LaughingBird

3rd Sunday of Pascha - Year C
2031-04-27 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.

Acts 9: 1-6, (7-20)

Saul was the ringleader of a violent campaign of terror directed against the followers of Jesus. He went to the high priest and got permission to go to Damascus to hunt down anyone who had joined the Way of the Lord there. The high priest gave him a letter of referral to show to the leaders of the Damascus Synagogues, and authorised him to bring the culprits, men or women, back to Jerusalem in chains. Saul wasted no time in heading off, but just as he got within sight of Damascus, there was a blinding flash of light that knocked him right out of the saddle. As he hit the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why have you got it in for me?”
Saul replied, “Who are you, Lord?”
The voice came back, saying, “I am Jesus — the one you are seeking to crush. Now I want you to get up and go into the city and then wait for further instructions.”
The people who were travelling with Saul stood there gob-smacked, because they could hear the voice but they couldn’t see who was speaking. Saul picked himself up from the ground and rubbed his eyes, but he couldn’t see a thing. He had been completely blinded and had to be led into Damascus by the hand. For the next three days he felt as weak as a kitten. He couldn’t eat or drink anything and he couldn’t see at all.
Now in Damascus, there lived a man named Ananias who was a follower of Jesus. The Lord called out to him in a vision: “Ananias.”
He answered, “Yes, Lord. I’m here.”
The Lord said to him, “I want you to get yourself over to Judas’ house in Straight Street. Ask there for a man named Saul who is from Tarsus. Even as we speak he is praying, and in a vision he has seen you come and lay hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
But Ananias protested, “Lord, you’ve got to be kidding. Everyone has heard stories about this man and about the atrocities he has committed against your people in Jerusalem. And the word is that he’s here on the authority of the chief priests to hunt down anybody who declares allegiance to you.”
But the Lord insisted: “Go and do as I say. I have chosen this man to work for me. He will be instrumental in bringing me to the attention of people everywhere — kings and commoners, Jews and Gentiles. He will pay a high price for switching his allegiance to me, but I myself will give him fair warning of what he is going to be put through.”
So Ananias went to the house he had been sent to and found Saul there. He placed his hands on his head and said, “Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me to you so that you may regain the use of your eyes and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when something looking like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see normally again. He got up and was baptised straight away. After a good meal, he could feel his strength returning.
Saul spent several days in Damascus with the followers of Jesus. Without delay, he began to speak out about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 30

I’ll be singing your praises, every chance I get, LORD,
because you got me out of deep trouble
and spared me the gloating of my enemies.
I pleaded for help, LORD God,
and you stepped in and healed me.
They were nearly ready to pronounce me dead
but your brought me back, LORD;
you put me back on my feet
when I was about to be carried to the morgue.
So I’m singing your praises,
and I’m encouraging everyone to do the same;
to name you with joyful thanks.
We manage to get you angry at times,
but it blows over in a moment
because your mercy keeps on keeping on.
We may have an evening of bitter tears,
but by morning your mercy has us smiling again.
I was guilty of taking your goodness for granted;
I thought I had it made.
You had put me on top of the world
but I got all too full of myself.
You stepped aside – made me stand alone —
and I turned to jelly!
I realised how much I needed you, LORD,
and in my panic I begged you for mercy.
“What good is my blood to you?” I cried.
“How will it help if I’m in the grave?
Can a corpse sing your praises?
Will a gravestone publicise your goodness?
Give me another chance, LORD.
Please, LORD, bail me out one more time.”
And sure enough, you did, LORD.
You turned my tears to laughter;
you set my dragging feet dancing;
you dusted me off and dressed me up for a party.
So now I’m singing your praises
from the bottom of my heart,
and no one can shut me up!
You are my God, LORD,
and I’m eternally grateful.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Revelation 5: 11-14

I had a vision of a huge crowd of angels circling around heaven’s throne. There were thousands and millions of them; trillions perhaps, more than anyone could count. I heard their voices swelling, joining with the four awesome creatures and the twenty four elders in a mighty song:
“The Lamb who was slaughtered deserves all we can offer:
power and wealth,
wisdom and strength,
honour and glory and every good thing!
Then I heard every creature everywhere joining in the song — from heaven and earth, from under the earth, from the waves of the seas — their voices rose as one:
“To you who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb,
we give it all:
blessing and honour,
glory and strength,
forever and ever and ever!”
And at that, the four awesome creatures said, “And so say all of us!”
And the twenty four elders fell to their knees and worshipped.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 21: 1-19

One of the places where Jesus appeared to his followers after his resurrection was at Lake Galilee. A few of them had gathered there: Simon Peter; Thomas the Twin; Nathaniel, who came from Cana in Galilee; the two sons of Zebedee; and a couple of others. Simon Peter had decided to go fishing, and the rest of them had said, “You can count us in. We’ll come too.” They spent the night in the boat, but they didn’t catch a thing.
They were heading back in to shore as the sun came up, when they saw a man standing on the beach. It was Jesus, but they didn’t recognise him. Jesus called out to them, “Morning boys! How are the fish biting?”
“We haven’t caught a thing,” they replied.
Jesus said, “Try casting off the right hand side of the boat instead. You’ll find some there.”
So they did, and suddenly there were fish everywhere – more than they could pull in. The disciple with whom Jesus had been most intimate said to Peter, “It’s got to be the Lord!”
Simon Peter had been stripped for work, but when he heard it was the Lord, he threw his shirt back on, dived into the sea, and struck out for the shore. They weren’t far off the beach – no more than a hundred metres – so the rest of them dragged the boat in with the load of fish.
When they arrived on the beach, they found that Jesus had a fire going and was baking some damper-bread and barbecuing some fish. He looked up and said to them, “Put on some of the fish you’ve just caught.”
Simon Peter dragged in the catch. There were a hundred and fifty three fish in all, most of them whoppers. It was surprising that the fishing tackle was still intact after landing them all. Jesus said, “Breakfast’s ready. Come and get it!”
Some of the disciples half wanted to say, “Who are you?” but none dared because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus divided up the bread among them and then did the same with the fish. This was the third time the disciples had seen Jesus alive since he had been raised from the dead.
When they had finished eating breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me above anyone else?”
Simon Peter replied, “Yes, Lord. You know I do.”
Jesus said to him, “Then feed my lambs.”
Then he asked him again, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
He replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Well, take care of my sheep.”
Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was starting to feel hurt that Jesus kept questioning his love, and the third time he replied, “Lord, you know everything. You know how much I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. I kid you not, Simon, when you were a young bloke, you dressed however you liked and went wherever you wanted. But when you are an old man, you’ll put your hands up when you’re told to, you’ll wear what’s issued to you, and you’ll be taken places you don’t want to go.” (In saying this, Jesus was foreshadowing the kind of death Simon Peter would eventually face in his honouring of God.) After that, Jesus simply said, “Follow me.”
©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 are worthy to receive
all power and riches and wisdom and strength
and honour and glory and praise.
With your powerful voice and glorious light
you created the heavens and the earth.
In mercy and love you saved a people from the pit of slavery,
and commissioned them
to bring your name before all the world.
Your child, Jesus, lived your compassion to the full
and called us to follow him.
When he was killed
by those who would murder your Way,
you raised him to life again
and enthroned him as the centre of heaven’s worship.
He meets us in our uncertainty,
redeeming even our failures and betrayals,
offering forgiveness
and removing the scales from our eyes,
so that we might recognise you in everything,
and express our love in worship and service.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank for your Son, Jesus,
who redeems even our failures and betrayals,
and removes the scales from our eyes,
so that we might recognise you in all the earth,
and express our love in worship and service.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you alone are worthy to receive
all power and riches and wisdom and strength
and honour and glory and praise.
With your powerful voice and glorious light
you created the heavens and the earth.
In mercy and love you saved a people from the pit of slavery,
and commissioned them
to bring your name before all the world.
Your child, Jesus, lived your compassion to the full
and called us to follow him.
When he was killed
by those who would murder your Way,
you raised him to life again
and enthroned him as the centre of heaven’s worship.
He meets us in our uncertainty,
redeeming even our failures and betrayals,
offering forgiveness
and removing the scales from our eyes,
so that we might recognise you in everything,
and express our love in worship and service.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Awesome is our God
whose anger passes quickly,
and whose mercy lasts a lifetime.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and follow the risen Christ.
Love God and nourish the faith of God’s little ones.
Make Christ known to all people
for God has chosen you as an instrument
to lead others into the way of mercy and love.
And may God change your anguish into a joyful dance;
May Christ Jesus lead you from betrayal to mission;
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with light and love and purpose.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

What is Conversion?A sermon on Acts 9:1-20 by Nathan Nettleton

Worshipping the Slaughtered OneA sermon on Revelation 5:11-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Pulling your love to piecesA sermon on John 21:1-19 by Nathan Nettleton

Going Back to the Scene of the CrimeA sermon on Acts 9:1-20 & John 21:1-19 by Nathan Nettleton

God Calls, Converts, and Commissions!A sermon on Acts 9:1-20 by Chris Barnden

Confronting ConversionA sermon on Acts 9:1-20 & John 21:1-19 by Nathan Nettleton

2nd Sunday of Pascha - Year C
2031-04-20 00:00 - 23:59
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.

Acts 5: 27-32

The apostles were arrested for a third time and dragged before the authorities. The High Priest tore strips off them, saying, “You were ordered by this court to stop spreading the teachings of Jesus, but now the things you’ve been saying about him are all over town. And what’s more, you are determined to make us wear the blame for his death.”
But Peter, backed up by the other apostles, said, “Whenever obeying God and obeying some mere human authority are at odds with each other, we have no choice but to obey God. You had Jesus strung up on a post and killed; but God — the very same God our ancestors worshipped — raised him back to life again. What’s more, he is now God’s right hand man. God has given him the top job, as Leader and Saviour, so that he might give the nation the chance to turn back to God and have their sins forgiven. We know about these things, first hand, and it’s our job to tell the truth about them. And our partner in this task is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to all who take their cues from God.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 118: 14-29

Our energy and strength come from you, LORD;
our peace and safety were won by you.
The sound of singing rings out
from the homes of all who are honest and true.
They sing of what you have done, LORD,
for you raised your hand and saved the day.
Now we know that our lives are safe;
we will live to tell of what you have done.
You gave us the tough medicine we deserved, LORD,
but you didn’t let death get its claws into us.
The minute they open the city gates
— the gates of justice —
we’ll be the first through, LORD;
eager to tell you how thankful we are.
These gates belong to you, LORD,
those you have put right can come on through.
Thank you for answering our prayers, LORD;
for coming to our rescue and putting us right.
From a rejected stone found in a rubbish pile
you cut and polished a priceless jewel.
This is obviously your work, LORD,
and we can hardly believe our eyes!
Today is your day, LORD, a day to honour you;
we will celebrate with joy and laughter.
Get us through safely, LORD!
In the tasks ahead, give us success!
The one who comes in your name, LORD,
is the one who is truly blessed.
Gathered here in your house,
we praise you for sending him.
You, LORD, are our only God,
and you light up our lives.
In a great procession,
we march to the sacred place,
waving branches and banners;
tossing flowers in the air.
You are our God
and we give you thanks.
You are our God
and we give you our highest acclaim.
Thank you, LORD, thank you!
Thank you for your goodness!
Thank you for your love —
rock solid and timeless!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Psalm 150

All praise to you, LORD!
We sing your praises in the house of worship;
we sing your praises in the open air!
We give you all the credit for the amazing things you have done;
we openly declare that your greatness
is in a league of its own!
The bands strike up with songs dedicated to you,
making every kind of music in your honour.
For you, the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo!
For you, the jazz band’s wailing horns!
For you, a funky bass riff!
For you, the fieriest fiddles!
For you, screaming guitars!
For you, drums and cymbals!
For you, a polished choir!
For you, a full-blooded orchestra!
All who can breathe, sing;
all who can stand, dance;
and all to sound your praises, LORD!
All praise to you, LORD of all!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Revelation 1: 4-8

A message from me, John, to you, the seven churches in the region of Turkey:
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 20: 19-31

It was a Sunday – the first day of the week – when the tomb was found empty. That same evening, the disciples met together. They locked all the doors of the house where they were meeting because they were afraid of being tracked down by the religious authorities. Suddenly, Jesus appeared and stood among them saying, “Good evening to you all!”
He proceeded to show them the deep scars in his hands and side. The disciples, of course, were over the moon at seeing the Lord again. Jesus spoke again, saying, “All the best to you. God sent me into the world, and in the same way, I’m sending you.”
Having said that, he breathed a big breathe onto them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit; all of you. If you forgive anyone who has sinned, then their sins are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness for any sins, they remain unforgiven.”
When this happened, Thomas – known as “the Twin” and one of the twelve – was missing. The other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, but they couldn’t convince him. “I’m not falling for that one!” Thomas replied. “I’d have to see the nail holes in his hands before I’d believe it. In fact I’d have to feel the holes myself, and touch the spear wound in his side.”
A week later, the disciples again gathered behind locked doors in the same house, and this time Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors, Jesus came and stood among them again and said, “Good evening to you all!”
Then he turned to Thomas and said, “Here are my hands, Thomas. Put your finger here in the wound.” And pulling up his shirt, he said, “And here is my side. You can put your hand in the hole. Let go of your doubts and trust me.”
Thomas, of course, was blown away, and said, “You are my Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Believing is not that hard when you’ve seen me, is it? Imagine how much God will smile on those who put their trust in me without ever having seen me!”
The disciples saw Jesus do many other things that demonstrated to them the reality of who he was, but they have not all been written down in this book. But what has been written here has been written for you, dear readers, so that you will know enough to see that Jesus is the anointed One – the Son of God – and so that by putting your trust in him you can come to have real life: the life that he lived and shares.
©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 meet us in our doubts
and fill us with life and peace.
You are the one who was and is, and is to come
— the beginning and the end —
who breathed life into the earth and its creatures.
Our ancestors put their trust in you
and celebrated your mighty acts of salvation.
You sent your child, Jesus,
as a faithful witness to your goodness and love.
He was killed by the powerful,
but you raised him, as the firstborn from the dead.
Appearing behind the locked doors of our fear
he breathed Holy Spirit into us
and commissioned us
to carry his words of peace and mercy to the world.
Seated at your right hand as Leader and Saviour,
he frees us from sin
and makes us a kingdom of priests
to serve you forever.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for your risen Son, Jesus,
the firstborn from the dead,
who meets us behind the locked doors of our fear
and breathes Holy Spirit into us,
commissioning us to proclaim peace and mercy to all the world.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you meet us in our doubts
and fill us with life and peace.
You are the one who was and is, and is to come
— the beginning and the end —
who breathed life into the earth and its creatures.
Our ancestors put their trust in you
and celebrated your mighty acts of salvation.
You sent your child, Jesus,
as a faithful witness to your goodness and love.
He was killed by the powerful,
but you raised him, as the firstborn from the dead.
Appearing behind the locked doors of our fear
he breathed Holy Spirit into us
and commissioned us
to carry his words of peace and mercy to the world.
Seated at your right hand as Leader and Saviour,
he frees us from sin
and makes us a kingdom of priests
to serve you forever.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God has exalted Jesus Christ, as Leader and Saviour,
that he might turn us back to God
and free us from our sins by his blood.
All who put their trust in him, have life in his name.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now to love and forgive,
for as God sent Christ,
so now Christ is sending you.
Obey God above any other authority
and bear witness to Christ’s resurrection life.
And may God continue the work of salvation in you;
May Christ Jesus meet you in your doubts and fears;
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with peace
and speak through you with mercy.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Christ is Risen, so what’s next?A sermon on John 20:19-31 by Nathan Nettleton

Beyond Doubt?A sermon on John 20:19-31 by Nathan Nettleton

Redeeming ThomasA sermon on John 20:19-31 by Nathan Nettleton

A Very Different Way of Looking at ThingsA sermon on Revelation 1: 4-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Forgiveness Comes with ScarsA sermon on John 20:19-31 & 1 John 1:1 – 2.2 by Nathan Nettleton

Peace Be With YouA sermon on John 20:19-31 & 1 John 1:1 – 2.2 by Nathan Nettleton

Doubters, Failures, and other Model ChristiansA sermon on John 20:19-31 & 1 John 1:1 – 2.2 by Nathan Nettleton

Merely-Reserving-Judgement ThomasA sermon on John 20:19-31 & 1 John 1:1 – 2.2 by Nathan Nettleton

Shame, Redemption, and the Terror of ResurrectionA sermon on John 20:19-31 & 1 John 1:1 – 2.2 by Nathan Nettleton

Behind Locked DoorsA sermon on John 20:19-31 by Paul Sheppy

Doubting Thomas has the Last LaughA sermon on John 20:19-31 by Audrey Katenna

The An Absolute Game-ChangerA sermon on Revelation 1: 4-8; John 20:19-31 & Acts 5:27-32 by Nathan Nettleton

Resurrection Sunday Evening
2031-04-13 00:00 - 2031-04-14 00:59
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.

Isaiah 25: 6-9

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 114

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

1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8

You do realise, don’t you, that it only takes a little bit of yeast to leaven a whole batch of bread dough? A little bit of corruption can similarly affect a whole congregation, so get rid of it. Just as we have traditionally cleaned out every trace of yeast from our homes in preparation for the Passover festival when we use only unleavened bread, so you should clean the corruption from your midst. You are to be the new batch of unleavened bread. In Christ, our Paschal lamb has been sacrificed. Now is the time for us to celebrate the festival, and just as we can’t celebrate it with yeast-leavened bread, neither can we celebrate it with the old yeast of inhumanity and evil. We celebrate this festival with the unleavened bread of truth and integrity.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 24: 13-49

In the afternoon of the day that the tomb had been found empty, a couple who had been followers of Jesus were heading back home to the small town called Emmaus. As they walked the ten kilometres or so from Jerusalem, they were talking over everything that had happened in the past few days. Along the way, Jesus himself joined them, but to their eyes he was just another stranger on the road. He asked them, “What’s all this you are discussing so intently as you travel?”
They pulled up in their tracks and looked at him with long faces. One of them, a man named Cleopas, said to him, “You must be the only stranger in and around Jerusalem who has not caught up with what’s been going on in the last few days.”
“What has been going on?” Jesus asked.
They replied, “It is all to do with Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet whose words and actions electrified the people in the presence of God. The religious and civil authorities had him arrested and then pushed for the death penalty. They got their way and he was executed. We’d had our hopes pinned on him being the one who would set Israel back in its rightful place. It’s all been over for three days now. A strange twist has rocked us all today, though. Some women from our group apparently went to the tomb first thing this morning and couldn’t find his body. They came back and told the rest of us that they had seen a vision of angels who said that Jesus was alive. We sent a group down to check out their story, and they found things just the way the women had said, but there was no sign of Jesus anywhere.”
When they had finished filling him in, Jesus said to them, “What a thick-headed pair you are! Why are you so slow to get your heads and your hearts around everything that the prophets spelled out?! Hasn’t it always been the case that the Messiah would have to cop all this suffering before getting in on the glory that was in store for him?”
Jesus spent the rest of their journey explaining the scriptures to them. Passage by passage, he showed them what Moses and the prophets had said about him.
When they reached the turn-off to the town they were heading for, Jesus appeared set to push on up the highway, but they put the hard word on him to stop at their place overnight since the sun was going down and the day was almost over. So he accepted their offer of hospitality and went home with them. When he sat down to the evening meal with them, he picked up a loaf of bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they realised who he was; and just as suddenly he disappeared from sight. They looked at one another and said, “No wonder there was such a fire burning in our guts when he was explaining the scriptures to us on the road!”
So, without a moment’s delay, they were on their feet and hurrying back to Jerusalem to tell the news to the eleven and the rest of the crew. When they found them, they were all together and abuzz with news: “The Lord really has risen! He has appeared to Simon Peter!”
The couple from Emmaus filled them all in on what had happened on the road, and how it had dawned on them who he was when the bread had been broken.
While they were talking about all this, Jesus himself suddenly appeared, standing among them. “Greetings!” he said, “Peace be with you.”
Taken by surprise, they thought he was a ghost, and were scared spitless. Jesus said to them, “What have you got to be afraid of? Why are you letting your doubts get the better of you? Here, take a look at my hands and feet. See for yourselves that it really is me. Reach out and touch me and you will know that I am made of flesh and bone. No ghost can claim that!”
As he spoke, he showed them his hands and feet. It all seemed too good to be true; so wonderful that they couldn’t believe their eyes. Their heads were bursting with joy and disbelief! Jesus asked them, “Have you got anything here I can eat?”
They gave him a piece of grilled fish and he took it and ate it in front of them. Then he said to them, “The things I have said while I was with you amount to this: everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms is to be fulfilled.”
As he spoke they began to see how to read the scriptures with open minds so as to understand what God was saying in them. Jesus said to them:
“What was written will now be clear to you: that the Messiah is to suffer and then rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that the people of every nation must be told of the Messiah’s call to turn their lives around and receive forgiveness for their toxic ways. You can get started here in Jerusalem. You have witnessed these things first hand, so you can tell everyone what you have seen and heard. And don’t miss this: I myself am sending you the gift that my Father promised, so wait here in the city until you have been fitted out with God’s power.”
©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 raised Jesus Christ to life
and destroyed the shroud of death that covered all people.
You made the earth, and it trembles in your presence;
you rescued your people from slavery,
leading them through the deep waters
from death to life.
You sent your Son, Jesus, to us,
a prophet mighty in word and deed
who taught us to celebrate your salvation
in sincerity and truth.
Though he was condemned to death
and crucified by the religious,
you raised him from the dead
and wiped the tears from our faces.
Risen indeed, he is with us always,
breathing his peace over our fears
and spreading a rich banquet before us
so that in the breaking of bread
and your word proclaimed,
our eyes might be opened
and our hearts set on fire with love.
Therefore with .....
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Risen Son, Jesus Christ,
who breathes his peace over our fears
and spreads a rich banquet before us
so that in the breaking of bread
and your word proclaimed,
our eyes might be opened
and our hearts set on fire with 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,
for you have raised Jesus Christ to life
and destroyed the shroud of death that covered all people.
You made the earth, and it trembles in your presence;
you rescued your people from slavery,
leading them through the deep waters
from death to life.
You sent your Son, Jesus, to us,
a prophet mighty in word and deed
who taught us to celebrate your salvation
in sincerity and truth.
Though he was condemned to death
and crucified by the religious,
you raised him from the dead
and wiped the tears from our faces.
Risen indeed, he is with us always,
breathing his peace over our fears
and spreading a rich banquet before us
so that in the breaking of bread
and your word proclaimed,
our eyes might be opened
and our hearts set on fire with 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.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

As the scriptures said,
the Messiah suffered and rose from the dead on the third day,
so that repentance and forgiveness of sins
might be proclaimed in his name to all nations.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now as witnesses of God’s victory over evil and death.
The risen Christ has made himself known to you
in the breaking of bread,
so clean out the old yeast of malice and evil
and live as the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
And may God wipe every tear from your faces;
May Christ Jesus make himself known to you in all things;
And may the Holy Spirit open your eyes
and set your hearts on fire with 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.

Can’t see the wood for the treesA sermon on Luke 24: 13-35 by Nathan Nettleton

Open Minds and Narrow ThinkingA sermon on Luke 24:36b-48 by Nathan Nettleton

Easter in OrdinaryA sermon on Luke 24.13-35 by Garry Deverell

The Stranger on the Road of DespairA sermon on Luke 24: 13-35 & 1 Peter 1: 17-23 by Nathan Nettleton

There and Back AgainA sermon on Luke 24:13-35 by Roslyn Wright

Resurrection Sunday Morning - Year C
2031-04-13 00:00 - 23:59
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.

1st Reading: Acts 10: 34-43

Peter addressed the gathered people saying:
“Now it is all perfectly clear to me — God does not play favourites! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, if you take God seriously and do the right thing, God will welcome you with open arms! Jesus the Messiah preached God’s message about a peace deal to the people of Israel, but clearly it did not stop with them — he is Lord of all! No doubt you have heard the news about Jesus of Nazareth, because since it sparked off in Galilee, it has spread like wildfire all over Judea. The story began after John started calling everyone to turn their lives around through baptism. God singled Jesus out then and there, charging him with the Holy Spirit’s power. From then on, Jesus travelled around working for good and helping people out from under the devil’s thumb and back onto their feet. God was with him in all this. We saw it all ourselves; everything he did in the Judean backblocks and in the city of Jerusalem. They strung him up on a post and killed him, but three days later God raised him to life and let us see him. Not everybody got to see him, but God had picked us out to be the ones who would know first hand what had happened. We got to spend time sharing meals and a few drinks with him after he was brought back from the dead. He gave us the job of getting his message out to the people and going public with the fact that he is the one who God has appointed to make the final assessment of everybody on earth, past and present. You don’t have to take our word alone on this; all the prophets back us up. Everyone who puts their trust in Jesus receives pardon for their sins on his say so.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Alternative 1st Reading: Isaiah 65: 17-25

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

Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24

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

2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 15: 19-26

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

Alternative 2nd Reading: Acts 10: 34-43

Peter addressed the gathered people saying:
“Now it is all perfectly clear to me — God does not play favourites! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, if you take God seriously and do the right thing, God will welcome you with open arms! Jesus the Messiah preached God’s message about a peace deal to the people of Israel, but clearly it did not stop with them — he is Lord of all! No doubt you have heard the news about Jesus of Nazareth, because since it sparked off in Galilee, it has spread like wildfire all over Judea. The story began after John started calling everyone to turn their lives around through baptism. God singled Jesus out then and there, charging him with the Holy Spirit’s power. From then on, Jesus travelled around working for good and helping people out from under the devil’s thumb and back onto their feet. God was with him in all this. We saw it all ourselves; everything he did in the Judean backblocks and in the city of Jerusalem. They strung him up on a post and killed him, but three days later God raised him to life and let us see him. Not everybody got to see him, but God had picked us out to be the ones who would know first hand what had happened. We got to spend time sharing meals and a few drinks with him after he was brought back from the dead. He gave us the job of getting his message out to the people and going public with the fact that he is the one who God has appointed to make the final assessment of everybody on earth, past and present. You don’t have to take our word alone on this; all the prophets back us up. Everyone who puts their trust in Jesus receives pardon for their sins on his say so.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Gospel Reading: John 20: 1-18

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

Alternative Gospel Reading: Luke 24: 1-12

Among the followers of Jesus there were some women who had come from Galilee with him. At the crack of dawn on the Sunday, they came to the tomb where his body had been laid, bringing with them the embalming spices that they had prepared. They found the tomb open with the stone rolled out of the way. They went in, but there was no sign of the body. They were standing there shocked and confused when, out of the blue, two men appeared right beside them. Their clothes were dazzling light and the terrified women had to look away. The two men said, “Why are you looking in a graveyard for one who lives? You won’t find him here. He has risen! Remember what he told you back in Galilee. He said that the New Human would be handed over to godless people and executed, but that on the third day he would rise to life again.”
Suddenly the memory of those words came flooding back to them. They returned from the graveyard and told all these things to the eleven and to all the other followers too. Now the group of women who brought this news included Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; but even so, the men wrote it off as some sort of hysterical delusion and they didn’t believe a word of it. Peter was the only one who ran off to look for himself. He bent down and peered into the tomb. All he could see was the linen grave clothes lying there by themselves. He went home scratching his head, with no idea what to make of it all.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

The Easter Homily of St John ChrysostomA sermon by Nathan Nettleton

God Came BackA sermon by Nathan Nettleton

Do Not Be AfraidA sermon by Andrew Woff

Factoring the UnthinkableA sermon on Luke 24:1-12 & Romans 6:3-11 by Nathan Nettleton

A Backwards GlanceA sermon by Nathan Nettleton

Life and love in the face of deathA sermon by Roslyn Wright

By The Light Of A RumourA sermon on Luke 24:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Showing UpA sermon by Joel Sierra

A Question For Your TearsA sermon on John 20:11-18 by Edward L Taylor

The Great Paschal (Easter) Vigil
2031-04-12 00:00 - 2031-04-13 23:59
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.

1st Reading: Genesis 1:1 - 2:4a

At the outset, when God created the universe,
the earth was lifeless and shapeless;
a deep ocean of chaos, shrouded in darkness;
brooded over by the Spirit of God.
Then God called for light,
and light appeared.
God saw that light was a good thing,
and separated it from the darkness.
God named the light Day,
and the darkness Night.
Evening passed and morning came;
the first day was done.
Then God called for a clear space
to keep out the water on either side.
God made the clear space
and the water was split in two, above and below.
That is what happened,
and God named the space Sky.
Evening passed and morning came;
the second day was done.
Then God called for the waters under the sky
to be pooled into one place
and for dry land to appear elsewhere.
That is what happened,
and God named the dry land Earth
and the pooled waters Sea.
God saw that this was a good thing.
Then God called for the earth to produce vegetation:
plants and trees, rich with fertile fruits and seed,
and that is what happened.
The earth burst forth with vegetation of every kind;
grasses and vines, shrubs and trees,
fertile with seeds and fruits of every kind.
God saw that this was a good thing.
Evening passed and morning came;
the third day was done.
Then God called for lights in the space called sky;
lights to shine from above and light up the earth,
to separate day from night,
and to mark out the months, seasons and years.
That is what happened;
God made stars to fill the sky
and two big lights:
a bright one to dominate the day,
and a soft one to take over at night.
God set them all in the sky
to light up the earth and determine day and night;
to separate out the light from the darkness.
God saw that this was a good thing.
Evening passed and morning came;
the fourth day was done.
Then God called for the waters to fill with living creatures,
and for the skies to fill with birds flying over the earth.
God created all the creatures that live and move in the water,
the enormous monsters of the sea and the teeming fish,
and every kind of bird that wings its way through the air.
God saw that this was a good thing
and set them up for life,
encouraging the fish to multiply and fill the seas
and the birds to multiply all over the earth.
Evening passed and morning came;
the fifth day was done.
Then God called for the earth to bring forth all sorts of living creatures:
insects, reptiles, mammals;
animals of every kind, tame and wild.
That is what happened;
God made wild animals of every kind to fill the earth,
every kind of herd and flock,
and every creature that runs or jumps or crawls on land.
God saw that this was a good thing.
Then God said:
“We will make people in our own image,
modelling them on ourselves.
We will entrust to them the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, the flocks and herds,
and all the wild animals and creepy-crawlies.”
So God created people as a reflection of God,
created them to be like God,
created them male and female.
God set them up for life,
and encouraged them to multiply and fill the earth.
God told them to exercise control over the earth
and to manage the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air and every living thing on earth.
God said to the people:
“Look, I have given you the grain crops
that grow and reproduce themselves all over the earth,
and all the trees that grow from seed and bear fruit;
they are all yours for food.
I have also provided vegetation galore
as food for the animals, birds and creepy-crawlies,
for everything that lives and breathes.
So it all happened, just as God said.
Everything God had made was there to be seen
and God was delighted with it all.
Evening passed and morning came;
the sixth day was done.
With that, the universe was complete,
along with everything that fills it.
With the work finished,
God took the seventh day off.
After all the work God had done,
the seventh day was a well earned rest.
So God made the seventh day special,
a sacred day,
because that day was God’s day off
after all the work of creating everything.
So that’s the family lineage of the universe;
the story of how everything came to be.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 136: 1-9, 23-26

Thank you, LORD, thank you. You are truly good.
Your rock solid love is forever.
Thank you, God of all gods, thank you.
Your rock solid love is forever.
Thank you, Lord of all lords, thank you.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You and you alone have done miraculous things.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You dreamed up the skies and put them in place.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You raised the earth on its foundations above the seas.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You set the lights shining in the sky.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You put the sun in charge of the day.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You gave the moon and stars watch over the night.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You didn’t forget us when we were down and out.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You rescued us from those who had it in for us.
Your rock solid love is forever.
You provide food for everything that lives,
Your rock solid love is forever.
Thank you, God of everything, thank you.
Your rock solid love is forever.
©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

2nd Reading: Genesis 7: 1-5, 11-18 ; 8: 6-18 ; 9: 8-13

The LORD said to Noah:
“I want you and your family to board the giant lifeboat you have built, because you are the only person alive who does the right thing in my eyes. It is time to move the animals on board too. Take seven breeding pairs of every kind of animal that can be offered in worship, one breeding pair of every kind that cannot, and seven pairs of every kind of flying bird. In this way we will ensure the survival of all their species on the earth. You’ve only got seven days before the rain starts, so get cracking. I will make it bucket down, day and night, for forty days, to wipe every living thing from the face of the earth, everything I have created.”
So Noah got stuck into it and followed the LORD’s instructions to the letter. Noah was six hundred years old at the time, and sure enough, on the seventeenth day of the second month that year, great torrents of water came flooding up from beneath the ground and the clouds burst from above. Rain bucketed down, day and night, for forty days. The very day it began, Noah finished loading the lifeboat and moved in with his wife, his three sons — Shem, Ham and Japheth — and their three wives. On board they had loaded every kind of animal, wild and domestic, every kind of creepy-crawly, and every kind of bird and flying animal. There were breeding pairs of every species that lives and breathes on the earth, and they all went on board the lifeboat with Noah. Noah had rounded them all up and herded them into the boat, just as God had instructed him, and when they were all aboard, the LORD closed the door to keep them in.
The flood waters surged over the earth for forty days, and as the waters rose the lifeboat floated up well clear of the ground below. The waters continued to swell, becoming deeper and deeper over the earth, but the lifeboat floated safely on the surface.
When the rain stopped after forty days, Noah opened a window in the lifeboat he had built, and released a crow. It never came back, but kept flying back and forth until the waters had dried up. So Noah released a pigeon, in order to find out whether the waters had subsided enough to find dry land. But the pigeon returned to the boat, because the water was still too deep and it couldn’t find anywhere else to land. Noah put out his hand for the bird to land on and brought it back inside. He waited another seven days and then released the pigeon from the boat again. That evening the pigeon came back carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak, so Noah knew that the waters had subsided enough for the land to begin drying out. Seven days later he released the pigeon again, and this time it never came back.
They had been in the lifeboat for nearly a year before the flood was gone completely. It was New Year’s Day when Noah opened up the roof of the boat and took a look around. He could see that the ground was still soggy, but drying fast. Eventually, on the twenty seventh day of the second month that year, the earth was dry enough, and God said to Noah:
“It is time for you and your whole family to leave the lifeboat. Unload all the living creatures that are with you; all the birds and animals and creepy-crawlies of every kind. Release them so that they can breed like rabbits and restock the earth.”
So Noah disembarked with his wife and their sons and their son’s wives. Then God said to Noah and his family:
“I, myself, am forging an alliance with you, and with all your descendants to come, and with every living creature; all the birds, domestic animals, and wild animals of the earth who came out of the lifeboat with you. In the terms of this alliance which I am forging with you, I am giving you my word that never again will all life be wiped out by a flood. There will never be another flood that will totally destroy the earth. I am making this alliance between me and you and all the living creatures that are with you, and I am signing it in the clouds. The rainbow that I have put in the clouds for you all to see is my signature on the alliance between me and the earth.”
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 46

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

3rd Reading: Genesis 22: 1-18

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

4th Reading: Exodus 14: 10-31 ; 15: 20-21

When the Israelites stopped near the Red Sea, they looked back over their shoulders and saw the King of Egypt and his whole army in hot pursuit. They began to cry out in panic:
“God help us! What are you doing to us, Moses? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Weren’t there enough graves there, so you had to take us off to be slaughtered in the outback? Didn’t we tell you it would come to this, when we were still safe in Egypt? We said ‘Don’t rock the boat, Moses. Leave us be. We are better off working as slaves in Egypt than ending up dead in the outback.’ Didn’t we tell you?”
But Moses replied in a speech, saying:
“Don’t panic! Hold your nerve, and you will see the LORD take action to rescue you, right here and now. Take a last look at your oppressors while you can, because you will never see them alive again. The LORD will fight this battle for you. That should shut you up!”
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
“Why all this whingeing to me? Tell the Israelites to get travelling. Hold up your walking stick and stretch out your hand towards the sea. Slice it open, so that the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on a dry track. The Egyptian army are so pig-headed that they will go in after the people, and when they do, I will cover myself in glory by defeating the King of Egypt and all his armoured vehicles and soldiers. Then all Egypt will understand that I AM the LORD.”
The angel of God who had been in front of the Israelites now moved around and took up a new position, covering them from the rear. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front of them and settled in a position behind them, making it impossible for the Egyptians and the Israelites to see each other. The cloud shrouded the Egyptian camp in darkness and lit up the night over the Israelite camp, and the night passed without any contact between the two camps.
Then Moses stretched out his hand towards the sea, and, with a violent wind that blew all night, the LORD forced back the sea, carving out a track of dry ground right through the middle of the water. The Israelites trooped into the sea on the dry track with the angry waters towering over them on either side. The Egyptian soldiers gave chase, charging into the middle of the sea aboard their horses and armoured vehicles. Just before dawn, the LORD looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and began to wreak havoc among them, bogging their vehicles and leaving them stuck in the middle. In panic, the soldiers began shouting, “Run for your lives! Get away from these Israelites because the LORD is on their side fighting against us!”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand towards the sea again so that the water will surge back over the Egyptian army and all their soldiers and armoured vehicles.”
So Moses stretched out his hand towards the sea, and as the dawn broke, the sea came crashing back down on top of the fleeing army. The LORD trapped the soldiers in the middle of the sea, and when the waters had closed over and returned to normal, there wasn’t a soldier or a vehicle left. The Israelites had walked through the sea on a dry track with the angry waters towering over them on either side, but the entire army of the King of Egypt had been swallowed up by the sea while pursuing them.
So that day the LORD rescued the people of Israel from their oppressors, and the people saw all the dead soldiers washed up on the shore. When they saw the power of the LORD’s action against their oppressors, the people were in awe of the LORD and put their trust in the LORD and in Moses who was working for the LORD.
Then the prophet Miriam, who was Aaron’s sister, led the women in a dance of celebration, playing tambourines and singing:
“Our song is for you, LORD,
for you have won a glorious victory!
You have tossed the soldiers and warhorses into the sea!”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Exodus 15: 1b-13, 17-18

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

5th Reading: Isaiah 55: 1-11

This is what the LORD says:
Hey you! Are you thirsty?
Come, then. Drink from these fresh waters!
Are you too penniless even to eat?
Never mind! Come! Help yourselves; eat your fill!
Come and stock up with food, wine and milk.
What will it cost you? Not a red cent!
Why sink all your money into things that leave you hungry?
Why bust a gut working for things that can never satisfy?
Listen carefully to what I have to say
and you will feast at a rich banquet of fine foods.
Stick with me and tune in to what I’m saying,
for without my words, life is bland and tasteless.
I will surround your lives with love and loyalty,
making a permanent alliance, just as I did with David.
I gave him influence and authority over the nations,
and he was my witness among them.
You will be the same – a light to which others flock;
even those who don’t know you will come running;
they’ll be drawn to my glory, seen in you,
the glory of the LORD, the one and only God of Israel.
The LORD says,
Track me down before it is too late,
make contact while I’m in your neck of the woods.
Clean up your act and get your head straight;
give up your corrupt practices and plans.
Get yourself back on my wavelength
and I’ll pour out mercy and generous forgiveness.
I don’t think the way you think, says the LORD,
and I don’t do things the way you do.
Your ways and mine are like cheese and chalk,
your thoughts and mine are lightyears apart.
Everything I say has a powerful purpose;
no empty words ever pass my lips.
My words are like drops of rain in the cycle of nature:
wherever they fall they give life;
they replenish, renew and nourish life,
and then the earth gives them back and they start again.
My words always achieve their purpose;
they flourish where I plant them,
they nourish all who feed on them.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Isaiah 12: 2-6

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

6th Reading (alternative 1): Baruch 3: 9-15, 32 - 4:4

Listen up, Israel, and hear the rules of life.
Tune in and learn good common sense.
What’s going on, O people of Israel?
How come you are still trapped in the land of your enemies?
How come you are growing old so far from home?
People avoid you like something dead.
You are written off like those in the grave.
How come?
It is because you turned your back on the fountain of wisdom.
If you had stuck to the track God had marked out
you would have lived in peace your whole life long.
Wake up to yourselves and learn.
Learn where to find wisdom,
where to gain strength,
where to get a clear picture of what is going on.
Do that and you will find that you have also discovered
the secret to a long and full life,
to a future that looks bright,
and to peace that will last.
But who has succeeded in finding Wisdom’s house?
Who has entered her warehouse and placed their order?
Who? The one who knows everything knows her well,
and with a sharp mind, easily tracked her down.
The one who set up the earth in the first place,
and filled it with everything on four legs;
the one who throws light into the sky,
and who can send it cowering away with a word;
the one at whose call the stars stepped forth,
eagerly signing up for the night watch
and lighting up with joy for the one who made them.
This is our God;
and no other god is in the same league.
God has marked out the track to Wisdom’s home
and shared her secrets with his servant Jacob,
and with Israel, his beloved child.
From that time on, Wisdom appeared on earth
and made her home among the people.
She is the book of instruction given by God;
the law laid down that lasts forever.
All those who hold fast to her will live,
but those who give up on her will die.
Turn around, people of Jacob, and reach out for her.
Turn towards her light and head straight there.
What a glorious gift you have been given!
Don’t squander it and leave it to others to cash in on it.
We’ve got it made, O people of Israel,
because we are in the know about what pleases God.
©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

6th Reading (alternative 2): Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21 ; 9: 4b-6

Wisdom calls; her voice full of promise.
Can’t you hear her, offering herself to all who pass by?
On the station steps at rush hour, there she is.
On a busy corner where everyone passes;
leaning on the gate as the crowd comes through;
wherever people are, her voice rings out.
This is what she has to say:
“Come one and all, and hear me out;
If you’re in the land of the living, what I have to offer is for you.
To the thick-headed, I offer lessons in good sense;
to you who know nothing, I offer a solid education.
Listen up! What I have to say is worth hearing.
Every word that passes my lips can be trusted.
From my mouth you’ll hear only the truth;
corrupt and deceitful talk makes me sick.
Whenever I speak, it is straight down the line;
I don’t twist the truth or put a shifty spin on it.
Invest in me and you’ll reap the rewards;
rich benefits, more than money could ever buy.
I stick to the track of those who do the right thing;
I steer a straight line on the road of justice.
I heap riches on those who love me;
their lives are chock full of good things.
To the ignorant and confused, Wisdom makes her invitation,
“Come over to my place and we’ll chew the fat.
Share my bread and wine and things will fall into place.
The time has come to turn the corner,
to grow up, to embrace life.
Think before you act
and walk with understanding.”
©2001 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

7th Reading: Ezekiel 36: 24-28

I, the LORD, will bring you home from exile.
I will gather you from your foreign hideouts,
and settle you safely in your own homeland.
I will wash you down with clean water;
scrub the defilement from your lives,
and clean off the filthy residue of your flirtation with idols.
I will renovate your lives from the inside out,
and give you a new heart and new spirit.
I will remove your cold stone hearts,
and replace them with hearts of healthy flesh.
I will put my spirit inside you,
to give you a passion for following my ways
and a commitment to doing what I say.
Then you will live in the homeland I gave to your ancestors.
You will be my people,
and I will be your God.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 42 & 43

Like a wallaby searching for a waterhole,
I crave you, God, with every fibre of my being.
Everything inside me thirsts for you, God,
for you, the Living God.
When will the drought break
so I can be with you, face to face.
I’ve had nothing but tears to sustain me;
day and night it’s been the same;
I can’t shut out the jeers and taunts,
“Where is this God of yours?”
Cherished memories flood my mind,
rubbing salt in the wound;
memories of past celebrations
when I led the worship in your house.
I can still hear the laughter and joyous singing;
the crowds celebrating your goodness.
Why do I feel so defeated?
Why am I so anxious and agitated?
I tell myself not to give up hope,
for you are my God and my help
and I’ll be glad of that again.
I feel so defeated inside;
I try to remind myself of your goodness
as I walk along the beach to the river mouth
and look towards the mountains.
But all I hear is the roar of waves
and churning waters;
I feel like chaos is breaking over me
and sucking me down, deeper and deeper.
Every day I read of your rock-solid love, LORD;
and every night I sing your songs
and pray to you as the God of my life.
But still I find myself asking the question:
“Why has your rock-solid love let me down?
Why are so many out to get me,
making my life such a misery?”
My wounds are deep and painful
but the torture goes on;
over and over I hear the taunts,
“Where is this God of yours?”
Why do I feel so defeated?
Why am I so anxious and agitated?
I tell myself not to give up hope,
for you are my God and my help
and I’ll be glad of that again.
Clear my name, God;
side with me against these godless tormentors.
Rescue me from their lies and abuse.
I trusted you to look after me, God;
why have you pushed me aside?
Why are so many out to get me,
making my life such a misery?
Let your truth blaze like a beacon
so I can see the way to go;
let it light up the path and lead me
to your home on the sacred mountain.
Then I will offer myself to you in worship, God;
offer myself with uninhibited joy.
I will praise you with music and song,
O God, my God!
Why do I feel so defeated?
Why am I so anxious and agitated?
I tell myself not to give up hope,
for you are my God and my help
and I’ll be glad of that again.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

8th Reading: Ezekiel 37: 1-14

The LORD took hold of me and the LORD’s Spirit carried me away and dropped me off in the middle of Death Valley. I took a look around but there was nothing to be seen but bones – old human bones, baked dry in the sun – thousands and thousands of them. The LORD questioned me saying, “Ezekiel, mortal man, can these bones come back to life?”
I replied, “Lord GOD, only you can answer such a question.”
Then the LORD told me to preach boldly to the bones, saying:
“All you dry bones, listen to what the LORD is saying to you. Though you are long dead, I, the Lord, will put breath into you again, and you will live. Muscles, ligaments, organs, veins; all these I will give you, wrapped in healthy new skin. You will have whole new bodies and I will breathe life into you. Then you will know for sure that I am the LORD.”
So I did what the LORD told me and I preached to the bones. Even while I was in full flight, the noise of rattling bones began to echo through the valley. They were coming together, linking up, one bone to another. As I watched, muscles appeared and grew. Bodies filled out with new flesh, and fresh skin was wrapped around them. But they were still lifeless.
Then the LORD told me to call to the winds, saying:
“North Wind, South Wind, East Wind, West Wind, listen to what the LORD is telling you to do. Come from everywhere and blow the breath of life into these corpses, so that they can live again.”
Again I spoke as the LORD had said, and even as I did, gusts of wind swirled among the bodies, resuscitating them before my very eyes. Rising to their feet like a finals’ crowd, they could have easily filled the biggest stadium.
Then the LORD explained to me what it all meant:
“Ezekiel, mortal man, my people are just like old dry bones. They are always whingeing that life has become one long drought and they’ve been left for dead with no reason to hope that the future might be any better. So preach boldly, Ezekiel, and tell them this:
“All you people, listen to what the LORD is promising: I am going to dig up your graves, and open your coffins. I will bring you back as my people to the promised land. When I do this for you, my people, when I restore life to your bodies, then you will know for sure that I am the LORD. My Spirit will be within you like the breath in your lungs, and so you shall live. I will once again plant your feet on your own patch of dirt. Then there will no longer be any doubt that I, the LORD, have spoken and that what I say goes.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 143

Listen to my prayer, LORD.
I know you can be relied on to hear my cry for mercy
and to do the right thing when you answer.
I am at your service, LORD,
but please don’t put me on trial.
You can see that I’ve screwed up like everyone else.
Enemies have been constantly on my tail,
stomping me into the dirt
and leaving me for dead in some dark hellhole.
That’s why I’m so gutted.
My heart can’t take any more; it’s chucking in the towel.
I think back on the good old days
and remember all the great things you did, LORD;
I go over and over your achievements in my mind.
I’m reaching out to you for help now.
Inside I am like a salt pan in the desert sun,
desperately thirsting for you.
Answer me before it’s too late, LORD;
I can’t go on much longer.
Don’t turn your back on me now
or I’ll be headed straight for the grave.
May the morning bring news of your rock-solid love
because I’ve put all my trust in you.
Show me the track you want me to follow
for I’m offering my life to you.
Rescue me from my enemies, LORD.
I’ve fled to you seeking asylum.
You are my God;
teach me what you want me to do.
Send your Spirit to guide me
safely along the right track.
Let me live, LORD; your reputation hangs on it.
Do the right thing, as you always do,
and get me out of this danger.
Be true to your rock-solid love and cut off my enemies.
Destroy those who are trying to destroy me
for I live to serve you.
©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

9th Reading: 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

Psalm 98

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.
With a brass fanfare and a dancing beat
we loudly celebrate your reign over us.
The whole creation joins in the celebration:
the ocean and its creatures roar their approval;
the land and its animals, cheer and stomp;
rivers and lakes give a standing ovation,
mountains and hills erupt in applause.
We put on the whole show in your presence, LORD,
celebrating your arrival as you finally bring justice.
With you in charge we know things will be put right;
now every one on earth will get a fair go.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

10th Reading: Romans 6: 3-11

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

Psalm 114

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

Gospel Reading (Year A - 2026): Matthew 28: 1-10

The morning after the Sabbath, just as the first day of the new week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the tomb. Suddenly the earth shuddered and shook beneath them and an angel from the Lord appeared from heaven right in front of them, rolled back the boulder that had sealed the mouth of the tomb, and sat on it. The angel was as radiant as lightening, and wore clothes as white as freshly fallen snow. The angel’s appearance had the security guards quaking in their boots and falling like flies, scared stiff. But to the women, the angel said, “Do not be afraid of me! I know you have come here looking for Jesus, the one they executed, but you won’t find him here. He has been raised to life, just as he said he would be. Come and I will show you the place where his body was laid to rest. Then run and tell the rest of his followers that he has been raised from the dead. Tell them that he is heading back to Galilee and you are all to follow. There you will see him for yourselves. This is what I have been sent to tell you.”
So they left the tomb on the double, awestruck and overjoyed, and ran to tell the rest of his followers the news. On the way, they suddenly ran straight into Jesus himself. “Good morning!” he said.
They threw themselves at him and fell down kissing his feet and worshipping him. Jesus said to them. “There is nothing to be afraid of. Go and tell the rest of my brothers and sisters to go on up to Galilee and I will meet them there.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Gospel Reading (Year B - 2027): Mark 16: 1-8

When the Sabbath rest day was over, three of the women – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome – went and purchased the spices required to anoint the body of Jesus in the customary way. At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the first day of the week, they went to the tomb. On the way there they had been discussing whether they would be able to find anyone to shift the large boulder that sealed the entrance to the tomb, but when they arrived within sight of it, they could see that the massive stone had already been rolled aside. They went into the tomb and nearly jumped out of their skins when they found a young man, wearing a white robe, sitting on the right hand side. He said to them, “Don’t panic. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was executed. He has been raised up. You won’t find him here. Look, this is the spot where they laid his body. Off you go. Tell his disciples, and especially Peter, that Jesus is going on up to Galilee ahead of you. There, in Galilee, you will see him, just as he told you you would.”
The women bolted out of the tomb and fled as fast as they could, shaking with fear and their heads spinning. They were so frightened that they didn’t breathe a word of it to anyone.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Gospel Reading (Year C - 2025): Luke 24: 1-12

Among the followers of Jesus there were some women who had come from Galilee with him. At the crack of dawn on the Sunday, they came to the tomb where his body had been laid, bringing with them the embalming spices that they had prepared. They found the tomb open with the stone rolled out of the way. They went in, but there was no sign of the body. They were standing there shocked and confused when, out of the blue, two men appeared right beside them. Their clothes were dazzling light and the terrified women had to look away. The two men said, “Why are you looking in a graveyard for one who lives? You won’t find him here. He has risen! Remember what he told you back in Galilee. He said that the New Human would be handed over to godless people and executed, but that on the third day he would rise to life again.”
Suddenly the memory of those words came flooding back to them. They returned from the graveyard and told all these things to the eleven and to all the other followers too. Now the group of women who brought this news included Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; but even so, the men wrote it off as some sort of hysterical delusion and they didn’t believe a word of it. Peter was the only one who ran off to look for himself. He bent down and peered into the tomb. All he could see was the linen grave clothes lying there by themselves. He went home scratching his head, with no idea what to make of it all.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

The Easter Homily of St John ChrysostomA sermon by Nathan Nettleton

God Came BackA sermon by Nathan Nettleton

A Young Man in WhiteA sermon on Mark 16:1-8 & Romans 6:3-11 by Nathan Nettleton

Do Not Be AfraidA sermon by Andrew Woff

This Changes EverythingA sermon on Mark 16:1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Factoring the UnthinkableA sermon on Luke 24:1-12 & Romans 6:3-11 by Nathan Nettleton

The Great Reversal Moves ForwardA sermon on Matthew 28:1-10 by David Devine

A Backwards GlanceA sermon by Nathan Nettleton

Life and love in the face of deathA sermon by Roslyn Wright

The Failure of FailureA sermon on Matthew 28:1-10 by Nathan Nettleton

How Does It End?A sermon on Mark 16: 1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

By The Light Of A RumourA sermon on Luke 24:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Showing UpA sermon by Joel Sierra

A Question For Your TearsA sermon on John 20:11-18 by Edward L Taylor

Moving On From CrucifyingA sermon on Luke 24:1-12 & Romans 6:3-11 by Nathan Nettleton

Darkness Breaks SlowlyA sermon on Mark 16: 1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Holy Saturday (The Day of Nothingness) for services prior to the Paschal Vigil
2031-04-12 00:00 - 23:59
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Job 14: 1-14

Job addressed God saying:
What happened to dying ‘old and full of days’?
‘Few of days and full of grief’
seems to be the lot of everyone born.
Like flowers, we’re lucky to survive the heat of a single day;
like shadows, we never survive the fall of night.
So why have you set your sights on me?
Why are you dragging me into court as though I was your equal?
How can anyone like me, born in the gutter,
expect to come out clean on legal street? Not a chance!
The length of our lives is already set.
You have decided how long we’ve got,
and when our number’s up, there is nothing we can do about it.
So why not back off and give us a break?
Can’t we do our time without you standing over us?
A tree can still have hope
even if it is cut down in its prime.
There is every chance
that it will sprout again and flourish.
Even if its stump rots away
and its roots wither in the ground,
it only needs a whiff of water and it buds again
and comes up strong like a young plant reborn.
But we mere mortals die, and that’s it.
Dead and buried, no human is ever seen again.
Just like a lake drying out in a never ending drought,
or a river fading to a trickle and then its gone,
so too we mortals crumble to dust
with no hope of a second time round.
We think we’ll wake up in the morning,
but no way! Not till hell freezes over.
If only the land of the dead was just a prison
and you could lock me safely away till your anger cools down.
You could fix my sentence
and remember me when my time was done.
Then I could serve my time and hang on to hope,
as I counted down the days till my release.
Wishful thinking!
When we mere mortals die, that’s it, isn’t it?
©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Lamentations 3: 1-9, 19-24 (alternative 1st reading)

I have borne the brunt of your anger, God.
I have suffered the punishment you dished out.
You drove me away from the light
and left me facing the darkness alone.
You singled me out for a beating;
and belted me around day and night.
Under your hand, my body wasted away,
and my bones were cracked and broken.
You were constantly in my face,
standing over me, keeping me in fear.
You locked me up in darkness
and death seemed close at hand.
You have fenced me in with barbed wire,
and chained my ankles for good measure.
I can cry for help all I like,
but you’ve blocked your ears.
You built permanent blockades on every road.
Wherever I go, I am turned back.
The reality I’m facing is like a bitter taste in my mouth.
Grief and deprivation poison my mind.
I can’t stop thinking about it over and over,
but every thought makes me want to die.
The one thing that gives me hope,
the one thing I keep reminding myself of is this:
Your love and loyalty never die, LORD.
Your generous mercy never runs dry.
They are created new every morning
and you are as trustworthy as the solid rock.
So I keep telling myself that you are all I need
and that I can still trust you to come through for me.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 31: 1-4, 15-16

I look to you for refuge, LORD;
don’t let me be dragged through the mud.
You promised justice – save me!
Give me your ear – I’m crying for help;
rescue me before it’s too late.
Be a secure refuge for me,
a bomb shelter where I can hide.
Your solid walls protect me from danger;
lead me and guide me so I’ll be a credit to you;
keep me clear of pitfalls and traps.
You are the only refuge I trust, LORD;
my future is in your hands.
Snatch me from the grasp
of those who are hunting me down.
I’m working for you; look on me with love.
Stand by me and save me.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Peter 4: 1-8

The Messiah put his body on the line and went through serious suffering, and so now you need to steel yourselves to face it with the same guts and determination. Those who keep putting their bodies on the line at great cost have clearly cut their ties with sin. Even in this age of indulging every bodily appetite, you will be able to live through it, freely following the ways of God instead of being driven slavishly by every pathetic desire. You have already done more than enough time being driven along in the ways of the godless by such desires, caught up in a life of desperate partying, emotional chaos, binge drinking, sexual regrets, self-degradation, and out-of-control worship of worthless things. Your old friends can’t believe it when you are no longer first to join them in the same old patterns of compulsive indulgence. “Are you too good for us now?” they sneer, and they heap offensive insults on all that is good. But they will have to answer to God for their offences, as everyone will, living or dead. This is the reason that the great news about God’s love was broadcast even to those who have died. That way, even though the judgement of the way they lived in their bodies is now in the past — indeed none of us can take back what we have done — they still have the opportunity to live in the spirit as God lives.
Everything is about to be wrapped up, so keep your wits about you, your heads clear, and your prayers focussed. And make it your number one priority to keep loving one another, no matter what. Any number of offences will be forgotten if love stays on the job.
©2013 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 27: 57-66

A few hours after Jesus had died, a wealthy man from Arimethea went to Pilate and asked permission to take the body of Jesus for burial. The man’s name was Joseph, and he was a follower of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be released into his care. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linen cloth. He buried Jesus in a new tomb which he had had cut into the rock for his own eventual use. He rolled a boulder over the entrance to the tomb to seal it, and then went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting opposite the tomb watching all this.
The next day was still part of the sacred festival, and a deputation of the chief priests and members of the Pharisee party held an early meeting with Pilate. They said, “Sir, we have remembered that while that con man was still alive, he claimed that he would rise again three days after his death. So please give orders to have guards secure the tomb for the next three days so that his fan club can’t steal his body and start telling everyone that he has been raised from the dead. A fraud like that would be even more dangerous than the pack of lies he was pushing before.”
Pilate said to them, “Fair enough. There are security guards at your disposal. Go and do whatever you think is necessary to prevent anyone tampering with the tomb.”
So they took the security guards, taped off the area around the tomb, sealed the stone, and kept it under constant surveillance.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 19: 38-42 (alternative gospel reading)

Once Jesus was well and truly dead, a man went to Pilate and got permission to take the body for burial. His name was Joseph of Arimethea, and he had been a closet follower of Jesus, because he was afraid for his reputation with the Temple hierarchy. He and Nicodemus, who had first spoken to Jesus in the quiet of night, removed the body. Nicodemus supplied the embalming spices, and as was the Jewish custom, they wrapped the body with the spices in linen cloth. There was a memorial garden not far from the place where Jesus was crucified, and there was a tomb there which had not yet been used. Because it was the day of preparation and there was little time, they buried Jesus in that tomb.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Good Friday
2031-04-11 00:00 - 23:59
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.

Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12

The LORD says:
“This one who serves on my behalf will succeed.
He will come out on top
and be honoured by everyone.
Many people were shocked by what happened to him;
his appearance was enough to make them throw up.
Torture had disfigured him beyond recognition;
at first sight he no longer looked human.
The next time he’s seen will be an even greater shock;
nations and their kings will fall to their knees, speechless.
All of a sudden, what they had never seen or understood
will be as plain as day, and all they can think about.”
The people reply to this news, saying:
“Who could have believed what we now know to be true?
Who would have recognised what the LORD was doing?
This one who serves on the LORD’s behalf
grew up hard like a plant taking root in the stony desert.
To look at him, you wouldn’t think he’d amount to much;
nothing about his appearance would make you look twice.
Others wrote him off, and treated him as scum;
pain and suffering were his constant companions.
He was despised and abused, but we looked away;
we didn’t consider him worth caring about.
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 22

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.
Like a pack of hungry dingoes they sniff around me;
evil mongrels, every one of them.
I’m so wasted my hands and feet feel like they could snap off;
My ribs stick out like a picket fence.
They hang me up for a public viewing,
boasting over how they finished me off.
They empty my pockets
and toss a coin to see who gets my clothes.
What are you doing, LORD? Don’t quit on me now!
Get your act together and come to my rescue!
Save me before I get my throat cut,
before my body is dog meat!
Pull me out before they get their teeth into me!
At last! Just before the bulls ran me down, you have rescued me.
I won’t forget this – I’ll let everyone know.
Whenever people gather, I’ll be singing your praise.
I’ll call on all who honour you, LORD, to stand up and say so!
All who trace their roots to Jacob will give you the glory!
All who share the heritage of Israel will stand in awe of you!
LORD, you did not rubbish anyone
or blame the victims for their suffering.
You did not turn away or slip off quietly;
when I cried for help, you responded.
Whenever people gather to worship,
my heart overflows and I sing your praises.
Out in the open for all to see
I’ll do all that I promised.
At your table, God, the needy will feast;
those who hunger for you will be fed till they burst with praise!
They will be able to live it up, now and forever!
In every corner of the earth people will wake up to themselves
and turn back to you, LORD.
Every race, nation, tribe and family
will offer themselves to you in worship,
for you have the last word on everything;
what you say goes.
Even the dead will bow down to you, LORD;
those who are trampled in the dust will look to you in hope,
and I will live for you and you alone.
Our kids and their kids will serve you, LORD;
as we pass the message down from one generation to the next.
People not even born yet will hear the story;
they will be told of what you have done to set us free.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 10: 16-25

The Holy Spirit says to us 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.”
“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. It becomes more and more important the closer we get to that final day.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 4: 14-16; 5: 7-9 (alternative)

Let’s see to it that we 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.
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, he 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

John 18:1 - 19:42

After the supper, and after Jesus had prayed for his followers, they went outside and headed across town to the Kidron Valley gardens where they had often met together before. Judas had now betrayed Jesus, and of course, he knew they would be heading for the gardens. Judas showed the way to those sent to arrest Jesus – a detachment of Roman soldiers and some Temple security guards sent by the chief priests and the hard-line Pharisee party. It was now late, and so the heavily armed group carried torches and flood lights. Jesus knew what he had coming to him and so when they arrived he just stepped out in the open and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
They answered, “We’ve been sent to find Jesus of Nazareth.”
“Well you’ve found him,” he replied, “I’m Jesus.”
When he said that, they were so taken aback you could have knocked them over with a feather. Judas, the back-stabber, was still with them. Because they were looking so uncertain, Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”
And again they replied, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus answered, “Like I said, I’m Jesus. And since I am the man you’re looking for, you can let these others go in peace.”
In so saying, he backed up the promise he had made in his earlier prayer when he had said, “I didn’t lose a single one of those you entrusted to me.”
Suddenly Simon Peter pulled a knife and began slashing wildly. He struck a man named Malchus – a servant of the high priest – and cut off his ear. Jesus yelled at his, saying, “Peter, put that thing away. Do you think I’m going to back out now and refuse to drink the cup that God has poured for me?”
At that point, the soldiers and the Temple security guards surrounded Jesus and made the arrest. They handcuffed him, and dragged him off to see Annas, who had issued the arrest warrant. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphus, who was the high priest that year; and Caiaphus was the one who had persuaded the authorities that, for the sake of the rest of the population, it would be best if this one person died.
Simon Peter and one of the other disciples followed as Jesus was dragged off. When the arrived at the high priest’s residence, Peter was refused entry at the gate, but the other disciple knew the high priest and got in. Having got in, he spoke to the woman in charge of the security gate and had Peter let in too. As he came in, the woman looked at Peter and said, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples are you?”
He replied, “No, I’m not.”
The soldiers and guards were standing around an open fire in the middle of the courtyard warming themselves, because it was a cold night. Not knowing what else to do, Peter joined them.
Inside, the high priest was interrogating Jesus about his followers and about the things he had been teaching the people. Jesus answered him, saying, “Everything I’ve said has been out in the open. I have always done my teaching in the public places where the people gather – in the synagogues and in the temple. I’ve kept nothing behind closed doors, so what are you asking me for? Why don’t you ask the people who heard what I said. They can tell you what it was all about.”
When he said this, one of the security guards gave Jesus a whack in the face, saying, “You think you can get away with back-chatting the high priest, do you?”
But Jesus stood his ground, saying, “If you think there’s something wrong with what I’ve been saying, then put your evidence on the table. But if what I’m saying is correct, what are you smacking me around for?”
While this was happening, Simon Peter was still keeping warm by the fire with the guards. They asked him, “Aren’t you one of his disciples?”
“Not me,” said Peter, denying everything.
One of the Temple guards there was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off when he’d pulled the knife in the garden. He said, “Come on mate, you’ve got to be one of them. Didn’t I just see you with him in the garden when we picked him up?”
But Peter denied it again, and the words were barely out of his mouth when he heard the sound of the rooster crowing.
Shortly after that, in the early hours of the morning, Jesus was transferred from the residence of Caiaphus to the headquarters of Pilate, the Roman governor. The Jewish officers themselves did not go inside the headquarters, because it was nearly time for the sacred Passover festival, and going into a gentile home would have ruled them out of participating. Pilate agreed to come out and meet their delegation, and asked them, “So, what have you charged this bloke with?”
They answered, “You can take it for granted that he’s a dangerous criminal – otherwise we wouldn’t have bothered you with his case.”
Pilate replied, “I’m sure you are quite capable of dealing with him yourselves. Get him out of here and deal with him according to your own local laws.”
But the Jewish officers said, “We don’t have the power to authorise an execution.”
Clearly the things Jesus had previously said about the sort of death he would die were coming true.
Pilate went back into his headquarters and had Jesus brought inside so he could interrogate him. “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.”
“Truth,” Pilate sneered. “What is truth?”
Then he went back outside to the delegation from the Temple and told them, “I can’t find any basis for a case against this prisoner. It is customary for me to release a political prisoner for you at Passover time. How about I release this ‘king of the Jews’ for you? He seems harmless enough to me.”
But they shouted back, “No way! Not this man. Release Barabbas!” Barabbas was a convicted terrorist.
At that point, Pilate handed Jesus over to some of his own soldiers and told them to give him a flogging. The soldiers thought it was huge joke. They hung a purple robe on him and wove a crown out of barbed wire and jammed it on his head. They took turns at coming up to him, saying, “Heil, King of the Jews!” as they saluted him, and then smashed their fists into his face. When they’d finished their brutal sport, Pilate went back out to the Temple delegation and said, “Look, I’m handing him back over to you and telling you that I can’t find any basis for a case against him.”
Jesus was dragged back out, still wearing the barbed wire crown and the purple robe. Pilate said “Here he is: the man!”
But the minute the chief priests and the Temple security guards saw him, they began screaming, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Pilate replied, “You take him and crucify him yourselves. I can’t see that he’s done anything wrong.”
The delegation replied, “The case against him is clear in our law. He claimed to be the Son of God and our law makes the death penalty mandatory for that.”
When Pilate heard this, he began to really worry, and went back inside his headquarters to interview Jesus again. “Where have you come from?” he asked him, but Jesus didn’t answer. Pilate said to him, “It’s no use claiming the right to silence. Don’t you understand that I can say the word to have you released or to have you tortured to death?”
Jesus replied, “You wouldn’t have any authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from a higher power. It is the one who handed me over to you who is going to have to answer for the greatest wrongdoing.”
After that, Pilate tried to have Jesus released, but the Temple crowd would have none of it. They insisted, “If you release this man you are no friend of the emperor, and we’ll see that he hears about it. Anyone who claims to be a king is setting himself up in opposition to the emperor.”
With that, Pilate capitulated to their demands. At noon on the day of Preparation for the Passover festival, Pilate sat down at the judge’s bench at the Stone Pavement Court – known in Hebrew as Gabbatha – and had Jesus stood in the dock. He said to the Temple delegation, “Here is your king!”
They shouted in chorus, “Get rid of him! Kill him! Crucify him!”
“Crucify him?” Pilate replied. “You want me to crucify your king?”
“We have no king but the emperor!” they shouted.
With that, Pilate passed sentence and handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus out to the place called Skull Hill, or in Hebrew, Golgotha. Jesus was made to carry his own cross on the way out there. When they got there, they hung him on the cross by nails driven through his flesh. They crucified a couple of other convicted men at the same time – the three of them in a row with Jesus in the middle. On Pilate’s orders, a sign was hung on the cross Jesus was on, saying, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many people read the sign because the crucifixion occurred in a public place on the main road into the city and the sign was written in three languages – Hebrew, Latin and Greek. The chief priests from the Temple went to Pilate objecting to the sign. They wanted the sign changed from “The King of the Jews” to “This man claimed to be the King of the Jews” but Pilate told them that what was written was written and that was the end of the story.
When the soldiers had hung Jesus up on the nails, they divided up his clothes between the four of them. His robe was left over, and when they saw that it was woven from a single piece of fabric, with no seams, they decided that rather than tear it, they’d have a round of two-up, and award it to the winner. This backed up what the scriptures had said long ago:
“They divided up my clothes,
and tossed for my coat.”
While the soldiers tossed coins, a group of women stood near Jesus’ cross. They were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Jesus saw that his mother was standing with the disciple with whom he was most intimate, and so he said to his mother, “Woman, this man is your son.” And then he said to the disciple, “This woman is your mother.” From that day on, Mary moved into the home of that disciple.
After that, Jesus knew it was all over. He did one more thing that the scriptures had spoken about. He said, “I’m thirsty.”
Someone had half a bottle of wine that had turned to vinegar, so they poured some into a sponge and held it up to his mouth. He drank it and then said, “Everything is finished.”
With that, his head dropped and he gave up his spirit.
Because it was the day of Preparation for the Passover, the Temple authorities wanted to make sure the bodies were not left hanging up on the sacred festival day. They went to Pilate and got him to authorise the soldiers to break the legs of the three crucified men, so that they’d die quicker. The soldiers broke the legs of the other two crucified men, but when they came to Jesus, they saw that there was no need – he was already dead. Just to make sure, one of the soldiers drove a spear into his side, and blood and water gushed out.
The eyewitness to these things has given a sworn account of it all. His report is true and can be trusted. Scripture was again shown to be true, because it was written that not one of his bones would be broken. Similarly in another place the scriptures said, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
When it was all over, a man went to Pilate and got permission to take the body of Jesus for burial. His name was Joseph of Arimethea, and he had been a closet follower of Jesus, because he was afraid for his reputation with the Temple hierarchy. He and Nicodemus, who had first spoken to Jesus in the quiet of night, removed the body. Nicodemus supplied the embalming spices, and as was the Jewish custom, they wrapped the body with the spices in linen cloth. There was a memorial garden not far from the place where Jesus was crucified, and there was a tomb there which had not yet been used. Because it was the day of preparation and there was little time, they buried Jesus in that tomb.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Prayers

Opening Prayer

This is the day when life is raw,
quivering, terrifying:
The day of numbed emotions,
the day of blunt nails
and splintered wood,
of bruised flesh
and red blood.
The day we loathe,
when hopes are crushed.
The day we long for,
when pretences fall away—
Because the worst that we can do
cannot kill the love of God.

Gracious God,
your love is a light in our darkness,
vulnerable, yet unquenchable.
We would stand with Christ,
in the midst of the horrors of this world
where betrayal and death
constantly threaten your love and peace.
©1996 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayer at the Arrest of Christ (responding to the reading of John 18: 1-12)

Again and again
we have bound you
and taken you captive, O Lord,
Because it's easier,
easier than facing the reality
of what you ask of us.
Again and again
you have been taken captive
and your voice silenced.
Again and again
you have been dragged out
whenever it seems
that quoting your name will justify
our attempts to gain what we want
at the expense of others.
©1996 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayer at the Death of Christ (responding to the reading of John 19:25-30)

God, why did you let this happen,
why do our greatest hopes
seem to flicker out and die?
We search for meaning in life
and before we find it, it is gone.
We search for meaning in death
but its horrible reality drives us back
and we are afraid to look.
God, we shudder at the way this life ended:
surrounded by cold brutality,
rejected and betrayed by a friend,
deprived of justice,
and loved by only a frightened few
who watched in fear.
Inside we are afraid that this is all there is,
a flickering light snuffed out, no meaning,
no future, no love.
Evil triumphs yet again.
Evil triumphs so often.
Yours was one of thousands of deaths.
From those times to now
thousands die in loneliness and fear,
victims of the cruelty and oppression of this world.
Remind us with every death,
that there is still so much to be done,
before love reigns
and fear is driven away.
©1996 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

The Request for the Disposal of the Body (responding to the reading of John 19:31-37)

Once again we don't want to face up
to what we have done.
We quickly seek to clean up the mess,
to hide the evidence,
to get life normal again.
We want it finished
and the body put out of sight.
And yet that broken body,
if we would only face it
is the evidence of the love we crave
and the source of
the healing we cry for.
Give us courage
to see beyond the blood and the horror.
Give us the hope that in this death
we may find our own life.
©1996 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Joanna’s StoryA reflection for Good Friday by Margie Dahl

Moving on from CrucifyingA sermon by Nathan Nettleton (This sermon was written for the Paschal Vigil, but the first half or more would also be useful in reflecting on Good Friday)

Thursday of Holy Week (Maundy Thursday)
2031-04-10 00:00 - 23:59
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 12: 1-4, (5-10), 11-14

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

Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19

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

1 Corinthians 11: 23-26

The teaching I gave you about the Lord’s Supper is worth repeating. I gave it to you exactly as I received it from the Lord himself. On the very night that he was betrayed, Jesus was sharing a meal. He took a loaf of bread in his hands, gave thanks to God and then broke the loaf, saying:
“This is my body. It is for you.
Do this so that I will be remembered.”
At the end of the meal he did the same thing with the cup, saying:
“This cup is God’s new alliance with you —
an alliance sealed with my blood.
Do this, every time you drink it,
so that I will be remembered.”
The meaning of this is clear: whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you are announcing the truth about the Lord’s death. This truth will continue to be broadcast in this way until the Lord returns.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 13: 1-17, 31b-35

Even before the sacred Passover festival began, Jesus knew that his time was running out. He knew that he had come from God, and he knew that it was time to leave this world and return to God. He had consistently loved his followers in this world, and he continued to demonstrate his love for them right up to the end. A seed sown by the devil had taken root in the mind of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, and by the time they gathered for supper, he was planning to double-cross Jesus.
Jesus knew that everything was up to him, because God had put everything in his hands. During the supper, he got up from the table, took off his jacket and tied a towel around his waist. Filling a large bowl with water, he began to wash the feet of each of the disciples in turn and to dry them with the towel tied around his waist. When it was his turn, Simon Peter objected saying, “Surely it’s not your job to wash my feet, Lord?”
Jesus answered, “I know you don’t yet understand why I’m doing this, but in time it will make sense to you.”
But Peter said, “No way! I’ll never let you wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash you, then it’s all over between us. You’ll have nothing further to do with me.”
“In that case,” Simon Peter replied, “don’t just wash my feet! Wash my hands; wash my head!”
Jesus said to him, “You had a bath before you came! Once someone’s had a bath, they don’t need to wash anything on arrival other than their feet and they’ll be completely clean. You lot are clean.” But then, because he knew who was going to double-cross him, he added, “Well, most of you are clean anyway.”
When he had finished washing their feet, he put his jacket back on and sat back down at the table. He said to them:
“Do you understand what I have just done to you? You lot call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and that’s fair enough, because that’s exactly what I am. So if I’m your Teacher and Lord, and I’ve just been down on my knees washing your feet, then you too ought to serve one another in the same way. I’m modelling the way I want you to live. Do as I have done. You can take it from me: servants do not outrank their boss, and the postie who brings the letter does not rank as importantly as the one who wrote it. When you get these things sorted out for yourselves, you’ll discover just how good life can really be.
“Now the moment of glory has arrived for the New Human, and it is God’s glory too. If God’s glory is made known in him, then God will pour out his own glory on him. It’s all happening right now.
“You are my children, but you’re about to be on your own because our time together is almost up. You’ll keep looking for me, but as I said to the people before, where I am going, there is no way you can come.
“I’ve got one new instruction for you – in fact take it as an order – love one another. I want you to love one another in the same way that I have loved you. If you do that – if you really have love for one another – then it will be apparent to everyone that you are following in my footsteps.”
©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.
We do indeed bring you a gift of thanks, O God,
as we raise the cup of freedom in your name,
for you have made a covenant with us in the blood of Christ
and broken us free from the grip of death.
In your creative love, you brought the world to birth,
and from the first you loved all who live in it.
You heard the cries of your suffering people
and protected them with the blood of the Passover lamb
as you struck down those who oppressed them.
You sent your Son, Jesus, as our Teacher and Lord
and gave all things into his hands.
Laying aside his power,
he gave himself to us in humble service
and taught us to love one another
as he had loved us.
When the hour for his departure came,
he was betrayed by a friend
and his body broken on the cross.
With his outpoured blood you marked out those
who will follow where he has gone,
into the promised land of resurrection life.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We raise the cup of freedom in thanks to you, O God,
for you have made a covenant with us in the blood of Christ,
who gave himself to us in humble service
and taught us to love one another as he had loved us.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The blood of Christ, the true lamb,
seals God’s new covenant with us
and marks us out for salvation.
The Lord has forgiven your sins,
washed you clean,
and freed you from death’s grip.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and fulfil your vows to the Lord.
Love one another as Christ has loved you
and give yourselves to one another in humble service,
just as Christ has given himself to you.
Celebrate these holy days as a perpetual ordinance,
for no gift could ever repay God’s goodness to us.
And may God hear you whenever you call;
May Christ Jesus keep you safe through his blood;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you further
into the depths of God’s saving mysteries.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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Discerning the Body at the TableA sermon on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 by Nathan Nettleton (This sermon was not intended for Maundy Thursday, but may provide some applicable ideas)

Wednesday of Holy Week
2031-04-09 00:00 - 23:59
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

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 70

Please God, deliver me!
Help me, LORD, quickly!
These people are out to get me, LORD;
leave them confused
with egg all over their faces.
They are trying to do me harm;
knock them off their perches
and send them packing.
When they smirk and make a joke of me,
run them out of town in disgrace.
Put a smile on the face
of everyone who seeks you, LORD.
Give everyone who loves your ways
reason to celebrate your greatness forever.
But right now, God, I need your help in a hurry;
I can’t make ends meet.
You are the one who helps me;
the one who rescues me from danger.
Quickly, LORD, help me without delay!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 12: 1-3

So, we are by no means running the race alone! The air around us is thick with encouragement — all these heroes who bore witness to the truth before us, cheering us on. So let’s strip down for the run that lies ahead, tossing aside everything that would hold us back, especially the sin that clings on so tenaciously. And then let’s get on with it — run and run and never quit until we’ve crossed the line. We can do it if we just keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, because he has led the way and become the first to complete this faith marathon. He was so focussed on the goal that he was able to push on through the pain barriers, enduring the agony and humiliation of the cross. He knew that the celebrations would make it all worth while, and sure enough, he now enjoys the number one seat of honour alongside God’s throne.
So, whenever you feel yourself running low on energy or confidence, think again about him and how he endured the violent hostility directed at him by faithless people, and draw new strength from that.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 13: 21-32

While Jesus was speaking with his disciples at the supper, he began to get quite churned up, and before long they all knew why. “I kid you not,” he said, “one of you lot is going to double-cross me.”
The disciples began scanning each others faces, looking for a clue as to who he was talking about. Simon Peter whispered to one of the other disciples – the one with whom Jesus was most intimate and who was sitting next to him at the time – saying, “Ask him who he’s talking about.”
So he did. He leaned over and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered quietly, “I’ll dip this bread in the gravy and hand it to him. He’s the one.”
So Jesus dipped a piece of bread in the gravy and handed it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. When he received the piece of bread, the satan got into his head and took over. Jesus said to him, “What you’ve got to do, you’ve got to do. Go, and get it over and done with quickly.”
At the time, no one else at the table understood what he meant when he said this to Judas. Judas handled their finances, so some of them just assumed that Jesus was telling him to go and buy some things they needed for the Passover celebration, or perhaps to go and give some money to people in need. Anyway, after receiving the piece of bread, Judas immediately disappeared off into the night.
Once he was gone, Jesus spoke to the remaining disciples, saying, “Now the moment of glory has arrived for the New Human, and it is God’s glory too. If God’s glory is made known in him, then God will pour out his own glory on him. It’s all happening right now.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Tuesday of Holy Week
2031-04-08 00:00 - 23:59
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Isaiah 49: 1-7

Everyone, from coast to coast, listen up!
All you people, far and near, don’t miss a word.
Before I was born, the LORD had chosen me.
While I was still in my mother’s womb
I was given a name and a job.
I was created to be a surgeon’s knife,
razor sharp in the hand of the LORD;
ready and waiting to slice through any defence
and cut to the core with a word.
The LORD said to me, “Israel, you are my servant,
the one who will put my name up in lights.”
But I said, “Then how come every thing I do comes to nothing?
I’ve worked my guts out but there is nothing to show for it.
But I gave it my best shot for you LORD,
so you decide whether I’m worth my pay.”
And now the LORD has more to say to me;
this God who chose me as a servant before I was born;
who gave me the job of bringing home the people of Israel
for a great reunion with God.
It is a privilege and an honour to do this for the LORD,
and God has given me the strength to see it through.
But now the LORD says to me,
“Getting the people of Israel back on their feet is great,
but it’s a piece of cake for my number one worker.
Now I’ve got a real challenge for you!
I want you to help the whole world to see the light!
I want you to give my saving love a global reach!”
I, the LORD, the one and only, who puts things right for Israel,
have this to say:
“You have been treated like dirt.
kicked around by the nations,
and forced to work in chains for their rulers;
but let me tell you how it is going to be:
Kings will stand up when you walk in;
Governors will snap to attention at your approach.
You have my word on this and I can be trusted;
I am the LORD, your one and only, and I have chosen you.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 71: 1-14

I run to you for protection, LORD,
please don’t ever let me down.
You always do the right thing,
so please be there for me when I need you.
Hear me when I call for help
and step in quickly to bail me out.
Keep me safe when I need somewhere to hide.
You are like a mountain hideaway to me;
like a bunker than nothing can blast open.
If I fall into hostile hands,
be my God and rescue me;
Don’t let the callous and cruel
get their claws into me.
You are my only hope,
the only one I can depend on, LORD;
I’ve trusted you since I was a kid.
I’ve leaned on you for support
since the day I was born.
You were the midwife who delivered me from my mother’s womb,
the safe hands who pulled me gasping into life.
I’ll never stop thanking you for that!
Many people think my name spells trouble,
but you stick up for me when they attack.
How can I ever thank you enough?
I go on all day about how wonderful you are.
Don’t give up on me when I get too old, LORD;
don’t turn your back when I’ve got nothing left to offer.
I’ll need your help, because my enemies are out to get me,
they’re plotting against my life even now.
They’ve put out a contract on me
and guaranteed immunity to whoever brings me down
They say you’ve given up on me
and that no one will defend me.
Don’t ever let me out of your sight, God;
jump to my defence at the first sign of trouble.
Turn the tables on those who slandered me,
leave them with egg all over their faces.
See to it that those who set out to destroy me
get the public humiliation they deserve.
I will never give up hope,
because I trust in you.
Every time I open my mouth,
I will sing your praises more and more.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Corinthians 1: 18-31

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! When it’s all said and done, the sum total of the human race’s intellectual achievements don’t even begin to stack up against the foolishness of God; and the combined force of all the world’s powers is puny in comparison to the weakness of God.
Sisters and brothers, you don’t have to look any further than your own experience of God’s call to see the truth of this. Not many of you were academic hot-shots. Not many of you were movers and shakers in the corridors of power. Not many of you were feted as celebrities. But God chose you! God chose those who were dismissed as fools to expose the bankruptcy of the world’s accepted wisdom. God chose those who were weak and vulnerable in the world to show up the corruption of those who wield power. God consistently chooses what is despised as the dregs by the world, things which are seen as worthless, to expose the worthlessness of things which are seen as being ‘it and a bit’. Because of this, no one who is accepted into God’s presence has any grounds for blowing their own trumpet. God and God alone is the source of the life you share in union with the Messiah, Jesus. It is only in Jesus that we have been able to tap into God’s wisdom. And it is only in Jesus that our lives have been put back on track, given a clean bill of health, and set on the path to wholeness. For this reason, the scriptures make sense to us when they say:
“If you are going to blow your trumpet about something,
blow it about the Lord!”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 12: 20-36

Many people were arriving in Jerusalem for the celebration of the Jewish religious festival known as Passover. However, not all of the people were Jewish, and one group of foreigners made contact with Philip, and said, “Sir, we would like to meet Jesus.”
Philip, who was from the Galilean town of Bethsaida, told Andrew, and together they went and told Jesus about the request from the foreign visitors. On hearing about it, Jesus said, “If the foreigners are asking after us, we’ve reached the point of no return. The time has come for the New Human to be lifted up in all his glory.”
He went on to say:
“I kid you not, a grain of wheat is nothing unless it hits the dirt and loses its life. But if it gives up its life as a single grain, then it will begin to produce a bumper crop of life. Anyone who prizes their own life above everything else will end up losing the lot. But those who treat their individual survival in this world as a matter of no consequence will find life opening up before them without limit. If any of these people want to apprentice themselves to me, they will need to come and stick with me. Those who work for me will be going wherever I go. Whoever works for me will get the thumbs-up from the God who conceived me. But at the moment, I’m all churned up inside. Should I call on the Father to bail me out of what is about to happen? No, I can’t do that because what is about to happen is the pinnacle of everything I came to achieve. So then, I call out to God and say, ‘Father, put your name up in lights!’ ”
And a voice answered from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.”
The crowd who were gathered there heard the voice. Some of them said it sounded like thunder, and others said, “A messenger from God has spoken to him.”
Jesus addressed them, saying, “This voice has spoken for your benefit, not mine. The world is being weighed in the balance right now; and the one who has been calling the shots in this world will now be driven out. As for me, I will be lifted up off the ground, and when that happens, I will draw all people to myself.”
With these words, he gave an indication of the kind of death he was going to die. The crowd questioned him about this, saying, “The Bible tells us that the Messiah will be with us forever, so how can you say that the New Human will be strung up? And who exactly is this New Human?”
Jesus said to them, “The light will only be with you for a little while longer, so make your move while it continues to light up the way. If you leave it too late, the darkness will catch up with you, and if you try to make your move then, you’ll have no idea where you are going. Put your trust in the light as long as you have access to it, so that you may become people of the light.”
And having said this, Jesus cleared off and made himself scarce.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Monday of Holy Week
2031-04-07 00:00 - 23:59
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Isaiah 42:1-9

The Lord says:
Let me introduce to you the one who serves me,
the one I am backing all the way.
I have chosen him,
and I am bursting with pride over him.
I have given him my spirit in full measure,
and he will bring about justice everywhere on earth.
He won’t go thrusting himself into the public eye,
or grandstanding in the street with pompous speeches.
He won’t exploit the vulnerability of damaged people,
or squeeze the last drops out of those who are running on empty.
He will be completely fair dinkum
about making justice a reality.
He will not run out of steam or throw in the towel
until his mission is accomplished;
until justice holds sway everywhere on earth
and the world’s peoples are eager to learn from him.
I am the one who created the universe
and stretched out the skies;
the one who constructed the earth
and produced everything that grows from it;
the one who breathes life into the world’s people
and kindles the spark of life within them;
I am the LORD your God;
so listen to what I have to say:
I, the LORD, have called you to stand for what is right.
I have put my arm around you and kept you safe.
I have made you a shining light for all the earth to see,
to draw all people everywhere
into a permanent alliance with me.
I have given you a privileged role
as the one who enables the blind to see the light;
the one who opens the gates of the stifling detention centres
and welcomes the prisoners into the fresh air of freedom.
I am the LORD, that is my name;
I don’t allow pretenders to cash in on my glory
or rip off my image to promote their frauds.
Take note: everything I warned you about has happened on cue.
Now I am announcing my new projects;
I’m letting you in on them even before they get started.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 36: 5-11

You unwavering love fills the universe, LORD;
your loyalty is as timeless as the milky way.
Your passion for doing right
is as solid as the mountain ranges;
your understanding of us
is as deep as the oceans.
You set out to save the lives of every creature, LORD,
and no one – not man nor woman,
not bird nor beast – is left out of your care.
Your love, O God, is our greatest treasure!
You keep a place for everyone
under the shelter of your wings.
You invite all who come to feast at your table;
the wine of your love flows like a river
and no one’s glass is allowed to run dry.
Life bursts forth from you like a fountain;
light shines from you and lights up our world.
Don’t ever give up on us, LORD;
keep loving all who trust you,
keep rescuing all whose hearts are in the right place.
Protect us from those who would trample us underfoot.
Stand in the way of those who would drive us from the land.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Hebrews 9: 11-15

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!
This is why we say that Jesus is the mediator. He brought the two sides together — us and God — to establish a new alliance. It took his own death to bring the job to completion, but he succeeded in having written off the debts we had accumulated by breaking the rules of the old agreement, and having us written back into the list of those who God has called — those who will inherit for all time all that God has promised to give.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 12: 1-11

Six days before the celebration of Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. He stayed overnight in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus; the man he had previously raised from the dead. Martha prepared a dinner party in honour of Jesus, and everyone was there, including Lazarus. During the evening, Mary broke open a very expensive bottle of blended fragrant oils. She poured out the oil and used it to massage Jesus’ feet. She then wiped them dry with her own hair. The intoxicating fragrance of the oils filled the whole house.
Judas Iscariot, however, took exception to her behaviour. Although he was one of Jesus’ closest followers, the seeds of betrayal were taking root in his mind. When he saw what Mary was doing, he growled, “What do you think you’re doing? That stuff is worth a fortune. Why was it not sold and the money put to work to do something for the poor?”
He wasn’t really the least bit concerned about the plight of the poor, but he was their treasurer and liked to keep their shared account topped up so he could help himself to it without anyone noticing.
Jesus said, “Get off her case, Judas! She brought that oil and kept it to use in preparing me for a decent burial. There will never be any shortage of opportunities to do something worthwhile for the poor, but you won’t always have the opportunity to do anything worthwhile for me.”
The news that Jesus was back in Bethany spread quickly and the crowds gathered to see him. Many were also keen to see Lazarus, because they had heard about Jesus raising him from the dead. When news of this reached the senior religious authorities, they began plotting to have Lazarus killed as well. They wanted to get rid of him because he had inspired so many of their followers to give up on them and switch their allegiance to Jesus.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

6th Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday) - Year C
2031-04-06 00:00 - 23:59
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.

Luke 19: 28-40 (Gospel for the Liturgy of the Palms)

Jesus and his followers pushed on, heading up towards Jerusalem. Their last stop was just outside the twin townships of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his followers into the township, saying, “Just as you get into the main street you’ll see a young donkey tied up to a fence. It is an awkward looking thing and has not yet even been ridden. Collect it and bring it to me, and if anyone asks you what you think you’re doing with it, just tell them the boss needs it.”  So the two of them headed into the township, and sure enough, there was the donkey tied to the fence, just as Jesus had said. As they began to lead it off, its owner appeared and said, “Hey, what do you think you’re doing with my donkey?”
They replied, “The boss needs it.”
They brought it to Jesus and made an improvised saddle from items of spare clothing. Jesus got on and began riding slowly up the road to Jerusalem. As he approached, people began giving him the red-carpet treatment, spreading their coats on the road before him and cheering as he passed. As he rode the final stretch from the Mount of Olives, the swelling crowd of his followers were shouting and singing at the top of their voices, praising God for all the remarkable actions they had witnessed in Jesus’s company. A loud chant began:
God’s blessing is on the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
God is on the throne
and all is well in heaven!
Some religious teachers from the Pharisee party witnessed this from the crowd and confronted Jesus, saying, “Teacher, get your followers back under control!”
But Jesus answered, “The fact is, if I shut them up, the stones on the roadside would take up the chant!”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29 (Psalm for the Liturgy of the Palms)

Thank you, LORD, thank you!
Thank you for your goodness!
Thank you for your love —
rock solid and timeless!
May all your people recognise
that your love and loyalty last forever.
The minute they open the city gates
— the gates of justice —
we’ll be the first through, LORD;
eager to tell you how thankful we are.
These gates belong to you, LORD,
those you have put right can come on through.
Thank you for answering our prayers, LORD;
for coming to our rescue and putting us right.
From a rejected stone found in a rubbish pile
you cut and polished a priceless jewel.
This is obviously your work, LORD,
and we can hardly believe our eyes!
Today is your day, LORD, a day to honour you;
we will celebrate with joy and laughter.
Get us through safely, LORD!
In the tasks ahead, give us success!
The one who comes in your name, LORD,
is the one who is truly blessed.
Gathered here in your house,
we praise you for sending him.
You, LORD, are our only God,
and you light up our lives.
In a great procession,
we march to the sacred place,
waving branches and banners;
tossing flowers in the air.
You are our God
and we give you thanks.
You are our God
and we give you our highest acclaim.
Thank you, LORD, thank you!
Thank you for your goodness!
Thank you for your love —
rock solid and timeless!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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 31: 9-16

Be kind to me, LORD,
I’m a mess.
My eyes are bloodshot from crying;
My heart is breaking
and my whole body aches.
Grief gnaws away at my life,
sorrows piles up, year after year.
Misery is draining my strength
and destroying my health.
I get no respect from my opponents;
nothing but ridicule.
Those who know me can’t bear to look at me;
even strangers cross the street to avoid me.
Everyone wants to purge me from their thoughts;
they’ve given me up for dead;
abandoned me like a burned out car.
Everyone is out to get me;
they’re whispering behind my back.
They’ve portrayed me as a monster
and put a price on my head.
But I still put my trust in you, LORD;
you are my God and you’re all I’ve got left.
My future is in your hands;
snatch me from the grasp
of those who are hunting me down.
I’m working for you; look on me with love.
Stand by me and save me.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Philippians 2: 5-11

Model your attitude on the attitude of the Messiah, Jesus.
Although Jesus was the same as God in every way,
he did not think of his God-like privileges
as something to be milked for all they were worth.
Instead, he laid it all aside
and, with no more privileges than a slave,
was born as a human being.
Having become a human being,
he was the model of humility.
He didn’t demand his own way
but let God set the agenda;
even when it included his own death,
and a gruesome public death at that.
Because of all this,
God has raised him to the status of number one
and honoured him more highly
than anyone else in the universe.
So now, just the mention of the name ‘Jesus’
should bring everyone to their knees;
everyone who has ever lived or ever will.
Everyone, everywhere will honour God
by openly acknowledging
that Jesus the Messiah is Lord of all!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 22:14 - 23:56

When the hour came, Jesus took his seat at the dining table, along with his closest followers. He said to them, “I’ve been hanging-out to eat this sacred Passover meal with you before I am put through the wringer. You can take it from me; I will not get to eat it until it is done to perfection in the culture of God.”
Then he picked up a cup of wine, and after giving thanks to God he said, “Take this, and share it among yourselves. I kid you not; from now on, not another drop of wine will pass my lips until the culture of God has broken through.”
He took a loaf of bread in his hands, and when he had given thanks to God, he broke the loaf and gave it to them, saying: “This is my body. It is given for you. Do this so that I will be remembered.”
He did the same thing with the cup at the end of the meal, saying: “This cup, which is poured out for you, is God’s new alliance with you – an alliance sealed with my blood. But get this; the one who will betray me is here passing food around the table with us. And while the New Human will go to his fate according to the script, the writing is on the wall for the one who stabs him in the back.”
That set them questioning one another, trying to work out which one of them could possibly be going to do such a thing.
Before long an argument had broken out among them over which of them would be seen as the greatest. But Jesus broke it up, saying, “Outside of the people of God, those in power love to strut around, flaunting their authority. They describe themselves as the benefactors of the nation, but before you know it they’ve set themselves up as dictators, above the law. Don’t go taking that as your model. Instead, the greatest among you must become as unassuming as a junior recruit, and the one who is your leader must be like one who is at everyone else’s service. Who do people think of as most important – the one seated at the table, or the one waiting on the table? The one seated at the table of course. But I am at your service when I am among you.
“You are the ones who have hung in there with me when I’ve been under the pump. Now I am doing for you what my Father has done for me – promoting you to the status of royalty, so that you can eat and drink at my royal table when my culture is established. You will share my authority, sitting on thrones and ruling over the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Jesus turned to Simon Peter and said, “Listen here, Simon. The satan has demanded the opportunity to take you lot apart and see what you are really made of. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that you will have what it takes. Once you are back on track yourself, you are to help these others get back to full strength.”
Simon Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to be locked up with you; to face death with you. Whatever it takes, I’ve got it.”
Jesus said to him, “You can take it from me, Peter; The rooster won’t get a chance to crow tonight before you have sworn three times that you don’t even know me.”
Speaking to all of them again, Jesus said, “Remember when I sent you out and told you to travel light – no luggage and not even your wallets. Did you find yourselves having to do without?”
“Not at all,” they replied.
“Well, this is a whole new ball game,” Jesus said. “You will be on your own and you will need all the resources you’ve got. If there is anything in your wallet, you will need it. There will be no one to defend you, so those who can’t defend themselves might as well flog off their coats and buy swords instead. You can take my word for it; what the scriptures said is about to take on a whole new meaning here: ‘He was lumped in with the crooks and low-life.’ Indeed, everything that was written about me is proving itself true.”
They said, “Look, Lord, we’ve got a couple of swords already.”
Jesus replied, “You won’t need any more than that!”
Jesus went outside and as usual headed off to the Mount of Olives with his followers. When they reached their usual spot, he said to them, “Pray that you will not have to face anything that’s too tough for you to handle.”
Then he moved off by himself, about a stone’s throw away from them, and fell to his knees in prayer, saying, “Father, if it’s okay with you, get me out of this without having to drink this bitter cup! But still, the bottom line is that I’ll go along with whatever you have decided.”
At that point a messenger from heaven appeared and gave him the strength to go on. Barely able to hold himself together, he prayed all the more desperately until the sweat was pouring off him like blood. When he got up and returned to his followers, he found that the grief had got the better of them and they had fallen asleep. He said to them, “What are you doing sleeping? Pray that you will not have to face anything that’s too tough for you to handle.”
Even before Jesus finished getting the words out, a mob arrived on the scene, led by Judas, who was one of the twelve. Judas walked straight up to Jesus and was about to kiss him, but Jesus said, “Judas, are you going to double-cross the New Human with a kiss?”
When those who were with Jesus realised what was going on, they called out, “Lord, do you want us to put up a fight?” and without waiting for an answer one of them began lashing out with a knife, slashing a personal attendant of the High Priest and cutting off his ear. But Jesus yelled, “Stop! Put that down.”
And he touched the injured man’s ear and healed him. Then he turned to the chief priests, the temple security guards, and political heavies who had come for him, and said, “Do you think I am some sort of dangerous thug, that you need your weapons drawn and your batons ready when you come for me? I have been sitting in the temple with you nearly every day, and you never laid a finger on me. But this is your way, isn’t it? Deeds of darkness in the darkest hour!”
The mob arrested Jesus and dragged him off to the High Priest’s house. Peter followed at a safe distance. Some of the security guards lit themselves a fire in the middle of the High Priest’s central courtyard, and when they sat down to warm themselves around it, Peter slipped in among them. A girl from the High Priest’s domestic staff saw him there in the light of the fire. She took a good hard look at him and said, “This bloke was with him too.”
But he denied it, saying, “Sorry, lady. You’ve got the wrong man. I don’t know him.”
A little bit later, someone else recognised him and said, “You are one of them.”
But Peter said, “Not me, mate. No way!”
About an hour later, someone else became more insistent, saying, “This bloke was with him, for sure. He’s a Galilean – it’s a dead give away.”
But Peter held his line: “Mister, I’ve got no idea what you are talking about.”
But the words were hardly out of his mouth when a rooster began to crow, and the Lord turned around and looked straight at Peter. Peter heard the words the Lord had spoken come flooding back – “Before the rooster crows tonight, you will have sworn three times that you don’t even know me” – and he ran out into the street, bawling his eyes out; a broken man.
The men who were holding Jesus in custody began to taunt him and rough him up. They blindfolded him and kept saying, “Come on, prophesy for us! Tell us who bashed you that time!”
The insults and abuse were flowing thick and fast.
First thing the next morning, Jesus was brought before a meeting of the whole Ruling Council, including the chief priests and the religious lawyers. They said to him, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.”
But Jesus replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me anyway, and if I question you, you won’t give me an answer. But from now on the New Human will take his seat as God’s right hand man.”
They all jumped at that and asked, “So then, are you saying that you are the Son of God?”
He said to them, “You yourselves are saying that I am.”
At that, they all said, “What further evidence do we need? We have all heard him condemn himself with his own words.”
The Ruling Council rose as one, marched Jesus off, and brought him before Pilate, the Roman governor. They began reeling off all sorts of charges against him, saying, “This bloke has been stirring up trouble on a national scale. He tells people to stop paying their taxes, and he is setting himself up as the Messiah in opposition to the Emperor.”
So Pilate began his interrogation by asking Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
“They are your words,” answered Jesus.
Pilate turned back to the chief priests and the mob, and said, “I can’t see that he has broken any laws. You have got nothing on him that will stick.”
But they dug their heels in and kept insisting, “He is trouble. He stirs up the people with his teaching, and not just around here. He started up in Galilee. He has worked his way all around Judea, and now he is at it here.”
When Pilate heard this, he asked whether Jesus was a Galilean, and when this was confirmed, he figured he could pass the buck to Herod, since Galileans came under Herod’s jurisdiction. Herod was in Jerusalem at the time anyway, so it was easy to palm Jesus off onto him. Herod was only too happy to see Jesus. He had been wanting to see him for some time, because he had heard plenty of stories about him and was hoping that he might get to see Jesus perform some miraculous sign. So Herod interrogated him at length, but Jesus remained silent and answered nothing. The chief priests and religious lawyers stood there, making all sorts of vicious allegations against him. The silent treatment got up Herod’s nose and he and his soldiers began to treat Jesus like dirt, and bad-mouth him. They made a joke of him, dressing him up like royalty, and then sending him back to Governor Pilate. Herod and Pilate had never had any time for each other before, but from that day on, they got on like a house on fire.
Governor Pilate then called together the chief priests, the political leaders, and the representatives of the people, and said to them, “You dragged this man in here and alleged that he was stirring up trouble among the people. But I have interrogated him here in your presence and I can’t find any basis to your allegations. None of your charges seem to stick. Herod obviously hasn’t found anything to pin on him either, because he has sent him back without recording any convictions. Quite clearly the man has done nothing to warrant the death penalty. So I will get my men to give him a flogging as a warning, and then release him.”
But the crowd went berserk, shouting together, “Rid the earth of this man! Free Barabbas for us!”
Barabbas had taken part in a violent uprising in the city, and was being held in prison on charges of terrorism and murder. Pilate wanted to release Jesus, and spoke to the crowd again, but they just kept up a loud chant of, “String him up! String him up!”
Pilate tried a third time, asking, “Why? What evil has he done? I can’t find any evidence of anything that would warrant a death sentence. I will have him flogged as a warning, and then release him.”
But the mob was in a frenzy, shouting louder and louder, and demanding that Jesus be executed. In the end they got their way. Pilate caved in and signed the order granting the people their demand. He set free the prisoner they asked for – the one who had been locked up for terrorism and murder – and handed Jesus over to them to do as they wished.
As they marched Jesus off to be executed, they grabbed a man called Simon of Cyrene, who was just arriving in town from the bush. They made him lift the large wooden cross on which Jesus was to be strung up, and carry it behind him. A huge crowd of people followed him out, and among them were many women who were weeping and wailing and carrying on loudly. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, it is no use crying for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children. You can bet the days are coming when people will say that the fortunate women are the ones who couldn’t have children. They’ll say ‘How lucky are the women who never conceived! How lucky are those who never held babies to their breasts!’ People will cry out to the mountains saying ‘Fall on us now!’ They will wish the hills would collapse and bury them. For if this is what is done to a healthy green tree, imagine what will happen to all the old dead wood.”
Two convicted criminals were dragged off with him to be executed at the same time. The place where the executions were carried out was called Skull Hill. When they got there, they strung Jesus up on the cross by driving nails through his flesh. They executed the two convicted criminals in the same way on crosses on each side of him. As he hung there, Jesus prayed out loud, saying, “Father, forgive these people. They’ve got no idea what they are doing.”
The executioners divided up his clothes among themselves, tossing a coin to see who should get what. The people stood around staring, but the community leaders were hurling insults and ridicule at him and making a huge joke of it, saying, “He reckoned he could save everyone else. Let’s see him get himself out of this if he’s really the Messiah, God’s chosen one!”
The soldiers were sticking the boots in too, offering him drinks of wine that had turned to vinegar, and saying, “Come on. If you’re the king of the Jews, pull rank and get yourself out of this trouble!”
They also hung a sign above his head saying, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who was strung up alongside him joined in the insults, shouting, “What sort of Messiah are you?! Get your act together and save yourself, and save us while you’re at it!”
But the other criminal pulled his mate up short, saying, “Put a sock in it! Don’t you care what God could do to us? We are about to meet our maker, the same as he is, but you and I have done the crime and we are copping what we had coming. There was no miscarriage of justice over us. But what has this bloke ever done wrong? Nothing!” And then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come to take charge of everything.”
Jesus replied, “You have my word for it; today you will join me in Paradise.”
It was now about midday, but darkness fell over the whole land for three hours. The sun was blacked out, and the curtain that closed off the most holy place in the Temple tore in two. Then, with a loud cry, Jesus said, “Father, I lay down my life, and place it in your hands.”
That said, he breathed his last. When the commanding officer saw what had happened, he spoke highly of God and said, “This bloke was innocent. I’d bet my life on it!”
Crowds of spectators had gathered to witness the gruesome show, but when they saw what really took place, they were completely gutted and headed back to their homes sobbing.
Those who knew Jesus, including the women who had been among his followers since the days in Galilee, stood at a safe distance and kept watch over all that happened.
There was a man named Joseph who came from the Jewish town of Arimethea. He was a man of integrity who always did what was right, and who was genuinely looking forward to the culture of God. So although he was a respected member of the Ruling Council, he had opposed their plot and the action they had taken.
Joseph went to Pilate and got permission to take the body of Jesus for burial. He took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in a linen shroud, and buried it in a tomb which had been cut into a rock wall, but had never been used. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was about to begin at sundown. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed along and saw where the tomb was and how his body was laid out. Then they left, and prepared the spices and lotions required to anoint the body of Jesus in the customary way. On the Sabbath, they took the day off, as the law required.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 23: 1-49 (Alternative shorter gospel reading)

The Ruling Council rose as one, marched Jesus off, and brought him before Pilate, the Roman governor. They began reeling off all sorts of charges against him, saying, “This bloke has been stirring up trouble on a national scale. He tells people to stop paying their taxes, and he is setting himself up as the Messiah in opposition to the Emperor.”
So Pilate began his interrogation by asking Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
“They are your words,” answered Jesus.
Pilate turned back to the chief priests and the mob, and said, “I can’t see that he has broken any laws. You have got nothing on him that will stick.”
But they dug their heels in and kept insisting, “He is trouble. He stirs up the people with his teaching, and not just around here. He started up in Galilee. He has worked his way all around Judea, and now he is at it here.”
When Pilate heard this, he asked whether Jesus was a Galilean, and when this was confirmed, he figured he could pass the buck to Herod, since Galileans came under Herod’s jurisdiction. Herod was in Jerusalem at the time anyway, so it was easy to palm Jesus off onto him. Herod was only too happy to see Jesus. He had been wanting to see him for some time, because he had heard plenty of stories about him and was hoping that he might get to see Jesus perform some miraculous sign. So Herod interrogated him at length, but Jesus remained silent and answered nothing. The chief priests and religious lawyers stood there, making all sorts of vicious allegations against him. The silent treatment got up Herod’s nose and he and his soldiers began to treat Jesus like dirt, and bad-mouth him. They made a joke of him, dressing him up like royalty, and then sending him back to Governor Pilate. Herod and Pilate had never had any time for each other before, but from that day on, they got on like a house on fire.
Governor Pilate then called together the chief priests, the political leaders, and the representatives of the people, and said to them, “You dragged this man in here and alleged that he was stirring up trouble among the people. But I have interrogated him here in your presence and I can’t find any basis to your allegations. None of your charges seem to stick. Herod obviously hasn’t found anything to pin on him either, because he has sent him back without recording any convictions. Quite clearly the man has done nothing to warrant the death penalty. So I will get my men to give him a flogging as a warning, and then release him.”
But the crowd went berserk, shouting together, “Rid the earth of this man! Free Barabbas for us!”
Barabbas had taken part in a violent uprising in the city, and was being held in prison on charges of terrorism and murder. Pilate wanted to release Jesus, and spoke to the crowd again, but they just kept up a loud chant of, “String him up! String him up!”
Pilate tried a third time, asking, “Why? What evil has he done? I can’t find any evidence of anything that would warrant a death sentence. I will have him flogged as a warning, and then release him.”
But the mob was in a frenzy, shouting louder and louder, and demanding that Jesus be executed. In the end they got their way. Pilate caved in and signed the order granting the people their demand. He set free the prisoner they asked for – the one who had been locked up for terrorism and murder – and handed Jesus over to them to do as they wished.
As they marched Jesus off to be executed, they grabbed a man called Simon of Cyrene, who was just arriving in town from the bush. They made him lift the large wooden cross on which Jesus was to be strung up, and carry it behind him. A huge crowd of people followed him out, and among them were many women who were weeping and wailing and carrying on loudly. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, it is no use crying for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children. You can bet the days are coming when people will say that the fortunate women are the ones who couldn’t have children. They’ll say ‘How lucky are the women who never conceived! How lucky are those who never held babies to their breasts!’ People will cry out to the mountains saying ‘Fall on us now!’ They will wish the hills would collapse and bury them. For if this is what is done to a healthy green tree, imagine what will happen to all the old dead wood.”
Two convicted criminals were dragged off with him to be executed at the same time. The place where the executions were carried out was called Skull Hill. When they got there, they strung Jesus up on the cross by driving nails through his flesh. They executed the two convicted criminals in the same way on crosses on each side of him. As he hung there, Jesus prayed out loud, saying, “Father, forgive these people. They’ve got no idea what they are doing.”
The executioners divided up his clothes among themselves, tossing a coin to see who should get what. The people stood around staring, but the community leaders were hurling insults and ridicule at him and making a huge joke of it, saying, “He reckoned he could save everyone else. Let’s see him get himself out of this if he’s really the Messiah, God’s chosen one!”
The soldiers were sticking the boots in too, offering him drinks of wine that had turned to vinegar, and saying, “Come on. If you’re the king of the Jews, pull rank and get yourself out of this trouble!”
They also hung a sign above his head saying, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who was strung up alongside him joined in the insults, shouting, “What sort of Messiah are you?! Get your act together and save yourself, and save us while you’re at it!”
But the other criminal pulled his mate up short, saying, “Put a sock in it! Don’t you care what God could do to us? We are about to meet our maker, the same as he is, but you and I have done the crime and we are copping what we had coming. There was no miscarriage of justice over us. But what has this bloke ever done wrong? Nothing!” And then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come to take charge of everything.”
Jesus replied, “You have my word for it; today you will join me in Paradise.”
It was now about midday, but darkness fell over the whole land for three hours. The sun was blacked out, and the curtain that closed off the most holy place in the Temple tore in two. Then, with a loud cry, Jesus said, “Father, I lay down my life, and place it in your hands.”
That said, he breathed his last. When the commanding officer saw what had happened, he spoke highly of God and said, “This bloke was innocent. I’d bet my life on it!”
Crowds of spectators had gathered to witness the gruesome show, but when they saw what really took place, they were completely gutted and headed back to their homes sobbing.
Those who knew Jesus, including the women who had been among his followers since the days in Galilee, stood at a safe distance and kept watch over all that happened.
©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 are good and your steadfast love is forever.
The creation of the world was your doing
and is marvellous to our eyes.
Your prophets told us of the coming one
who would teach your ways
and sustain us with your word.
Your child, Jesus Christ, though one with you
gave up all he had,
taking on human flesh
and walking the path of obedience
all the way to insult, betrayal and death,
trusting only in your vindication.
Though he was rejected by those who had cheered him,
you made him the cornerstone of new life
and raised him to the highest place of honour.
He has opened the gates of justice
and become our salvation,
so with shouts of joy we greet his appearing,
and proclaim that Christ is Lord
to your glory forever.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for your son, Jesus Christ,
who, giving up all he had
and walking the path of obedience
all the way to insult, betrayal and death,
opened the gates of justice
and become our salvation.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you alone are good and your steadfast love is forever.
The creation of the world was your doing
and is marvellous to our eyes.
Your prophets told us of the coming one
who would teach your ways
and sustain us with your word.
Your child, Jesus Christ, though one with you
gave up all he had,
taking on human flesh
and walking the path of obedience
all the way to insult, betrayal and death,
trusting only in your vindication.
Though he was rejected by those who had cheered him,
you made him the cornerstone of new life
and raised him to the highest place of honour.
He has opened the gates of justice
and become our salvation,
so with shouts of joy we greet his appearing,
and proclaim that Christ is Lord
to your glory 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.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The Lord who vindicates you is near.
God has heard your confession
and you will not be put to shame.
With the Lord God as your help
no one can declare you guilty.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and follow Christ in obedience.
Have the same mind as was in Christ Jesus;
Keep your ears open to God’s teaching;
Be humble, even in the face of hostility
and do not turn back.
And may God help you and keep you from disgrace;
May Christ Jesus lead you through the gates of justice;
And may the Holy Spirit keep you in God’s steadfast love
and fill your mouths with praise to the glory of God.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Jesus and the Opinion PollsA sermon for Palm Sunday by Nathan Nettleton

5th Sunday in Lent - Year C
2031-03-30 00:00 - 2031-03-31 00:59
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.

Isaiah 43: 16-21

This is what the LORD has to say:
I am the one who cut a path through the ocean for you,
an escape route through the raging waters.
I am the one who dealt with the army that pursued you:
the soldiers and all their weapons of war.
Where are they now? Lying dead, never to rise again;
snuffed out like a drenched candle.
Now I say to you: Don’t dwell on the things of the past;
don’t get bogged down in nostalgia.
I am about to do something completely new;
can’t you see it taking shape before your eyes?
I will make a safe path through the hostile wilderness.
I will make the desert rivers flow again.
Untamed animals will applaud what I do
– dingoes, emus, goannas –
because the desert bursts into life
as I send rains, filling the inland lakes.
Now the people I have chosen can drink their fill;
I created them to be my people,
to enjoy and celebrate the things I do.
©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

Philippians 3: 4b-14

If anyone starts bragging about their breeding and background to win an audience, I could trump them every time. I’ve got a pedigree to die for! I’m a pure blooded Israelite, born into the noble tribe of Benjamin. I was circumcised when I was eight days old, exactly as the law prescribes. I was educated by the Pharisees at the best school, so I know the scriptures inside out, and discipline and obedience are second nature to me. I was so pumped up with passion for the purity of religion that I led violent campaigns against declared heretics, including the church. You could measure me against the strictest interpretations of the law and I’d come out with a perfect record every time.
Most people would count all this as the perfect start in life, but I have come to see it as more of a disadvantage. Why? Because of the Messiah. You see, the one and only thing that is of real and lasting value is knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord, and I now realise that just about everything else gets in the way of that. This is why I’ve stopped counting my so-called blessings. I used to think that such things gave me the inside running with God, but I now regard such thinking as a lot of crap. I have given up clinging to such crappy ideas, so that I can give myself totally to the Messiah and be embraced fully by him. I’m no longer interested in how I measure up to any checklist of religious laws, however worthy it may be. God’s checklist is the only one that matters to me now and it only has one item on it. All those who trust Christ get the big tick from God. What I really want now is to know Christ intimately and to experience in my own life the power that raised him from the dead. I’ll do whatever it takes — I’ll take my share of his sufferings, I’ll follow him on the road to death if need be — because the only thing that matters to me is to be united with him in his resurrection life.
I’m not claiming for a moment that I’ve made it, or that I’ve now got it all together. There’s a long way to go, but at least I’m now on the right track and I’m not giving up. I know I’ll make it because the Messiah is backing me all the way. My friends, I don’t see myself as the expert in these things, but I know enough to be sure of which way to go. I’m taking no further interest in the successes or failures of the past. I’ve got my eyes firmly fixed on what God has called me to become, and I won’t let anything stop me until I cross the line and fall into the waiting arms of Christ.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 12: 1-8

Six days before the celebration of Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany. He stayed overnight in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus; the man he had previously raised from the dead. Martha prepared a dinner party in honour of Jesus, and everyone was there, including Lazarus. During the evening, Mary broke open a very expensive bottle of blended fragrant oils. She poured out the oil and used it to massage Jesus’ feet. She then wiped them dry with her own hair. The intoxicating fragrance of the oils filled the whole house.
Judas Iscariot, however, took exception to her behaviour. Although he was one of Jesus’ closest followers, the seeds of betrayal were taking root in his mind. When he saw what Mary was doing, he growled, “What do you think you’re doing? That stuff is worth a fortune. Why was it not sold and the money put to work to do something for the poor?”
He wasn’t really the least bit concerned about the plight of the poor, but he was their treasurer and liked to keep their shared account topped up so he could help himself to it without anyone noticing.
Jesus said, “Get off her case, Judas! She brought that oil and kept it to use in preparing me for a decent burial. There will never be any shortage of opportunities to do something worthwhile for the poor, but you won’t always have the opportunity to do anything worthwhile for me.”
©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 there is nothing else in life that can compare
with the surpassing value of knowing you.
The newborn earth sprang forth at your touch
and life burst free as you lavished your love upon it.
You formed a people to declare your glory
and led them to freedom on a road through the sea.
Your child, Jesus Christ, honoured our outpoured devotion,
but was betrayed and killed by those
who profit from corruption.
You raised him to life
and called us leave the past
and look to the new wonders you are doing:
opening pathways through inhospitable places
and pouring forth springs where all was dry and lifeless,
so that we, and all who have laboured in sorrow,
might joyously bring forth a harvest of righteousness
and join Christ in the glory of his resurrection life.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for your love in Christ
which opens pathways through inhospitable places,
so that we might press on through suffering and death
to the prize of resurrection life in Christ.
©2001 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 else in life that can compare
with the surpassing value of knowing you.
The newborn earth sprang forth at your touch
and life burst free as you lavished your love upon it.
You formed a people to declare your glory
and led them to freedom on a road through the sea.
Your child, Jesus Christ, honoured our outpoured devotion,
but was betrayed and killed by those
who profit from corruption.
You raised him to life
and called us leave the past
and look to the new wonders you are doing:
opening pathways through inhospitable places
and pouring forth springs where all was dry and lifeless,
so that we, and all who have laboured in sorrow,
might joyously bring forth a harvest of righteousness
and join Christ in the glory of his resurrection life.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The righteousness that comes from God
is given to all who turn from their past
and put their faith in Christ.
Sisters and brothers, God has heard your confession;
Christ Jesus has made you his own.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and press on in the path to which God has called you.
Do not get caught up in the things of the past,
or in the things that the world prizes,
but welcome the new things God is doing,
and take the new paths that open through the places of death.
And may God pour life-giving waters into your wilderness;
May Christ Jesus make you his own;
And may the Holy Spirit strengthen you
for the race that lies before you.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

What are we striving for?A sermon on Philippians 3:4b-14 and John 12:1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Building FortressesA sermon on Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:4b-14 and John 12:1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Renouncing Gifts and Wasting ResourcesA sermon on Philippians 3:4b-14 and John 12:1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Getting Jesus RightA sermon on John 12:1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

Dealing with the PastA sermon on Isaiah 43:16-21 & Philippians 3:4b-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Scandalous ExtravaganceA sermon on John 12:1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

A Gift Far Too SmallA sermon on John 12:1-8 & Philippians 3:4b-14 by Alison Sampson

Scandal, Personal Space, and Passing the PeaceA sermon on John 12:1-8 & Luke 7:36-50 by Nathan Nettleton

Where To From Here?A sermon on Isaiah 43:16-21 & Philippians 3:4b-14 by Nathan Nettleton
