiah, a new power is unleashed within us - the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s power replaces and sets us free from the old system of rules and regulations that kept us locked into a deadly cycle of guilt and punishment. The old system, which was handed down from Moses, was incapable of freeing us from the cycle of guilt, because it could not compete with the drive of our selfish impulses. But God has done what the old system could never do. God’s own Son was sent to sort out the whole tragic mess. Becoming just like us, with the same body and so prone to the same desires and impulses, he quashed the power that sin held over us. That means that it is now possible for us to live the kind of lives that the old legal code was wanting to produce, because instead of being driven by our own selfish impulses, our actions are now inspired by the Spirit. Those whose lives are driven by their own selfish impulses are so preoccupied with their own gratification that they can’t appreciate anything beyond themselves. But those who allow the Spirit to shape their lives are opened up to a whole new world of the Spirit’s concerns and activity. Preoccupation with gratifying your own selfish impulses is a downward spiral into living death. But a mind open to the Spirit is an open door to the fullness of life and peace. Clearly then, a mind that is fixated on self-gratification is hostile to God. Such a mind will not, and can not, respond positively to anything God asks of it, and so those who are locked into their own selfish impulses are incapable of getting the thumbs-up from God.
But you are not locked into such impulses. You are now living in union with God’s Spirit, and the Spirit has moved in and become the life-force within you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of the Messiah at work within them does not, in fact, belong to him at all. But if the Messiah has taken up residence within you, then, even though your bodies will die from the after-effects of sin, the Spirit has put you on the right track and you will have life. If the Spirit who lives in you is the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead, then you can rest assured that this same Spirit will raise your bodies out of death and into a life that is lived to the full in union with the Spirit of the Messiah.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23

After telling everybody that he regarded only those who do things God’s way as his true family, Jesus left the house and went and sat on the beach. He was soon crowded out by people wanting to hear more of what he had to say, so using a boat as his platform, he taught the crowd gathered on the beach. One of the many stories he used to illustrate his points went like this:
“Listen up! When it was time to plant the crops, a farmer spread the seeds widely across the farm. Some of the seeds fell on the tracks, and the birds made a meal of them in no time. Other seeds fell on ground where the topsoil was shallow and there was nothing but rock underneath. They sprouted quickly enough, but because they were unable to put down roots, they didn’t survive when the heat of the sun hit them. Other seeds fell where the weeds were out of control, and being unable to compete with the weeds, they were soon strangled to death. But there were other seeds that fell on good soil and went on to produce an bumper harvest: some reproducing themselves a hundred times over, and others at least sixty or thirty times over. Don’t miss what I’m saying. If you’ve got ears, use them!”
Speaking to his closest followers later, Jesus said:
“Don’t miss the point of my story about the farmer sowing seed. When people hear the message of the new culture and it means nothing to them, the evil one swallows up what was sown in their hearts before they can give it a second thought. It is just like the seeds sown on the tracks. What about the seeds sown in the shallow topsoil with rock below? This is like the people who hear the message and latch on to it with great enthusiasm. But they are too shallow to put down any decent roots, so they don’t last long. As soon as the message they have accepted attracts any heat, their enthusiasm wilts and they are gone. And what about the seeds which were sown among the weeds? This is just like the people who get the message but it can’t compete with all the other agendas that have taken over their lives. Their real priorities – being noticed and getting ahead – quickly strangle the message and nothing comes from it. But what about the seeds which were sown on good soil? Now we are talking about the people who hear the message and really take it to heart. It bears fruit in their lives and the harvest of good is multiplied, a hundred times over in some people; and at least sixty or thirty times over in others.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Isaiah 55: 10-13

This is what the LORD says:
Everything I say has a powerful purpose;
no empty words ever pass my lips.
My words are like drops of rain in the cycle of nature:
wherever they fall they give life;
they replenish, renew and nourish life,
and then the earth gives them back and they start again.
My words always achieve their purpose;
they flourish where I plant them,
they nourish all who feed on them.
My Word will bring peace
and you will come home with great celebration.
The trees will line the road, clapping and singing;
the mountains will rain down ticker tape as you pass.
Where the saltbush struggled,
a redgum will take root and grow;
where noxious weeds ruled,
native orchids and daisies will bloom again.
The wilderness in all its glory will stand like a monument,
like a permanent sign of the LORD’s rich goodness.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 65: (1-8), 9-13

You deserve all the credit we can give you, O God.
We will gather on your holy mountain
and make good on all we have promised you.
You are the one who answers prayers
and everyone on earth will turn to you.
When we are weighed down by our guilt,
you wipe away the record of our wrongs.
What a privilege it is to be among your chosen ones;
to be invited to live in your presence.
Everything we could want is provided
here in your sacred temple.
You take action in awesome ways, O God;
you step in and rescue us when we call.
You are the answer to the hopes of people everywhere,
in every land and across the seas.
You rolled up your sleeves
and lifted the mountains into place.
You tamed the angry seas,
silencing both roaring waves
and frenzied crowds.
From one end of the earth to the other,
everyone is mind-boggled by what you do.
Dawn and sunset join their voices
as all the earth shouts for joy.
You tend the earth like a garden,
enriching the soil and keeping it watered.
Your rivers never run dry, God,
and the fields you have plowed
yield a bumper harvest to feed your people.
You level the uneven ground
and nourish the soil;
you water it with softening showers
and set the seeds growing and flourishing.
The year is crowned with a bumper harvest
and everything you touch is bursting with life.
Wilderness fields erupt in flower,
mountains and hills pour forth joy;
paddocks are clothed with healthy flocks,
barren land is ablaze with golden grain.
All of them shout for joy;
all the earth breaks into song.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 Word is our heritage
and your ways are the joy of our hearts forever.
You created the earth and planted it freely,
bringing forth an abundant harvest of life.
Through Moses and the prophets,
you gave us our Word
to be the birthright of all your children.
You sent your child, Jesus the Christ, among us
in the likeness of sinful flesh,
to teach us to walk according to your Spirit
and to deal with the sin
that constantly struggles to come to birth and rule over us,
dividing us and robbing us of the joy of living.
When he was killed by those who are hostile to you,
you raised him from the dead
and sent your Spirit to us,
giving us life and sowing within us
an abundant harvest of peace and righteousness.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who came among us in the likeness of sinful flesh,
to deal with the sin that divides us,
and to sow within us
an abundant harvest of peace and righteousness.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for your Word is our heritage
and your ways are the joy of our hearts forever.
You created the earth and planted it freely,
bringing forth an abundant harvest of life.
Through Moses and the prophets,
you gave us our Word
to be the birthright of all your children.
You sent your child, Jesus the Christ, among us
in the likeness of sinful flesh,
to teach us to walk according to your Spirit
and to deal with the sin
that constantly struggles to come to birth and rule over us,
dividing us and robbing us of the joy of living.
When he was killed by those who are hostile to you,
you raised him from the dead
and sent your Spirit to us,
giving us life and sowing within us
an abundant harvest of peace and righteousness.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus
has set us free from the law of sin and death.
Therefore there is now no condemnation
for you who are in Christ Jesus.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now into the world in the light of Christ.
Do not let the fear of troubles
or the lures of comfort and honour
prevent God’s word taking root deep in your heart and mind.
Walk according to the ways of the Spirit
for the ways of the Spirit are life and peace.
And may God sow in you the seeds of an abundant harvest;
May Christ the Word be a lamp for your steps;
And may the Holy Spirit give life to you - body and soul.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Flesh on the MindA sermon on Romans 8: 1-11 by Nathan Nettleton

The Mysteries of the KingdomA sermon on Matthew 13.1-23 by Garry Deverell

The Parable of the SeedsA sermon on Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 by Roslyn Wright

Seasons and SeedsA very short reflection on Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 by Alison Sampson

Coming back for a second servingA testimony and reflection on Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 by Steven Wong

Jesus Fails Business SchoolA sermon on Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 by Nathan Nettleton

Concentrate on the sowing – regardless!A sermon on Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 by John Fowler

A Sower went out to SowA sermon on Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 by John Sampson

Proper 9 - Year A
2029-07-08 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 24: 34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Abraham’s trusted servant addressed Rebekah’s family, saying:
“I work for Abraham and he has sent me here. The LORD has set my boss up very nicely. He has become a very wealthy man, with huge holdings of livestock, investments in silver and gold, a large workforce, and convoys of transport animals. My boss and his wife Sarah became the parents of a son in their old age, and they have signed over their entire fortune to him. My boss has given me the job of finding a suitable wife for his son, but he made me promise that I would not let him marry one of the local Canaanite girls. Instead he has sent me to find a wife for his son from here among his own relatives.
“So, when I pulled up at the waterhole here today, I prayed that the God of my boss would put me on the right track. I said, ‘O LORD, I have arrived here at this waterhole where the young women come to collect water. I will ask the first one who comes for a drink, and she will offer me a drink and offer to draw water for my camels as well. LORD, let her be the one you have chosen to be the bride of my boss’s son.’
“Even before I finished my prayer, Rebekah came out to fill her water container. After she had gone down to the waterhole and collected her water, I asked her for a drink. Without hesitation she offered me a drink from her water container and then offered to draw more water for my camels. So I accepted the drink and she watered my camels. Then I asked her whose daughter she was, and she told me that her father was Bethuel, the son of Nahor and Milcah. I knew then that she came from among my boss’s relatives, so I put on her the ring and the jewellery he had sent. Then I bowed my head and gave thanks to the LORD, the God who my boss Abraham worships. The LORD had put me on the right track so that I could find a suitable wife for my boss’s son from among his own people.
Now then, let me know whether you will do the right thing by my boss. Or if not, tell me straight, so that I will know which way to turn.”
So the family called Rebekah and asked her, “Are you willing to go with this man?”
“I am,” she said.
So they farewelled their sister Rebekah, and sent her off with Abraham’s servant and his drivers. They also sent with her the family servant who had been her childhood nanny. They gave Rebekah their blessing, saying to her,
“Sister, may you become the mother of millions;
may your descendants triumph in everything they do.”
With that, Rebekah and the servant girls who were going with her got up and were seated on the camels. They set off, following Abraham’s servant as he headed for home; mission accomplished.
Now Isaac was living in the southern part of Canaan, near a waterhole called ‘the Eye of God’. One evening as he was out walking to unwind at the end of the day, he looked up and saw the convoy of camels approaching. Rebekah saw him in the distance, and quickly slipped off her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man coming towards us?”
The servant replied, “That’s him, Master Isaac.”
So she made herself ready, with her veil over her face. The servant told Isaac all about the success of his mission. Then Isaac met Rebekah and took her home and she became his wife. As the new leading woman of the tribe, she was given the home that had belonged to Isaac’s late mother, Sarah. Isaac loved Rebekah greatly, and she was a comfort to him as he grieved the death of his mother.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Psalm 45: 10-17 (alt)

O chosen daughter, bride of the king, listen to my advice:
leave your father’s home and don’t look back
for the king is wild with desire for you.
What more could you want? Abandon yourself to him!
Wedding gifts will arrive from every nation,
the wealthy outdo each other with their presents.
The inner beauty of your bride, O king,
outshines even her wedding gown,
woven with gold and sparkling with jewels.
In dazzling beauty she is brought to you
with her chosen bridesmaids at hand.
Joy and laughter process in with her,
and the whole palace erupts with elation.
Soon you will have children, continuing your family line,
and the thrones of the earth will be theirs.
No one will ever forget you,
your fame will inspire generation after generation,
and songs will be sung in praise of you forever and ever.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Song of Solomon 2: 8-13 (alt)

I await the voice of my lover!
I see him coming, running through the alpine bush,
leaping rocks and logs,
as surefooted as a wallaby,
muscles rippling like a mountain thoroughbred.
Look, now he arrives, there by the garden wall,
his eyes scanning the windows,
searching the balcony,
eager to catch a sight of me.
My lover calls out for me alone, saying:
“Come now, my darling, my lovely one,
come away with me.
The outdoors will welcome us,
for the cold wet winter has released its grip.
Wildflowers explode with colour
and the air is filled with song;
Bellbird calls ring through the bush
like the summons to a wedding.
Berries and grapes ripen with promise
and every flower adds it fragrance
to the wafting breeze.
So come, my darling, my lovely one,
come away with me.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 7: 15-25a

Sometimes I can’t make head nor tail of my own behaviour. I want to do what is right, but instead I find myself doing things I absolutely despise. Even as I do them, I am telling myself I don’t want to. Clearly then I know they are wrong, so I am not trying to excuse myself by arguing that the law is stupid. The fact is that I don’t have what it takes to control everything I do. Somewhere inside me, sin has corrupted the system. When I look inside myself and see the selfish desires that live there, I know they are all rotten to the core. While I have no trouble making up my mind to do what is right, I still can’t do it. I fail to follow through on my good intentions, and instead find myself doing something crooked — the exact thing I wanted so much to avoid. Now if what I actually do is not what I am intending to do, then clearly I have lost control of what I am doing. Something inside me — namely sin — is sabotaging the system and wreaking havoc.
So, in my experience it seems to be an inescapable fact of life that when I intend to do what is good, corruption is lying in wait, ready to sneak under my guard. God’s instructions on how we should live appeal to me greatly. I love them with all my heart and mind. So the various parts of me are receiving the right instructions from my mind, but I experience another set of instructions trying to override them. I can see that my body is being controlled by a crippling addiction to sin. How completely and utterly screwed up I am! Is there anybody who can set me free from the addiction that has such a deadly grip on my body? Thank God there is! Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, can set us free!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

Jesus said to the crowd, “What is it with people these days? They are like a bunch of kids pointing the finger at each other in the school yard, chanting:
‘We were ready to laugh and play with you,
but you told us to get serious.
We asked you over to do homework together,
but you told us to lighten up.’
“When John the Baptiser was around, he was a teetotaller, and would often go without food; and people accused him of being a fanatic and a wowser. Then the New Human came, always ready to share a meal and a drink, and what do they say about him? They say he’s a pisspot, a slave to his stomach, and that he’s too close to people whose lifestyles are beyond the pale! But at the end of the day, wisdom will have proved herself in practice.”
Then and there, Jesus broke into prayer, saying, “Father, Lord of earth and sky, thank you for keeping the religious experts and the sophisticated intellectuals in the dark about these matters, while at the same time making them as plain as day to the average toddler. But of course, Father, such reckless generosity is typical of the way you like to do things!”
Then, turning to the crowd again, Jesus said,“My Father has put the whole show in my hands, and it all hangs on the strength of our relationship. No one really knows what makes the Son tick except the Father, and no one really knows what makes the Father tick except the Son. Anyone else can only know if the Son chooses to let them in on it.
“If you are worn out and overloaded, come to me, and I will let you put your feet up. Come and work for me, and take a leaf out of my book. I am gentle on people, and down-to-earth. With me your whole being will be able to relax. The job I will give you is piece of cake. The load I will ask you to bear is a feather-weight.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Zechariah 9: 9-12

It is time to celebrate, people of Jerusalem.
Sing and dance and party, O Holy City!
Look, here comes your king;
the one who has won the great victory!
He doesn’t big-note himself,
but comes riding on a simple donkey,
and a baby one at that!
He will rid the land of heavy armaments,
and clear Jerusalem of military vehicles.
He will confiscate weapons and destroy them,
and forge a lasting peace between nations.
He will rule from one end of the earth to the other,
and the whole world will take orders from him.
Hear what I, the LORD, have to say to you:
my alliance with you has been sealed in blood,
so I will rescue those who have been detained
and set them free from the dry and dusty hell-holes.
Take heart, you prisoners. Your prayers are answered.
You are free to find refuge and shelter within our walls.
I, the LORD, promise you today
that I will compensate you double for all that you lost.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 145: 8-14

LORD, you are generous and compassionate,
slow to anger, and rich in love and loyalty.
You are good to everyone, LORD,
and you care deeply about all you have created.
Everyone and everything will thank you, their creator,
and all who are loyal to you will sing your praises.
As your people, we will promote the glory of your reign,
and broadcast the news of your power for good.
We will tell everyone about the great things you have done
and about the magnificent splendour of your reign.
You will reign forever and ever, LORD,
your rule is in place for all generations to come.
Everything you say can be relied on, LORD,
and everything you do is generous and loving.
When people fall, you put them back on their feet;
when people are crushed, you stand them tall again.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 with the passion of a lover
you have delivered us from slavery to sin and death.
You are the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth,
and it is your Word that brings life into bloom.
You called your servant Rebekah to leave family and country,
and, from the offspring of her loving union with Isaac,
you brought forth a people to delight in your ways.
You sent among us your child, Jesus the Christ,
and in him you revealed yourself to us.
Though we were burdened and wearied by sin
and unable to dance to your song,
in gentleness and humility
he lifted our burdens
and showed us the way of wisdom.
When he was killed,
you raised him to life,
rescuing us from our bodies of death
and giving us rest for our souls.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks that though we were burdened and wearied by sin,
and unable to dance to your song,
in gentleness and humility
your Son Jesus has lifted our burdens
and showed us the way of wisdom.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for with the passion of a lover
you have delivered us from slavery to sin and death.
You are the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth,
and it is your Word that brings life into bloom.
You called your servant Rebekah to leave family and country,
and, from the offspring of her loving union with Isaac,
you brought forth a people to delight in your ways.
You sent among us your child, Jesus the Christ,
and in him you revealed yourself to us.
Though we were burdened and wearied by sin
and unable to dance to your song,
in gentleness and humility
he lifted our burdens
and showed us the way of wisdom.
When he was killed,
you raised him to life,
rescuing us from our bodies of death
and giving us rest for our souls.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Who will deliver us from this body of death,
and from the law of sin at work within us?
Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lifts the heavy burden of sin we are carrying
and gives rest to our souls.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now at the call of Christ.
Take his yoke upon you and learn from him;
Dance when he sings and mourn when he cries.
Be generous in your hospitality to all.
And may God greatly bless you;
May Christ Jesus reveal the fullness of God to you;
And may the Holy Spirit lift your burdens and give you rest.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Unmasking SinA sermon on Romans 7:15-25 by Nathan Nettleton

Paul speaks to the Consumer CultureA sermon on Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 & Romans 7:15-25 by Nathan Nettleton

Stressed Out? Come To MeA sermon on Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 & Romans 7:15-25 by Nathan Nettleton

Come To Me, All You Who Are Beating Yourselves UpA sermon on Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 & Romans 7:15-25 by Nathan Nettleton

From Heavy Heart to a Sense of HopeA sermon on Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 & Romans 7:15-25 by Alison Sampson

They Started It!A sermon on Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 by Nathan Nettleton

How did I end up at South Yarra Baptist? OR How knitting became my hobby?A sermon on Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 by Liesl Filippi

Rest for Restless SoulsA sermon on Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 & Romans 7:15-25 by Curtis W. Freeman

Proper 8 - Year A
2029-07-01 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 22: 1-14

This is the story of how God put Abraham to the test to find out whether he really had what it takes.
God called to him, saying, “Abraham!”
“At your service,” Abraham replied.
God said, “Go and get Isaac, your son, your only son whom you love. Take him to the mountain that I will point out to you in the land of Moriah. There you are to sacrifice him to me on an altar as a burnt offering.”
So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire on the altar. He saddled his donkey and set out for the place that God had told him to go with Isaac and two of his hired hands. After three day’s journey, Abraham could finally see their destination in the distance. He said to the two hired hands, “Wait here with the donkey while the boy and I go on up there to worship. We will then return and meet you back here.”
Abraham got Isaac to carry the wood for the burnt offering, and he himself carried the knife and the coals for starting the fire. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac spoke to Abraham saying, “Father!”
“At your service, son,” Abraham replied.
“Haven’t we forgotten something?” Isaac asked. “We’ve got everything we need to get the fire going, but we haven’t brought a lamb to sacrifice as a burnt offering.”
Abraham said, “God will personally provide the lamb for the sacrifice, my son.”
So the two of them walked on together. When they arrived at the spot that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar and stacked the wood on it ready for the fire. Then he tied up his son Isaac, and laid him on top of the wood on the altar. He took the knife in hand and was about to kill his son, when the messenger of the LORD called to him from heaven, saying, “Abraham, Abraham!”
“At your service,” he replied.
The messenger said, “Put down your knife and don’t hurt the boy in any way, for now I know what I needed to know. Since you have not even drawn the line at giving up your only son for me, I know that you trust God, no matter what.”
As he looked up, Abraham saw a ram with its horns entangled in the scrub. So he went and got it, and offered up the ram on the altar as a burnt offering in place of his son.
From then on, Abraham called that place “The LORD will provide,” and a saying was coined that you still hear today: “On the LORD’s mountain all will be provided.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Psalm 13

How long will this go on, LORD?
Have you written me off permanently?
How long are you going to keep turning your back on me?
How long do I have to put up with feeling sick in the guts,
and with my heart breaking from the pain of it all?
How long will my enemies get to kick me around?
Come on, LORD. You are my God. Give me an answer!
Let me see some light at the end of the tunnel;
something to keep me from losing the will to live.
Don’t let my enemies think they’ve won;
don’t give them the pleasure of my downfall.
I have put my trust in your rock-solid love;
my heart will burst with joy when you save your people.
I will sing your praises, LORD,
because you have treated me with great generosity.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 6: 12-23

Do not let sin get hold of your reins and force you to respond to every selfish desire that pops up within you. Don’t give it access to any part of your body, or you will find that part of yourself being put to work in spreading corruption. Instead, as people whose lives have been saved from death, hand yourselves over wholly and solely to God, and give God unlimited rights to put every part of your body to work in promoting what is right. Sin won’t hold the reins if you don’t let it, because your agenda is no longer set by a complicated list of rules, but by the generous love and mercy of God.
So what does that mean? Should we consider ourselves free to indulge our selfish desires because our agenda is no longer set by rules, but by God’s love and mercy? Of course not! Surely you realise that the lifestyle you hand yourself over to will become an addiction, and that addiction will then determine the course of your life. You can get yourselves hooked on sin, which will destroy your life; or you can get yourselves hooked on doing what God wants you to do, which will put your life on the right track. Fortunately, though you were once addicted to sin, thanks to God you have cleaned out your system and allowed your desires and actions to come under the influence of the teaching of Christ instead. Thanks to God you have been set free from the deadly grip of sin, and are now hooked on doing what is right. I am speaking about it in these down-to-earth terms, because I want to make sure that it is not only the highly educated among you who get the picture. I hope it is clear then, that in the same way that you used to deliberately expose parts of yourself to the addictive power of corruption and deepening dishonesty, you should now do all that you can to get yourselves hooked on honesty and integrity so that you will grow into the wholeness that God intended for you.
What sort of freedom did you have when you were addicts of sin? You were free to opt out of relating rightly to anyone or anything, but what good did that do you? Looking back on it now, you feel nothing but shame. The things you were doing were draining you of life. But now that sin’s grip on you has been broken, and you are hooked on doing what God wants, the benefits are enormous: the scars are healing and you are growing into whole people. There will be no end to the richness of the life that will result from that. The kicks that people get out of sin are kicking them to death, but God will give you the ultimate high, free of charge: life without limit in union with the Messiah, Jesus our Lord.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 10: 40-42

While briefing his followers about their mission, Jesus said:
“You are my representatives in this, so anyone who gets on side with you is getting on side with me. And anyone who gets on side with me is getting on side with the one who sent me. Those who make God’s message known and those who welcome and support them will be rewarded by God as equal partners in the work. Those who stand firm for what is right and those who support them in their stand will be rewarded by God as equal partners in the work. No matter how insignificant someone’s contribution may seem – even if they just provide a cold drink to the most ordinary of my workers because they are doing my work – I kid you not, God will give them full credit for it.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Jeremiah 28: 5-9

In front of the priests and all the people who were gathered in the LORD’s Temple, the prophet Jeremiah stood up and responded to the preaching of the prophet Hananiah, saying:
“Amen! May what you say prove to be true! I hope and pray that the LORD will indeed do what you have said, and bring back home all our people who were marched off into exile and everything that the Babylonian invaders took from this Temple. But take note of what I have got to say, and let everyone here witness that I said it to your face. There have been many prophets before you and me, and ever since ancient times they have preached against the evil done by many countries and nations, and warned of disastrous wars, famines and plagues. So any prophet who stands up and says that things are fine and peace is on the way, is not on the same wavelength as the prophets we have heard before. Therefore we must be cautious about such a prophet. Only if what the prophet preaches comes true will we be able to conclude that such a prophet was really sent by the LORD.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 89: 1-4, 15-18

LORD, we will never stop singing about your rock-solid love;
we will transmit the story of your faithfulness
on down to every generation to come.
Your love and loyalty were built to last for eternity;
we’ll go public with that message.
Your faithfulness is beyond measure;
as infinite as the sky above us.
You said,
“I have formed an alliance with my chosen leader;
I have given my word to David, my servant.
I have guaranteed a firm foundation for his family forever;
there will always be one of his descendants on the throne.”
We are on cloud nine
when we are celebrating in your presence, LORD.
We all know what to do and say,
and we bask in the light of your favour.
Every mention of your name has us bursting with enthusiasm
from dawn till dusk,
and we tell the stories over and over
of how you have done the right thing by everyone.
Whatever glory and strength we have comes from you.
Because you have been good to us, our power has grown great.
Our safety and security are in your hands, LORD;
you are our one and only, the ruler of Israel.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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,
— trusting and rejoicing in your love —
for you save us with a free gift of eternal life
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
You created all things
and everything we have belongs to you.
You commended your servant Abraham
for his willingness to offer you his beloved son,
and from his family you called a people to follow your ways.
In Jesus the Christ, you have offered to us your own beloved Son.
Whoever welcomes him welcomes you,
and whoever welcomes the teaching he entrusted to us
finds the way that leads to righteousness and life.
When he was killed
you brought him back from death to life,
and through his grace,
you have freed us from slavery to sin
and bound us to Christ,
so that we might be sanctified
and follow him in pathways of life.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your free gift of eternal life
in Jesus Christ our Lord,
given to all who welcome him
and are set free from slavery to sin,
being bound to Christ and brought from death to life.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
trusting and rejoicing in your love,
for you save us with a free gift of eternal life
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
You created all things
and everything we have belongs to you.
You commended your servant Abraham
for his willingness to offer you his beloved son,
and from his family you called a people to follow your ways.
In Jesus the Christ, you have offered to us your own beloved Son.
Whoever welcomes him welcomes you,
and whoever welcomes the teaching he entrusted to us
finds the way that leads to righteousness and life.
When he was killed
you brought him back from death to life,
and through his grace,
you have freed us from slavery to sin
and bound us to Christ,
so that we might be sanctified
and follow him in pathways of 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Trust in the love of God, for God saves us.
Though once you were slaves of sin,
you have been set free and now live in God’s grace
where sin can have no dominion over you.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now as those who have been brought from death to life,
and welcome the Christ in all whom you meet.
Present yourselves to God
to be put to work in the service of righteousness.
And may God provide for you in mercy;
May Christ Jesus greet you as you welcome the stranger;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you in the ways
of sanctification and eternal life.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

What kind of God is this?A sermon on Genesis 22:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Sacrificing EverythingA sermon on Genesis 22:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Sacrificing Children to the godsA sermon on Genesis 22:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Exchanging God for a Lawless LifeA sermon on Romans 6:12-23 & Genesis 22:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Alt*red state: A text of terror brings good newsA sermon on Genesis 22:1-14 by Alison Sampson

Proper 7 - Year A
2029-06-24 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 21: 8-21

Sarah nursed her son Isaac until he was about three years old, and on the day he was weaned, his father Abraham threw a big party to celebrate. But Sarah saw Ishmael — the son of Abraham and his Egyptian servant, Hagar — laughing with Isaac. She said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. I don’t want my son Isaac having to share his inheritance with the son of a slave woman. Kick them out of here.”
Abraham felt really cut up over this, because both of the boys were his sons. But God said to him, “Don’t stress over your servant and her son. Go along with whatever Sarah demands of you, because it is Isaac’s descendants who will be known as your offspring. But I know that Ishmael is also your son, so I will make sure his descendants become a great nation too.”
So, early the next morning, Abraham got up and packed some food and water into a backpack and put it on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her and the child away. She left and wandered aimlessly in the desert wilderness known as Beer-sheba. The water Abraham had packed for them soon ran out and, in despair, Hagar abandoned the child under a bush. She herself went and sat down about a hundred metres away because she couldn’t bear to watch the child die there in the desert. As she sat there, she cried loudly and bitterly. God heard the sounds of distress from the child and sent a messenger from heaven to speak to Hagar. The messenger said, “What is the matter, Hagar? You have got nothing to fear, because God has heard the boy crying where you left him. Come on. Pick the child up and don’t let go of him again, because I will make him the father of a great nation.”
Then God opened her eyes and she spotted a small water hole. She refilled her water containers with clean water and gave the boy some to drink.
God was on-side with Ishmael, and he grew up living in the wilderness where he became an expert bushman and hunter. He lived in the desert at Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from her homeland, Egypt.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 86: 1-10, 16-17

Tune in and answer my cries, LORD,
because I have been left with nothing and no one.
Protect me and save my life,
for I am your devoted servant and I trust you.
You are my God.
All day long I cry out to you, Lord,
begging you to give me a break.
Give me something to smile about, Lord,
for I am your servant and I being up front with you.
After all, Lord, you are good and forgiving;
full of unfailing love for those who look to you for help.
Tune in to my prayer, LORD,
and give your attention to my plea for help.
This is the worst day of my life,
but I’m confident you will answer my cry.
None of the things people worship compare to you, Lord;
your actions are in a league of their own.
You made every nation, Lord,
and they will all come and honour you,
bowing down and naming you as the greatest.
So they should, given all the great and amazing things you do,
for you are the one and only God.
I am your servant, Lord,
and my mother was your servant too.
Take note of me, and treat me with compassion;
save me and give me strength.
Give me a sign that you are on my side;
something that will be seen by those who hate me
and send them off with their tails between their legs.
You, LORD, have come to my help;
you have given me comfort.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 6: 1b-11

Do you think we should continue to sin in order to provide opportunities to showcase God’s generous forgiveness? No way! We have put to death our relationship with sin, so how could we possibly share another living moment with it? Surely you know that all of us who have been baptised into union with Christ were, in that baptism, dying with Christ. You will understand then, that having died in baptism, we have been buried with him; and so now, in the same way that Christ was raised from the dead by the awesome power of God, we too can re-enter life in a whole new way.
You see, if we have been united with him in sharing the same kind of death, you can rest assured we will be united with him further in sharing the same kind of resurrection. We are no longer the people we used to be. Our former selves were put to death with him on the cross in order to eradicate the sin that had taken over our lives, and to thus allow us to live free of it. Everyone knows that death is the only escape from a sin-infested life — once you are dead, you are free of it. For us, though, that’s no dead-end solution. If we have died with Christ, we are convinced that we will live with him too. This much we know for sure: Christ has been raised from the dead and will never have to die again. Death has lost any further power over him. When he died, he took sin out with him, once and for all. The life he now lives, then, is lived in union with God. So you should now think of yourselves in the same way — your former lives, ended; your new lives, begun. Your old relationship with sin, dead; your new relationship with God, alive and flourishing in Christ Jesus.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 10: 24-39

While briefing his followers about their mission, Jesus said:
“New recruits do not get more credit than their coach, and the workers do not get more credit than their boss. But when everyone is doing their job – recruits and coach, workers and boss – they are all lumped in together and judged as a team. So if people have been accusing the team leader of being the Prince of Evil, you can imagine what they are going to be saying about the rest of the team!
“So don’t be intimidated by them. The time is coming when the truth will be exposed and all that has been done behind closed doors will be on the public record. So don’t bother keeping the lid on things in the meantime. Broadcast to the world anything I tell you in private. Release to the daily news anything I whisper in your ear. Don’t be silenced by fear of those whose ability to hurt you is only physical. The one to be afraid of is the one who would destroy your humanity entirely and suck you, body and soul, into the fires of hell.
“Think about it. What does a pet budgie cost? A couple of bucks? And yet if a budgie falls off its perch, God is there like a concerned parent. God’s care extends to every last hair on your head, so don’t let anyone put the wind up you. You are worth far more than a tree-full of budgies to God.
“If you stick up for me in the face of public opinion, then I will have no hesitation sticking up for you when my Father in heaven asks the hard questions. But if you pull your head in and go all quiet when people mouth off against me, why should I speak up in your defence?
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m here to make everything peaceful and nice on earth. I am not here to paper over the cracks, but to drive a wedge into them, opening them up for all to see.
I am here to drive a wedge into the cracks
between father and son;
between mother and daughter;
and between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.
When it is flushed out into the open,
the most dangerous hostility often turns up within families.
“If you are more committed to your parents than you are to me, you don’t deserve my commitment to you. If you are more committed to your children than you are to me, you don’t deserve my commitment to you. Unless you are ready to risk defying the death squads to follow me, then you don’t deserve my loyalty to you. Those who are focussed on getting a life for themselves will lose whatever life they had; while those who give up their life, for me, will find that they have really got it made!”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Jeremiah 20: 7-13

You played me for a sucker, LORD,
and I fell for it, hook, line and sinker.
You took advantage of your superior strength
to force me into doing what you wanted.
Thanks to you, I am the laughingstock of the city;
the butt of everyone’s jokes.
You give me the job of broadcasting your messages,
but they are all bad news – chaos, carnage and doom.
No wonder everyone hates the sight of me.
Speaking your word has ruined my life, LORD.
But what else can I do?
I try to quit, and keep silent about you,
but your word begins to burn its way out.
I feel like I am going to explode.
I use up all my strength trying to hold it in
but it defeats me every time.
Everyone is out to get me.
I hear them talking behind my back.
They say I am causing a public panic
and that they should dob me in
and have me dealt with.
Even my closest friends are giving up on me.
If I put a foot wrong, they’ll turn me in.
Some of them are already trying to set me up;
baiting the trap and lying in wait;
thinking to themselves, “Revenge is sweet!”
But you are like an armed bodyguard at my side, LORD.
Those who are out to get me haven’t got a hope.
They will end up with egg all over their faces;
humiliated by their own failure.
They will never be able to hold their heads up in public again.
The smell of disgrace will follow them round forever.
O LORD who rules over everything,
you have got everyone worked out.
You read our innermost thoughts and desires.
Let me have a front row seat
when you give my enemies their just deserts.
I have put my case in your hands.
I’ll sing your praises, LORD!
I’m giving you all the credit!
You are the one who rescues the downtrodden
when the corrupt would grind them into the dirt.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 69: 7-10, (11-15), 16-18

Because of my association with you, I am the target of slander;
I am ashamed to show my face in public.
My own relatives don’t want anything to do with me;
by brothers and sisters pretend they don’t know me.
My passion for your cause has become all-consuming and costly;
those with a beef against you stick the boots into me.
When I abstained from food to discipline my soul,
I was rewarded with insults and contempt.
When I gave up my comforts and slept out in the cold,
I became the butt of everyone’s jokes.
At the top end of town they swap rumours about me;
in back alleys, they send me up in drunken songs.
But come what may,
I will go on praying to you, LORD.
In your own good time, God, answer me,
for I know you are full of love, rock-solid love.
You can be depended on to send help;
I’m up to my neck in the stinking mire, rescue me!
Rescue me from those who hate me;
don’t give them the chance to watch me drown.
Don’t let the raging waters flood over me;
don’t let the murky depths swallow me up;
don’t let the jaws of death close around me.
Answer me, LORD;
there is nothing better than your rock-solid love;
you are full of compassion,
so turn to me and help.
I am your servant;
don’t turn your back on me.
I am in deep trouble;
answer me now before it’s too late.
Come close and put me back where I belong;
break me free from the grip of my enemies.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 alone are God,
and great is your loyalty to all who call on you.
You created the earth and its inhabitants,
and your care for your creatures is so complete
that even the hairs on our heads are counted.
You made a covenant with your servant Abraham,
and when his family tore itself apart,
your compassion for the outcast was shown
as you led the thirsty to springs of living water.
Your child, Jesus, came among us
calling us to turn our backs on all other allegiances
and to take up the cross and follow him.
When he was killed, he gathered us to himself,
putting to death our enslavement to sin
in the waters of baptism,
so that we might find our lives
united to his in resurrection
and walk in newness of life.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We thank you for uniting us with Christ in the waters of baptism
and putting to death our enslavement to sin,
so that we might find our lives
united to his in resurrection
and walk in newness of life.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you alone are God,
and great is your loyalty to all who call on you.
You created the earth and its inhabitants,
and your care for your creatures is so complete
that even the hairs on our heads are counted.
You made a covenant with your servant Abraham,
and when his family tore itself apart,
your compassion for the outcast was shown
as you led the thirsty to springs of living water.
Your child, Jesus, came among us
calling us to turn our backs on all other allegiances
and to take up the cross and follow him.
When he was killed, he gathered us to himself,
putting to death our enslavement to sin
in the waters of baptism,
so that we might find our lives
united to his in resurrection
and walk in newness of 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God is good and forgiving,
loyal to all who cry out for mercy.
Through our union with Christ
we are now dead to sin,
and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and walk in newness of life
for Christ was raised from the dead.
Therefore do not be afraid.
What God speaks to you in the dark, proclaim boldly in the light.
Take up your cross and follow the Christ.
And may God watch over you and provide for you;
May Christ Jesus openly declare you to be his own;
And may the Holy Spirit bring you help and comfort always.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Stories that DivideA sermon on Genesis 21.8-21 & Matthew 10.24-39 by Keith Dyer

Continue in Sin?A sermon on Romans 6:1b-11 & Matthew 10:24-39 by Nathan Nettleton

Sharing the InheritanceA sermon on Genesis 21.8-21 & Matthew 10.24-39 by Alison Sampson

To Fear or Not to FearA sermon on Matthew 10.24-39 & Genesis 21.8-21 by Nathan Nettleton

Prince of Peace, or Enemy of the Peace?A sermon on Matthew 10.24-39 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 6 - Year A
2029-06-17 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 18: 1-15, (21: 1-7)

One blazing hot summer afternoon, Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, when the LORD appeared to him. Looking up, Abraham saw three strangers approaching him. He immediately jumped up and hurried to welcome them as honoured guests. He said, “Please allow me the honour of sharing the hospitality of my home with you. Come in. Take a bath. Put your feet up for a bit. Let me serve you up a meal so that you can leave refreshed and strengthened. I would count it a favour to have the opportunity to serve you in this way.”
So they said, “Thank you, we accept.”
Abraham hurried into the tent and said, “Sarah. Quick! Knock up a batch of scones while I organise the barbecue.”
Then he ran out to his grazing herd and butchered a prime calf. He instructed one of his workers to prepare the best cuts for the barbecue. When it was all ready, he served it up for his guests with a yoghurt dip and plenty to drink, and waited on them while they ate.
During the meal, they said to him, “Where is your wife, Sarah?”
Abraham replied, “She’s inside; in the tent.”
Then one of the three said, “Mark my words! I’ll be back this way in about a year’s time, and by then your wife Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was in the tent behind them as they talked, and she overheard this. Knowing well that she and Abraham were both elderly, and that she had long since passed menopause, she laughed to herself, saying, “Fat chance! Am I going to have such pleasure at my age; and with my husband past it too?”
The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and question whether she can have a child at her age? Is there any good thing that the LORD is incapable of doing? I will be back this way in about a year’s time, just as I said, and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was shocked that she had been caught, and blurted out, “I didn’t mean to laugh.”“Yes, but you did laugh,” replied the LORD.
The LORD was good to Sarah and followed through on the promise made to her. Sarah fell pregnant to Abraham and gave birth to a baby son. This happened when they were both old and grey — Abraham was already one hundred years old when the child was born. Sarah gave birth to their son right at the time that God had spoken about. Abraham named his son Isaac, and circumcised him when he was eight days old, because that is what God had told him to do. Sarah said, “Now God has given me something to laugh about! And everyone who hears the news will laugh with me! Once no one would have dared raise the topic of me having a baby with Abraham, but now I have given birth to the old man’s son!”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19

I love you, LORD!
How could I not love you
when you always respond to my cries?
You are always ready to listen to me,
so I will bring my needs to you as long as I live.
How can I ever repay you, LORD?
What gift could ever express my gratitude?
I will raise my glass in your honour,
I will name you as the one who saved me.
I will make good on all I promised you, LORD,
and I’ll let everyone know its for you.
Whenever one of your faithful people dies
it affects you deeply.
LORD, you have released me from my chains.
I will serve you forever,
just as my forebears have done.
I will bring a gift to say thanks;
I will pray to you, and you alone.
I will be true to the vows I’ve made;
and I won’t keep it hidden.
In full view of all your people,
in the public place of worship,
I’ll do all I promised you, LORD.
All the praise and all the credit are your, LORD!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 5: 1-8

It was our faith that put us back in the good books with God. We put our trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and we can rest assured that he has cleared up everything with God for us. Christ got us in on the extravagant generosity of God, and that generosity has given us a safe place to plant our feet. We don’t just stand there, though. We hold our heads up high and announce, with pride, that we confidently expect to be sharing the glory that is coming to God. Actually, it’s not just what’s coming in the future that makes us feel so good. Even now, when life seems to be giving us a raw deal, we can stand proud. We know that going through suffering can make us tough enough to survive the worst of times. This ability to tough things through will in turn generate new depths of integrity and maturity within us. And that brings us full-circle because it is this integrity and maturity that gives us our confidence about the future. Our confidence is not in vain either. We are sure about that because of what we have already experienced: a flood of love surging into our hearts from the Holy Spirit who God has given to us.
Christ got us on track at the cost of his own life. He did it right when we most needed it; when we were way off course and too weak to ever get ourselves back. It’s hard to believe, but true. You rarely hear of people putting their lives on the line for others, even for innocent children. Perhaps we might be able to imagine finding the courage to die for someone who we deeply admired and loved. But if you need proof of how much God loves us, just look at what Christ did. While we were still showing no signs of ever offering God anything but contempt, Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 9:35 - 10:8, (9-23)

Jesus hit the road and began teaching in the meeting halls of every city and town he came to. He broadcast the great news about the new culture, and healed people of every kind of disease and sickness. He was meeting crowds of people everywhere he went, and their predicament always left him feeling gutted. They were under so much stress and were so powerless to do anything about it. They were like children caught in a rip with not a lifesaver in sight. He said to his followers, “The world is an orchard, groaning under a bumper crop, ripe and ready for picking; but there are hardly any workers ready to bring it in. So get in touch with the Lord of the crop, and put in an urgent request for more workers to be sent out to do the picking.”
Jesus called his twelve closest followers together and commissioned them to deal with every toxic spirit they would encounter, and to heal people of every kind of disease and sickness. These are the names of his twelve chosen ambassadors: first there was Simon, who was also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; there were the brothers James and John, the sons of Zebedee; there was Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew who had collaborated with the Roman occupation forces; James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the freedom fighter; and Judas Iscariot, the one who later double-crossed Jesus. Jesus gave these twelve their marching orders as follows:
“I am not giving you the job of going to foreign places or to groups that are hostile to our people. Instead I want you to go to the people of Israel who have gone off the rails. Everywhere you go, broadcast the message that the culture of heaven is close at hand. Restore the sick to heath, raise the dead to life, integrate the outcasts back into society, flush out the demons. You haven’t been asked for payment for what you have been given, so you too are to do all this free of charge for others. Don’t take a wallet full of money just in case, and don’t go carting luggage around. Live simply and depend on others. Those who work hard have earned their keep.
“Whenever you arrive in a new town, accept the hospitality of someone who is trustworthy and on-side. Stay put until it’s time to move on. No shopping around for a better place! When you arrive in someone’s home, honour everyone as a friend. If they are good people they will benefit from your generous spirit; but if they prove unworthy of it, you have lost nothing by offering it. If you arrive somewhere and they refuse to welcome you in or to listen to what you have to say, just turn your backs and walk away. Scratch their name off your map and forget them. I kid you not; on judgment day the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah will get it easy compared to that town.
“Keep your wits about you, because on this job you will be like children swimming among the sharks. You will need to be as street-wise as a feral cat and as harmless as a budgie. Be on your guard against those who make wild allegations against you and turn you over to the authorities or incite mobs to beat you up in public. You will be dragged before the magistrates and political leaders because of your association with me. It will be your chance to speak out for the truth before an international audience. When they arrest you and put you on trial, don’t worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say in the witness box. You will be given the right words to say when the time comes. It won’t really be you doing the talking, but the Spirit of God speaking through you. People will end up betraying even those closest to them, their own brothers and sisters, and having them killed. Parents will dob in their own children, and children will turn on their parents and send them to the gallows. People everywhere will despise you because of your association with me, but those who tough it out to the end will be brought home safe and sound. When people begin to kick you around in one town, clear out and make a fresh start in the next. You can take my word for it; you will not run out of options before the New Human arrives on the scene.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Exodus 19: 2-8a

The Israelites left their camp near the Red Sea and travelled into the Sinai desert, where they camped at the foot of the mountain. Moses went up the mountain to meet with God. The LORD spoke to him there and said:
“Give this message to the people of Israel.
‘You have all seen what I did to the people who kept you in slavery. And you have all seen how I swooped down like an eagle to rescue you from them and make you mine. So now this is the deal: if you live the way I tell you to live, and continue to be true to the alliance I have made with you, then you will belong to me and be my most cherished possession. Of course the whole earth belongs to me, but you will be a nation set apart and dedicated to me, serving as my priest in the world.’
Go now, Moses, and tell the Israelites what I have said.”
So Moses went back down the mountain and called together the Israelite tribal elders. He told them everything that the LORD had told him to say. The people of Israel were unanimous in their reply: “We will do everything that the LORD is asking of us.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 100

With all the earth we join in thunderous celebration, LORD;
raising the roof as we come into your presence singing;
coming gladly to offer you our devotion.
LORD, we know that you are God.
You made us, and we belong to you.
We are your people, fed and cared for by you alone.
Your gates are open to us; thank you!
In your presence, we sing your praises!
We name you as deserving all the credit and thanks!
You are the best, LORD!
Your love is rock-solid, and always will be.
Down through the ages, you keep your word and stick by us.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 has been poured into our hearts
through your Holy Spirit given to us.
Nothing is too wonderful for you,
and with a word you brought all creation to birth.
You revealed yourself to our forebears, Abraham and Sarah,
sharing round the table with them
and promising them the fruit of their withered dreams.
The fulfilment of all your promises came in your child, Jesus,
who revealed your compassion for the people,
proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom
and healing the sick and the broken of all that afflicted them.
In the fullness of love he gave his life for us,
while we were yet lost in our sin,
but you raised him from the dead
and now through our faith in him, you justify us
and welcomed us to the table of grace.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your Son, Jesus,
who revealed the depths of your love,
giving his life for us while we were yet lost in our sin,
and who now welcomes us to the table of grace
and pours your love into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for your love has been poured into our hearts
through your Holy Spirit given to us.
Nothing is too wonderful for you,
and with a word you brought all creation to birth.
You revealed yourself to our forebears, Abraham and Sarah,
and promised them the fruit of their withered dreams.
The fulfilment of all your promises came in your child, Jesus,
who revealed your compassion for the people,
proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom
and healing the sick and the broken of all that afflicted them.
In the fullness of love he gave his life for us,
while we were yet lost in our sin,
but you raised him from the dead
and now through our faith in him, you justify us
and give us access to 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God’s love for us is proved in this:
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,
freeing us from death’s grip,
and giving us access to grace
and peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

The Lord seeks willing labourers for the harvest.
Therefore go out into the world,
proclaim the good news of the nearness of God;
and call all who will hear to wholeness,
to life,
to holiness.
And may God pour love into your hearts;
May Christ Jesus open the way of grace to you;
And may the Holy Spirit work through all things
to build you up in endurance, character and hope.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

God’s HospitalityA sermon on Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7; Matthew 9:35-10:23 & Romans 5: 1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Gratitude and VowsA sermon on Psalm 116 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 5 - Year A
2029-06-10 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 12: 1-9

The LORD spoke to Abram, and said:
“Get up and leave your country, your relatives and the family of your parents, and move to the land that I will show you. I will make things go well for you and see that your descendants become a great nation. I will see to it that you are remembered as one of the greats; as one whose life was a blessing to others. I will do good to those who do good to you, and I will pull the rug out from under anyone who pulls the rug out from under you. Life will be better for everyone on earth because of you.”
So, at the age of seventy five, Abram got up and left Haran, just as the LORD had told him to. He took with him his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their labourers. They packed up all the possessions they had accumulated over the years in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.
When they arrived in the land of Canaan, Abram pushed on as far as Shechem, to the sacred site known as the tree of Moreh. The Canaanite people were living in the land at the time, but the LORD turned up and made a promise to Abram, saying, “I will give this land to your descendants.”
Abram built a monument to the LORD there, so that the place where the LORD had appeared to him might be a place for offering worship. After that, he set out again and headed into the hill country to the east of Bethel. He set up camp between Bethel and Ai, and there he built another monument to the LORD and called on the LORD in prayer. From there, Abram pushed south towards the Negeb Desert, making the journey one stage at a time.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 33: 1-12

We celebrate all you are to us, LORD.
We are your people,
and it feels right to sing your praises.
We make music in your honour,
with guitars and fiddles and drums.
We write new songs dedicated to you, LORD,
singing and playing with all our skill and energy.
Every word you speak is honest and true,
and everything you do shows you to be trustworthy.
You have a passion for justice and integrity;
your love and loyalty flood the earth.
The universe was created on your say-so, LORD;
everything in it, you breathed into life.
Filling the oceans was like running a bath for you;
fathomless depths poured out like a bottle.
All the earth is in awe of you, LORD;
all of us fall to our knees in your presence.
When you spoke, LORD, the world appeared;
one word from you and it was fixed in place.
All our big ideas collapse when you speak, LORD;
our national strategies are reduced to rubbish.
But what you have to say, LORD, is rock-solid;
your thoughts and feelings are consistent through the centuries.
What more could a country want than to have you as their God?
To be your cherished people, LORD, is the best thing in life.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 4: 13-25

When God promised Abraham that he and his descendants would inherit the earth, it was not because Abraham had earned it by following God’s instructions to the letter. Instead it was a gift given when God put things right for Abraham in response to the trust he had shown. If it were possible to earn the rights to the earth by rigid compliance with the law, then basic values like trust and promise would be irrelevant. It would all become just another legal contract to be negotiated. Tie it all up in fine print and it will only end up serving as evidence against you; but where the relationship is conducted on the basis of trust, no one goes on the lookout for very possible breach.
So instead of being a legal matter, the fulfilment of the promise is conditional only on people’s willingness to put their trust in God. It is simply an expression of God’s generosity, and that’s why it is guaranteed to always be available to everyone. Whether you were raised in a culture where observing the religious law was the norm, or whether you have simply stepped out and put your trust in God like Abraham did, the promise is open to you. After all, both groups can rightly trace their line back to Abraham, and the scriptures say that God promised to make him the father of many nations.
When it looked like Abraham wouldn’t ever become the father of anyone, he trusted his future into the hands of God, believing that the God who can bring life out of death could create something out of nothing. He hung onto his hope even when it seemed utterly hopeless. He kept on believing that he would have many descendants because he was sure that God had promised him that. Even the cold hard biological facts didn’t cause him to throw in the towel. He knew that his hundred year old body was past it, and that Sarah was an old woman who hadn’t even been fertile when she was young. Yet he didn’t allow even such obvious obstacles to break down his trust and make him cynical about God’s promise. Instead his faith actually grew stronger as he went right on crowing about the greatness of God. He remained dead-set certain that God was more than capable of making good on the promise. That is why God counted his trust as the equivalent of a perfect life. Now when the scriptures say “it was counted as the equivalent of a perfect life”, it is not speaking of a special arrangement for Abraham alone. No, it refers to all of us. We will all be accepted on that same basis if we too put our trust in the One who raised Jesus our Lord to new life from the dead. Jesus was put to death even though it was us who had done the wrong thing; but he was raised to new life so that we could be put right with God.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26

Jesus was heading down the street when he saw a man named Matthew sitting in his office, where he worked collecting taxes for the Roman occupation forces. Jesus said to him, “Come and join me,” and Matthew got up and began following him.
That evening, Jesus and his followers were out to dinner with a group that included many disreputable characters whose lifestyles were considered offensive by the more respectable members of society. Some members of the Pharisee party saw who he was with and confronted his closest followers over it, saying, “What does he think he’s doing, sharing meals with people whose behaviour is beyond the pale?”
When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Who needs the help of a doctor: the fit and healthy, or the sick? Go and work out what the scripture means when it says, ‘What I want is mercy, not a blood-spilling quest for purity.’ I didn’t come to spend my time preaching to the converted, but to call back those who are off the track.”
A respected community leader came in and fell on his knees at Jesus’s feet, saying, “My precious daughter has just died, but come and lay your hands on her and she will live.”
So Jesus and his followers got up and went with him. As he went, a woman came up behind him and touched the edge of his coat. She had been suffering from prolonged bleeding, and for the previous twelve years her condition had meant that everyone treated her as defiled and contagious. She was thinking to herself, “Surely even touching this man’s clothes will be enough to make me well.”
Jesus looked around and saw her and said, “Good on you, daughter. You took a risk of faith and it has paid off for you. Welcome back to the world of the healthy!”
Sure enough, at that moment she became completely healthy.
When Jesus arrived at the home of the community leader and saw all the chaos of mourners and funeral directors and people bearing condolences and casseroles, he said, “Everybody out! The girl is not dead. She’s only asleep.”
But they rubbished him. They knew she was dead. Unperturbed, Jesus took charge of the situation and kicked them all outside. He went in and clasped the girl’s hand tenderly and up she got. The news of this spread through the district like wildfire.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Hosea 5:15 - 6:6

I, the LORD, am going to pack up and go home.
I will have nothing more to do with my people
until they wake up to themselves and come clean,
until they are ready to turn to me again.
As soon as things fall apart for them,
they will come running to me in tears, saying:
“Please take us back, LORD.
You were right to knock us flat, and tear us apart;
but come now and bind our wounds.
Teach us a lesson by grounding us for a couple of days,
but then give us a fresh start.
On the third day, put us back on our feet
so we can live in your presence.
We want to stick with you and learn your ways, LORD.
We know we can rely on you, as sure as day follows night.
You are like welcome rain to our parched spirits;
soaking in and bringing new life to flower.”
What am I to do with you, my people?
What am I to do with you, my chosen ones?
Your love is as fickle as the morning mist;
as lasting as a puddle in the blazing sun.
That is why I have unleashed my prophets against you
and cut you down to size with my fierce words.
That is why I have turned the spotlight on you
to make it clear what I think of you.
It is not gifts and offering that I want from you,
but a love that lasts.
It is not dutiful religious behaviour that I’m looking for,
but people who know and care what I am on about.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 50: 7-15

We belong to you, LORD, and you call us to listen.
You set out the case against us, your chosen people.
You are God; our God.
It is not our sacrifices you condemn;
the gifts we are constantly offering.
But when they mean nothing to us, they mean nothing to you.
You don’t want any more thoughtless gifts.
You don’t depend on us for supplies.
From farm to forest, every creature is yours.
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
every beast in every paddock belongs to you.
You have no need of our help if you get hungry;
the best fruits of all the earth are yours for the picking.
Only a fool would think you eat our burnt beef!
Or that you literally drink the blood of sheep!
You welcome our gifts if they are really offered in gratitude;
if we back them up by keeping our promises.
When trouble breaks out, we only have to call you;
You’ll be there to bail us out,
and we’ll put you name up in lights!”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 give life to the dead
and fill the world with love.
The heavens and earth came into existence when you spoke;
all things appeared at your command.
You called a people to be your own,
making them strong in faith as they gave glory to you,
and blessing the whole earth through them.
You sent your child, Jesus,
to teach us the ways of mercy
and to call sinners to leave their past behind
and follow you.
When he was handed over to death,
you raised him to new life and,
taking us by the hand, raised us with him.
When we put our faith in you,
you were true to your promise of grace
and declared us to be in the right with you,
healing us of all that would drain us of life.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give you thanks for your Son, Jesus,
who calls us to leave our past behind and follow you,
taking us by the hand to raise us up
and heal us of all that would drain us of life.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you give life to the dead
and fill the world with love.
The heavens and earth came into existence when you spoke;
all things appeared at your command.
You called a people to be your own,
making them strong in faith as they gave glory to you,
and blessing the whole earth through them.
You sent your child, Jesus,
to teach us the ways of mercy
and to call sinners to leave their past behind
and follow you.
When he was handed over to death,
you raised him to new life and,
taking us by the hand, raised us with him.
When we put our faith in you,
you were true to your promise of grace
and declared us to be in the right with you,
healing us of all that would drain us of 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus came to restore sinners to God.
When he was handed over to death he took our sins
and was raised so that we might be put right with God.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, at the call of God
and follow wherever the Lord leads you.
Love truth and justice,
and share the healing mercy of God with all.
And may God bless you and make you a blessing to others;
May Christ Jesus take you by the hand and lift you to life;
And may the Holy Spirit nourish you in hope
so that you will grow strong in faith.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

Feeling Useless?A sermon on Genesis 12:1-9 & Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 by Nathan Nettleton

The Blessing of FaithA sermon on Genesis 12:1-9 & Romans 4:13-25 by Garry Deverell

You’re Not That Dead!A sermon on Matthew 9, Romans 4 & Genesis 12 by Nathan Nettleton

Leaving Quarantine with JesusA sermon on Matthew 9:9-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 4 - Year A
2029-06-03
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.
Bible Readings (paraphrased)
Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19

This is the story of Noah. Noah was a man who always did the right thing by everybody: the only person of real integrity on the earth in that generation. Noah and his wife had three sons named Shem, Ham and Japheth.
The rest of the human race had become totally corrupt and violent, and God was sick of the sight of it. Seeing how depraved everyone had become, God spoke to Noah and said:
“I have made up my mind to wipe the human race off the face of the earth, because they have made the earth a violent and heartless place. So now I am going to destroy them and wipe the planet clean, ready for a fresh start. Build yourself an enormous lifeboat according to these specifications. Use marine-quality timbers for the construction and apply a waterproof lining of tar, inside and out. Build it with three deck levels and many cabins. The overall dimensions are to be as follows: a length of 150 metres; a width of 25 metres; and a height of 15 metres. Build a roof over the top with a half metre clearance between it and the top of the side walls. Build the lifeboat with a single entrance on the side.
“What I am going to do is completely flood the earth with water to wipe out everything that lives and breathes on it. Every creature on earth will die. But I am going to form a new alliance with life on earth, setting it up with you. You are to move into the lifeboat along with your wife, your sons, and their wives. You are also to take on board a male and a female of every kind of living creature to keep them alive with you. Every kind of bird, every kind of animal, and every kind of creepy-crawly on earth: take with you a breeding pair of each to keep them alive. You are also to store a full range of food on board the life-boat; enough to feed your family and all the animals.”
So Noah went ahead and followed God’s instructions to the letter. Sure enough, the swollen waters flooded the earth for one hundred and fifty days. Even after that, everyone had to stay on board for nearly three months more while the earth dried out. Eventually God said to Noah:
“It is time for you and your whole family to leave the lifeboat. Unload all the living creatures that are with you; all the birds and animals and creepy-crawlies of every kind. Release them so that they can breed like rabbits and restock the earth.”
So Noah disembarked with his wife and their sons and their son’s wives. And out of the lifeboat with them came all the animals, all the creepy-crawlies, and all the birds – breeding pairs of every kind of creature that lives on the earth.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 46

Our refuge, our shelter, our fortress, our security;
you are all these things to us, God.
You are always there for us when we need you.
Because of you, we will not panic
even if our world comes crashing down around our ears;
even if the earth splits open beneath us;
even if chaos pours in like a raging flood;
even if life as we know it goes up in smoke.
You are the LORD of cosmic power — the God of our ancestors —
our safety, our refuge.
A river flowing with life-giving water runs through your holy city
bringing joy and peace to your sacred home.
You are the most high God, and the city where you live
will rest secure and greet the new day with confidence.
The world may be in chaos, nations tearing apart at the seams,
but when you speak, the earth sinks to its knees.
You are the LORD of cosmic power — the God of our ancestors —
our safety, our refuge.
What you have done is a sight for sore eyes, LORD;
you have left a trail of destruction across the earth:
weapons of war crushed and burned;
implements of fear smashed to pieces;
conflicts and wars closed down for good.
You call us to a peaceful calm
and invite us to know you as God.
You stand supreme above the nations,
unmatched in all the earth.
You are the LORD of cosmic power — the God of our ancestors —
our safety, our refuge.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-28, (29-31)

Being identified with God’s message does not make me cringe at all. I am honoured to be associated with something that God is working through so powerfully in order to bring everyone who believes home to the safety and wholeness for which they were created. It began among the Jewish people, but now everyone is in on it. It reveals God’s unshakable commitment to doing the right thing by all who put their trust in God’s trustworthiness. The scriptures put it this way: “Anyone who gets things right with God through a relationship of trust, will live.”
This is not applied differently to different groups of people. Everyone is in the same boat because we have all done wrong and fallen well short of the shining integrity God created us for. But God treats everybody with a generosity that is out of all proportion to anything we could deserve and, as a gift, puts us back in the good books. This happens as part of the work done by Jesus the Messiah in putting everything back the way it should be. He was sent by God to clean up the mess we had gotten ourselves into and bring us back into a relationship based on trust, and he made the ultimate sacrifice and paid the price in his own blood to get the job done. This demonstrated God’s unshakable commitment to doing the right thing by everyone, both in the past and in the present. In the past God’s commitment was expressed by putting up with people’s wrongdoing and not dishing out the punishments they deserved. In the present, God is again proving that commitment by putting those who put their trust in Jesus into the good books.
So what is left of our boast that we Jews are the only ones in the good books with God? Clearly it is not backed up by the facts. Why? Did others do something to earn an equal place before God? Not at all, but God put the relationship on a trust basis, and that put everyone on an equal footing. What we are saying is that people get into the good books by trusting God, regardless of whether or not they observe the customs prescribed by the traditional Jewish law. God is not only the God of the Jews, but of everyone else as well. After all, there is only one God! Those who have been brought up to be religious are put in to God’s good books on the basis of a relationship of trust, and everyone else is put in through exactly the same relationship of trust. However, if you think we are saying that this relationship of trust means that there is no value in the traditional law, you have missed the point. What we are saying is quite the opposite. It is only within this relationship of trust that the customs set out in the law can prove their worth.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 7: 21-29

Drawing to the end of his sermon on the mountain, Jesus said, “You can’t bluff your way into the culture of heaven by dropping my name and prattling on about what a high view of my authority you hold. It is those who walk the walk who will get in – those who actually live the way God wants them to live. When the day comes, many people will appeal to me saying, ‘Lord, Lord, look at all the great things we did in your name. We preached. We took on the forces of evil and won. We were real movers and shakers. We did all sorts of impressive things and we gave you the credit for it all. Doesn’t that count for anything?’ But I will tell them straight, ‘I’ll have nothing to do with you. You are a bunch of frauds, rotten to the core. Get out of my sight!’
“The people who take notice of what I teach and put it into practice are like experienced builders who always put down solid foundations before building a house. When violent storms come, or even if cyclones and floods hit, that house stands firm, rock-solid on its foundations. But those who hear my teachings and don’t bother doing anything about them are like brainless do-it-yourselfers who knock up a house with nothing but sand for foundations. The first time it is hit by a decent storm, the wind and rain rip into it and in no time at all there is a spectacular crash and down it comes!”
When Jesus had finished speaking, the crowd was stunned. His teaching was like nothing they had ever heard before. His words carried great weight and it was clear that he stood behind everything he said, which was quite a contrast to the religious teachers they were used to!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection

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.

Deuteronomy 11: 18-21, 26-28

Moses said to the people:
“Take to heart these teachings I have passed on to you from the LORD your God. Do whatever you need to do to keep them fixed in your minds: write them on the back of your hands; wear them as a badge stuck on your forehead. Teach them to your children and talk about them morning, noon and night, at home or wherever you go. Hang them over your front doors, put them up on a billboard at the entrance to your town so that you will be reminded of them as you come and go. That way you will be assured of a long and happy life in the land that the LORD promised to your ancestors. Your children will enjoy the same, and their children too, as long as the earth keeps turning.
“Take note. Today I have taught you how the LORD your God wants you to live, and now it is in your hands. Your life can be blessed or cursed; the choice is yours. Everything will work out well for you if you live the way the LORD your God has told you to live. But everything will fall apart for you if you turn your back on the way that the LORD your God has told you to live and take off after other ways and other objects of devotion.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 31: 1-5, 19-24

I look to you for refuge, LORD;
don’t let me be dragged through the mud.
You promised justice – save me!
Give me your ear – I’m crying for help;
rescue me before it’s too late.
Be a secure refuge for me,
a bomb shelter where I can hide.
Your solid walls protect me from danger;
lead me and guide me so I’ll be a credit to you;
keep me clear of pitfalls and traps.
You are the only refuge I trust, LORD;
I put my life in your hands.
You are a faithful God,
and you have saved me.
Your goodness is rich and free;
available to all who respect you and trust you.
Out in the open, for all to see,
you stockpile blessings for those in your care.
You shelter them yourself, LORD,
keeping them safe from vindictive plots.
You give them a safe hiding place,
sheltered from malicious talk.
You are the greatest, LORD;
and you proved yourself when I needed you.
When I was surrounded by a violent mob,
your love protected me like a solid wall.
At first I panicked;
I thought you had given up on me.
But you were there in a flash
when I cried out for help.
I call on all your people to give you their love, LORD.
You keep the faithful safe
and repay the arrogant as they deserve.
I say to myself, “Be strong, tough it out,”
as I wait with my trust in you, LORD.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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 by grace you have justified and redeemed us
and become our refuge and strength.
In the first of your works you created the universe
and everything that moves on the earth.
When you sent a flood to purge the earth of corruption,
you made a covenant with your servant Noah
and saved every family of living creatures.
You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us,
to teach us with authority how to live by your words
and be welcomed into your kingdom.
When he was killed by those who were filled with violence,
you raised him with power from the dead
and called everyone to put their faith in him.
To all who hear your invitation and act on it
you give the gift of righteousness in your presence
and redemption in and through Christ Jesus.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)

We give thanks for your grace
in which you have justified and redeemed us
and become our refuge and strength,
even though we had becoe corrupt and fallen short of your glory.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for by grace you have justified and redeemed us
and become our refuge and strength.
In the first of your works you created the universe
and everything that moves on the earth.
When you sent a flood to purge the earth of corruption,
you made a covenant with your servant Noah
and saved every family of living creatures.
You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us,
to teach us with authority how to live by your words
and be welcomed into your kingdom.
When he was killed by those who were filled with violence,
you raised him with power from the dead
and called everyone to put their faith in him.
To all who hear your invitation and act on it
you give the gift of righteousness in your presence
and redemption in and through Christ Jesus.
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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,
but through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
we are forgiven and justified
as a gift of his grace.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and build your lives on the solid rock
of Christ’s words, heard and put into action.
Do not be ashamed of the gospel,
but live by faith
and find your refuge and strength in God.
And may God be known to you in the stillness;
May Christ Jesus be the solid foundation of your lives;
And may the Holy Spirit give you courage,
even when the earth is shaken around you.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons
Sermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website.

God’s change of heart
A sermon on Genesis 6:5 – 9:17 by Nathan Nettleton
The Blessing of Homeland
A sermon on Deuteronomy 11:8-12, 18-21, 27-28 by Nathan Nettleton

The Feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
2029-05-31 00:00 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

Lections from The Revised Common Lectionary. Copyright 1992 by the Consultation on Common Texts(CCT) P.O. Box 340003, Room 381, Nashville, TN 37203-0003, USA. Used with Permission.

1 Samuel 2: 1-10

After the birth of her son, Samuel, Hannah prayed the following prayer:
“Thanks to you, LORD, I am full of joy;
thanks to you, I can stand strong and proud.
I can return the insults that were hurled at me,
and kick up my heels, because you have set me free.
There is no other god like you, LORD,
no one who can hold a candle to you;
not even the ancient rock is as dependable as you.
I can tell the proud to stop their boasting;
tell the arrogant to put a sock in it.
You, LORD, know us inside and out;
you see whether or not we live up to our words.
You, LORD, disarm the powerful,
and redistribute their strength to the helpless.
Those who consumed to excess are now queuing at soup kitchens,
but those who were deprived now feast in splendour.
Infertile couples are having children, one after the other,
while those who flaunted their children
find their families falling apart.
Life is yours to give or to take, LORD;
you can send someone to the land of the dead,
and you can bring them back again.
You, LORD, can make us or break us;
you can put us on a pedestal or knock us off.
You lift up those who have been trodden into the dirt;
you put the poor and outcast back on their feet.
You give them a place among the guests of honour,
a seat with the dignitaries and celebrities.
You can do all this because the earth is yours;
you set it up and you wrote the rules.
To those who are faithful, you guarantee safe passage;
those who are corrupt soon lose sight of any light to steer by,
for no matter how strong people are,
they can’t make it alone.
You are the LORD!
Those who try to obstruct you
find that it is like standing in the path of a train
as you thunder towards your destination.
You, LORD, have the final word on all that is done on earth.
You will give strength and power to your chosen ruler.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 113

You are the greatest, LORD!
We, your servants, can’t stop singing your praises;
the mere mention of your name sets us singing!
From now on and forever,
your name will be held sacred, LORD.
From east to west, from dawn to dusk,
your name will inspire songs of praise.
You are ranked number one, LORD,
way above even the greatest nations,
outshining even the sun and the stars.
Can anyone compare with you, LORD?
Is there anyone else even close to your league?
Not likely! You are seated so high
that you look down even to see the sky!
You lift up those who have been trodden into the dirt;
you put the poor and outcast back on their feet.
You give them a place among the guests of honour,
a seat with the dignitaries and celebrities.
You give the infertile couple a family
filling their lives with the laughter of children.
You are the greatest, LORD!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 12: 9-16b

See to it that your love is for real and without pretence. Avoid corruption like the plague. Dig your heels in and don’t be budged from the side of good. Love one another, and not just in theory but with warmth and friendly affection. If you need something to compete over, see who can score the most points for treating everyone else like royalty. Don’t let your enthusiasm get slack, but keep yourselves on the boil and work hard for the Lord. Celebrate in anticipation of all that is to come. When you are being put through the wringer, tough it out, and pray all the harder. Do what you can to help out other Christians who are in need, and work at making strangers feel welcome and at home among you.
When others persecute you, wish them all the best and pray that God will look after them. Seek the best for them; don’t wish disaster on them. When others are celebrating, celebrate with them. When others are hurting, share the pain with them. Stay in tune with one another, living a shared life based on common commitments. Don’t be full of yourselves, but hang out with those who the world writes off as nobodies.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 1:39-57

When the angel told Mary that both she and her relative Elizabeth were going to have babies, Mary took the first opportunity to make the trip to visit Elizabeth. Elizabeth lived with her husband Zechariah in a Judean town in the hills. Mary sang out as soon as she arrived at their house, and when she heard the greeting, Elizabeth felt the baby jump in her womb. The Holy Spirit welled up in Elizabeth and she cried out with joy, saying:
“You have been blessed like no other woman!
And doubly blessed is the child in your womb!
And what about me? Why am I so blessed,
that my Lord’s own mother should knock at my door?
The moment your greeting reach my ears,
the baby in my womb began bouncing with glee!
Clearly you are God’s favoured one,
because you believed what God said to you;
trusting God to follow through on every promise.
Mary too was bursting with joy. She said:
“Let me turn the spotlight on God’s greatness!
With all that I am I dance with joy over God, my saviour!
God has smiled upon me, though I was no one special.
Now I’ll be remembered forever as the favoured one.
The supreme God has done wonderful things for me.
No other name is in the same league as God’s.
In every generation, those who treat God with respect
are rewarded with showers of mercy.
With sleeves rolled up, God has made a show of strength,
and sent packing those who were so full of themselves.
God has kicked the power mongers out of office,
and lifted the downtrodden back to their feet.
God has put on a feast for those who were hungry,
and slammed the door on the rich without giving them a bite.
The Lord’s servant Israel receives a helping hand.
God always remembers them with tender care.
This is exactly what God promised long ago,
a vow made to Abraham and Sarah for every generation.”
Mary didn’t return home for about three months, but stayed until Elizabeth’s baby was born. Elizabeth gave birth to a boy who was given the name John.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net
