Proper 17 - Year B
2027-08-29 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.

Song of Solomon 2: 8-13

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

Psalm 45: 1-2, 6-9

My heart overflows with words of delight;
a song of love bursts forth for the king;
my voice as charmed as the poet’s pen.
You, my king, are a man of unsurpassed beauty.
Every word that passes your lips is generous and inspiring.
God’s richest blessings are yours forever.
Your throne is God-given, and will never be shaken.
Your royal power is wielded for justice.
You have a passion for integrity
and a loathing for corruption.
Therefore God has chosen you above all others,
crowned you with joy like no other has known.
Rich and exotic fragrances cascade from your royal robes,
and your palace is alive with music and dancing.
The daughters of kings wait on you, hand and foot;
and on your arm is your chosen bride in a gown of liquid gold.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

James 1: 17-27

Genuine no-strings-attached generosity is found only in God, and everything that is really worth having comes as a gift from the God who lights up our darkness. There is nothing two-faced about God — nothing fickle or shifty, nothing hidden in the shadows. We were conceived by God’s own love and desire and, with the Word of Truth as midwife, God gave birth to us and held us up for all to see, just as besotted parents always show off their precious newborn children.
My beloved friends, let me spell out some crucial wisdom: listening is your number one priority when you interact with others. Listen long and hard before you do anything else. There will be time to speak later, and if there is to be anger, see that it comes last of all when you’re sure you’ve got everything perfectly clear. Anger, by itself, never gives birth to the sort of active integrity God desires.
Think of yourselves as a garden in need of attention. Clear away the putrid garbage and all those noxious weeds that choke off any desirable thing that tries to get established. Pull them out roots and all. Then, like well prepared soil, welcome what God plants in you. Let the seed of God’s Word send down roots deep inside you, saving you from ruin and restoring you to rich fruitfulness.
When the Word is sown in you, don’t let anything stop it bearing fruit in your actions. Don’t let it go in one ear and out the other while kidding yourself that you’ve heard it. Hearing the word and then failing to act on it is about as ridiculous as taking a good look at yourself in the mirror and then still walking out the front door with gravy on your chin! If, on the other hand, you carefully look into the ways of God — the laws of freedom — and consistently put them into practice instead of just filing them away for later reference, then you will find God backing you up at every turn, making everything you do fruitful and satisfying.
There are those who think of themselves as being the epitome of true religion, and yet they can’t even control their own tongues. They are deluding themselves and their religion is not worth a zack. The religion that really shows us to be God’s children — the religion that is free of any fault or hypocrisy — is this: care for those who no one else cares for, and don’t allow yourself to be corrupted by the callous ways of the world.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

A group of religious lawyers and members of the devoutly religious Pharisee party had come from Jerusalem and were keeping a close eye on Jesus and his followers. They noticed that some of them were eating their meals without first washing their hands in the customary way. The Pharisees, like most Jewish people, observed strict purification rituals before eating. There were numerous rules spelling out the required ways of washing, not only for people’s hands, but for the food and the cooking utensils as well. Careful observance of these traditions was believed to protect people from defilement, and the religious types wouldn’t have dreamed of taking any shortcuts. So, when they saw what was going on, they spoke to Jesus and demanded an explanation. “Why do your followers spit in the face of our ancestors by flouting the rules they passed down to us? Look they are eating with defiled hands!”
Jesus said to them, “Isaiah hit the nail on the head when he spoke about you. He saw right through your hypocrisy when he wrote this:
‘These people mouth all the right words,
but their hearts aren’t in it.
Their worship is just one big sham.
They invent rules to suit themselves
and then teach them as the word of God.’
“At the end of the day, you lot are more concerned about your own rules and traditions than you are about what God really wants of people.”
Having said that, Jesus turned and spoke to the crowd again, saying, “Listen up, and try to get this clear in your own minds. The things that really pollute people are not the things that they put into their mouths, but the muck that spews out from within them.
“If you are looking for the cause of evil, look inside yourselves. Evil intentions are conceived in the human heart, every one of them: lechery, disregard for people’s rights, murder, sexual betrayal, unbridled greed, callousness, deceit, promiscuity, jealousy, vilification, conceit, senselessness. All these things bubble up from inside people. They don’t get in from the outside. And these are the things that really pollute your lives.”
©2003 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 4: 1-2, 6-9

Moses addressed the people, saying:
"Listen up, people of Israel. I am laying down the law on how you are to live. Get these things clear in your heads and put them into practice. That way you will have life and be able to make yourselves at home in the land that is being given to you by the LORD, the God of your ancestors. The directions I am spelling out to you are from God, and you must not go adding new rules of your own, or cutting out bits that don’t suit you. Follow everything the LORD your God is asking of you, just as I have told you. Follow these instructions consistently and you will become known for your wisdom and good judgement. Other nations will hear of the standards you live by and say, “What a great nation: you can back their judgement every time.” Our God is always there for us when we cry out for help. Can any other nation boast of that? And these directions that God has given us today cover everything we could possibly need to know. Does any other nation have anything as good as that?
"But take care and keep a close eye on yourselves. Don’t forget the things you have seen God do. Don’t forget them as long as you live. Pass on the stories to your children and to your children’s children."
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 15

LORD, who is welcome at your table?
Who can stay in the place you call your own?
You have given us the answer, LORD.
It is those who walk with integrity
and do the right thing;
those who speak the honest truth
and do not use their words to wound;
those who do not exploit their friends
or put down their neighbours.
It is those who hate corruption
and look up to those who honour you, LORD;
those who give their word
and stand by it even if it costs them;
those who lend freely, without seeking a profit,
and cannot be bribed into shafting the innocent.
You honour such people, LORD,
and anchor them on unshakable ground.
©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 there is nothing deceitful or shadowy in you
and every good and perfect gift comes from your hand.
Your throne endures forever and ever,
and in your passion and desire
you conceived the entire universe.
You gave birth to us through the word of truth,
and gave us first place among your creatures.
Through your servant Moses your holy law was given,
and through your Son, Jesus,
it was cleansed of all that obscured its truth.
Though he was opposed and killed
by those who honoured you in word but denied you in deed,
you raised him from the grave,
bringing all the world back to life.
Now he seeks us out like an ardent lover
to restore in us a passion for righteousness
that brings forth purity and truth
in both word and in action.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for every good and perfect gift
that comes from your hand,
and especially for your Son, Jesus,
who seeks us out like an ardent lover
to restore in us a passion for righteousness
that brings forth purity and truth
in both word and in action.
©2003 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 there is nothing deceitful or shadowy in you
and every good and perfect gift comes from your hand.
Your throne endures forever and ever,
and in your passion and desire
you conceived the entire universe.
You gave birth to us through the word of truth,
and gave us first place among your creatures.
Through your servant Moses your holy law was given,
and through your Son, Jesus,
it was cleansed of all that obscured its truth.
Though he was opposed and killed
by those who honoured you in word but denied you in deed,
you raised him from the grave,
bringing all the world back to life.
Now he seeks us out like an ardent lover
to restore in us a passion for righteousness
that brings forth purity and truth
in both word and in action.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ has delivered us by the Word of Truth,
setting us free from the judgment of the law
and planting his word within us,
to save us from all that would pollute us.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out, and be doers of the Word.
Cleanse your hearts of all pollution,
be quick to listen and learn,
welcome the Word that God implants in you,
and bring it to birth in acts of righteousness and compassion.
And may God pour grace upon you and bless you forever;
May Christ Jesus reveal to you the truth of God’s ways;
and may the Holy Spirit fill your life with passion and love.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

When The Bible Makes You BlushA sermon on the Song of Songs by Nathan Nettleton

Modern Sex and Ancient Purity LawsA sermon on Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 & Song of Solomon 2:8-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Disgusting!?!A sermon on Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 by Nathan Nettleton

You Are Not DefiledA sermon on Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 by Alison Sampson

Hot Sex & HypocrisyA sermon on Song of Songs; Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23; & James 1:17-27 by Nathan Nettleton

Love and GrubbinessA sermon on Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 & Song of Songs 2:8-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 18 - Year B
2027-09-05 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.

Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23

Given the choice between a good reputation
and triple-A credit rating,
take the good reputation.
Respect will earn you what money can’t buy.
God created everybody equal;
and at the end of the day,
the rich and the poor both answer to the same God.
Anyone who invests in injustice
will reap dividends of disaster,
and angrily throwing their weight around
won’t get them out of trouble.
If you really want to maximise your returns,
open your hands, open your table,
share what you have with those in need.
Don’t rip off the poor just because they’re easy targets,
and don’t use the law to take advantage of them
just because you can afford better lawyers.
If you do, you’ll find God rising to their defence,
and if you’ve stomped them into the mud,
the LORD will stomp you into the mud.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 125

Those who put their trust in you, O LORD,
are like Mount Dandenong:
solid, calm and dependable.
Like the mountain watching over the city,
so you, LORD, watch over you people,
offering protection, now and forever.
Where people are committed to playing straight,
you will not let injustice dominate.
If it did, even trustworthy people
might let evil through their guard.
O LORD, may good things come
to those who have stayed true,
to those who have integrity
and goodness in their hearts.
But as for those who have embraced the ways of corruption,
be it on their own heads if they are swept away
when you bring evil to its final end.
May all your people enjoy peace, O LORD.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

James 2: 1-10, (11-13), 14-17

Sisters and brothers, if you really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, how come you still play favourites? If people walk into one of your meetings and you make a fuss of the ones dressed up to the nines and looking a million dollars, ushering them to the best seats in the house, while at the same time turning up your nose at those dressed like battlers, down on their luck, telling them to stand out in the foyer, aren’t you practising apartheid, segregating God’s children? You’re as crooked as a judge who bases your sentence on the length of your skirt!
Get this straight in your minds, dear friends. God has turned the world’s opinion polls upside down. Those who have been deprived of what the world values have a huge head-start in the faith stakes. Their names are at the top of the list of those who God has chosen to inherit the riches of the kingdom. All who love God have an equal share in God’s promises, but you’re insulting some of them by means-testing your welcome. And just think about it — it’s the fat-cats who cut your wages and increase your hours, isn’t it? It’s the silvertails who use their fancy lawyers to bleed you dry. Aren’t they the ones who even make a mockery of Christ by invoking his name to baptise their positions of privilege?
It is quite simple to do the right thing — just fulfil the basic law of God’s realm, as spelt out in the scriptures: “Love everyone else as you love yourself.” But if you show favouritism to the young and beautiful or the wealthy and powerful, then you are violating that law and you stand convicted by it. It will show you for what you are — a sinner. You see, you can’t pick and choose when it comes to the law of God. You can’t claim exemption from one law on the grounds that you’ve kept the rest. You can’t pretend that because you’ve never had an affair you should be regarded as a model of virtue and excused one little murder. God ruled out both sexual betrayal and murder, and either one puts you outside the law of love. See to it that everything you say and do is consistent with the law of love which sets us free, for your living of it sets the tone for how you’ll be judged by it. If you’ve been harsh and intolerant in your judgment of others, you can be sure of copping the same yourself. Mercy and generosity however will outbid judgment every time.
Brothers and sisters, what’s the good of claiming to be a person of faith if you never put love into action? Do you think a head full of theoretical faith is enough to save you? You’ve got to be kidding. Think about this: if someone you know has barely got a stitch to wear or a scrap to eat, and you walk past saying, “Praise the Lord, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and fail to offer even a coat or a sandwich, what good is that? You’ve been worse than useless. Faith that doesn’t express itself in compassionate action is obviously dead — rotting, putrid and no use to anyone.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 7: 24-37

Jesus moved on to the district around the city of Tyre, and stayed in a house where he didn’t think anyone would be able to find him. He stuck out like a sore thumb though, and the word got around in no time. He’d barely had time to take the weight off his feet when there was a woman bowing and scraping before him, begging for help. She wasn’t even Jewish, but came from the part of Syria known as Phoenicia. She had a daughter who was deeply disturbed by some demonic force, and she begged Jesus to set her free from it. But Jesus said to her, “First things first. You can’t snatch food out of the children’s mouths and throw it to the dogs.”
But she didn’t give up. “Sir, even dogs know to sit under the table when the children are eating because there is always plenty of scraps for them.”
Jesus was won over. “You’re absolutely right! Your words have carried the day. Go home. The demons are gone. Your daughter is free.”
So she hurried home and sure enough, her daughter was relaxing on the bed and the demonic torment was completely gone.
Jesus moved on again, leaving the district of Tyre and heading back towards Lake Galilee via Sidon. As he passed through the district of the Ten Towns, some people begged him to stop and lay a healing hand on a man who was stone deaf and had such a severe speech impediment that he could hardly make himself understood. Jesus took the man aside, away from the eyes of the crowd. In the customary way, Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears and then spat on his finger and touched the man’s tongue as he prayed for him. Looking heavenward, Jesus gave a deep groan and said, “Effatha!” which is the Aramaic word for “Open up.”
And it happened, just like that. The man’s ears began to hear perfectly and his speech became steady and clear.
Jesus gave them strict instructions to keep this to themselves, but he was wasting his breath. The more he tried to hush it up, the more energetic the grapevine got! Everyone was just so blown away by the things he did, that they told anyone who would listen. “You should see the things he can do – wonderful things. He even restores hearing to the deaf and the power of speech to the dumb!”
©2000 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 35: 4-7a

Encourage those who are fearing the worst;
tell them not to give in to their fears but to hang in there.
Assure them that God is at hand;
coming to pay back oppressors what they deserve;
coming to rescue you, to set you free!
What a day that will be!
Eyes long blind will open to colour and light!
Ears long deaf will hear music and laughter!
Legs long paralysed will dance like brolgas!
Tongues long tied will sing like lyrebirds!
For reviving rains will fall on dry dusty land,
and rivers will flow in the desert.
Hard-baked salt pans will become inland lakes,
and cool water will gush up between scorching rocks.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 146

You are the best, LORD!
With all my heart I sing your praises.
I will never stop talking you up;
I won’t stop spruiking your goodness till the day I die.
There is no one but you that we can depend on, LORD;
not experts, not leaders, no one.
No human being can give what we most need;
no matter what their plans and schemes promise,
the minute they’re gone, their promises die with them.
But we hit the jackpot when we look to you for help, LORD;
when we put all our hopes in you – the God of our ancestors.
You are the one who made earth and sky,
who poured out the seas and filled them with life.
You are true to your word no matter what;
when people are ground into the dirt, you bring about justice;
when people are left to starve, you come with food.
You, LORD, set the prisoners free.
You, LORD, open the eyes of those who can’t see.
You, LORD, put the downtrodden back on their feet.
You, LORD, love those who do the right thing.
You, LORD, keep a caring eye on the asylum seekers.
You stick up for those who have no one else to stick up for them,
but you make the schemes of the corrupt backfire on them.
Take charge forever, LORD,
rule from your sacred Mountain for all time.
You’re the best, LORD. We’re with you all the way!
©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 embrace your people now and forever
and promise the Kingdom to all who love you.
The universe came into existence at your command
and rich and poor alike have you as their maker.
Through Moses you taught your people
to provide for the welfare of those in need,
and through the prophets you thundered against our injustice
and called for repentance in word and deed.
In your son, Jesus Christ,
your love and healing mercy
reached beyond the bounds of our prejudice
and demonstrated your compassion
for all who are needy, afflicted or vulnerable.
Though he was killed by those who sow injustice,
you raised him to new life
that he might sow in us the seeds of faith,
filling our communities with love and justice
and bringing forth a rich harvest of good works.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your son, Jesus Christ,
through whom your love and healing mercy
reached beyond the bounds of our prejudice,
and who is now sowing in us the seeds of faith,
that we might bring forth a rich harvest of good works.
©2003 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 embrace your people now and forever
and promise the Kingdom to all who love you.
The universe came into existence at your command
and rich and poor alike have you as their maker.
Through Moses you taught your people
to provide for the welfare of those in need,
and through the prophets you thundered against our injustice
and called for repentance in word and deed.
In your son, Jesus Christ,
your love and healing mercy
reached beyond the bounds of our prejudice
and demonstrated your compassion
for all who are needy, afflicted or vulnerable.
Though he was killed by those who sow injustice,
you raised him to new life
that he might sow in us the seeds of faith,
filling our communities with love and justice
and bringing forth a rich harvest of good works.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

When we fail to keep even one point of God’s law,
we become accountable for all of it,
but God’s mercy triumphs over judgment,
setting us free and giving us a faith that is active for good.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and invest your lives in the works of faith.
Make a name for yourselves for generosity and compassion.
Fulfil God’s holy law
by putting love into action as eagerly for others
as you would for yourselves.
And may God be your defender and provider;
May Christ Jesus dispel all that disturbs or disables you;
and may the Holy Spirit make you rich in faith
and loving and merciful in action.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Was Jesus a racist?A sermon on Mark 7:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

A Prayer-shaped Investment StrategyA sermon on Proverbs 22 & James 2 by Nathan Nettleton

Be OpenA sermon on Mark 7:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

Poverty, borders, and the Meaning of FaithA sermon on James 2:1-17 & Mark 7:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

Coming Out From Under the TableA sermon on Mark 7:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

A Contagion To Open Up ToA sermon on Mark 7:24-37 by Doug Morrison-Cleary

Playing FavouritesA sermon on James 2:1-17 & Mark 7:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 19 - Year B
2027-09-12 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.

Proverbs 1: 20-33

Wisdom shouts aloud in the streets.
Wherever people gather, her call rings out.
On the station steps at rush hour she sets up her soap box;
over the roar of the traffic she raises her voice, crying:
“Are you thick-headed people determined to stay brainless forever?
Is taking the mickey out of others the only thing you enjoy?
How long will you mindless morons turn your backs
on every opportunity to learn anything?
Listen up, and let me set you straight;
I’m ready to let you in on my thinking;
I’ll happily teach you everything I know.
But I’m at my wits end with you.
You don’t answer my calls;
you look away when I hold out my hand.
Whether I offer advice gently or scream blue murder,
it makes no difference. You still take no notice.
So how do you expect me to be there for you?
Why shouldn’t I turn my back when trouble come your way?
Why shouldn’t I just laugh when it hits the fan?
Your turn will come.
You’ll be looking up at rock bottom,
with the broken pieces of your life
falling through your fingers.
Why is it only then that anyone ever calls for me?
They reach out for me in desperation, but it’s too late.
They’d already told me where to go, and I’d gone.
They spat in the face of knowledge
and thumbed their noses at the LORD.
They wouldn’t have a bar of any suggestions from me
and they laughed in my face when I tried to set them straight.
So they’ve made their own beds,
now they’ll have to lie in them.
They bit off what they wanted,
and now it will stick in their throats.
Those who are stupid enough to wander off the path
get run over in the street.
Those who never think ahead
still have their feet up when the fire comes through.
But if you listen to me,
you’ll be in safe hands.
You can relax
without a care in the world.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 19

Your glory is written in the sky, God;
your artistry is carved on the face of the earth.
From one day to another, the message passes on,
and each night puts the next one in the know.
Not a word is spoken,
not a sound do they make;
yet their silence reverberates around the earth
and their unspoken message echoes from pole to pole.
You made the sun at home flying across the sky.
It takes to its task with the eagerness of a bridegroom;
as exultant as an athlete breasting the tape.
As your messenger, God, it does its rounds,
from one end of the sky to the other,
warming everything in its path.
Your revealed will is right on the mark, LORD;
it gives our souls their second wind.
What you says goes,
and any fool can wise up by taking note.
Your instructions are spot on, LORD;
anyone who follows them will be glad they did.
What you direct us to do is easy to see,
and once seen, everything become clear.
Respect for you keeps us true, LORD,
nothing can corrupt it, now or ever.
What you decide is always accurate;
a fair ruling, beyond dispute.
Your Word is worth far more
than even diamond encrusted gold!
It is sweeter by far
than any mouth watering delicacy,
even chocolate dipped strawberries with cream!
But that’s not all!
Your Word, O LORD, keeps me out of danger,
and following it pays off richly.
Can anyone put their finger on all their own faults?
LORD, eradicate the bugs I haven’t even identified yet.
Remind me not to entertain sour contemptuous thoughts,
and don’t let them start pulling my strings.
Without them, I can stay on course,
and keep my record clean.
That’s what I want, O LORD.
I want all the things I say,
and all the things I mull over in my heart,
to be things I’d be proud to offer to you,
for you are the bedrock of my life;
the one who puts me back where I belong.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Wisdom of Solomon 7:26 - 8:1

The Spirit of Wisdom is like a polished mirror,
reflecting bright light onto everything God is and does.
In her we see a crystal clear image of God’s goodness.
Although there is only one of her,
there is no limit to what she can do.
Without needing to change, she is always fresh,
and she renews and refreshes everything she touches.
Agelessly passing from one generation to the next,
she embraces those who dedicate themselves to God.
Making a home in their hearts,
she nurtures their friendship with God.
She enables them to pass on God’s word to others,
for God’s greatest delight is in those
who are at home with wisdom.
The beauty of Wisdom outshines the sun,
and the stars in the sky look pale by comparison.
She is more illuminating than light itself,
because light is regularly subdued by the dark of night,
but there is no evil that can ever get the better of Wisdom.
She stretches out her arms and embraces the whole earth.
She uses her strength to set everything right for the benefit of all.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

James 3: 1-12

Sisters and brothers, don’t all go rushing off to set yourselves up as teachers. In the final evaluation, the required performance indicators will be much tougher for those of us who are teachers. None of us measure up perfectly. We all make mistakes, both in what we say and what we do. If you never got anything you said wrong, you’d be perfect, you’d have your whole life completely under control. It only takes a leash to keep a dog under control. A captain can control a huge ocean liner by turning one little rudder. In the same way, the tongue has an impact out of all proportion to its size. One little word can make a world of difference — for good or for bad!
One careless spark can start a bushfire that will rage out of control from here to the border. One careless word can be just as explosive. The tip of your tongue carries a destructive payload. One word dropped in the wrong place and all hell breaks loose — inflaming hostilities, blackening reputations, incinerating trust. Before you know it, your whole life is a smouldering ruin. People manage to tame all kinds of animals — wild horses, eagles, even crocodiles — but the tongue can never be broken in. It is like a coiled snake, unpredictable and deadly.
Blessings and curses can come out of the same mouth. One minute we are pouring out praise to the God who conceived us, and the next minute we are spitting out venom at someone made in God’s own image. Brothers and sisters, it’s not right. If we couldn’t turn on a tap without knowing whether we were going to get fresh water or sewerage, we’d never put up with it. You don’t go to an apple tree and find lemons, do you? And you don’t go to lemon tree looking for strawberries. If you’re an infested swamp, it’s no use anyone coming to you looking for fresh clean water.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 8: 27-38

Jesus and his followers made a trip out to the villages in the district of Caesarea Philippi. As they talked on the way, Jesus asked them, “What do people make of me?”
“Some say you are John the baptiser,” they reported. “Others reckon you are Elijah or some other prophet from the past.”
“Well, what about you?” he asked them. “Who do you think I am?”
It was Peter who spoke up. “You are the messiah – God’s anointed one.”
Jesus warned them to keep that opinion to themselves and not to breathe a word of it to anyone.
Then he began to fill them in on what was going to happen to him. “The New Human is going to be put through the wringer. He’ll be done over by the politicians, the priests and the religious lawyers. They’ll have him executed, but after three days he’ll rise to life.”
He didn’t beat about the bush on this – he spelt it out as clear as you like. But Peter would have none of it. He pulled Jesus aside and gave him a piece of his mind. Recognising that his followers were losing the plot, Jesus made an example of Peter, saying, “Get out of my face, you satan! You’ve got no idea what God is on about. You’re just pursuing the same things as everyone else.”
Then he called everyone to gather round – his followers and the whole crowd – and he said to them, “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 and to our message, you’ll gain 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. There are some who find it embarrassing to be associated with me and with what I’m on about, when they’re hanging around with their deceitful and easily distracted peers. If they don’t sort themselves out, they’ll find that when the New Human arrives, full of the glory of God and surrounded by the angels, he’ll be too embarrassed to associate with them.”
©2000 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 50: 4-9a

The LORD God has given me the gift of the gab
so that my words can teach others
and put a spring in the step of the weary.
As I wake up each new day,
God makes me hungry for learning.
The LORD cleaned out my ears
so that I could hear every word.
I learned eagerly;
I never rebelled or quit.
I was opposed by others,
but I gritted my teeth and stood my ground.
I looked them in the eye
when they insulted me and spat in my face.
I took it on the chin and did not fight back,
when they gave me a belting and tore out my hair.
The Lord GOD is always there for me,
so no disgrace ever gets to me.
I have steeled my jaw and dug in my heels,
and I’m sure I’ll never be ashamed of my stand
because I can trust God to back me up.
So, who thinks they can take me on?
Let them stand up and face me!
Who are my opponents?
Let’s see what they’re made of!
The Lord GOD is backing me;
so who is going to accuse me of doing wrong?
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 116: 1-9

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.
Once death was closing in on me;
the grave’s icy fingers had me in their grasp;
Tormented and desperate, I cried out to you,
“Please, LORD. Help me! Save my life!”
You are so generous, LORD;
you do the right thing by us
whether we deserve it or not.
You side with the nobodies,
and you bailed me out,
when I hit rock-bottom.
I can let go of my fears and calm my mind;
your goodness and love keep me safe.
You saved my life, LORD;
you dried my tears;
you supported me when I stumbled.
I can stand before you with my head held high;
I’m back on my feet in the land of the living.
©2003 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 yours is the eternal Spirit of Wisdom
who renews everything and gives life to all.
The heavens and earth are your handiwork,
and you have made all people in your own likeness.
Through the law and prophets you revealed your wisdom,
and all who listen are safe in your care.
When we refused your counsel
and failed to offer you our respect,
you came to us in your anointed one, Jesus,
to be our rock and our redeemer.
Taking up the cross
and suffering rejection as one of us,
he was killed and cast into the pit of hell.
But after three days, you raised him to life,
lighting a fire of renewal that will never go out,
and he now calls us to take up the cross
and follow him on the road to resurrection.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your anointed one, Jesus,
who suffered rejection as one of us,
and who now lights a fire of renewal that will never go out,
as he calls us to take up the cross
and follow him on the road to resurrection.
©2003 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 yours is the eternal Spirit of Wisdom
who renews everything and gives life to all.
The heavens and earth are your handiwork,
and you have made all people in your own likeness.
Through the law and prophets you revealed your wisdom,
and all who listen are safe in your care.
When we refused your counsel
and failed to offer you our respect,
you came to us in your anointed one, Jesus,
to be our rock and our redeemer.
Taking up the cross
and suffering rejection as one of us,
he was killed and cast into the pit of hell.
But after three days, you raised him to life,
lighting a fire of renewal that will never go out,
and he now calls us to take up the cross
and follow him on the road to resurrection.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

No one knows all their faults
and none of us have brought sin under complete control.
But Christ is not ashamed to identify with us.
In his own suffering love, he offers us his life.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out with your minds set on the things of God.
Take up your cross and follow Jesus.
See to it that the words of your mouths
and the thoughts of your hearts
are acceptable to God and enlightening to all.
And may God make the holy Word known to you;
May Christ Jesus lead you in the ways of sacrificial love;
and may the Holy Spirit set you ablaze with divine wisdom.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Being Part of the SolutionA sermon on Mark 8:27-38 by Nathan Nettleton

That’s not a cross!A sermon on Mark 8:27-38 by Nathan Nettleton

Wisdom for a time of madnessA sermon on Proverbs 1.20-33; Psalm 19; James 3.1-12; Mark 8.27-38 by Garry Deverell

Holy GossipA sermon on James 3:1-12 by Alison Sampson

A Matter of IntegrityA sermon on Mark 8: 27-38 & James 3: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Who do you say that I am?A sermon on Mark 8:27-38 by Adam Couchman

Wisdom CallsA sermon on Proverbs 1.20-33 & Mark 8: 27-38 by Nathan Nettleton

The Feast of the Holy Cross
2027-09-14 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 20 - Year B
2027-09-19 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.

Proverbs 31: 10-31

How fortunate is the man who marries a gifted woman;
Her love is as precious as life itself.
He entrusts himself to her
and she doesn’t let him down.
Generous of spirit and never vindictive,
she will be good to him all her life.
She is creative and diligent;
not afraid to get her hands dirty.
With the taste of a seasoned traveller,
she shares her love of varied cuisine.
She is up early each morning,
seeing that everyone in her household
gets their day off to a good start.
She conducts her business with confidence;
buying and selling, and overseeing production.
She dresses appropriately for her work,
ready to roll up her sleeves and get stuck in.
She knows what her labour is worth,
and will work late to get the job done.
She puts her shoulder to the wheel
and makes the most of her many skills.
The goods she produces are widely sought;
they fetch top dollar in the shops.
She’s quick to help anyone facing hard times;
a generous friend to those in need.
She doesn’t panic when storms hit;
all her household are well prepared.
She doesn’t waste money on appearances,
but presents herself with colour and flair.
Her strength and dignity are what people notice first,
and she approaches the future with joy and enthusiasm.
She and her husband are respected about town,
and admired for their leadership in the community.
People seek out her opinions and value her wisdom;
her advice is caring and considerate.
She keeps an eye on the interests of all her household,
and doesn’t indulge in laziness.
Her children have nothing but good to say about her,
and her husband is always singing her praise:
“There are some wonderful women in the world,” he says,
“but you are the cream of the crop!”
Charm can mask the truth,
and beauty may be only skin deep.
The woman who is worthy of admiration and acclaim
is the one who knows who she is before God.
She deserves full credit for all she has achieved;
her accomplishments speak for themselves.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 1

LORD, how good it will be for those
who turn a deaf ear to the advocates of greed;
who steer clear of corrupt short-cuts;
and avoid those who sneer at goodness.
Instead they relish your word, LORD.
Calming their minds,
they savour the scriptures day and night.
You make them strong and healthy,
like a Redgum tree with its roots deep in a river bank,
flowering abundantly every season,
and always laden with healthy leaves.
All that they do is vibrant with life.
But what a different story it is for the wicked;
they are about as secure as dry leaves in a cyclone.
They will have no defence
when they are brought to justice,
and no friends among people of integrity.
LORD, you keep a protective eye
on all who walk a straight path of peace and justice,
but nothing will save those who leave that road.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a

Do any of you rate yourselves highly for wisdom and understanding? Well, let’s see you live it then. It is the quality of your life that will prove that your actions are the offspring of a wise and gentle spirit. If the things you do reveal that inside you’re always comparing yourself to others and scheming to get one up on them, then the more you boast about your wisdom, the more apparent it will be that you are deluded. Any wisdom you might have would clearly not be from God. It would be nothing more than rat-cunning, deviousness. The devil himself specialises in that sort of wisdom. Whenever people are set on being number one without regard for anyone else, mayhem and inhuman behaviour follow, as sure as night follows day. The wisdom that God gives is a very different matter. For starters it is not contaminated by any ulterior motives. It cultivates peace among people, being gentle and willing to let others get their way. It is so full of the fruits of generosity, forgiveness and love that it could never find room for even a shred of prejudice or hypocrisy. Those who invest in peace — not just hoping for it but really working for it — will reap rich dividends in a life of wholehearted integrity.
Why do you think these vicious conflicts keep erupting among you? Can’t you see that they are detonated by the greedy desires simmering within your hearts. You want something you don’t have and you fuel the hunger until you’re ready to kill for it. You covet something that you know can never be yours, but you let your craving blaze out of control, igniting spot fires all over the place. If you really want something, ask God for it. But you could never do that could you, because there’d be no way to word the request without exposing the naked selfishness that’s driving you.
What can you do? Let God’s desires have their way with you. Dig in against the devil, and he’ll be sent packing. Get alongside God, and God will get alongside you.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 9: 30-37

Jesus and his group moved on and travelled through Galilee. He was keeping their location secret because the things he was teaching his closest followers were for their ears only. “Soon the New Human will be betrayed,” he told them, “and handed over to a hostile mob. They will kill him, but three days after his murder, he will rise up, alive again.”
His followers, however, could not get their heads around any of this, but they couldn’t bring themselves to ask him to go over it again.
They arrived home in Capernaum and after settling back into the house, Jesus hit them with a question: “You blokes sounded like you were having a bit of a barney back there on the road. What was it all about?”
The silence was deafening! None of them were willing to own up, because they had been arguing over status – which of them was number one. Jesus sat down and called the twelve to gather round. He said to them, “Whoever wants to be number one must take a place at the bottom as the servant of everyone else.”
He called over a small child, and right there in the midst of them, gathered the little one up into his arms and said, “Anyone who welcomes little tackers like this as though they were gold-medalists is welcoming me. And those who welcome me are not just welcoming me – they are welcoming the One who sent me.”
©2000 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 Solomom 1:16 - 2:1, 12-22

Those who shun God are getting in to bed with death.
You can see it in everything they say and do.
They yearn for death like an absent lover.
They have signed up to a partnership with death
because they seemed to be made for one another.
Listen to their thinking, and see how screwed up it is.
They say,
“Life’s a bitch and then you die.
Here today and gone tomorrow, and there is no cure for death.
Down you go, and no one ever comes back.
And then they say,
“These holier-than-thou do-gooders are such a pain.
Let’s knock off the next one we see.
They are always in our way,
stopping us from getting what we want,
calling us sinners and law-breakers,
and lecturing us about being a disgrace to our upbringing.
“They claim to know God
and they make themselves out to be the Lord’s children.
“They make everything we think look bad.
We’re sick to death of the sight of them
because they are so different from everyone else
and their way of life gets up our nose.
“They look down on us
and avoid our ways like the plague.
They reckon that do-gooders will die happy
and that God will call them his children.
“Let’s grab the next one we see
and make an example of him.
Let’s see if his puffed up words about dying happy
hold up when put to the test.
“If this do-gooder is such a child of God,
he can expect God to help him, can’t he?
Let’s see if God can rescue him
when we get our hands on him.
“Let’s see what happens to his patience and gentleness
when we humiliate him, torture him,
and make him fear for his life.
“Let’s kill him slowly and humiliate him as he dies.
Then we’ll see whether his ‘divine protection’
is half as good as he says it is.
So that’s how corrupt people think.
You can see how how screwed up it is.
The lures of evil have sucked them in,
and blinded them to everything else.
They have never know what God is on about.
They have never tasted the fruits of living right.
They have never glimpsed the prize in store
for those with a clean record.
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Jeremiah 11: 18-20

The first I knew of the plot against me
was when the LORD tipped me off about it.
Until then I was like a lamb trotting to its fate,
knowing neither shearer nor slaughterer.
In my blissful ignorance I never guessed
that they were plotting my downfall, saying,
“Let’s cut him down in his prime
and make sure he never breeds.
Let’s rid the world of him
and erase all memory that he ever lived!”
But you are the LORD who rules over everything.
Your investigations uncover our motives
and your judgements get it right every time.
I have put my case in your hands.
Hit them with everything they deserve!
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 54

Pull rank to save me, God;
use your influence to clear my name.
Hear my prayer, God;
lend an ear to what I have to say.
Arrogant mongrels have got me in their sights;
they spit in the face of everything decent
and now they are plotting to kill me.
Look at them! They couldn’t care less about you, God!
But you are there for me, God; for sure you are.
You, Lord, are my bodyguard.
When enemies come, you’ll turn their evil back on them.
I know you can be relied on. Finish them off!
I will offer you my worship and bring my gifts to say thank you.
I will put your name up in lights, LORD, for you are the best.
You have bailed me out of every crisis
and with my own eyes I’ve seen my enemies fail.
©2012 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 wisdom and humility
are the source of true greatness
and you draw near to all who draw near to you.
Like a woman planting a garden,
you set out and tended the newborn earth,
and like one who sets food before her family,
you nourished us with the fruits of the earth
and the wise teachings of your Word.
In every age you have revealed your wisdom
to the humble and insignificant ones
and hidden it from the arrogant and violent.
In your Son, Jesus, you showed us
that true greatness is known in servanthood,
and that the way of wisdom is found in childlike simplicity.
Betrayed into hostile hands and killed,
he rose again and called us to follow him,
putting aside selfish ambitions
and walking in the ways of peace, mercy and humility.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus,
through whom you showed us
that true greatness is known in servanthood,
and that the way of wisdom is found in childlike simplicity,
putting aside selfish ambitions
and walking in the ways of peace, mercy and humility.
©2003 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 wisdom and humility
are the source of true greatness
and you draw near to all who draw near to you.
Like a woman planting a garden,
you set out and tended the newborn earth,
and like one who sets food before her family,
you nourished us with the fruits of the earth
and the wise teachings of your Word.
In every age you have revealed your wisdom
to the humble and insignificant ones
and hidden it from the arrogant and violent.
In your Son, Jesus, you showed us
that true greatness is known in servanthood,
and that the way of wisdom is found in childlike simplicity.
Betrayed into hostile hands and killed,
he rose again and called us to follow him,
putting aside selfish ambitions
and walking in the ways of peace, mercy and humility.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God
and submit yourselves to God’s ways
and God will draw near to you in mercy.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out, clothed in strength and dignity.
Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil.
Delight in the Lord’s teaching,
open your hands to the poor,
and let your actions arise from the wisdom of God.
And may God draw near to you and strengthen you;
May Christ Jesus teach you the ways of simplicity;
and may the Holy Spirit fill you with wisdom
and make your fruitful in peace and righteousness.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Getting Put in your PlaceA sermon on Mark 9:30-37 & James 3:13-4:8 by Nathan Nettleton

Winning, Losing and Child’s PlayA sermon on Mark 9:30-37 & James 3:13-4:8 by Nathan Nettleton

The Kingdom as Kids’ StuffA sermon on Mark 9:30-37 & James 3:13-4:8 by Nathan Nettleton

Snapshots of WisdomA sermon on Psalm 1; Mark 9:30-37; James 3:13 – 4:3, 4:7-8a; & Proverbs 31:10-31 by Léon van Ommen

Missing the PointA sermon on Mark 9:30-37 & James 3:13-4:8 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 21 - Year B
2027-09-26 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.

Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10; 9: 20-22

(When Xerxes was King of Persia, his prime minister, Haman, conspired to exterminate the entire Jewish population in a single day. The King’s wife, Esther, was Jewish, and she and her cousin Mordecai set out to thwart Haman’s genocidal plan.)
Queen Esther put on a special dinner and invited the King and Haman to join her. As they were enjoying the fine wine at the end of the meal, the King said to Esther, “You had something you wanted to ask me, Esther my queen. What is it? I’d be happy to give you whatever you want, even half my Kingdom if it would make you happy.”
Queen Esther answered, “Your Majesty, if you really love me and you want to do something for me, you can save my life and the lives of my people. That’s all I ask. A price has been put on our heads, mine and all my people. The order has been given to wipe us out, to eradicate us like vermin. We are to be marched off to our deaths, exterminated. I would have kept my protest to myself if we were only to be sold as slaves – I couldn’t expect a king to be concerned over so small a matter, but we are about to be massacred!”
The King nearly exploded. “Who is responsible for this outrage?” he demanded. “Name names.”
Esther replied, “The treacherous enemy is right here, your Majesty. This murdering mongrel, Haman!”
Haman didn’t know where to look. He just froze on the spot between the king and queen, like a scared rabbit. Then one of the King’s personal servants, a eunuch named Harbona, spoke up. “Your Majesty, if you look out your window you will spot the biggest gallows you have ever seen right outside Haman’s house. He built them to hang Mordecai the Jew – the very same Mordecai who warned you of the plot to assassinate you.”
“Right,” said the King. “String Haman up on his own gallows!”
So the guards dragged Haman out and hanged him on the gallows he had built to get rid of Mordecai. That satisfied the King’s anger.
Mordecai kept written records of all that had occurred. He sent letters to all the Jewish communities in the empire with the following instructions:
In the sixth month of each year, declare a long weekend on the 14th and 15th. Hold celebrations to remember that these were the days on which we Jews were saved from our persecutors. This month began in fear and grief but it has become a time of joy and celebration. So make these days a festival – throw parties, eat and drink, sing and dance, give presents to one another, and see that you include the poor in your giving.
©2000 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

James 5: 13-20

Are some of you doing it tough? — well then, pray. Are some of you on top of the world? — then sing! Sing songs of praise. Are some of you sick? Well, call up the church leaders and ask them to come and anoint you with oil and pray for you. Take your medication, but put your trust in the Lord. Faith-filled prayer can make all the difference. The Lord will put you back on your feet, healed and whole.
Those who are sick with guilt can do the same and their sins will be forgiven. Get into the practice of confessing your sins honestly to one another and praying for one another. This sort of prayerful openness and honesty will enable you to receive God’s healing.
When people have got their lives in order, their prayer is a potent force. Take Elijah for example. He was just as human as the next bloke, but when he prayed hard, asking God to send a drought, there was not a drop of rain anywhere for the next three and a half years. Then he prayed again, asking for rain, and sure enough, the clouds opened and the crops began to grow again.
Sisters and brothers, if one of your number wanders off track and falls away from the truth, don’t give up on them. No one is beyond hope, so do your best to bring them back. No matter what sins they might have fallen into, if you get someone back on track you will have rescued a precious life from disaster. Any number of sins will be forgiven as a result of your loving persistence.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 9: 38-50

John, one of the twelve, reported to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we came across a man who was exposing and expelling demonic forces and claiming to be doing it on your behalf. We tried to stop him because he was not a member of our group.”
Jesus wasn’t impressed. “Don’t stop him,” he said. “If someone acts powerfully for good and gives me the credit, they’re not going to then turn around and stab me in the back, are they? Those who are not opposing us are our allies. I’m not kidding when I say that even if all a person does to support us is offer you a drink of water because you are associated with me, they’ll get the thumbs up from God just like you.
“On the other hand, if someone – however insignificant they might seem – is believing in me, and you put up a road block and turn them back, you’ll be made to pay for it. You’d have been better off being dumped in the middle of the bay wearing concrete boots.
“Don’t be hard on others and soft on yourselves. Take the axe to the roots of division within yourselves. If it was just your hand that kept causing trouble, you could just hack it off! Disabled but embracing life is a whole lot better than having your perfect body sent to hell. If it was just your foot that kept tripping you up, you could amputate it! Better hobbling into heaven than prancing into the fires of hell! And if hostility was caused by your eye playing tricks on you, you could just gouge it out. Living the life of God with an eye patch is a whole lot better than having two eyes to feed to the worms in your grave. Eyes aren’t much use when they’re filled with smoke, and in hell the fires never go out!
“Don’t flee the refining fire though. It comes to everyone and, as painful as it is, it can burn away whatever is contaminating your heart. If you had a cup of salt that was so contaminated that it didn’t even taste salty any more, what could you do with it? It would be useless. Keep your saltiness at full strength and the peace among you fully flavoured.”
©2000 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.

Numbers 11: 4-6, 10-16, 24-29

As the people travelled through the wilderness, a group of rabble rousers among them began to stir up trouble over the lack of meat to eat. Before long all the Israelites were craving meat and whingeing about it endlessly:
“What wouldn’t we give for some decent food?! Remember how good the food was back in Egypt: mouth-watering fish, and a wonderful selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. We ate like kings! But now we are wasting away out here with nothing to eat but manna for breakfast, lunch and tea.”
Everywhere he went in the camp, Moses heard the people standing around their tents whingeing and moaning about it. He was angry and embarrassed that the people under his leadership were causing such offence to God, so he went and spoke to the LORD saying:
“Why have you got it in for me? What did I do to deserve being made responsible for these people? They weren’t conceived or born because of anything I did, so how come you have made it my job to nurse them like babies and carry them on my shoulders like toddlers. It was you, not me, who sealed the deal with their ancestors, promising to give them this land, so why is it my job to get them there? Where am I supposed to get meat to feed them all and stop them from whingeing to me all day about how hungry they are? The responsibility for these people is more than I can handle. I’m not up to the job. If you can’t treat me any better than this, just kill me now! Do me a favour and put me out of my misery.”
So the LORD said to Moses, “Gather together seventy of Israel’s most respected and influential tribal elders, and get them to assemble with you at my Sacred Tent.”
So Moses went out and told to the people what the LORD had said. He sent for seventy key tribal elders and had them assemble in a circle around the Sacred Tent while he went inside. The LORD came down, hidden in cloud, and spoke with Moses. As they talked, the LORD touched the seventy elders with the same spirit that was at work in Moses. During the short period of time that the spirit rested on them, they were all shouting words of prophesy.
Two of the seventy elders who Moses had sent for were named Eldad and Medad. They had not made it to the Sacred Tent, but the spirit touched them just like the others and they began shouting words of prophesy right where they were in the camp. A young man ran and reported this to Moses, saying “Eldad and Medad are shouting like prophets in the camp!”
Joshua son of Nun, who served as right hand man to Moses, said, “You can’t let them do that, Boss. Have them stopped.”
But Moses replied, “Why? Are you worried about protecting my position? I only wish that the LORD would give the same spirit to all the people so that the whole lot of them would become prophets!”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 19: 7-14

Your revealed will is right on the mark, LORD;
it gives our souls their second wind.
What you says goes,
and any fool can wise up by taking note.
Your instructions are spot on, LORD;
anyone who follows them will be glad they did.
What you direct us to do is easy to see,
and once seen, everything become clear.
Respect for you keeps us true, LORD,
nothing can corrupt it, now or ever.
What you decide is always accurate;
a fair ruling, beyond dispute.
Your Word is worth far more
than even diamond encrusted gold!
It is sweeter by far
than any mouth watering delicacy,
even chocolate dipped strawberries with cream!
But that’s not all!
Your Word, O LORD, keeps me out of danger,
and following it pays off richly.
Can anyone put their finger on all their own faults?
LORD, eradicate the bugs I haven’t even identified yet.
Remind me not to entertain sour contemptuous thoughts,
and don’t let them start pulling my strings.
Without them, I can stay on course,
and keep my record clean.
That’s what I want, O LORD.
I want all the things I say,
and all the things I mull over in my heart,
to be things I’d be proud to offer to you,
for you are the bedrock of my life;
the one who puts me back where I belong.
©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 in love and mercy you have rescued us
from all that would harm us or lead us to destruction.
The earth and sky were created by your hand,
and the land brings forth its harvest when you say.
You committed yourself in love to your people,
and saved them from the teeth of their enemies.
When we wandered into the pathways of death,
you heard our plea for life
and came to save us in your son, Jesus Christ.
Confronting demonic forces
and offering your healing and forgiveness to all,
he honoured as allies all who took the side of life.
He was killed by those who block the paths of the humble,
but you raised him back to life
and sent your Spirit to fill us with love, mercy
and an uncompromising passion for righteousness.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your son, Jesus Christ.
who offered your healing and forgiveness to all
and honoured as allies all who took the side of life.
Though him you sent your Spirit to fill us with love, mercy
and an uncompromising passion for righteousness.
©2003 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 in love and mercy you have rescued us
from all that would harm us or lead us to destruction.
The earth and sky were created by your hand,
and the land brings forth its harvest when you say.
You committed yourself in love to your people,
and saved them from the teeth of their enemies.
When we wandered into the pathways of death,
you heard our plea for life
and came to save us in your son, Jesus Christ.
Confronting demonic forces
and offering your healing and forgiveness to all,
he honoured as allies all who took the side of life.
He was killed by those who block the paths of the humble,
but you raised him back to life
and sent your Spirit to fill us with love, mercy
and an uncompromising passion for 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.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Our confession of sins before one another
opens us to receive the healing that God offers.
God has promised that those who pray in faith
will be raised up to new life
and forgiven for all their sins.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and celebrate wherever God’s name is honoured.
When suffering comes, pray in faith.
In times of joy, sing songs of praise.
Persevere in prayer and action
to bring the fallen back to the truth.
And may God save you from all that would harm you;
May Christ Jesus heal you and raise you up;
and may the Holy Spirit anoint you
and give you peace with one another.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Chopping It OffA sermon on Mark 9:38-50 by Nathan Nettleton

Solidarity in Sickness and SufferingA sermon on James 5: 13-20 by Nathan Nettleton

Healing and SinA sermon on James 5: 13-20 by Nathan Nettleton

Getting it Hellishly WrongA sermon on Mark 9:38-50 by Nathan Nettleton

Hellfire, Border Protection, and Self-MutilationA sermon on Mark 9:38-50 by Nathan Nettleton

From Deadly Deliverance to Making PeaceA sermon on Esther 7.1-6,9,10; 9.20-22; Psalm 124; James 5.13-20 & Mark 9.38-50 by Harvey Howlett

Did you hear the one about the Sex-goddess who fought Anti-Semitism?A sermon on the book of Esther & Mark 9:38-50 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 22 - Year B
2027-10-03 00:00 - 21:59 (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.

Job 1:1; 2: 1-10

Once long ago, in the land of Uz, there was a man named Job who had a deep respect for God. He had a clean record, always doing the right thing by everybody and having nothing to do with evil.
One day in Heaven, all the beings who watch over the earth gathered to report to the LORD. The Accuser came with them to make his report. The LORD asked the Accuser, “Where have you been?”
The Accuser replied, “I have been wandering around on the earth, going wherever I please.”
The LORD said to the Accuser, “Have you checked out the form of my servant Job? No one else can hold a candle to him. His record is spotless. He honours me, he does the right thing by everyone, and he stays out of anything corrupt. Even after he was wiped out – his property trashed and his family killed – for no other reason than that you slandered him and persuaded me to allow him to be put to the test, even then he didn’t miss a beat. He proved himself to be a man of integrity and he continues to trust me.”
But the Accuser spoke back to the LORD, saying, “Ha! Everyone has their price. You can get anyone to sell out if their life is on the line. Just try it – a direct hit. When his own body is wracked with pain, he’ll curse you to your face.”
The LORD replied, “Okay, we’ll see. You can make him suffer as much as you want, but you’re not allowed to kill him.”
So the Accuser headed off immediately and got stuck into Job. Horrific sores and lesions appeared all over Job’s body, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, and the pain was excruciating. Sitting outside on the scrap heap, he scratched, and tried every lotion he could get his hands on, but nothing helped. He was in agony. His wife said to him, “Are you just going to cop this and let God get away with it? You’re a goner anyway – just curse God and die and get it over with.”
But Job said to her, “You’re talking through your hat, woman. If we are going to welcome all the good things that God gives us, we’ve got to take the bad with the good. We can’t spit the dummy the moment trouble arrives.”
Despite everything that had happened to him, Job didn’t speak a word against God.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 26

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.
Don’t wipe out the good with the bad;
........make sure I’m not on the list to be chopped
with those who ruthlessly trample over others,
with the callous, the corrupt, the con-merchants,
those who think their money puts them above the law.
I’m not like that — I play a straight bat.
Be good to me, LORD. Put me back where I belong.
You know I’m on the level;
I align myself with your people,
and sing your praises in their company.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 1: 1-4; 2: 5-12

Down through the years, God has spoken to our ancestors through the prophets in all sorts of different ways. Lately though, at long last, God has sent a Son to speak to us directly. It was through this Son that God created the world in the first place, and it will all belong to him in the end. You can see all the glory of God mirrored in this Son. God’s essential nature is imprinted on him perfectly. Everything in the universe holds together at his say so. The Son took action to bring about the forgiveness of sins, and having done that he was given the most honoured seat in heaven as God’s right hand man. He had proven himself to be in a league above the angels, and the title he was granted made this clear.
Now on the subject of the coming new age, God has not put the angels in charge of it. Somewhere in the scriptures someone said:
“What are human beings that you take any notice of them?
Here today and gone tomorrow —
why would you give them a second thought?
Yet you have put them on a pedestal;
starting them off just a step below the angels.
You have honoured them highly — hung medals round their necks —
and handed them control of the earth.”
Nothing is exempt from this — God has given human beings authority over absolutely everything. It may not look that way yet, but take a look at Jesus. He too was, for a while, a step down from the angels, but now, having made it through the suffering of death, we see him promoted to number one and receiving all the honour and glory that come with that position. In the extraordinary generosity of God, everyone else can claim exemption from death on the grounds that Jesus has gone through it for them.
Everything exists for God and because of God, and God set out to gather everyone into one family on the road to glory. It was only right that the one who God chose as the trail blazer to lead people out of danger should first earn a perfect 10 in the same arena of suffering as them. You see, the one who sets the pattern for holy living and the ones who are patterned by it are all children of the one God, born through the same labour pains. That explains why Jesus has no hesitation in calling them his sisters and brothers. He says to God,
“I will tell these, my sisters and brothers, all I know of you.
Whenever they gather, I’ll be there, trumpeting your virtues.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 10: 2-16

Some members of the devoutly religious Pharisee party approached Jesus intending to give him a hard time. They asked, “Is it legal for a man to kick out his wife?”
Jesus turned the question back: “What instructions did Moses give about it in the law?”
They replied, “Moses said a man is allowed to fill out the divorce paperwork and send his wife on her way.”
Jesus wasn’t finished though. “Moses only said that because it was about the best he could hope for from a callous and cruel mob like you. But God created things to be different. You know the scriptures. First it says, ‘God created them male and female.’ Then it says, ‘Because of this, a man leaves his parents and joins up with his wife, and they will be a single union.’ In marriage, then, they are no longer just two individuals. They become one – something new and whole and greater than the two of them. Don’t anyone go tearing apart this union that God has created.”
Back home, later on, his followers picked up the subject again. Jesus spelt it out to them: “Anyone who abandons his wife in order to take up with someone else has betrayed her. It’s still adultery – whether you’ve filled out the paperwork or not. The same goes for any woman who walks out on her husband for someone else.”
At another time, some people approached Jesus with their children hoping that he might take the little ones in his arms and give them a blessing. His followers told them to clear off, but when Jesus saw this, he tore strips off them. “Little children can come to me any time they like, and don’t you dare try to stop them. The culture of God can be found in the hands of children such as these. The fact of the matter is that little children and the culture of God welcome one another naturally. Anyone who won’t join in on that welcoming will miss the lot.”
And with that, he gathered up the children into his arms, laid his hands on each one in turn, and blessed them all.
©2000 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 2: 18-24

After creating the man, the LORD God said, “It is a bit tough for the man to be all alone. I will make a partner for him, to share the load.”
So getting to work, the LORD God formed from the ground all the land animals and the birds of the air. The LORD brought them to the man to see what he would make of them. The man gave each living creature its first name, and the names stuck. He named them all: the wild animals, the farm animals, and the birds of the air. But none of them made the grade as a suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God put the man into a deep sleep, out for the count. While the man was under, the LORD removed one of his ribs and sealed up the flesh where it had come from. And then, using the rib from the man’s side, the LORD God fashioned a woman, and brought her to the man. This time the man said,
“Yes! At last! One of my own kind!
My own flesh and blood!
This one will be called Woman,
because there is a part of me in her from the start.”
That is why men and women leave their parents and tie the knot with one another. They become an item — one flesh.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 8

Our LORD and ruler,
all over the world
the mere mention of your name sets hearts pounding!
Your glory fills the universe!
The gurgling of babies makes more sense
than the clever arguments of your enemies.
The innocent chatter of children
silences the venomous talk of your opponents.
When I gaze at your handiwork in the night skies
— the moon, the stars, the milky way —
the whole cosmos under your control;
I can’t help but wonder why you bother with us.
Why do you care so much for mere human beings
when we count for so little in the scheme of things?
And yet, for reasons known to you alone,
you created us almost on a par with yourself
and decorated us with the highest honours and glory.
You have even entrusted us with power over your precious creation;
you placed the future of all life in our hands:
sheep and cattle;
emu and kangaroo
insects, reptiles, birds, and sea creatures;
air, land and water and the planet itself.
Our LORD and ruler,
all over the world
the mere mention of your name sets hearts pounding!
©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 love is always before us
and you honour all who turn from evil and honour you.
Through your Son, you formed the earth
and created men and women in your image
to be one, as you are one.
Through your prophets you spoke to our forebears,
but now you have spoken to us through your Son, Jesus.
Though he is the perfect imprint of your being,
he was made for a little while lower than the angels,
and walked with us the road of our suffering.
Tasting death in his own body,
he has pioneered the path to resurrection life,
and is now at your side, crowned with glory and honour.
He has become our perfect priest,
making purification for sins
and bringing us into your kingdom as joyous children —
his beloved sisters and brothers.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus,
the perfect imprint of your being,
who tasted death in his own body,
and pioneered the path to resurrection life,
becoming our perfect priest
and bringing us into your kingdom as joyous children —
his beloved sisters and brothers.
©2003 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 is always before us
and you honour all who turn from evil and honour you.
Through your Son, you formed the earth
and created men and women in your image
to be one, as you are one.
Through your prophets you spoke to our forebears,
but now you have spoken to us through your Son, Jesus.
Though he is the perfect imprint of your being,
he was made for a little while lower than the angels,
and walked with us the road of our suffering.
Tasting death in his own body,
he has pioneered the path to resurrection life,
and is now at your side, crowned with glory and honour.
He has become our perfect priest,
making purification for sins
and bringing us into your kingdom as joyous children —
his beloved sisters and brothers.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

By the grace of God, Jesus Christ has tasted death for all.
Walking the path of suffering before us,
he leads the way to salvation
and brings about the forgiveness of sins.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and welcome the signs of God’s kingdom
with the joyous simplicity of children.
Walk boldly in God’s strength,
and do not sit with liars and hypocrites.
And may God rescue you and be gracious to you.
May Christ Jesus welcome you as his brothers and sisters.
and may the Holy Spirit give you courage in time of suffering
and strengthen you in integrity.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Marriage, Divorce & AdulteryA sermon on Mark 10: 2-16 by Craig Thompson

Becoming as ChildrenA sermon on Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 & Mark 10: 2-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Getting a Good Look at GodA sermon on Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 by Nathan Nettleton

A Hug or a Contract NegotiationA sermon on Mark 10: 2-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Divorce, War, and Hugging ChildrenA sermon on Mark 10: 2-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 23 - Year B
2027-10-10 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.

Job 23: 1-9, 16-17

After hearing the attempts of his friends to explain his suffering, Job said:
“I continue to complain bitterly;
God is still kicking me while I’m down.
If only I knew where I could find God,
I’d pound on the door and demand a hearing.
God would have to listen to me state my case
and argue my innocence.
Let’s see what God would have to say to that!
Then I could get God’s answer clear in my head.
Would God simply pull rank and rule me out of order?
I don’t think so. Surely God would listen.
Surely if an honest bloke like me gets a fair hearing,
God would judge in my favour
and clear my name once and for all.
But I can’t find God anywhere.
I look up, down, forwards, backwards – nothing.
I think I catch a glimpse to the left, but no;
I rush to the right, but God vanishes like a mirage.
My hope and courage are almost gone;
God has left me a frightened wreck.
God has let a dark cloud close around me,
but my protest will not be silenced!"
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 22: 1-15

God, my God, why the hell have you turned your back on me?
How come in my most desperate hour,
you are nowhere to be found?
I called you all day, God, over and over;
I tossed and turned all night,
but I still didn’t hear back from you.
Aren’t you supposed to be our one and only?
Aren’t you the one we’ve always voted for?
Our ancestors put their trust in you
and you never let them down.
They cried out for help and you stepped in;
you saved them from disaster and shame.
So what about me?
Shouldn’t I still be treated as a human being,
even if I feel like a worm –
looked down on, loathed, stomped on?
Everyone who sees me sticks the boots in;
they turn up their noses and dismiss me with a sneering joke;
“Why don’t you see if God’s on your side?
Surely if you’re a mate of God’s then God will help you out!”
What’s the story God?
Your hands eased me from my mother’s womb;
You kept me from harm as I suckled at her breast.
As a baby, I rested trustingly in your arms;
You’ve been my God since the day I was born.
Don’t quit on me now.
All hell is about to break loose
and there is no one else I can turn to.
I’m surrounded by enemies
like a mob of wild bulls.
Angry, snorting, stampeding beasts;
they charge at me, all horns and pounding hoofs.
I’m chucked out like a bucket of dirty water,
and I’m so smashed up I can barely move a muscle.
My heart has gone to jelly,
a quivering useless blob.
My throat is as dry as a salt pan,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
And you? You have left me for dead
covered in dust and flies.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 4: 12-16

The word of God is no dead letter — it is full of life and constantly at work. It is as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, and anyone who pushes against it will be cut to the bone. With great precision it opens us up, layer by layer, uncovering what really makes us tick and diagnosing the state of our hearts. You can’t hide your true self from God’s word any more than you hide your body from a surgeon while lying naked and unconscious on the table. No matter who you are, your life is an open book to God.
As exposed as this makes us feel, it is all the more reason to stand firm in the faith we’ve already put our hands up to. After all, the one who will present us to God and speak on our behalf — our great high priest — is Jesus, and as God’s own Son we can be sure he has God’s ear. We can also be sure that he can relate to the realities we have to live with, because he has already been through everything we have to go through — weakness, doubts and torments — and all without selling out to sin. What more could we want in a high priest?! So let’s not be timid. Whenever we’re in need of help, let’s walk right up to the throne of God and ask, for our God is extravagantly welcoming and generous — only too happy to wipe our debts and help us out.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 10: 17-31

Jesus was just about to hit the road when a man ran up with his hat in his hand and asked, “Good Teacher, what do I have to do to receive the limitless life that God gives?”
Jesus said to him, “What are you calling me good for? Only God is really good, not any of us. What must you do? You know the commandments: ‘Don’t murder. Be faithful in marriage. Don’t steal. Don’t tell lies about anyone. Don’t cheat anyone. Treat your parents with respect.’”
The man replied, “Teacher, I’ve kept all these rules ever since I was a youngster.”
Jesus looked him straight in the eye and, filled with love for him, said, “You still haven’t found what you’re looking for though, have you? Come and follow me and you’ll find it. First though, go and flog off everything you own, give the proceeds to charity, and then, with all your investments in heaven, you’ll be free to find what you are looking for.”
You could have knocked the bloke over with a feather. The colour drained out of his face and he turned and walked off feeling sick at the very thought of giving up all the trappings of his success.
Jesus looked around at his followers and said, “Some people seem to have everything, but for them it is nearly impossible to get into the culture of God.”
His followers thought they must have been hearing wrong, but Jesus pressed the point: “Embracing the culture of God is not the easiest thing in the world anyway, but for the rich, it is about the most difficult thing you can imagine. You’d have more chance of getting a container ship through the eye of a needle than getting a person who’s loaded into the culture of God.”
His followers were totally flabbergasted. “Can anyone at all be saved then?” they asked.
Jesus looked them in the eye and said, “If people had to do it themselves, then no, it would be beyond us. But it’s not beyond God. God can do anything.”
Peter was trying to sort this out in his head. “Look,” he said. “We turned our backs on everything we had and followed you.”
Jesus cut in and said, “Look, I wouldn’t kid you about this. Everyone who has had to give up house or land, brothers, sisters, mother, father or children in order to cast their lot in with me and with my message will be more than compensated. Hundreds of homes will be open to them, and they’ll have more brothers and sisters and mothers and children than they can poke a stick at! Of course they’ll need them, because they’ll be persecuted a hundred times more too! Then in the coming new age they’ll get the biggest bonus of all – life without limit! Once again you can see that God is turning the world on its head – many of those on top now will be at the bottom, and those at the bottom now will then come out on top.”
©2000 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.

Amos 5: 6-7, 10-15

Find your way back to the LORD if you want to save your lives.
Otherwise all hell will break loose like a raging bushfire.
Everything you hold sacred will go up in smoke.
There will be nothing anyone can do to control it.
Why? Because you have poisoned justice,
and trampled goodness and integrity into the dirt.
Your hatred burns out of control against honest judges.
You can’t stand those who speak the whole truth.
You have made yourselves rich by riding roughshod over the poor,
ripping them off blind with stacked odds and crooked charges.
You have built yourselves grandiose mansions with the proceeds,
but you’ll never get to live in them.
You have established exclusive vineyards for yourselves,
but you’ll be history before the first glass is poured.
I have kept count of your many crimes.
I know the full extent of your atrocities.
You are a nightmare to anyone who tries to do what is right.
You bulldoze your interests through the courts
with bribes and threats,
crushing the needy in your path.
But those who’ve made a killing will be silenced,
for such evil times sow the seeds of disaster.
Set your sights on doing right, and not evil.
It is your only chance to save your lives.
You have always made out that God is on your side.
See if you can turn things around and make it come true.
Reject evil and embrace what is good and right.
Clean up the courts so that justice can prevail.
Maybe even now the LORD, the God who rules over everything,
will be generous enough to spare a few of you.
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 90: 12-17

Teach us to value each and every day, LORD,
so that we will be wise enough to make the most of them.
It’s time for a change, LORD.
Hasn’t this gone on long enough?
For pity’s sake, it’s time to give us a break.
Let a new day dawn
and give us our fill of your love and loyalty,
so that our lives may be full of smiles and laughter
till the end of our days.
Give us more days of happiness
than the days of suffering you sent.
May the years where evil reigned
be cancelled out by years of joy.
Make your actions clear to those of us in your service;
let your children see your strength in all its glory.
Put us in your good books, O Lord our God,
and give us a rich return for all our labour —
may the work of our hands turn to gold!
©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 suffered with us
and tasted despair that we might taste mercy and grace.
Your living and active word created all things;
and everything lies exposed before your eyes.
When our forebears put their trust in you
you rescued them, for all things are possible for you.
You sent your Son, Jesus, into the world,
preaching your message and calling everyone to follow.
His word cuts to the core of all things,
exposing the addictions that bind us and blind us
and hold us back from investing all we have in serving you.
When Jesus was brought down to the dust of death,
dying in the horror of abandonment,
you raised him to life again,
and through him we have the confidence
to come into your presence
and look to your grace for our life.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus,
whose word cuts to the core of all things,
exposing all that holds us back from serving you,
and through whom we have the confidence
to come into your presence,
looking to your grace for our life.
©2003 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 suffered with us
and tasted despair that we might taste mercy and grace.
Your living and active word created all things;
and everything lies exposed before your eyes.
When our forebears put their trust in you
you rescued them, for all things are possible for you.
You sent your Son, Jesus, into the world,
preaching your message and calling everyone to follow.
His word cuts to the core of all things,
exposing the addictions that bind us and blind us
and hold us back from investing all we have in serving you.
When Jesus was brought down to the dust of death,
dying in the horror of abandonment,
you raised him to life again,
and through him we have the confidence
to come into your presence
and look to your grace for our 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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus, the Son of God, was tempted in every way that we are,
and is now at the throne of grace
presenting to God our case for mercy.
Therefore, we can approach God's throne in confidence.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now in the confidence of people who have found mercy.
Follow Jesus,
keeping the commandments,
letting go of all that binds you to the ways of this world,
and investing everything in God’s realm.
And may God come close to you and keep you safe;
May Christ Jesus reward your faithfulness a hundredfold;
and may the Holy Spirit be your help in time of need.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

What Do Grace, Love and Mercy Cost?A sermon on Hebrews 4:12-16 & Mark 10:17-31 by Nathan Nettleton

Courage and VulnerabilityA sermon on Hebrews 4:12-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Grace, or the Power of PossibilityA sermon on Job 23.1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22.1-15 & Mark 10.17-31 by Garry Deverell

Impossible?A sermon on Job 23:1-9,16-17 & Mark 10:17-31 by Nathan Nettleton

When Courage Fails, Seek CompassionA sermon on Job 23:1-9,16-17 by Neville Callum

#FirstWorldProblems?A sermon on Mark 10:17-31 by Alison Sampson

The Word that Lays us BareA sermon on Hebrews 4:12-16 by Nathan Nettleton

What the hell, God?A sermon on Job 23.1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22.1-15; Hebrews 4:12-16 & Mark 10:17-31 by Nathan Nettleton

Clinging to Competitive GriefA sermon on Mark 10:17-31; Job 23.1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22.1-15; & Hebrews 4:12-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 24 - Year B
2027-10-17 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.

Job 38: 1-7, (34-41)

From the midst of a cyclone, the voice of the LORD answered Job, saying:
“Who are you to mouth off against me
when you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about?
Stand up straight like a man
and see if you can give answers when I ask the questions.
“Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth?
If you’re so smart, tell me all about it.
Who drew up the plans and decided how big it would be?
Who held the tape measure and marked it out?
Speak up – surely you know!
What do the foundations sit on, and how far down do they go?
Who turned the first sod? Who laid the cornerstone?
Do you remember what the morning stars sang at the celebration?
It brought everyone in heaven to their feet cheering.
“Can you order the clouds around
and tell them when and where to rain?
When you give the word for the lightening to flash,
does it ask you first, ‘How far?’
“Who tips off the water birds when the floods are coming?
How do ants know when it’s going to rain?
Who has the wisdom to regulate the clouds,
or be put in charge of distributing the rain
that waters down the dust so it won’t blow away?
“Can you help a hungry lion to hunt,
or hand feed lion cubs all they need?
Do you lie around with them in their den
and teach them how to pounce on their prey?
Who do you think provides for the Currawong
when it’s chicks wander about hungry
and cry out to God for a feed?
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 104: 1-9, 24, 35c

With all that I am, O LORD, I declare you to be the best.
O LORD my God, you are the greatest.
You are decked out in glory and distinction,
and the brilliant rays of the sun are your robe.
You make the milky way the ceiling
and the ocean bed the foundation for your house.
You fly first class on the clouds,
taking off and landing with the wind.
You have appointed the winds to deliver your message,
and flames of fire to administer your will.
You built the earth on firm foundations,
so that nothing can shake it loose.
You wrapped the planet up in an ocean
that submerged even the mountains.
Only when you gave the word did the waters back off;
with a voice of thunder you sent them running.
Cascading from the mountain tops they poured down valleys
and came to rest in the place you had marked out for them.
You marked out the shore and declared the land off-limits
so that the oceans would not drown the earth again.
O LORD, what a wildly fabulous world!
Working hand in hand with wisdom
you have made an earthful of wonderful creatures.
I give you all the credit, LORD!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 5: 1-10

The person who is chosen to be a high priest is given the task of representing the people to God and offering to God the costly gifts that people bring as a sign that they are sorry when they have messed up. The high priest, being just as prone to thoughtless and crooked behaviour as anyone else, is able to be supportive and understanding of people instead of dealing harshly with them. After all, priests have to offer gifts to God to say sorry for their own wrongdoing along with everybody else’s. No one can nominate themselves for this honour. A person only becomes a high priest if God hand picks them for the job. That’s how it was for Aaron and it has been ever since.
It was no different with Christ. He became a high priest, but not because he campaigned for the position. It was God who tapped him on the shoulder and said, in the words of scripture:
“You’re it — my Son;
today I have named you.”
In the same way, in another place, God says:
“You are a priest forever;
your task is the priestly work begun by Melchizedek.”
When Jesus was among us and the threat of death was closing in on him, it was with agonized cries and tears that he did his priestly work of offering up prayers and appeals to the God who has the power to save us from death. His pleas were heard because of his prayerful acceptance of God’s will. He was given no special privileges as a Son — he got his lessons in obedience in the same school of suffering as the rest of us. Once he had made the grade, perfecting all that he had to learn, God marked him out as a high priest — the last of the line that began with Melchizedek. Thus, Jesus became the one who sets free all who trust and follow him. For them he is the source of life without limit.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 10: 35-45

Among the twelve closest followers of Jesus were two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. One day they approached Jesus on the quiet and asked, “Teacher, how about doing us a big favour?”
“Tell me what it is and we’ll see,” Jesus replied.
“Well,” they said, “would you please reserve for us the top seats of honour on either side of yours, when your day of glory comes?”
But Jesus shook his head and said, “You’ve got no idea what you’re asking for. Can you drink the cup I have to drink? Have you got what it takes to be baptised with the baptism I am about to be put through?
“No worries,” they replied. “We’re up to it.”
Then Jesus said to them, “I’m afraid that you are going to drink the cup I have to drink, and you will be plunged into the baptism I am about to go through, but I don’t have the authority to give out the honours you’re asking for. God has already chosen who the seats on my right and left will be allocated to.”
When the other ten got wind of what James and John had been asking for, they were absolutely ropeable. Jesus stepped in and gave them all a good talking to. He said, “I know you’ve seen how power is exercised outside of the people of God. A taste of power goes straight to the head. Leaders strut around, flaunting their authority, and before you know it they’ve set themselves up as dictators, above the law. Don’t go making that your model. The measure of greatness among you is to be the measure of service. The person who will be honoured as number one among you will be the person who has slaved the hardest for everyone else. The New Human came serving everyone, not looking to be served by them. He came offering his own life in exchange for the release of many who are held hostage.
©2000 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 53: 4-12

Look at what the one who serves on the LORD’s behalf has suffered.
The sickness and brokenness he endured turned out to be ours;
if it wasn’t for him, it would have wiped us out.
But back then we thought it was his own fault
and that God was punishing him for what he had done.
In reality, it was what we had done that was to blame.
It was us who deserved to be punished,
but him who copped the flak.
When he was left battered, broken and bleeding,
we were off the hook;
free to enjoy the fruits of health and wholeness.
We were all doing our own thing in our own way;
as far off-track as a penguin in the desert;
as far off-key as a mob of galahs.
And yet the LORD accepted his offer to take the rap
for the actions of each and every one of us.
He was ripped off and kicked around,
but he took it on the chin.
Not once did he ever whinge or protest;
he was as silent as a lamb that trots to its fate,
knowing neither shearer nor slaughterer.
His arrest and trial made a mockery of justice.
No one knew or cared what he was up against.
He was dragged off in the midst of life;
put to death for crimes committed by our people.
Although he had never breathed a lie
or done anything to hurt anyone,
they buried him alongside the callous and corrupt
– thoughtless profiteers who died rich.”
The LORD says,
“It was me who decided to allow this tragedy
to befall the one who serves on my behalf.
He made the ultimate sacrifice at your hands,
and won forgiveness for you in the process.
So now he will be rewarded with life;
he will live to see his children and their children.
Through his actions,
my plans are able to succeed.
In the depths of agony and despair he discovered the truth,
and with the truth he found true peace.
The one who serves on my behalf was beyond reproach,
but he took the rap for what others did,
and left their record as spotless as his own.
Because of all that he has done,
I, the LORD, elevate him to the hall of fame
and give him the rewards of true greatness.
He deserves the best, for he made the ultimate sacrifice,
accepting the death of common criminal
so that through his suffering and prayers
others might be cut free from their sin.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 91: 9-16

We have nothing to fear because we have found safety in you;
we have settled down within your care.
Thanks to you, LORD of the universe, no evil can touch us;
disaster can not get a foot in the door.
You have instructed your angels to look after us;
made it their job to protect us wherever we go.
You’ve told them to catch us when we fall;
to keep us from coming to grief on hidden snags.
With your help we can face any danger;
we can stare down crocodiles and Tiger snakes.
Those who know you and love you can depend on you,
you are always there to pull them out of trouble.
The moment they call, you answer;
you’re on their side when all hell breaks loose;
you save their lives and throw a party in their honour.
You give them long and fulfilling lives, LORD;
they will see the realisation of all you have promised.
©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 alone know the secrets of the universe
and you alone know who is to be honoured in glory.
You set the earth on its foundations
and filled it with wonderful creatures.
Your creative power is beyond our comprehension
and your purposes in the world can only be glimpsed.
Yet you have come among us in your Son, Jesus Christ.
He came as a servant of all
and laboured and prayed with us for the release
of all who are held hostage to sin and death.
When tyrants rose against him,
he drank the cup of suffering
and was plunged into the baptism of death,
but you raised him to new life
and designated him a high priest forever,
making him the source of eternal salvation
for us and all who respond to your gracious call.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who came as a servant of all,
drinking the cup of suffering,
and labouring and praying with us for the release
of all who are held hostage to sin and death.
©2003 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 know the secrets of the universe
and you alone know who is to be honoured in glory.
You set the earth on its foundations
and filled it with wonderful creatures.
Your creative power is beyond our comprehension
and your purposes in the world can only be glimpsed.
Yet you have come among us in your Son, Jesus Christ.
He came as a servant of all
and laboured and prayed with us for the release
of all who are held hostage to sin and death.
When tyrants rose against him,
he drank the cup of suffering
and was plunged into the baptism of death,
but you raised him to new life
and designated him a high priest forever,
making him the source of eternal salvation
for us and all who respond to your gracious call.
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.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life in exchange for those held hostage by sin.
Having been designated by God a high priest,
he makes sacrifice for our sins
and thus becomes the source of eternal salvation.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now with the words of your high priest in your ears:
“You are a forgiven people.”
Though Christ has welcomed you to his table,
do not lord it over others.
Strive not to be served, but to serve,
and pray, with cries and tears, for the salvation of all.
And may God be present to you in times of trial;
May Christ Jesus pray for you and secure your forgiveness;
and may the Holy Spirit fill you with hope and humility.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Who is the Priest?A sermon on Hebrews 5:1-10 by Nathan Nettleton

Knowing Our PlaceA sermon on Psalm 104:24 by Keith Clements

Wishing to be GreatA sermon on Mark 10:35-45 by Nathan Nettleton

Status, Sacraments and ServiceA sermon on Mark 10:35-45 by Nathan Nettleton

Random Acts of SufferingA sermon on the book of Job by Nathan Nettleton

Prima-donnas and Exuberant ChildrenA sermon on Mark 10:35-45 by Nathan Nettleton

Following JesusA sermon on Mark 10:35-45 by Elie Haddad

Proper 25 - Year B
2027-10-24 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.

Job 42: 1-6, 10-17

After the LORD had spoken, Job replied:
“LORD, I know that you can do anything,
and that once you set your mind to something,
nothing can stop you.
You asked why I talk so much when I don’t have clue.
You’re right. I was talking through my hat!
I couldn’t begin to understand such deep matters.
You put me in my place and told me to listen;
You hit me with a raft of questions
to show me how little I knew.
In the past I only knew of you second hand;
but now I have met you face to face.
So now I am ashamed of myself. I’m eating dirt!
I won’t go down that track again.”
After this, the LORD turned Job’s luck around again and gave him everything. If he was well off before, he was twice as well off now! All his relatives and old friends came and shared a great feast with him at his place. They offered their condolences and comforted him for all he had suffered through the acts of God. Everyone gave him presents – money and gold jewellery and the like. From that time on the LORD blessed Job more than ever. His stock runs held massive herds and flocks and were highly productive. He became the father of seven sons and three daughters. He named the girls Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren Happuch, and they grew up to be the most beautiful women in the land. Job gave them an equal inheritance in his will, along with their brothers. He lived for another hundred and forty years – long enough to see his great-grandchildren having children of their own. By the time he died, he’d had the kind of innings most people only dream of.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 34: 1-8, (19-22)

I will speak up in your favour, every chance I get, LORD.
Every time I open my mouth, I’ll sing your praises.
Everything I’m proud of is your doing, LORD;
the news of your goodness puts a smile on the face of the helpless.
I’ll put the spotlight on you, LORD;
and gather a crowd to spread the word.
When I pounded on your door, LORD, you opened up;
you calmed my fears and put my mind at rest.
Those who look to you light up with joy;
their faces never grow dark with shame.
When I had nothing, I cried out, LORD, and you answered;
you got me out of some serious trouble.
You station your angels to watch over those who trust you;
they watch us, guard us, and get us safely through.
May everyone taste for themselves how good you are, LORD;
may everyone find shelter in you and be happy.
Your people endure as much suffering as anyone else, LORD,
but you ensure that they make it through.
Like a vigilant bodyguard,
you see that not a bone is broken.
Evil is lethal to those who drink their fill of it;
those who despise the straight and narrow will stumble to destruction.
But you, LORD, are always ready to bail out those who serve your cause;
no one who runs to you for safety will be handed over to death.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 7: 23-28

We have had lots of priests in the past, but none of them ever lasted. They kept dying and having to be replaced. Now though, Jesus is our priest, and the job is his for keeps because his life is forever. This means that now and always, Jesus is ready, willing and able to save the lives of everyone who reaches out to God through him. Appealing to God on their behalf is what Jesus lives for, and he’s always on the job.
If you listed everything anyone could possibly want in a high priest, Jesus would fit the bill perfectly. He is completely dedicated to God. There is no blood on his hands and no skeletons in his closet. When it comes to resisting sin, he’s in a league of his own. Even in heaven he has the highest honour because no one else can compare with him. Unlike any other high priest, he doesn’t need to keep offering the same old sacrifices, day after day. And unlike them, he doesn’t have to concentrate on himself and his own sins before he can get around to offering sacrifices for anyone else. Jesus offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice, and so dealt with all the sacrifices required for sin once and for all. The legislation that covered the appointment of the high priests was never able to do anything about the human weaknesses that limited their ability to do the job. It is different now though, because God has made a promise that has superseded that old legislation. This promise sees a Son appointed as permanent high priest, and he is perfectly suited to the job.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 10: 46-52

Jesus and his followers travelled through Jericho with a large crowd in tow. As they were leaving town, there was a destitute blind man sitting at the side of the road begging for money from the passers-by. He was known only as Bartimaeus – a reference to his father. Bartimaeus picked up that it was Jesus of Nazareth going past, and he began to shout at the top of his lungs, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy. Help me!”
People tried to stand over him and shut him up, but he just upped the volume even more: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy. Help me!”
Jesus pulled up in his tracks and said, “Call him over.”
So the people called him, saying, “Come on! It’s your lucky day. Jesus is calling you.”
Bartimaeus was on his feet in a flash. He didn’t even bother picking up his things. He just hurried over to Jesus. Jesus asked him, “What can I do for you?”
The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see again.”
Jesus said to him, “Done! Your faith has paid off, making you whole.”
And sure enough – just like that – Bartimaeus regained his vision and began to follow Jesus on the way.
©2000 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 31: 7-9

This is what the LORD has to say:
Sing and celebrate with God’s people.
Raise the shout for the number one nation.
Broadcast the news and give due credit,
for I, the LORD, have come to save my people,
the few who have remained faithful.
See, I am going to bring them home from across the border.
I will gather them from the ends of the earth.
I won’t only bring the strong and agile ones,
but the blind and the crippled,
the one’s who are heavily pregnant
and those with small children clinging to their ankles.
I will bring them all back here,
the whole mob of them.
There will be floods of tears as they return,
but I will reassure them and lead them home.
I will make sure there are refreshments available along the route,
and that the road is clear and easy to follow,
for I have made these people my own children,
and I love them as my one and only.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 126

When you brought us home to Zion from exile, LORD,
we had to pinch ourselves to be sure it wasn’t a dream.
Laughter and singing kept bubbling up in us;
we were just over the moon!
Even the nations around us had to admit
that you must have taken our side, LORD.
Indeed, we could only celebrate and thank you
. for the wonderful things you had done for us.
LORD, we need your help again;
we are like dry creek-beds in need of rain.
We have worked with sweat and tears;
let us reap the rewards with celebration.
Let those who laboured with heavy hearts,
expecting nothing but despair,
come home with pride renewed,
celebrating unimaginable success.
©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 save all those who keep faith,
and bring healing and wholeness to all who seek your help.
You created the heavens and the earth
and no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Your mysteries are more than we can comprehend,
and though even the good endure great trials,
you come in person to rescue and restore them.
You have come to us in your Son, Jesus Christ,
who embodied your compassion
for all who suffer the darkness of a broken world.
In the face of the forces of evil and death,
he offered himself, once and for all.
You raised him to life again,
making him our perfect high priest,
and exalted him above the heavens
where he now prays for us, day and night,
that he might save all who approach you through him.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who offered himself, once and for all.
You raised him to life again,
making him our perfect high priest,
and exalted him above the heavens
where he now prays, day and night,
for the salvation of all.
©2003 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 save all those who keep faith,
and bring healing and wholeness to all who seek your help.
You created the heavens and the earth
and no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Your mysteries are more than we can comprehend,
and though even the good endure great trials,
you come in person to rescue and restore them.
You have come to us in your Son, Jesus Christ,
who embodied your compassion
for all who suffer the darkness of a broken world.
In the face of the forces of evil and death,
he offered himself, once and for all.
You raised him to life again,
making him our perfect high priest,
and exalted him above the heavens
where he now prays for us, day and night,
that he might save all who approach you through him.
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.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus is able to save all who approach God through him.
He has offered himself for the forgiveness of sin,
once and for all,
and now he lives to pray for us,
and present us, forgiven, to God.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out with your eyes opened to the presence of God
and follow Jesus on the way.
Drink in the richness of God
and enjoy the strength of the Lord.
And may God give you a long and full life;
May Christ Jesus open your eyes to the wonder of life;
and may the Holy Spirit fill you with the faith that makes you whole.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Saved? From What?A sermon on Hebrews 7: 23-28 by Nathan Nettleton

What if you could see clearly?A sermon on Mark 10:46-52 by Nathan Nettleton

Seeing ClearlyA sermon on Mark 10:46-52 by Nathan Nettleton

Standing Up to the SilencersA sermon on Mark 10:46-52 by Nathan Nettleton

Happy Ever After, or notA sermon on Job 42:1-6, 10-17 & Mark 10:46-52 by Nathan Nettleton

Beauty, Freedom, Healing, and WisdomA sermon on Job 42:1-6, 10-17 by Nathan Nettleton

When It All Becomes ClearA sermon on Mark 10:46-52 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 26 - Year B
2027-10-31 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.

Ruth 1: 1-18

Long ago in the days before the Jewish people had a king, a severe drought caused a famine in the land of Judah. There was a man named Elimelech, from the tribe of Ephrath, living in Bethlehem with his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. When their crops failed, they fled the famine and settled in the land of Moab. While they were there, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi to raise their sons alone. In time, the young men both married Moabite women, one named Orpah, and the other named Ruth. Within ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left destitute with no husband and no sons.
Naomi got word that the LORD had blessed her homeland with good rains and good crops again, so she decided to pack up and move back home. Her two daughters-in-law, now widows too, prepared to go with her. They left their home in Moab and set out for Judah, but before they had gone very far, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “This is crazy. It makes no sense for you to come with me. Why not go home to your own mothers and live among your own people? You have been very kind to me, just as you were always kind to my husband and my sons. May the LORD be just as kind to you and enable you to marry again and have homes and families of your own.”
With that she kissed them both, and they were all in tears. But the two young women refused to go, saying, “We want to go with you and live among your people.”
But Naomi leaned on them to change their minds saying, “Don’t be stupid, my daughters. What good will it do you to come with me? It’s not as though I’m going to have any more sons for you to marry. You’ve got your whole lives ahead of you. Go back and get a life. I’m over the hill, and even if I could promise to get a new husband tonight and get pregnant straight away with twin boys, you could hardly put off marrying while you waited for them to grow up, could you? Of course not. My daughters, your lives are a bed of roses compared to mine, because the LORD has written me off.”
The tears flowed freely again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth dug her heels in. Naomi tried one more time: “See, your sister-in-law has seen sense. She has gone back to her own people with their own ways and their own religion. Follow her lead — go back home.”
But Ruth said,
“Don’t try to change my mind about this,
or pressure me into giving up.
I’m coming with you, wherever you go.
Wherever you live, I’m going to live too.
Your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
I’m with you for life,
and in death I’ll be buried right alongside you.
I’m giving you my word on this, cross my heart.
May the LORD punish me from now to kingdom come
if I let even death get between us!”
When Naomi saw that Ruth’s mind was made up, she backed off and let her have her way.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 146

You are the best, LORD!
With all my heart I sing your praises.
I will never stop talking you up;
I won’t stop spruiking your goodness till the day I die.
There is no one but you that we can depend on, LORD;
not experts, not leaders, no one.
No human being can give what we most need;
no matter what their plans and schemes promise,
the minute they’re gone, their promises die with them.
But we hit the jackpot when we look to you for help, LORD;
when we put all our hopes in you – the God of our ancestors.
You are the one who made earth and sky,
who poured out the seas and filled them with life.
You are true to your word no matter what;
when people are ground into the dirt, you bring about justice;
when people are left to starve, you come with food.
You, LORD, set the prisoners free.
You, LORD, open the eyes of those who can’t see.
You, LORD, put the downtrodden back on their feet.
You, LORD, love those who do the right thing.
You, LORD, keep a caring eye on the asylum seekers.
You stick up for those who have no one else to stick up for them,
but you make the schemes of the corrupt backfire on them.
Take charge forever, LORD,
rule from your sacred Mountain for all time.
You’re the best, LORD. We’re with you all the way!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 9: 11-14

The priests of old served in a great tent which people had made as the place to approach God here on earth, but when Christ came he bypassed the old tent. He came as the new high priest, bringing a new improved way of approaching God. Once and for all he went in to the real Holy Place of God’s presence, in the middle of the ultimate tent — heaven itself. He also bypassed the old sacrifices of goat and calf blood. Instead, he shed his own blood in the process of winning permanent freedom for everyone.
Under the old arrangements, people were not permitted to come and worship God if they had done something that made them officially unclean. They had to be purified first in a ritual that required them to be sprinkled with blood from goats and bulls and with the ashes of a sacrificed calf. Now if such a ritual was enough to clear up these problems, imagine how much more thoroughly our lives can be cleaned up — inside and out — by the blood of Christ! Christ’s self-sacrifice — which because of his spotless record was the greatest possible sacrifice — was made in the power of God’s Spirit to wipe the slate clean for us. No longer are we weighed down by the emotional debris left over from previous futile efforts to sort things out with God. Now we are free to join the joyous dance of life that honours God!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 12: 28-34

One of the religious lawyers came across Jesus engaged in a vigorous debate with some members of the Sadducee party. He was impressed by the depth of insight Jesus displayed in the answers he was giving, so he approached him with a question of his own. “Which would you say is the number one commandment of them all?” he asked.
Jesus answered, “The number one commandment is this:
Listen carefully, O people of Israel: the Lord our God is the one and only Lord. Therefore you will love the Lord your God with everything you are, with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.

And while we’re on the topic, the number two commandment is this:
You will love your neighbour as attentively as you love yourself.

There are no other commandments that can top these two.”
On hearing this, the religious lawyer applauded him, saying, “Teacher, what a first rate answer! You are right on the mark when you say that ‘God is the one and only, and there is no other.’ And as you have added, ‘to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength,’ and ‘to love your neighbour the way you love yourself,’ – these things are way more important than all the religious offerings and sacrifices put together.”
Jesus was impressed by the wisdom revealed in the man’s answer, so he said to him, “It won’t take much to get you into the culture of God. You’re all but there already!”
No one was game to put any more questions to him after that.
©2000 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 6: 1-9

Moses said to the people, “I’m laying down the law to you here with a set of principles and a code of ethics. The LORD your God has given me the job of teaching you to live by these things in the land that you are about to move into and live in. Learning to live this way will be for the best for you, and for your kids and grandkids after you. Learn to honour and respect the LORD your God as long as you live, and stick to the principles and ethics that I have spelt out to you on God’s behalf, and you will live long and happy lives. So listen up, people of Israel. Put these things into practice without cutting corners, and you will reap rich rewards. You will flourish and prosper in a land of peaches and cream, just as the LORD promised your parents you would.
Listen carefully, O people of Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD and no other. Therefore you will love the LORD your God with everything you are, with all your heart and soul and strength. Do whatever it takes to keep these things I am teaching you now fixed in your minds. Repeat them over and over to your kids. Talk about them everywhere and all the time, at home, at work, on the road, morning, noon and night. Write them on the back of your hands; wear them as a badge stuck on your forehead, 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. Do whatever you have to do to keep them fixed in your minds.
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 119: 1-8

LORD, how good it will be for those who no one can point a finger at,
who play by your rules and stick to the straight and narrow.
How good it will be for those who do what you say,
and put their whole heart into knowing you better;
who never do the wrong thing by any one,
but stick to your tracks all the way.
You have laid down the law for us
and told us to follow it to the letter.
There is nothing I want more than to be rock solid,
following your script in everything I do.
If I keep my eyes fixed on your instructions,
I will never have to hang my head.
The more I discover the justice and integrity of your teaching,
the more I sing your praises with my heart beating proud.
I intend to do everything you say;
please don’t ever give up on me.
©2011 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 all our heart and soul and mind and strength,
for you keep faith forever with all peoples
and reach out to save the burdened and the bereft.
You are the creator of heaven and earth,
and the maker of the teeming seas.
From generation to generation,
you have shown your generous love to those who, like Ruth,
have united with your people and walked in your ways.
Through your law you provided a way of forgiveness,
and when we lost our way,
you came to us in your Son, Jesus Christ.
Embodying the law of love,
he shed his own blood in obtaining our redemption,
and, raised by you to new life,
he has entered your holy presence, once for all,
freeing us from works of futility
to worship you by living the ways of love.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who embodied the law of love
and shed his own blood in obtaining our redemption,
entering your holy presence, once for all,
and freeing us from works of futility
to worship you by living the ways of love.
©2003 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 all our heart and soul and mind and strength,
for you keep faith forever with all peoples
and reach out to save the burdened and the bereft.
You are the creator of heaven and earth,
and the maker of the teeming seas.
From generation to generation,
you have shown your generous love to those who, like Ruth,
have united with your people and walked in your ways.
Through your law you provided a way of forgiveness,
and when we lost our way,
you came to us in your Son, Jesus Christ.
Embodying the law of love,
he shed his own blood in obtaining our redemption,
and, raised by you to new life,
he has entered your holy presence, once for all,
freeing us from works of futility
to worship you by living the ways of love.
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.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ shed his own blood in winning freedom for us.
As our high priest, he has gone into the presence of God
and obtained for us eternal redemption,
purifying us from all guilt,
and freeing us to worship the living God.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Hear this: the Lord our God is the one and only Lord.
Therefore go out into the world
and love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,
and love others as you love yourself.
And may God give you justice and freedom;
May Christ Jesus set you free for love;
and may the Holy Spirit go where you go
and protect you on your way.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Love and Religious RitualA sermon on Mark 12: 28-34 by Nathan Nettleton

Doing Right or Doing RitesA sermon on Mark 12: 28-34 & Hebrews 9: 11-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Love and SacrificeA sermon on Mark 12: 28-34 & Hebrews 9: 11-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Ruthless Loyalty, Ruthless CourageA sermon on Ruth 1: 1-18 by Jude Waldron

Love and What the Gospel Isn’tA sermon on Mark 12: 28-34 & Hebrews 9: 11-14 by Nathan Nettleton

All Saints Day - Year B
2027-11-01 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.

Wisdom of Solomon 3: 1-9

The lives of good people are held safely in God’s hand,
and the horror of death will never get its claws into them.
The death of good people might look like a tragedy.
In the eyes of those who don’t know any better
it might seem like they’ve suffered the same fate as everyone else,
but it’s not so – they are at peace.
It might look to others as though they were punished,
but they are actually anticipating a life that death can never touch.
The reward they receive will more than compensate
for the discipline they endured.
They were put to the test by God and they passed with flying colours.
They came through the fire like refined gold,
or like a sacrifice offered to God through the fire on the altar,
and God was proud to accept them.
When God comes to reward them they will be radiant.
They will leap and dance like a string of fireworks.
They will be put in charge of nations and their people,
rejoicing that the Lord is their king forever.
The key to understanding the truth is to put your trust in the Lord.
Those who are faithful will share a life of love with God.
The Lord’s chosen have dedicated themselves to God.
They are showered with extravagant generosity and mercy,
and the Lord keeps a protective eye on them forever.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Isaiah 25: 6-9 (alternative 1st reading)

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 24

The whole planet belongs to you, LORD —
the earth and everything that lies in it,
grows from it, or walks on it.
You raised the land above the seas,
and secured its foundations in the depths.
Who will be granted a permit
to climb your sacred mountain, O God?
Who may scale the summit to your holy presence?
Those who have played a straight bat,
acting with integrity,
not selling themselves out to delusions,
or playing fast and loose with the truth.
Your rich goodness will come their way, LORD,
and you will declare them innocent
and set them free.
These are the people who take no shortcuts
in their search for you.
Their greatest hunger is to know you,
the God of their ancestors.
We hear the call:
“Wake up! On your feet!
Open the gates and form a guard of honour!
Roll out the red carpet
before the glorious sovereign.”
Who is this majestic ruler?
It is you, LORD, supreme and dynamic,
the conqueror of conflict.
We hear it again:
“Wake up! On your feet!
Open the gates and form a guard of honour!
Roll out the red carpet
before the glorious sovereign.”
Who is this majestic ruler?
It is you, the LORD who rules over everything.
This majestic ruler is you, our God.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Revelation 21: 1-6a

I, John, had another extraordinary vision. I saw a completely revamped heaven and a radically reconstructed earth. The first heaven, the first earth and the sea were all but a memory. Then I saw Jerusalem, the city dedicated to God, now made completely new. She was coming down the aisle from heaven itself, from God, and she looked sensational, like a bride on her wedding day. I heard a loud voice coming from heaven’s throne. It said:
“See, God has moved in and set up home among ordinary people.
God will live with them and be their God,
and the people will gladly belong
to the God who lives right in their midst.
God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be abolished forever;
pain and grief and tears will be things of the past.
All these things have been made obsolete.”
Then the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new – absolutely everything!”
“Write all this down,” he said, “because these words can be depended on. They are the truth.”
This is what he said: “The job is done! I am the whole story, from A to Z. I am the beginning and I am the end.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 11: 32-44

Jesus had arrived at Bethany where Lazarus had recently died and been buried by his sisters, Martha and Mary. When Mary saw Jesus, she embraced him and sobbed, “Lord, if only you’d been here. I know my brother wouldn’t have died if you had been here.”
Jesus was stirred up, deep in his guts, by her tears and by the crying of the people who were with her. “Where did you bury him?” he asked.
“Come and we’ll show you, Lord,” they said. As they went, Jesus too began weeping. This prompted some of the people to say, “He must have really loved Lazarus,” but others were more cynical, saying, “If he loved him so much, how come he didn’t do something to keep him from dying? After all, he had no trouble giving sight to a blind man.”
Jesus arrived at the tomb, and by now he was quite worked up. The tomb was a cave with a big rock sealing the entrance. Jesus gave orders for it to be reopened. Martha, the other sister of the dead man, protested saying, “Lord, it will stink to high heaven. He’s already been dead for four days.”
But Jesus said, “I told you, didn’t I, that if you believed, you would see things so amazing that they could only be credited to God?”
So they went ahead and removed the rock from the entrance of the tomb. Jesus paused to pray, saying, “Father, thank you for hearing my prayer. I know you always do, but I want this crowd to hear me giving the credit to you, because then they might believe that it was you who sent me.”
Having said that, he raised his voice and bellowed, “Lazarus, get out here!”
And sure enough, the dead man came out, still wrapped up like a mummy from head to toe. Jesus gave the order to unwrap him and set him free.
©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 preparing a rich banquet for all your saints
that we might rejoice forever in your salvation.
The earth is yours for you founded it,
and you have made your home among its inhabitants.
Through your prophets you gave us a vision
of a world made new,
and of suffering and grief abolished forever.
In your son, Jesus Christ,
we have seen your deep anguish
over the death of your faithful ones,
and in his life-giving ministry
we have seen your glory.
Though he passed through the fires of death,
we now see him raised up and making all things new.
In him is our hope of resurrection
and vindication for all who have trusted you,
for their souls are safe in your hands
and you have declared them to be worthy of your life.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your son, Jesus Christ,
who is making all things new,
and securing our resurrection
and the vindication for all who have trusted you,
for their souls are safe in your hands
and you have declared them to be worthy of your life.
©2003 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 preparing a rich banquet for all your saints
that we might rejoice forever in your salvation.
The earth is yours for you founded it,
and you have made your home among its inhabitants.
Through your prophets you gave us a vision
of a world made new,
and of suffering and grief abolished forever.
In your son, Jesus Christ,
we have seen your deep anguish
over the death of your faithful ones,
and in his life-giving ministry
we have seen your glory.
Though he passed through the fires of death,
we now see him raised up and making all things new.
In him is our hope of resurrection
and vindication for all who have trusted you,
for their souls are safe in your hands
and you have declared them to be worthy of your 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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

These words are trustworthy and true:
Christ Jesus is making all things new.
The first things have passed away,
and our disgrace is removed.
Vindication has come from the God of our salvation.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out confident that your lives are safe in God.
Keep your hands clean and your hearts pure.
Do not act falsely and do not swear deceitfully.
Trust in the Lord, even in the face of death,
and follow in the footsteps of all God’s saints.
And may God keep a protective eye on you;
May Christ Jesus show you his grace and mercy;
and may the Holy Spirit give you a vision
of the life of the world made new.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Life, Death and TearsA sermon on John 11: 32-44; Revelation 21: 1-6a & Isaiah 25: 6-9 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 27 - Year B
2027-11-07 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.

Ruth 3: 1-5; 4: 13-17

Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi had settled back in Judah and were eking out a living there. One day Naomi said to her:
“My daughter, it’s time I found you a husband so that you can have a home of your own and a secure future. You can’t just look after me forever. I think Boaz is the man for you. You have been working alongside the young women he employs and you know he has treated you well. He is a relative of mine too, so he has some responsibilities toward you. I’ve got a plan. Boaz is threshing grain at the moment, so he’ll be sleeping out at the threshing shed tonight. Go and have a bath, get your hair done and put on perfume and make-up. Dress up in something flattering. Then tonight, get yourself down to the threshing shed. Keep your eyes open but stay out of sight until he has finished eating and had a few drinks. Watch carefully and see whereabouts he lies down to sleep for the night. Then when the lights are out, it’s time to make your move. Tiptoe up, open up his swag from the foot and sleep with him. When he wakes again, it’s his call. See what he decides you should do.”
Ruth replied, “If you think it’s for the best, I’ll do just as you say.”
Well, the upshot of it all was that not long afterwards, Ruth and Boaz were married. The LORD blessed their love-making so that Ruth became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When he was born, the local women celebrated with Naomi, saying:
“The LORD be blessed! Today God has blessed you with a grandson to take care of you in your old age. May he grow up to be a man of renown, looked up to everywhere in Israel! He’ll sure put the smile back on your face and the spring back in your step. He’ll be there for you when you need him in your twilight years. He’s bound to be — it’s in his genes — he’s Ruth’s son and her love has been of more value to you than the love of seven sons.”
Naomi loved the boy to pieces, and from day one he was Grandma’s little boy. The local women all gathered for the naming ceremony and he was given the name Obed. The women still just called him “Naomi’s Boy” though. When Obed grew up he had a son of his own, named Jesse, and Jesse in turn had a son named David, who went on to become the King of Israel.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 127

Unless you’ve commissioned the building project, LORD,
attempting construction would be futile.
Unless you’re in charge of security, LORD,
our gates and guards are a waste of effort.
We could work ourselves to the bone for nothing;
first on the job in the morning, last home at night,
and what would we have to show for it?
Nothing but heartaches and ulcers.
You, LORD, long for us to slow down.
We can relax and trust in your loving care.
You have given us children, a gift to remind us to play;
time with them is worth more than overtime on double pay.
Good relationships with our children are the best insurance
when trouble comes and threatens to wipe us out.
The respect of our children will give us more joy
than any pat on the back from the boss.
When we give time and love to our children,
we will always be able to hold our heads high,
no matter who denounces our lack of “productivity”!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 9: 24-28

Christ didn’t mess around with replicas and enactments. He was for real. He went into the real Holy Place — not our home made model, but heaven itself — and there he is now, in the presence of God, appearing on our behalf. It is not that Jesus has to offer himself to God over and over again. The old high priest had to go into the Holy Place in the temple again every year to offer a sacrifice of blood — not his own, but that of an animal. If Jesus had been required to follow the same system, he would have needed to come back and suffer on earth over and over again, from the day of creation to the end of time. It is not like that though. Jesus waited until time was almost up and then appeared once and for all. He came to remove sin, permanently, and he made the ultimate sacrifice to see the job through. Everyone has to die once — that’s just part of being human — and after that we face the music. Christ died once too — he absorbed into himself all the guilt and grief of the whole dysfunctional human race and sacrificed his own life to save them from it. Having done that once, he will appear again, but not to do the same thing all over again. This time he will appear for the grand finale — the great liberation of all those who have been eagerly anticipating his promised arrival.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 12: 38-44

A large crowd was gathered around Jesus in the temple to hear what he had to teach. He said to them, “Don’t get sucked in by high-flying religious experts. They love cultivating an image of profound sophistication, and basking in the adulation of a gullible public. They get a kick out of always being invited to appear at openings and premieres. At formal occasions they proudly take their place among the distinguished guests. But behind the scenes they are taking advantage of the weak and vulnerable, exploiting them for all they’re worth. Their long and polished public prayers are a mask. They’ll get what’s coming to them eventually.”
After this, Jesus sat down near the temple offering box and watched as people made their financial contributions. Many rich people clearly put in large sums of money. One poor old woman came up and put in a couple of small coins, less than a dollar in total. Jesus called his followers over and pointed this out to them, saying, “The fact of the matter is that this woman was the most generous giver of them all. The rest of them just gave a percentage of their surplus – money they’ll never miss. She, on the other hand, despite never having enough to make ends meet, has given her all – every last cent.”
©2000 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 17: 8-16

During the terrible drought, Elijah got word from the LORD saying, “Go and live in the Sidonian town of Zarephath. There is a destitute widow there who I have told to feed you.”
So Elijah hit the road and headed for Zarephath. When he arrived on the outskirts of the town, he saw a destitute widow gathering firewood. He called out to her, saying, “Could you please bring me a cup of water; I need a drink.” As she went to get the water, he called out again, saying, “And grab me a chunk of bread too, please.”
But she stopped and said, “I swear by God, the LORD your God, that I haven’t got any bread to give you. I am down to the last handful of flour in my jar and the last dribble of oil in my jug. With them and the firewood I am collecting here, I will prepare one last meal for myself and my son, and when we’ve eaten that, we will starve to death.
Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry; it will be okay. Go and make the bread as you planned, but make two loaves. Bring one to me, and then share the second one with your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, is promising you: “The flour jar will never be empty and the oil jug will never run dry until the day that the LORD sends down rain on the land.”
She went and made the bread as Elijah had said, and they all had enough to eat for many days. The flour in the jar never ran out and the oil in the jug never ran dry. It was just as Elijah had said: the LORD had given his word.
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 146

You are the best, LORD!
With all my heart I sing your praises.
I will never stop talking you up;
I won’t stop spruiking your goodness till the day I die.
There is no one but you that we can depend on, LORD;
not experts, not leaders, no one.
No human being can give what we most need;
no matter what their plans and schemes promise,
the minute they’re gone, their promises die with them.
But we hit the jackpot when we look to you for help, LORD;
when we put all our hopes in you – the God of our ancestors.
You are the one who made earth and sky,
who poured out the seas and filled them with life.
You are true to your word no matter what;
when people are ground into the dirt, you bring about justice;
when people are left to starve, you come with food.
You, LORD, set the prisoners free.
You, LORD, open the eyes of those who can’t see.
You, LORD, put the downtrodden back on their feet.
You, LORD, love those who do the right thing.
You, LORD, keep a caring eye on the asylum seekers.
You stick up for those who have no one else to stick up for them,
but you make the schemes of the corrupt backfire on them.
Take charge forever, LORD,
rule from your sacred Mountain for all time.
You’re the best, LORD. We’re with you all the way!
©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 your love embraces all people
and you are coming to save all who eagerly await you.
In the beginning you founded the world,
and nourished all life upon it.
You drew people to one another,
filling them with your creative love
and blessing the earth with children.
Whenever our work has been at odds with your plans
you have provided a path to forgiveness and reconciliation.
You came among us in your child, Jesus,
exposing the hypocrisy of the proud
and honouring the generosity of the humble.
The powers of evil had him killed,
but in his sacrificial death he removed our sins.
You raised him to new life
and made him high priest,
appearing on our behalf in your Holy Place,
as he prepares to return in glory
bringing your salvation to all the world.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who sacrificed himself to remove our sins,
and who you raised to new life,
making him the high priest
who appears on our behalf in your Holy Place,
to save all who eagerly await you.
©2003 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 embraced all people
and you are coming to save all who eagerly await you.
In the beginning you founded the world,
and nourished all life upon it.
You filled men and women with your creative love
and blessed the earth with children.
Whenever our work has been at odds with your plans
you have provided a path to forgiveness and reconciliation.
You came among us in your child, Jesus,
exposing the hypocrisy of the proud
and honouring the generosity of the humble.
The powers of evil had him killed,
but in his sacrificial death he removed our sins.
You raised him to new life
and made him the high priest
who appears on our behalf in your Holy Place,
as he prepares to return in glory
bringing your salvation to all the world.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ appeared once for all
bearing the sins of many
and offering himself to remove sin.
He will appear again to save all those
who eagerly wait for him.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out and share God’s love with all.
Do not slave for things that are not life-giving,
but trust in God’s provision,
and give generously of all you have.
And may God watch over you and provide for you;
May Christ Jesus be to you a restorer of life;
and may the Holy Spirit lead you in the ways of humble generosity.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Hand Over the ToolsA sermon on Psalm 127 & Mark 12:38-44 by Nathan Nettleton

God’s RevolutionA sermon on Hebrews 9. 24-28 & Mark 12. 38-44 by Garry Deverell

With Open HandsA sermon on Mark 12:38-44 by Alison Sampson

Leaving a LegacyA sermon on Psalm 127; Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 & Mark 12:38-44 by Roslyn Wright

Fiery Politics and the Romance NovelA sermon on the book of Ruth by Nathan Nettleton

Giving, Taking and Religious ScandalA sermon on Mark 12:38-44 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 28 - Year B
2027-11-14 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.

1 Samuel 1: 4-20

In the days before Israel had a king, there was a woman named Hannah who was married to a man named Elkanah. Hannah had never been able to have children even though Elkanah tended to favour her over his other wife, Peninnah, who had several children. Elkanah provided well for both his wives and all his children, but he really doted on Hannah.
Peninnah used to deliberately torment Hannah about her infertility, taunting her with suggestions that the LORD had dried out her womb. The nastiness was at its worst when they went up to Shiloh each year to offer sacrifices to the LORD, perhaps because that was when Elkanah’s favouritism was most obvious. So the annual visit to Shiloh was always a miserable time for Hannah. She would go off her food and be in tears all the time. Her husband Elkanah tried to comfort her, saying, “Hannah, cheer up? Why won’t you eat something? Look on the bright side. Aren’t I worth more to you than a big mob of sons?”
One year in Shiloh, after they had offered the sacrifices and eaten a meal together, Hannah got up and went back to pray to the LORD by herself. The only other person in the place of worship was Eli the priest who was sitting near the door. Hannah was at her wit’s end and wept bitter tears as she prayed to the LORD. She tried to bargain with God, praying, “O LORD, you rule over everything! Have pity on me, your servant. Don’t write me off in my misery. If you will give me the gift of a baby boy, then I will see to it that he joins the religious order of the Nazarites and never touches drink or drugs or has his hair cut.”
As she was praying silently, Eli could see her lips moving and her tears, but since he couldn’t hear her saying anything, he jumped to the conclusion that she was drunk. He got up and said to her, “Time to go home and sober up, woman. You can’t keep making a drunken spectacle of yourself in here. On your way, and get yourself on the wagon!”
But Hannah defended herself, saying, “No, Reverend Sir, please don’t write me off as a hopeless case. I’m heartbroken, but I haven’t sought solace in the bottle. I’ve been pouring my heart out to the LORD – all my agony and fears – trying to get everything off my chest.”
Then Eli answered, “Go in peace. May the LORD, the God of Israel, go with you and take care of whatever it is that is bothering you.”
“Thank you for being so kind to me, Reverend Sir,” said Hannah. She went back to where she was staying and cheered up no end. She even had a good meal with her husband.
The next morning the whole family got up early and worshipped the LORD. Then they packed up and went back home to Ramah. The LORD remembered Hannah’s prayer and the next time she and Elkanah made love, she fell pregnant. She gave birth to a baby boy and named him Samuel. She often spoke of him as an answer to her prayer.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Samuel 2: 1-10 (Canticle)

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

Hebrews 10: 11-14, (15-18), 19-25

Day after day the priests do their job, offering the same old sacrifices over and over again, without so much as budging the problem of sin. What Christ did as priest was quite different. He offered just one sacrifice for sins, a sacrifice with no use-by date! Then he sat down in the seat of honour alongside God and there he waits. It is only a matter of time before those who oppose him run out of options and concede defeat. As a priest he was so perfect, that it only took him one single offering to deal with all the imperfections of all the imperfect people who come to him wanting to be made perfect for God! The Holy Spirit can back us up on this. First she said in the scriptures:
“The new alliance I will make with the people
will be different, says the Lord:
No more writing down the rules for people to read;
this time I’ll write them into their hearts and minds.”
Then, for good measure, she added:
“I’ll wipe the record of their failings and their perverse behaviour;
none of it will ever again even enter my mind.”
So if that’s done — if the slate has been wiped clean — then there is no longer any need to come offering sacrifices to try to make up for what we’ve done wrong.
So, my friends, now it’s a whole new ball game. Now we can confidently walk straight into the sacred place because Jesus won us that right, spilling his own blood in the process. We walk in via a new route. The old way had a big curtain between us and the sacred place — on the new route the only thing between us and the sacred place is Jesus, and he invites us to become part of his own body and go in that way. Add all that to the fact that Jesus himself is now our great priest who says what goes in the house of God, and you’ll understand what is now open to us. So let’s go! Let’s approach God with integrity and with deep trust. Let us stand before God knowing for sure that not only have our bodies been washed clean in pure water, but so to have our hearts, our minds, our conscience.
In light of all this, let’s hold on tight to the hope that we’ve put our hands up to. None of this on-again off-again stuff! You can’t get more dependable than the one who has made these promises. So let’s put on our thinking caps and come up with some good strategies for stirring one another up to greater and greater love and more and more ways to put it into action. Some people have got out of the habit of gathering together as a congregation — let’s not go down that path. Gather often, support and encourage one another. The closer we get to that final day the more we’ll need one another.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 13: 1-8

As Jesus and his followers were coming out of the temple, one of them said to him, “Teacher, isn’t this building spectacular? Look at the stonework and the scale of the whole place – it’s one of a kind!”
Jesus replied, “Do you think this is the greatest? This whole place will be flattened. There will be nothing left of these great stones but a heap of rubble.”
Later on they went out to the Mount of Olives and were sitting there with a full view of the Temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew took Jesus aside for a few quiet questions. “Can you tell us when these things are going to happen?” they asked, “and what warning sign should we watch for? What will tip us off that these things are almost upon us.”
Jesus began to launch into an answer, saying, “Be on your guard. Don’t fall for the doomsday enthusiasts. There will be no shortage of people bobbing up and saying, ‘Follow me! I’m the One!’ Far too many people will be sucked into their madness. Every time there’s a new war or a tense stand off between world powers, the fanatics will crank up the speculation again. Keep your cool. These things will happen, but they don’t mean that time’s up. Nations will set out to destroy each other. There will be ethnic conflicts and civil wars. There will be horrendous natural disasters. Countless people will be faced with starvation. This will not be the end. It’s just the beginning, the first labour pangs of what is to come.
©2000 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.

Daniel 12: 1-3

When the time comes, Michael, the great angel prince who stands guard over your people, will step forward. There will be a time of awful suffering, worse than anything any nation has ever seen in all of history. But that will be the time when your people are rescued. Their names are all written on a list and they will all be rescued. Many people who have long been dead and buried will awake as though they had only been sleeping. Some will rise to life and never face death again. Others will be facing shame and disgrace that can never be shaken off. Those who’ve got their heads on straight will light up the sky like the most brilliant fireworks. Those who have led others to get their lives on the right track will outshine the stars of the night with a glory that never ends.
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 16

Protect me, God,
you are my place of refuge.
I’m acknowledging you as the one in charge, LORD;
you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
I delight in the company of those
who dedicate themselves to you;
they are the salt of the earth.
Those who worship other things
will have nothing but grief.
I will not buy into their futile devotions;
I will not utter the names they revere.
You are all I want, LORD, and all I need;
you hold my future in your hands.
You mark out the best of everything for me;
you’ve set me up with a bright future.
I heap accolades on you, LORD,
for you always give me wise advice;
even in the dead of night
you fill my heart with your teachings.
I’ll always stick close behind you, LORD;
with you near by,
I’ll never be pushed off track.
You fill me with delight, LORD;
joy erupts from deep in my bones;
my body relaxes, safe in your care.
You’ll never let the grave drag me down;
your faithful servants are never left for dead.
You set my feet on a life-giving track, LORD.
To be in your presence is absolute bliss.
All I could dream of comes from your hand.
©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 raise up the broken and humiliated
and seat them in honour at your banqueting table.
The whole universe is yours, for you made it;
you set the earth in place and filled it with life.
Through your law and prophets
you promised a day of justice
when the hungry will have their fill.
You sent your child, Jesus, among us
to establish a new covenant,
leading us in the way of faithfulness
and writing your laws on our hearts.
As a great priest, he offered a single sacrifice for all sins,
and was thrown in to the land of the dead,
but you raised him to new life,
opening for us a new and living way into your presence
and convulsing the earth with the birth pangs
of the new age of your glorious justice.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give you thanks, O God, for your son, Jesus,
our great priest, who offered a single sacrifice for all sins,
who opened for us a new and living way into your presence,
and who writes your laws on our hearts.
©2000 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 raise up the broken and humiliated
and seat them in honour in your presence.
The whole universe is yours, for you made it;
you set the earth in place and filled it with life.
Through your law and prophets
you promised a day of justice
when the hungry will have their fill.
You sent your child, Jesus, among us
to establish a new covenant,
leading us in the way of faithfulness
and writing your laws on our hearts.
As a great priest, he offered a single sacrifice for all sins,
and was thrown in to the land of the dead,
but you raised him to new life,
opening for us a new and living way into your presence
and convulsing the earth with the birth pangs
of the new age of your glorious justice.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

As our high priest, Christ offered, for all time,
one perfect sacrifice for sin.
Therefore let us have confidence to approach God
with our hearts washed clean of all guilt
and a confident hope in God’s mercy.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out in peace, for the Lord has heard your prayers.
Do not allow anyone to lead you astray
but hold fast to the hope you have claimed.
Continue to meet together,
encouraging and provoking one another
to put love into action.
And may God be your rock of strength;
May Christ Jesus usher you into the presence of God;
and may the Holy Spirit write the laws of life on your hearts.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Get a Life!A sermon on Hebrews 10:11-25 by Nathan Nettleton

Earth-Shattering TimesA sermon on Mark 13:1-8; Hebrews 10:11-25; 1 Samuel 1:4-20 & 2:1-10 by Nathan Nettleton

Apocalypse and ForgivenessA sermon on Mark 13:1-8 & Hebrews 10:11-25 by Nathan Nettleton

As It All Comes Crashing DownA sermon on Mark 13:1-8 & Hebrews 10:11-25 by Nathan Nettleton

Awkward ConversationsA sermon on 1 Samuel 1:4-20 & 2:1-10; Mark 13:1-8 & Hebrews 10:11-25 by Roslyn Wright

Proper 29 - Christ the King - Year B
2027-11-21 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.

2 Samuel 23:1-7

The God of Jacob, the mighty One of Israel,
chose David, the son of Jesse,
loved him, and raised him up to be a great King.
At the end of his reign,
David spoke these final words from his death bed:
The Spirit of the LORD speaks through me.
The words that roll from my tongue come from God.
A message comes from the ancient solid Rock,
from the God of Israel, saying to me:
“A true leader has a heart for justice
and exercises power with the constant awareness
of being under the eye of God.
Such a leader is as welcome as the dawn,
as popular as sunshine on the weekend,
as valuable as spring rains on the wheat fields.”
I, David, have established my dynasty on this principle,
and God has made a permanent alliance with me,
signed, sealed and delivered.
Surely then I can depend on God to stand by me
and make my hopes and dreams come true.
Leaders who shun God are a very different story.
You wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.
They are a plague on the land, like feral blackberry vines,
which can only be dealt with by bulldozing them into a pile
and burning them on the spot.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 132: 1-12, (13-18)

O LORD, keep David in mind
and give him credit for the tough times he endured.
Remember the promise he made to you, LORD.
He named you as the Mighty God of Jacob
and swore a sacred vow, saying:
“I will not go home or lay my head on the pillow;
I will not get a wink of sleep or a moment’s rest,
until I find a home for the LORD,
a place for the Mighty God of Jacob to live.”
We have heard the call to worship you, LORD.
We will make our pilgrimage to your home
like David did when he brought your sacred Ark
from the Field of Yaarim
to the place where we now kneel in worship.
Come, LORD, and settle into your new home,
move into the Temple with your mighty Ark.
May your priests be instantly recognizable by their passion for justice;
may your faithful people erupt with shouts of joy.
Be true to the word you gave to your servant, David,
don’t turn your back on your chosen leader.
You, LORD, gave a guarantee to David, saying,
“I will see to it that one of your own sons inherits your throne.
And after that, if your sons are faithful to our alliance
and stick to the ways I teach them,
then their sons too will inherit your throne,
one after the other for ever and ever.”
You, LORD, have chosen Zion,
identified it as the place you wish to live.
You said of it:
“This is where I will settle permanently,
I’ll put down roots because I love it here.
I’ll see that there is always plenty of food here,
and even the poor will have more than enough to eat.
Salvation will be like a badge of office for Zion’s priests,
and faithful crowds will roar their appreciation.
Here I will consolidate David’s power;
I have chosen him and put his name up in lights.
I will have his enemies run out of town,
while his reputation will shine brighter and brighter.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Revelation 1:4 b-8

Greetings and best wishes. May the One who is and who was and who is yet to come be generous to you and give you peace. May the seven spirits who gather around heaven’s throne do likewise for you. And so too may Jesus Christ. He is the key witness whose testimony will not be silenced, no matter what. He is the first one to have been reborn from the grave. He is the one to whom everyone who holds power on earth must answer.
All glory and power to Jesus Christ,
for he loves us.
He cut us loose from our sins,
even spilling his own blood to get it done.
He made us citizens of a new global domain
and priests in the service of his God and Father.
All glory and power to Jesus Christ,
from now to forever. So say all of us!
Be on the watch - he’s on his way!
Rolling in on the clouds - no one will fail to see him.
Even those who cut him down will have to look,
and the sight of him will cause weeping and wailing
from every race and nation on earth.
That’s the long and the short of it, and so say all of us!
“I’m the first and the last; the be all and end all,” says the Lord God, the invincible one, who is and who was and who is yet to come.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 18:33-37

Faced with the request to have Jesus executed, Pilate went back into his headquarters and interviewed Jesus again. “Do you see yourself as the King of the Jews?” he asked.
Jesus replied, saying, “Is that your own question or has someone else been wording you up?”
“Give me a break,” Pilate retorted, “I’m obviously not one of the Jews, am I? It wasn’t my people who had you dragged in here. It was your mob, your own race, your own religious leaders. What in the world have you done?”
Jesus answered, “My reign is not tied to this world. If my power base depended on this world, those who have given their allegiance to me would be fighting tooth and nail to keep me out of the hands of that mob. But it’s not like that. My reign is not tied to this world.”
Pilate latched on to that: “So you are claiming to be a king then?”
“You’re the one who’s putting the ‘king’ label on me,” Jesus replied. “If you want to know what I’m on about, what I was born into the world for, it’s this: I’m the key witness whose job it is to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Everyone who has given their allegiance to the truth responds to my voice.”
©2000 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.

Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14

Before my very eyes,
thrones were set up,
and down sat One who has ruled since the dawn of time.
He was dressed in white robes, bright as snow,
and had a head of hair like clean wool.
His throne was an explosion of fire
and its wheels were raging flames.
A torrent of fire poured forth where ever he went
and spread in all directions.
An army of servants answered his every call,
and a squillion more stood to attention, awaiting his word.
The royal commission began,
and the books were laid open.
The vision continued as I watched into the night.
I saw the arrival of one who appeared to be human
surrounded by clouds from the sky.
He approached the One who has ruled since the dawn of time
and his entrance was formally announced.
He was installed as king
and given great glory and authority,
so that the people of every race and nation and language
would gladly serve him.
His term of office is forever,
it will never come to an end.
His reign as king
will never be overthrown.
©2012 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 93

LORD, you are the great ruler.
Majesty enfolds you like a royal robe
and strength radiates from you.
You have fixed the world firmly in its place.
Your throne is immovable, LORD;
ever was and ever shall be.
Surging floods have risen, O LORD,
surging up with a mighty roar;
engulfing everything in thunderous sound.
You are more impressive than the surging waters,
more powerful than the crashing waves;
you are number one in all the universe, LORD!
Whatever you say is set in stone.
The place you live, O LORD, is clearly sacred;
its holiness will outlast time.
©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 the One who was, and is, and is to come,
and you reign over all from beginning to end.
You created the earth and its inhabitants,
and chose gifted men and women to lead your people,
exalting those who rule with justice and humility.
In faithfulness to your servant, David,
you sent your child, Jesus Christ, into the world
to testify to the truth and shepherd your people.
Though he was accused of treason before Pilate
and executed by his own nation,
he was the first born from the dead,
raised by your power
to free us from sin and make us your holy people.
You gave him glory and dominion forever,
and he rules over all
with an authority that comes, not from this world,
but from you, our God and our Rock.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
who you sent into the world
to testify to the truth and shepherd your people.
Raising him from the dead,
you gave him glory and dominion,
and set him to rule over all forever.
©2003 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 One who was, and is, and is to come,
and you reign over all from beginning to end.
You created the earth and its inhabitants,
and chose gifted men and women to lead your people,
exalting those who rule with justice and humility.
In faithfulness to your servant, David,
you sent your child, Jesus Christ, into the world
to testify to the truth and shepherd your people.
Though he was accused of treason before Pilate
and executed by his own nation,
he was the first born from the dead,
raised by your power
to free us from sin and make us your holy people.
You gave him glory and dominion forever,
and he rules over all
with an authority that comes, not from this world,
but from you, our God and our Rock.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ, the ruler of all the earth,
loves us and, at the cost of his own blood,
freed us from our sins,
making us citizens of his realm
and priests forever in the service of God.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out as faithful witnesses to the one who reigns forever.
Look to Christ as your shepherd and your ruler,
and listen for his voice.
Clothe yourselves in righteousness
and make every place a place to worship God.
And may God strengthen you and fulfil your dreams;
May Christ Jesus be the rising sun that lightens your days;
and may the Holy Spirit speak to you and through you
with words of grace and peace.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Making a Joke of the KingA sermon on John 18:33-37 by Nathan Nettleton

The Clash of KingdomsA sermon on John 18:33-37 by Nathan Nettleton

Clashing Kingdoms and the Grey ZonesA sermon on John 18:33-37 by Nathan Nettleton

Fake News and a Kingdom of TruthA sermon on John 18:33-37 by Nathan Nettleton

To King or Not to KingA sermon on John 18:33-37 by Nathan Nettleton

Come: Consider Your KingA sermon on Christ the King by Vivian Grice

1st Sunday of Advent - Year C
2027-11-28 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.

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The LORD says:
I have made a promise to the people of Israel and Judah, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the days are not far off when I will make good on that promise. When those days come, when the time is good and right, I will appoint a new king who will rule with integrity and bring about justice. He will appear from the family of David, like a new branch on an old tree. At that time peace and safety will be restored to Judah, and Jerusalem will have nothing to fear. The city will come to be known as “The City of the LORD’s Justice.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 25:1-10

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.
Every path you tread, LORD, is marked by solid love and loyalty
for the benefit of all who keep our end of the bargain with you.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

There is no way we could ever thank God enough for all the joy that you Christians in Thessalonica have given us. We pray hard for you all the time, day and night, and ask God to let us catch up with you face to face so that we can do whatever we can to strengthen your faith even more.
It’s all up to God the provider, and to our Lord Jesus. If they put us on track, we’ll be over to you like a shot. In the mean time, may the Lord see to it that your love keeps growing in leaps and bounds, just like our love for you has. May the God who conceived us all, continue to intensify the strength and purity of your hearts so that when the Lord Jesus comes with all his followers, you may be in perfect condition to take your place among them.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 21:25-36

Jesus spoke to those gathered around him in the temple, saying:
“At that time the whole cosmos will seem to be going berserk. The sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and the seas will be out of control, and waves of blind panic will sweep across every nation. The terrifying sense of doom will be more than some people can bear - they’ll drop in their tracks in a dead faint as the elemental powers of the universe tremor and crash around them. Then, and only then, those who are still standing will see the breathtaking arrival of the New Human, riding on the clouds in power and glory. When these things start happening, get up on your feet and stand tall, because the moment is approaching when everything will finally be put right for you.”
Then Jesus used an illustration to make his point, saying:
“Most trees give clear signs when the seasons are changing. When the wattles start unfurling their blooms you know that summer is just around the corner. This is much the same. When you see all these things happening you can be sure that the reign of God is almost upon you. The fact of the matter is that some of you will see these things in your own lifetime. The earth and the sky will only last for so long, but there is no expiry date on my words.
“Keep on your toes and don’t let yourself get entangled in wasteful trivialities like partying and keeping up with the Jones’. If you get sucked into all that you’ll lose all sense of perspective and you’ll flap blindly into the coming day like a moth into a windshield. It’s not as though there is any way of avoiding it. That day will come to everyone on earth at once, ready or not. So stay on your watch constantly. Pray for strength, pray for guts, pray for the ability to keep your wits about you; you’ll need the lot when these things happen if you’re going to dodge and weave your way clear so that you can stand tall before the New Human.”
©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 even when the the whole earth is thrown into chaos
your tenderness and lasting love are our sure hope.
You created the heavens and the earth,
and though even they will pass away,
the words you have spoken to us
are an everlasting covenant of promise.
The words of your son, Jesus Christ,
shook the earth and opened our eyes to your coming reign.
He led us in the paths of your truth
and taught us your ways of faithful love.
He was crucified by the enemies of justice,
but you raised him to new life
and sent his Spirit to restore and strengthen our faith
as the day of redemption draws near.
Your promise will be fulfilled in coming days
when Christ comes on the clouds
to establish your reign of justice and righteousness forever.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for the words of your son, Jesus Christ,
which shook the earth and opened our eyes to your coming reign,
assuring us that even when the world is thrown into chaos
your tenderness and lasting love remain as our sure hope.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for even when the the whole earth is thrown into chaos
your tenderness and lasting love are our sure hope.
You created the heavens and the earth,
and though even they will pass away,
the words you have spoken to us
are an everlasting covenant of promise.
The words of your son, Jesus Christ,
shook the earth and opened our eyes to your coming reign.
He led us in the paths of your truth
and taught us your ways of faithful love.
He was crucified by the enemies of justice,
but you raised him to new life
and sent his Spirit to restore and strengthen our faith
as the day of redemption draws near.
Your promise will be fulfilled in coming days
when Christ comes on the clouds
to establish your reign of justice and righteousness 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

The Lord does not remember your faults,
nor the sins of your past,
but will strengthen your hearts in holiness
so that you may be blameless before God
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and let the Lord steer you in the way of truth.
Be on your guard so that you will not be caught up
in the trivialities and anxieties of the world.
Be alert at all times and pray for strength
to escape the traps that would keep you from God.
And may God make you increase in love for one another;
May Christ Jesus teach you how to live in God’s ways;
and may the Holy Spirit strengthen your hearts in holiness,
as you ready yourselves for the coming of the Lord.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

The Future – what should we know? An Advent sermon by Nathan Nettleton

The Hope and the FearA sermon on Luke 21:25-36 by Nathan Nettleton

Holding your Heads HighA sermon on Luke 21:25-36 by Andrew Woff

The New BranchA sermon on Jeremiah 33:14-16 by Nathan Nettleton

Apocalypse Now?A sermon on Luke 21:25-36 by Alison Sampson

Earth-Shattering ExpectationsA sermon on Luke 21:25-36 by Nathan Nettleton

Expecto Patronum!A sermon on Luke 21:25-36 & Jeremiah 33:14-16 by Nathan Nettleton

2nd Sunday of Advent - Year C
2027-12-05 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.

Baruch 5:1-9

Jerusalem, take off your funeral suit. The time of grief is over!
Dress to the nines in the beauty of God’s glory.
God has given you righteousness as a gift.
Wear it like a full length coat.
God has given you a share of divine glory.
Wear it as a crown.
God will see that every nation on earth
gets an eyeful of your splendour!
Thanks to God, you will gain a name for justice, for peace,
and for reflecting the glory of God.
On your feet, Jerusalem. Climb the lookout.
Scan the horizon. Look who’s coming!
God has given the go ahead to bring home your children.
From every direction they come,
singing with joy because God remembered them.
They were marched away from you on foot
with enemy soldiers driving them ruthlessly.
But when God brings them home,
they will be driven by chauffeurs
with bands playing and ticker tape raining down.
God has even ordered special road works for their coming:
no more dangerous mountain passes or river fords.
A spectacular new freeway
will make travelling a breeze for God’s people.
They’ll be able to come home safely,
enjoying all that God has done.
Even the hot sun won’t bother them,
because God has ordered shady trees to line the way.
God will lead the homecoming procession.
Everyone will return,
singing the praises of God’s mercy and justice.
God’s glorious presence
will light up the road before them.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Malachi 3:1-4

The LORD who rules over everything has this to say:
“Look, I am sending my own messenger to get things ready for my arrival. Then, all of a sudden, the Lord you have been looking for will turn up in the temple. You have been longing to see the messenger who will come to put my promises on the table. Well, he’s coming alright. But will anyone be able to cope with him when he does? Will anyone be able to stand firm in his presence?
You see, he’ll be like a bush fire that clears all the debris from the forest floor, or like paint stripper that takes a surface back to bare metal. He will tear through the whole family of priests and burn away the rubbish once and for all, until they shine like pure polished gold. Then they’ll do what they are supposed to do and bring the right kind of offerings to the LORD. That way the offerings of the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to God again, just like they were in the past.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 1:68-79 (canticle)

We sing your praises, Lord God of Israel,
because you have smiled upon us and put things right for us.
From the family of your servant David
you have called forth a hero with the power to save us.
You promised this years ago, in the preaching of your prophets.
You said you would break us loose from the grip of our enemies
and from the traps of those who had it in for us.
You have been true to your word
and honoured the agreement you made with our ancestors.
Way way back, you swore to Abraham and Sarah
that you would snatch us clear of enemy hands
and give us the opportunity to serve you openly,
without having to watch our backs;
to dedicate ourselves totally to you
and to doing what is right for the rest of our lives.
And now you have given us this child.
He will be known as a prophet of the great God.
He will go ahead of the coming Lord,
getting everything prepared.
He will let your people know that you offer salvation
and make it clear that their sins are forgiven.
Our God, your tender and patient love
will dawn on us and light up the world for us.
Even in the darkest hours, in the blackest hell-holes of our world,
your love will break through and illuminate the way of peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Philippians 1:3-11

Every time you Christians at Philippi pop up in my thoughts, I can’t help but thank God for you. It is a real joy to pray for you people and I do so often. Of course I do - you’ve shared so much with us in this new life we’re announcing, and you have ever since day one. It was God who commenced this great work in you, turning the first sod, and one thing I’d bet my life on is that God will stick to the job, without cutting a single corner, so that the completed project is ready for a grand unveiling on the day when Jesus Christ appears.
It is no surprise that I get so carried away about you and hold such a special place for you in my heart. You’ve always been so committed to me, sticking by me through thick and thin. I’ve experienced the generous love of God through you; I did when we worked side by side to present and defend God’s message, and I still do now, locked up here in prison. As God is my witness, I can assure you that I long to be able to show you how much I care for you. Sometimes I feel as though even Jesus couldn’t love you more than I do!
So I’m praying for you, that you may be so full of love that it just pours out in all directions! And I don’t mean sentimental mushy stuff. I’m praying that your love will be the kind that sharpens your senses and puts steel in your backbone so that you can discern what is right and see it through no matter what. With that kind of love you can be sure that when Christ turns up there’ll be no mud sticking to you. Between now and then you’ll have been working together with Jesus like a well oiled machine producing one good thing after another, all bearing the marks of justice and integrity which draw attention to the glory of God’s goodness.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 3:1-6

John, the son of Zechariah, received a message from God in the desert. This happened when Tiberius had been Roman Emperor for fifteen years. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea at the time, and Herod the Second held the reins up in Galilee. Herod’s brother Philip had the job in the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and in Abilene, Lysanias was in charge. In Jerusalem, Annas and Ciaphas were jointly holding the office of High Priest.
When he received the message from God, John went up and down the Jordan valley preaching to the people. He called them to be baptised, to completely turn their lives around and receive God’s forgiveness for their toxic ways. The prophet Isaiah had foreshadowed this when he wrote:
“In the desert a voice is shouting:
‘The Lord is coming!
Get the road ready.
Clear the track. Straighten it out for him.
Fill the potholes. Bridge the valleys.
Cut through the obstructions to level the grade.
Replace meandering tracks with a new direct route.
Lay a new surface over the old corrugations.
The Lord is coming to save the world
and everyone on earth will see it happen.’ ”
©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 from your deepest mercy comes our hope of salvation.
In the beginning you began creating the world
and you will bring it to completion at your final appearing.
Through your prophets you promised to save us
from all that would drive us into slavery.
You sent your servant, John,
to prepare the way for your anointed one
by proclaiming a baptism of repentance,
a refining fire to purify your people.
In your child, Jesus, we have seen the dawn of justice,
and the glory of your mercy and righteousness.
When he was crucified
you raised him to new life with the power to save.
Now we eagerly await the glorious day of his appearing,
when all your children will be gathered home,
overflowing with love, joy and the fruits of righteousness
to your glory and praise.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for our hope of salvation
which springs from your deepest mercy.
Like a refining fire, you sent your servant John,
to prepare the way for your anointed one
by proclaiming a baptism of repentance,
to make us pure and blameless before him.
©2000 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 from your deepest mercy comes our hope of salvation.
In the beginning you began creating the world
and you will bring it to completion at your final appearing.
Through your prophets you promised to save us
from all that would drive us into slavery.
You sent your servant, John,
to prepare the way for your anointed one
by proclaiming a baptism of repentance,
a refining fire to purify your people.
In your child, Jesus, we have seen the dawn of justice,
and the glory of your mercy and righteousness.
When he was crucified
you raised him to new life with the power to save.
Now we eagerly await the glorious day of his appearing,
when all your children will be gathered home,
overflowing with love, joy and the fruits of righteousness
to your glory and praise.
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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

In God’s deepest mercy,
we were called to a baptism of repentance,
so that our sins might be forgiven
and we might be pure and blameless
before the coming Christ.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and prepare the way for the Lord.
Share in the gospel of God’s grace;
Proclaim salvation and the forgiveness of sins;
Make straight paths for justice and mercy.
And may God complete the good work begun in you;
May Christ Jesus rejoice in your faith and compassion;
and may the Holy Spirit fill your love with wisdom,
and produce in you a harvest of righteousness.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Inviting TroubleA sermon on Malachi 3:1-4 & Luke 1:68-79 by Nathan Nettleton

Shaping up for the Coming FutureA sermon on Luke 3:1-6; Malachi 3:1-4 & Philippians 1:3-11 by Nathan Nettleton

Who can endure Christmas?A sermon on Malachi 3: 1-4 & Luke 3:1-6 by Nathan Nettleton

Open Up The WayA sermon on Luke 3:1-6 & Malachi 3:1-4 by Nathan Nettleton

Welcoming FireA sermon on Luke 3:1-6; Malachi 3:1-4 & Philippians 1:3-11 by Nathan Nettleton

The Wilderness WayA sermon on Luke 3:1-6 & Malachi 3:1-4 by Nathan Nettleton

Silence and a SongA sermon on Luke 1:68-79 by Carolyn Francis

3rd Sunday of Advent - Year C
2027-12-12 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.

Zephaniah 3: 14-20

Lift your voices, all you children of Israel.
Sing and shout for joy!
Let your hair down, Jerusalem.
Celebrate with all your heart!
The LORD has let you out of jail
and forced your enemies to turn tail and run.
The one who rules over Israel – the LORD –
is right alongside you, so you have nothing to fear.
No disaster can touch you now.
The great day is coming, Jerusalem,
when you will hear this message:
“Relax! Don’t be afraid, people of Zion.
Your hands can stop trembling now!
The LORD, your God, is right alongside you;
a champion who always comes out on top.
God will be bursting with joy over you,
celebrating as though it was always your birthday!
God will nourish you with love
until the spring is back in your step.”
The LORD, your God, says to you:
“I will bring your misfortune to an end;
and set you free from its humiliation.
Those who have kicked you around
will have me to deal with!
I will rescue and reunite
the crippled and the refugees.
No longer will they be treated with contempt.
I’ll see that they are honoured all over the world.
When that time comes,
I will gather you together and bring you all home.
With your own eyes
you’ll see me restore all that is rightly yours.
Then you will be honoured everywhere.
Everyone on earth will sing your praises.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Isaiah 12:2-6 (canticle)

You alone, LORD, are able to set us free,
so we put our trust in you, and have nothing to fear.
All our strength and power come from you, LORD GOD,
you have become our hero, our saviour!
You will put your saving love on tap,
deep draughts to be enjoyed by everyone.
On that day we will all say to one another,
“Thank the LORD! Let God’s name be on everyone’s lips!”
We will tell the world what you have done,
we will shout your name and declare you to be number one.
We will sing your praises because of all you have accomplished,
and give you the glory all over the earth.
With all the citizens of Zion, we lift our voices to you
with shouts and laughter and songs of celebration,
for you are the ultimate, the greatest, the Holy One,
and you live among us, your people!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Philippians 4:4-7

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 to God what it is you want, 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.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 3:7-18

John’s baptism became the ‘in thing’ and people flocked out to be baptised by him. John was not convinced by them though, and bellowed, “You slippery bunch of snakes! What makes you think that running down here for a quick wash will get you off scot free when the judgment comes? You’ve got to walk the walk. Show by your actions that you’ve turned your lives around as you say you have. And don’t go thinking that you’ve got the inside running just because you can trace your family tree back to Abraham. I’m telling you straight: descendants of Abraham are thick on the ground and, at the snap of a finger, God could turn these rocks into a few more. Family trees count for nothing. It is what sort of fruit the tree bears that matters. If the fruit is rubbish, God will have no hesitation in wielding the axe, cutting the tree off at the ground and tossing it on the fire.”
That got their attention! “What should we do then?” they asked him.
John replied, “Live differently. If you have two coats and someone else has none, then share. If you have food, do the same again – share. That’s the sort of thing you should do.”
Even some of the people who collected taxes for the Roman occupation forces came out to be baptised. “Teacher, what should we do?” they asked.
John replied, “Don’t rip anybody off. Collect only what the law prescribes and no more.”
Some members of the security forces came too and asked, “What about us? What should we do?”
“No stand-over tactics and no protection rackets,” John replied. “No intimidation or throwing your weight around to extort money out of people. You get paid your wages – be satisfied with that.”
John’s activities struck a chord with the deep yearning for a national saviour, and people began to speculate that perhaps John might be the one who God had chosen. John was quick to hose down such ideas, saying, “I’m only baptising you with water. The One who is coming is way out of my league – the chance to polish his boots would be more than I could aspire to. When he gets started, it won’t be just water that he’ll be plunging you into. He’ll baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He’s ready to start with his flame thrower in hand. He’ll release an uncontrollable fire into the dry bushland of your lives, completely incinerating the rubbish and germinating the good seeds that lie in wait for that day.”
John made a lot of speeches like that. He was constantly on the job, getting the word out, bringing the people up to speed with the good news about what God was doing.
©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 coming in the fire of love
to baptise your people and gather them home.
In love, you created the earth and its inhabitants
and sent faithful prophets like your servant John,
to call us, and all Abraham’s children,
to turn to you and bear fruits of justice and mercy.
In your child, Jesus, you made your home in our midst.
Liberating the lame and gathering the outcast,
he confronted our oppressors
and lifted us from shame to honour.
When he was cut down and killed
you raised him to resurrection life.
Now, as the day of his coming draws near,
he plunges us into his Spirit and fire
to renew us in love, and banish our fear,
so that we might praise your name forever
and draw freely from the well of your salvation.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give you thanks that you come
to baptise us in your Spirit and fire,
renewing us in love and banishing our fear,
so that we might praise your name forever
and draw freely from the well of your salvation.
©2000 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 coming in the fire of love
to baptise your people and gather them home.
In love, you created the earth and its inhabitants
and sent faithful prophets like your servant John,
to call us, and all Abraham’s children,
to turn to you and bear fruits of justice and mercy.
In your child, Jesus, you made your home in our midst.
Liberating the lame and gathering the outcast,
he confronted our oppressors
and lifted us from shame to honour.
When he was cut down and killed
you raised him to resurrection life.
Now, as the day of his coming draws near,
he plunges us into his Spirit and fire
to renew us in love, and banish our fear,
so that we might praise your name forever
and draw freely from the well of your salvation.
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.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God is your saviour; you have nothing to fear.
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you
and invited you to draw freely
from the well of salvation.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and rejoice in the Lord always.
Do not be afraid or worried about anything,
but in everything trust God and pray.
Bear fruits worthy of repentance,
sharing what you have and being gentle with all.
And may God rejoice over you with gladness;
May Christ Jesus renew you in his love;
and may the Holy Spirit give you peace beyond understanding
to guard your hearts and minds in Christ.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

When you don’t feel like rejoicingA sermon on Philippians 4.4-7 by Nathan Nettleton

Rejoice! A Study in Faith’s AbsurdityA sermon on Zephaniah 3.14-20; Philippians 4.4-7 & Luke 3.7-18 by Garry Deverell

Wrath or GenerosityA sermon on Luke 3.7-18 by Nathan Nettleton

Lighting FiresA sermon on Zephaniah 3.14-20; Philippians 4.4-7 & Luke 3.7-18 by Nathan Nettleton

Could Hannah Gadsby be the Messiah?!A sermon on Luke 3.7-18 by Nathan Nettleton

Christmas Joys and Fair-weather SupportersA sermon on Zephaniah 3.14-20 & Luke 3.7-18 by Nathan Nettleton
