The Feast of the Epiphany
2025-01-06 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.

Isaiah 60:1-6

On your feet, people of God! Let everyone see you!
The glory of the LORD
has set you aglow with light
like the sunrise on the rock.
Darkness overpowers the earth and its peoples,
blinding them, weighing them down;
but for you the sun always shines,
because the LORD has lit up your lives with glory.
As the brightness of your light intensifies,
nations and their rulers will be drawn to you
like moths to a flame.
Open your eyes! Look around you!
The crowds are streaming towards you.
Everyone is coming,
even the children you thought had gone forever.
What a sight for sore eyes!
You’ll be elated and proud – positively aglow.
You’ll be showered with gifts by those who arrive,
priceless gifts from overseas and around the world.
They’ll arrive by the truckload from everywhere,
from places rich and exotic and mysterious.
People will bring gold and frankincense,
and lavish their praise on the LORD.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Send us a wise ruler, O God,
one who takes after you in justice and honesty;
one who does the right thing by everybody,
and is vigilant in ensuring justice for the poor;
one who will stand up for the disadvantaged,
provide a way out of the poverty trap,
and stomp on those who exploit the vulnerable.
Then the whole land will know prosperity and integrity;
the mountains, the valleys, the hills, the plains.
Send us a wise ruler, O God,
who will outlive the sun and moon,
who will rule forever, generation after generation.
May your chosen one give life to the land
like the spring rains in the wheat country.
May the people yield a bumper crop of honesty,
and may peace be as dependable
as the southern cross in the night sky.
Give your chosen one the top ranking in all the world,
deferred to and revered
by every other monarch, president and governor.
May they all feel compelled to pay homage,
to come bearing gifts, priceless and exotic,
and to put themselves and their nations
at the service of your chosen one.
All this is only right for the one who rescues those in need,
and has compassion for the homeless and the refugees;
who champions the cause of the forgotten and the spurned,
and guarantees the lives of the powerless;
who rescues those subjected to violence and oppression,
and treasures their lives, each and every one.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Ephesians 3:1-12

I, Paul, am in jail for my commitment to Jesus Christ, or more particularly, for my efforts on Christ’s behalf to break down the walls that kept you Gentiles separated from his people. No doubt you have heard about how God, in an amazing act of generosity, assigned me to this job. You’ve also heard - since I just told you a page or so back - about how God let me in on this mystery directly. If you go back and read over what I said about this earlier, you too will be able to understand what God has shown me concerning the mystery of Christ. No previous generation was ever given the opportunity to begin unravelling this mystery. The whole human race was in the dark about it until now. Now though, the Holy Spirit is bringing it all out into the open through Christ’s chosen leaders and messengers. And, in a nutshell, this is what it is all about: the Gentiles are God’s chosen people too! Those who have had no previous contact with God’s people have exactly the same right of access to God as those who can trace their bloodline back to Abraham. There is only one body of people who will inherit all that God has promised, and Jesus Christ has opened it up to everybody, regardless of their origins. No more segregation - Christ has put the welcome mat out for everyone.
I’ve taken on the job of getting this message out into the public arena. I still can’t get over how generous God was in trusting me with the job and equipping me for it. Of the available candidates, you wouldn’t have thought I’d have even made the short list, but in an act of reckless good will, God gave me the tap on the shoulder. So now I have the privilege of letting the Gentiles know that they too can share in the inexhaustible riches and extravagant generosity of Christ. God, who created everything, had always had this plan in mind, but now I have the privilege of giving everyone else their first look at it! The wisdom of God has more angles and aspects than the finest diamond, and more than any one person or group could every comprehend, but through the church it is all being opened up. Through ordinary congregations of believers like you, the powers of the universe and the authorities of the spiritual world are being schooled in God’s ways! God had always planned for it to be this way, and the plan was put into effect through the actions of Jesus Christ our Lord. It is because we trust him that we now have the confidence to deal directly with God and the courage to live accordingly.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 2:1-12

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the territory of Judea, during the reign of King Herod. Some time after his birth, a group of eastern mystics turned up in Jerusalem looking for him. “Where can we find the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews?” they asked. “We observed the appearance of the star that heralds his birth, and so we have come all this way to pay our respects.”
When King Herod heard this, he went berserk, and when Herod was agitated, everybody in Jerusalem was on edge. Pulling himself together, he called in the city’s top priests and religious scholars and asked them whereabouts the Messiah was supposed to be born. They were in no doubt: “Bethlehem in Judea,” they said. “The prophet Micah spelt it out quite clearly:
‘Bethlehem in Judea, you’re it!
I’m going to put you on the map!
You will be the home town of my chosen ruler,
the one who will lead my people on the right track.’”
Having sorted that out, Herod met behind closed doors with the visiting mystics and pumped them for information about exactly when the star had first appeared. He then gave them directions to Bethlehem and sent them on their way, saying, “Go, and leave no stone unturned until you find the child. When you’ve found him, drop me a line so that I can come down and pay my respects too.”
So, having gained this information from the king, they hit the road. As they did, they spotted the star again, the same one they had first seen appear. Taking a line from the star, they were able to track down the exact place where the child was. Their search was finally at an end, and they were over the moon! They were allowed into the house and there they saw him, a little child in the arms of his mother, Mary. Overcome with awe, they fell to their knees in reverent wonder before the child. From their luggage, they gave him exotic gifts of gold, aromatic frankincense, and myrrh.
They were warned in a dream to avoid contacting Herod, so they kept a low profile and took the back roads out of Judea as they began their journey home to their own country.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you are the fulfilment of all our searching.
Since the time you created all things
you have had a plan
— hidden in mystery through the ages —
to draw all the world into one body,
and to share with all peoples your promises of glory.
And now the light has risen,
the mystery is made known:
your beloved child, Jesus, is revealed to the whole world
as Saviour and Redeemer,
and as the King who reigns in justice and peace.
You made him known first
to the magi from the east,
who came to pay him homage,
though they knew of him only what the silent stars could tell.
And now, you draw us again to the feet of Jesus
— the crucified and risen Christ —
to offer our gifts of praise to the light of the world.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give you thanks for your beloved child, Jesus,
who you made known to the magi from the east,
who knew of him only what the silent stars could tell.
You have drawn us again to his feet
and in him we have found the fulfilment of all our searching.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

Gracious God, our hearts rejoice in your presence,
as we give you our thanks and praise,
for you are the fulfilment of all our searching.
Since the time you created all things
you have had a plan
— hidden in mystery through the ages —
to draw all the world into one body,
and to share with all peoples your promises of glory.
And now the light has risen,
the mystery is made known:
your beloved child, Jesus, is revealed to the whole world
as Saviour and Redeemer,
and as the King who reigns in justice and peace.
You made him known first
to the magi from the east,
who came to pay him homage,
though they knew of him only what the silent stars could tell.
And now, you draw us again to the feet of Jesus
— the crucified and risen Christ —
to offer our gifts of praise to the light of the world.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God has declared that through our union with Christ
and through our faith in him
we may enter God’s presence with all confidence.
Our sins are no longer held against us,
God’s grace has been given to us.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, seek out the Christ wherever he may be found,
and share the good news with all who bear him no ill will.
Bring light to those in thick darkness,
a voice to those no one speaks for,
and hope to those no one cares for.
And may God make you a sharer in the promised light.
May Christ Jesus fill you with his sense of what is right.
And may the Holy Spirit be to you like rain
that gives life to the fertile earth.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

The Visit of the MagiA sermon on Matthew 2: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Shocking NewsA sermon on Matthew 2: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Gifts that really matterA sermon on Isaiah 60:1-6 & Matthew 2: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Coming to LightA sermon on Matthew 2: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

An Epiphany TsunamiA sermon on Matthew 2: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

A Little Child, God Before the AgesA sermon on Matthew 2: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

The Power and the KingsA sermon on Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6 & Ephesians 3:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Epiphany and the Hope of UnityA sermon for the Feast of Epiphany by Fr Abel van der Veer

May a Multitude of Camels Cover You!A sermon on Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12 & Matthew 2:1-12 by Fr Richard Treloar

SearchingA sermon on Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7,10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12 & Matthew 2:1-12 by Fr Sam Goodes

The Feast of EpiphanyA sermon on Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12 & Matthew 2:1-12 by the Revd Marilyn Hope

Wilde Fairytales and Epiphany LightA sermon for the Feast of Epiphany by Fr Matthew Dowsey

By a Different RouteA sermon on Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2: 1-12 & Ephesians 3:1-12 by the Revd Roxanne Addley

Gifts to be ReceivedA sermon for the Feast of Epiphany by the Revd Dr Craig D’Alton

Brought to LightA sermon on Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12 & Matthew 2:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Generous LightA sermon on Matthew 2: 1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

The Feast of the Baptism of our Lord - Year C
2025-01-12 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Isaiah 43:1-7

Listen up, descendants of Jacob,
this is what the LORD says to you:
“I am the one who created you,
and formed you into a nation.
Don’t be afraid of anything,
because I have put things right for you;
I have singled you out by name,
you are safe in my possession.
I will stick with you when you cross through the waters,
when you ford swollen rivers,
I’ll get you safely to the other side.
When you walk through fire you won’t be burned,
flames might surround you,
but you’ll come out unscathed.
You can depend on this, because I am the LORD who saves you,
the Holy One, the God of your land.
If need be, I would surrender territory to bail you out.
I would hand over whole continents in exchange for you.
I love you and cherish you,
you are my most treasured possession.
If anyone forces me to choose between you and them,
I’ll turn my back on them to rescue you.
Do not be afraid, my people, because I’m sticking with you.
Even if you get scattered all over the world,
I’ll reunite you from every corner of the globe.
North, south, east and west,
I’ll leave no stone unturned until I find you all,
until every one of you, my cherished children,
is free to come home from wherever you’ve ended up.
I’ve marked you out as my chosen ones,
I’ve written my name on you.
I created each and every one of you
and you have done me proud,
you have brought honour and glory to me.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 29

LORD God, like your angels in heaven
we speak of you in glowing terms,
for your glory and strength deserve rave reviews.
We give you a huge rap, LORD;
we put up you name in lights
and hold a huge ticker tape parade
but it still falls short of the worship you deserve.
Your voice, LORD, rings out like thunder;
resounding over the waters,
drowning out even the waves of the sea.
Your voice echoes with power;
it would bring anyone to their knees.
Your voice, LORD, shatters the Ironbark tree,
and splinters the Mountain Ash like match sticks.
Your presence makes Mount Bogong jump like a calf;
Uluru like a rock wallaby.
Your voice, LORD, strikes fire from stone.
The sound of your voice convulses the wilderness;
the Simpson Desert shudders in labour.
Your voice, LORD, is like a cyclone,
howling through a rainforest,
stripping the leaves from the trees.
We all gather to worship and cheer with all our might;
for you rule forever, LORD,
and neither surging flood
nor tidal wave can undermine you.
Give strength to your people, LORD!
Bless your people with peace!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Acts 8: 14-17

Philip had been preaching in Samaria and many people there embraced God’s message. The news got back to Jerusalem and the apostles sent Peter and John off to meet with the new believers. When they got there, they found that although the people had been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to them. So Peter and John placed their hands on them and prayed for them and, sure enough, they all received God’s Holy Spirit.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22

The activities of John the Baptiser struck a chord with the deep yearning for a national saviour, and people began to speculate that perhaps John might be the one who God had chosen. John was quick to hose down such ideas, saying, “I’m only baptising you with water. The One who is coming is way out of my league – the chance to polish his boots would be more than I could aspire to. When he gets started, it won’t be just water that he’ll be plunging you into. He’ll baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He’s ready to start with his flame thrower in hand. He’ll release an uncontrollable fire into the dry bushland of your lives, completely incinerating the rubbish and germinating the good seeds that lie in wait for that day.”
Now among all the people coming to be baptised, Jesus himself came and was baptised. As he was praying the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit came down bodily, like a diving kookaburra, and took hold of him. And a voice filled the air, saying, “You are my Son; the love of my life. You fill me with pride.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for in our union with Christ, you baptise us in grace
and declare us to be the children who please you.
When your voice first thundered over the waters,
you created the earth and all who live in it.
You called a people by name to be your own,
and you led them by fire, through the waters,
to the promised land of freedom.
You sent your beloved child, Jesus, among us.
Baptised by your servant, John,
he embodied your love
and fulfilled your desire to redeem your children
from all the earth.
Baptised again in the fearful waters of death,
he tore open the heavens
so that all might be baptised with your Holy Spirit
and pass safely through water and fire
into the glory you have prepared
for those with whom you are well pleased.
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 comes to redeem your children from all the earth.
Baptised in the fearful waters of death,
he brings us safely through water and fire
into the glory you have prepared for your beloved children.
©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 in our union with Christ, you baptise us in grace
and declare us to be the children who please you.
When your voice first thundered over the waters,
you created the earth and all who live in it.
You called a people by name to be your own,
and you led them by fire, through the waters,
to the promised land of freedom.
You sent your beloved child, Jesus, among us.
Baptised by your servant, John,
he embodied your love
and fulfilled your desire to redeem your children
from all the earth.
Baptised again in the fearful waters of death,
he tore open the heavens
so that all might be baptised with your Holy Spirit
and pass safely through water and fire
into the glory you have prepared
for those with whom you are well pleased.
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

Do not fear, for Christ has redeemed you.
Baptised in the deep waters of death
he has washed away your sins
in the depths of God’s mercy.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, confident that you are God’s precious and pleasing children.
Trust in God and do not fear.
Accept the Word of God
and point others to the one who baptises with Spirit and fire.
And may God be your protection and your strength;
May Christ baptise you with his Holy Spirit.
And may the Spirit be with you
to empower you and give you peace.
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.

Baptised into MissionA sermon on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 by Nathan Nettleton

Luke’s Baptism of JesusA sermon on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 by Garry Deverell

In the Face of FireA sermon on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 & Isaiah 43:1-7 by Nathan Nettleton

Fire and WaterA sermon on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 by Nathan Nettleton

Monday of Holy Week
2025-04-14 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

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

Tuesday of Holy Week
2025-04-15 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

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

The Great Paschal (Easter) Vigil
2025-04-19 00:00 - 2025-04-20 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 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

The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord
2025-05-29 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Acts 1: 1-11

Dear Theophilus,
In my first book, The Gospel according to Luke, I wrote an account of all that Jesus did and taught from the time he started until the day he said goodbye and was taken up to heaven. Before he left, he gathered the apostles, who he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and spelled out his final instructions.
For forty days after his suffering and death, he repeatedly showed up and proved in many ways that he really was alive again. Face to face with the apostles, he spoke with them about the culture of God. While he was still meeting and sharing meals with them, he put them on notice that they were not to leave Jerusalem yet. “Instead,” he said, “you must wait here for the gift I told you about - the gift my Father promised. You remember how John baptised with water. Well, you will be baptised with Holy Spirit in just a few days time.”
When they were all together for the last time, the apostles had one burning question: “Lord, is this the time? Will you regain our freedom now and give us our own king to reign over Israel?”
Jesus replied, “Only the Father can decide such things and the timing is none of your business. Just focus on this: the Holy Spirit will flood over you and drench you with power, giving you the passion and courage to be my witnesses. Then you will be able to tell everyone about me, in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”
That was it - his last words. Right before their eyes, he was carried up into the air where he soon disappeared into the clouds. They just stood there stunned, staring into the sky. Suddenly two men appeared next to them, dressed in white robes! They said, “You Galileans! What are you standing here for, staring into the sky? Jesus has been taken into heaven, but don’t worry. He’ll be back, just as surely - and just as mysteriously - as he left.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 47

We applaud you, LORD, as everyone should;
we roar your name and sing for joy.
You are an awesome God;
number one in the universe;
the great ruler of all the earth.
You have subdued those who attacked us;
put hostile nations at our mercy.
You picked out the best land for us;
you favoured us with a prized inheritance.
Take your place at the top of the dais, LORD God,
as we sound trumpets and cheer in your honour.
You are our God, and we’ll sing your praises;
you are our ruler, and we’ll sing your praises.
You are the God who rules over all the earth;
we’ll sing your praises in all our songs.
You are the God who rules over the nations;
the throne where you sit is one of a kind.
Leaders gather from every people on earth
and, like Abraham’s descendants,
give their allegiance to you, God.
They lay down their weapons
and honour you as their ultimate superior.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Psalm 93 (alternative psalm)

LORD, you are the great ruler.
Majesty enfolds you like a royal robe
and strength radiates from you.
You have fixed the world firmly in its place.
Your throne is immovable, LORD;
ever was and ever shall be.
Surging floods have risen, O LORD,
surging up with a mighty roar;
engulfing everything in thunderous sound.
You are more impressive than the surging waters,
more powerful than the crashing waves;
you are number one in all the universe, LORD!
Whatever you say is set in stone.
The place you live, O LORD, is clearly sacred;
its holiness will outlast time.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Ephesians 1: 15-23

Having heard of your deep trust in the Lord Jesus and your active love for his people, I could hardly stop thanking God for you. And I’m praying for you too. I ask the glorious God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will fill you with wisdom and insight as you get to know God. That way you’ll get a clear picture of all that God wants you to see:

the promised goal of the mission to which you are called;
the extravagant generosity of God’s provision for us;
and the immense capacity of the dynamic power which is put to work in us when we trust God.

This dynamic power is the same energy that God put to work in the Messiah when he raised him from death and enthroned him in heaven. Now the Messiah sits at God’s right hand, reigning over the entire universe, and there is not a single authority that can overrule him, now or ever. Every religious hierarchy and military regime; every legal jurisdiction and people-power movement; every economic imperative and moral principle; God has put them all under the feet of the Messiah. God has decreed that all things will answer to him. The church, then, is central to what the Messiah is doing, for it is his body, already filled with the presence of the one who is filling each and every part of the entire universe.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 24: 44-53

On the last day that Jesus was on earth after his resurrection, he said to his disciples, “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.”
Jesus then led his disciples out as far as Bethany, where he lifted up his hands and spoke a blessing over them. Even as he was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried into heaven. Falling to their knees, they worshipped him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy and, after that, they were always in the temple praising God.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you have called us to a rich hope
and a glorious inheritance among the saints.
You fixed the world in place
and rule over all from your sacred throne.
You formed a people for yourself
and through Moses and the prophets you spoke to them
of the Christ who fills all in all.
As it was written, he suffered and was killed,
but you raised him from the dead
and he walked again with his chosen ones,
speaking to them of your glorious kingdom.
You carried him into heaven on the clouds
and made him head over all things for the church,
seating him at your right hand
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus,
who you carried up into heaven
and seated at your right hand
so that he might be everywhere present,
not only in this age but also in the age to come.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise with shouts of joy, O God,
for you have called us to a rich hope
and a glorious inheritance among the saints.
You fixed the world in place
and rule over all from your sacred throne.
You formed a people for yourself
and through Moses and the prophets you spoke to them
of the Christ who fills all in all.
As it was written, he suffered and was killed,
but you raised him from the dead
and he walked again with his chosen ones,
speaking to them of your glorious kingdom.
You carried him into heaven on the clouds
and made him head over all things for the church,
seating him at your right hand
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

As Jesus Christ instructed his followers,
the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name
from the holy city to the ends of the earth.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go out into the world.
and in your words and in your lives
bear witness to the Christ who has ascended
to be everywhere present.
And as you come to know him,
may God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation,
may Christ Jesus lift up his hands and bless you,
and may the Spirit open to you all the riches of Christ’s inheritance.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

The Ascension: Christ’s superabundant presenceA sermon on Acts 1. 6-14 & John 17:1-11 by Garry Deverell

Stretching those WingsA sermon for the Feast of the Ascension by Nathan Nettleton

Not Knowing Where to LookA sermon on Acts 1: 1-11 & Luke 24: 44-53 by Nathan Nettleton

Look around you!A sermon on Acts 1: 1-11 & Luke 24: 44-53 by Alison Sampson

The Ascension of the High PriestA sermon on Acts 1: 1-11 & Luke 24: 44-53 by Nathan Nettleton

The Feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
2025-05-31 00:00 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

1 Samuel 2: 1-10

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

Psalm 113

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

Romans 12: 9-16b

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

Luke 1:39-57

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

Proper 19 - Year C
2025-09-14 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Jeremiah 4: 11-12, 22-28

The LORD gave me a message for Jerusalem, saying:
“When disaster comes, you will know about it, Jerusalem;
this is the warning your people will hear:
“The invading army is bearing down on you
like a tornado from the desert.
It is the hot breath of my judgment;
an angry wind sweeping away all in its path.
“You will pay for your madness, my people,
for you have totally ignored me.
You are a pack of half-wits
with nothing between your ears.
You are experts only at corruption.
You haven’t got a clue about doing good.”
The LORD gave me a vision:
I saw the earth – it was an empty wasteland.
I saw the skies – the lights had gone out.
I saw the mountains – shuddering and shaking.
I saw the hills – trembling like jelly.
I looked and looked, but there was no one to be seen.
Not even the scavenging birds had hung around.
Croplands and orchards alike were scorched earth.
Cities and towns were nothing but rubble.
Everything had fallen before the LORD;
before the blazing anger of the LORD.
The LORD gave me this message:
“The whole land will be destroyed,
and yet not beyond repair.
The earth will be wracked with grief
and the skies will dress in black.
But I have made up my mind and I will not change it.
I have given my word and will not take it back.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 14

Heartless, mindless scum kid themselves
that there is no God.
They are corrupt and callous.
The things they do would make you sick.
There is not an ounce of good among them.
The LORD scans the human race, one at a time,
looking for any who are still wise;
for even one who still has a heart for God.
But it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!
They’ve all lost the plot.
Everyone is caught up
in their own perverse ways.
Every last one of them.
Don’t they know where all this will get them?
They never look to the LORD for anything;
they chew up God’s people and spit them out.
But it will soon be their turn to cringe in fear,
because God sides with those who play straight.
If you think you can trample
the dreams of the battlers,
Watch out! The LORD will be there for them.
We can hardly wait to hear the songs of freedom
as justice marches down from God’s mountain!
What a day it will be
when the LORD redistributes the wealth
and God’s people are compensated
for their suffering!
Our ancestors will rise up with joy!
The streets will fill with singing and dancing!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Timothy 1: 12-17

I am so thankful to Jesus Christ our Lord. It is him who gives me the strength to do what I do. He reckoned he could trust me, so he gave me this work to do for him. This was despite the fact that I had a history of violence and all I had ever done was drag his name through the mud and victimise his people. I was shown mercy because I had acted without understanding what I was doing. I hadn’t known who Jesus was. Now though, our Lord has been extravagantly generous and flooded me with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
Here is a line you can write down and stake your life on: Jesus Christ came into the world to rescue sinners. I should know, I was the number one sinner. By putting his mercy to work in me — the number one sinner — Jesus Christ clearly demonstrated just how much he was willing to endure to get through to us. He has made me an example to show others how to put their trust in him and so gain life without limit.
And now I give all the glory
and every honour
to the One who rules forever;
beyond life and death;
out of sight;
the one and only God.
And so say all of us!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 15: 1-10

For much of the time, a crowd of people hung around Jesus, listening to everything he had to say. The crowd was full of disreputable characters whose lifestyles were offensive to the more respectable members of society. The devoutly religious Pharisees and the experts in religious law got their noses out of joint over this, and began denouncing Jesus. “He keeps company with people whose behaviour is beyond the pale,” they said, “and he doesn’t even draw the line at eating with them.”
Jesus responded to their objections by telling a story. He said, “If you had care of a hundred sheep and one of them got lost, what would you do? Like anyone else, you would leave the other ninety-nine grazing in the paddock and go off looking for the lost one until you found it. And when you found it, you would be so relieved that you would hoist it up on your shoulders and dance home with a spring in your step. Not only that, you would then call all your friends and neighbours around for party, saying, ‘The shout’s on me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’”
Jesus said, “Let me assure you that it is just like that in heaven. One screwed-up person getting back on the right track causes far more celebration than ninety-nine respectable people who never left it.”
He continued with another story, saying, “If you had ten coins – all collector’s items – and you lost one of them, what would you do? Like anyone else, you would turn on all the lights and go over the house with a fine-toothed comb until you found it. And when you found it, you would call all your friends and neighbours around for party, saying, ‘The shout’s on me, for I have found the coin that I lost.’”
Jesus said, “Let me assure you that the angels party like that over each wayward person who turns their life back towards God.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

Prior to the revision of the Lectionary in 1992, the 1st reading and the psalm that responded to it were chosen to link thematically with the gospel reading. After hearing the critique of those who said that the Hebrew Scriptures, from which the first reading is usually chosen, should be allowed to speak with their own voice rather than just add support to the gospel reading, the Lectionary was revised so that during Ordinary Time, the 1st reading runs in its own semi-continuous series, working through various books of the Hebrew Bible. The older themed series continues to be available as an alternative.
The weekly prayers offered here at LaughingBird Resources are based on the four readings above, and do not draw on the themed 1st reading and psalm.

Exodus 32: 7-14

The LORD said to Moses:
“Get back down there on the double! That mob of yours, who you brought out of the land of slavery, have gone completely off the rails. In the blink of an eye, they have turned their backs on the path I set them on. They have cast an idol in the shape of a calf, and they are worshipping it and giving offerings to it as expressions of their devotion. They are saying that it is the god who brought the nation out of the land of slavery. I have had a gutful of this people. They are always kicking against the traces. Now stand aside and let me give full vent to my blazing anger and blast them off the face of the earth. I’ll start again with you and build a great nation from your offspring.”
But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, saying:
“LORD, why are you letting your anger at your people burn out of control? You proved yourself to be the strongest and the greatest when you brought these people out of the land of slavery. Are you now going to turn around and give our enemies grounds to accuse you of planning genocide from the start? They will allege that you only took the people into the outback to slaughter them. Swallow your anger! Rethink this, and don’t stamp out your people. Follow through on the promises you made to your trusty servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You gave them your word, your personal guarantee. You said, ‘I will multiply your descendants until they outnumber the stars in the sky, and they will inherit the land I promised to give to your family forever.’”
And so the LORD was persuaded to rethink the situation and to abandon the plan to wipe out the people with a disaster.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 51: 1-10

O God, your love never gives up.
Have mercy on me now!
I’m relying on your record of generous mercy:
please wipe my slate clean!
Scrub away the filth I’ve been living in;
Scour away the stain of my sin.
I know only too well what I’ve done;
my sins stare me in the face.
It is you I’ve double-crossed, you I’ve betrayed;
I’ve done things which I knew you despised.
You have all the facts and you know what I deserve;
what ever you decide is fair enough.
I’ve been on the wrong side of you forever.
I turned my back on you before I was born.
You want honesty that comes from deep within,
so teach me your wisdom,
let it take root in my heart.
Get the bleach out and give me the treatment!
Soak me and wash me
until I’m as white as snow.
Open my ears to laughter and music.
Though you ground me into the dirt,
let me now rise to the sounds of joy.
Turn a blind eye to my record;
disregard my prior convictions.
Renovate me from the inside, O God;
rebuild my heart and rewire my brain;
install in me a new fault-free operating system.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you are the immortal invisible King of the ages,
and your grace has overflowed for us in Christ Jesus.
You created the earth from a formless void
and filled it with living things.
In every age you have looked for faithfulness
and found instead depravity, corruption and evil.
The hot winds of anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert
but always your merciful love has continued searching
for those who would be saved.
You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us to save sinners.
His hospitality and compassion so scandalised the religious
that he was killed,
but you raised him to new life.
In him you are turning us from our pasts,
lifting us joyously onto your shoulders
and appointing us to your service
as an example for all who would trust you for eternal life.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you that though the hot winds of your anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert,
your son, Jesus Christ, came into the world to save sinners
and all heaven rejoices over every lost one who repents.
©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 are the immortal invisible King of the ages,
and your grace has overflowed for us in Christ Jesus.
You created the earth from a formless void
and filled it with living things.
In every age you have looked for faithfulness
and found instead depravity, corruption and evil.
The hot winds of anger
have turned fruitful lands to desert
but always your merciful love has continued searching
for those who would be saved.
You sent your child, Jesus Christ, among us to save sinners.
His hospitality and compassion so scandalised the religious
that he was killed,
but you raised him to new life.
In him you are turning us from our pasts,
lifting us joyously onto your shoulders
and appointing us to your service
as an example for all who would trust you for eternal 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

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
We have received mercy,
for the grace of our Lord has overflowed for us
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, overflowing with faith and love
and seek out those who are lost.
Side with the poor and sit with the just;
mourn for the earth
and rejoice with heaven over any who turn to God.
And may God judge you faithful;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you;
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with wisdom and grace.
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.

Practical AtheismA sermon on Psalm 14 and Luke 15: 1-10 by Nathan NettletonSearch and RescueA sermon on Luke 15: 1-10 by Nathan NettletonStumbling through Waste and VoidA sermon on Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; 1 Timothy 1: 12-17 & Luke 15:1-10 by Nathan NettletonOn losing, seeking and finding . . . sometimesA sermon on Luke 15: 1-10 by Marita MunroThe God who SearchesA sermon on Psalm 14 and Luke 15: 1-10 by Stacey AslangulHomecomingA sermon on Luke 15.1–10 by Jason GoroncyClimate Change and Spiritual TransformationA sermon on Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 & Luke 15:1-10 by Nathan NettletonForgive us, Lord. We know not what we do.A sermon on Psalm 14:4 & 1 Timothy 1: 12-17 by Nathan Nettleton

The Feast of the Holy Cross
2025-09-14 00:00 - 23:59 UTC
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Numbers 21: 4b-9

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

Psalm 98: 1-5

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

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

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

1 Corinthians 1: 18-24

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

John 3: 13-17

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

Sermons

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

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

Proper 20 - Year C
2025-09-21 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Jeremiah 8:18 - 9:1

I’m heart-broken, sick with grief.
Smiles are a thing of the past.
Tune in and listen.
From one end of the country to the other
you can hear the cry of my suffering people.
“Has the LORD cleared off and left us?” they groan.
“Has our king fled the country?”
They gave God every reason to be angry,
flaunting their latest trendy objects of devotion.
But still they cry:
“Months pass, seasons come and go,
but still there is no sign of help.”
I am hurting with my people, torn by their pain.
I am grief-stricken, filled with horror.
Surely there is some treatment available.
Surely there is something the doctors can do.
So why are my people still sick and broken?
Why are they not yet back on their feet?
I need a head like a fire hydrant
to do all the crying I am going to do,
gushing tears by the bucket full day and night
over all my people who have been killed!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 79: 1-9

O God, the land you gave us has been invaded;
places erected in your honour have been desecrated;
the city you love has been reduced to rubble.
People who faithfully served you have been slaughtered;
their bodies have been tossed out like garbage,
feral animals tear them to shreds and crows pick their bones.
The city is awash with their blood,
overflowing the gutters;
their bodies lie where they fell,
there is no one left to bury them.
Those outside our borders make a joke of our fate;
they laugh as they stick the boots in.
Why, LORD?
How long will we cop this abuse?
Are you going to be angry forever?
Will your fiery rage never die down?
Take it out on those who really deserve it;
on nations that shut you out and write you off.
They are the ones who chewed up your people
and left nothing but scorched earth where we lived.
Please, God, don’t hold against us the wrongs of our ancestors.
Come quickly with a tender heart and loving arms,
we are at rock-bottom.
You are the only one who can get us out of this mess, God.
Come to our rescue! Bail us out! Forgive and heal us!
Show everyone that your reputation is fully deserved!
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Timothy 2: 1-7

The number one thing I would urge you to do is to pray. Pray for everyone, thanking God for them and requesting the best for them. Don’t forget to pray for those who exercise power and influence, for we depend on them to allow us the space to get on with our lives in simplicity, peace, dignity and God-given integrity. There is no doubt that such prayers are exactly what God would wish us to be offering. Indeed, what God really wants is for absolutely everyone to be brought into the life God intends for us, and to know it; to know the full and wonderful truth of it. The bottom line is this:
there is one God, and only one,
and there is one person standing between God and humanity
to bring us together:
Christ Jesus, who was as human as us
and who put his own life on the line
so that everyone else could be set free.
All this was made clear once and for all.
The work to which I have been appointed is the work of broadcasting this news. You can take my word for this; I wouldn’t lie to you. God has made me an ambassador-at-large, so that I might teach those outside the Jewish family to believe and trust in this truth.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 16: 1-13

Speaking to his followers, Jesus said, “Have you heard the story about the rich tycoon and his shifty business manager? One day the tycoon was presented with evidence that his business was seriously under-performing due to reckless management. So he called in his business manager and sacked him on the spot, saying, ‘Go and clear out your office and hand over the books for a full audit.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do now. I’m out of work and my reputation is shot. I’m not fit enough for manual labour, and I couldn’t bear to be seen receiving welfare. I know what I’ll do. I’ve got a sure-fire way to ensure that there will be plenty of people only too happy to help me out.’
“So, before clearing out his office, he went to work and called up all the business’s debtors, one at a time. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my boss?’
“The debtor replied, ‘I owe him for a hundred barrels of oil.’
“The manager said, ‘Sit down and sign here, and you will only owe for fifty.’
“To another he said, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘I owe your boss for a hundred tonnes of wheat,’ the debtor replied.
“The manager said, “‘Sit down and sign here, and it will be written down to eighty.’
“After the transactions had all been signed and sealed, the tycoon discovered what had happened. All he could do was shake his head in admiration over the cunning ingenuity of the shifty business manager.”
Jesus went on to say, “You see, that’s how it is. The people who belong to this present world are far better equipped to dodge and weave their way through their dealings with one another than you lot are, and you belong to the light. So take it from me, if you’ve got a fistful of filthy lucre, use it to help other people out. That way, when it runs out, you’ll have friends for life.
“Those who can be trusted with a little
can be trusted with a lot.
Those who are dishonest over little things
are also dishonest over big things.
If you can’t even be trusted with a fistful of filthy lucre,
who is going to trust you with things of real value?
If you can’t be trusted to look after other people’s things,
who is going give you anything to keep as your own?
“No one can play on two teams.
You’ll either give your best to one
and under-perform for the other,
or short-change one
and give your heart and soul for the other.
You can’t dedicate yourself to both God and financial success.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

Prior to the revision of the Lectionary in 1992, the 1st reading and the psalm that responded to it were chosen to link thematically with the gospel reading. After hearing the critique of those who said that the Hebrew Scriptures, from which the first reading is usually chosen, should be allowed to speak with their own voice rather than just add support to the gospel reading, the Lectionary was revised so that during Ordinary Time, the 1st reading runs in its own semi-continuous series, working through various books of the Hebrew Bible. The older themed series continues to be available as an alternative.
The weekly prayers offered here at LaughingBird Resources are based on the four readings above, and do not draw on the themed 1st reading and psalm.

Amos 8: 4-7

“Listen to me, you who wipe your feet on those in need;
you who destroy the poor for your own gain.
You resent religious holidays
because they interrupt your wheeling and dealing.
You demand twenty-four hour, seven-day trading,
so that you can rip people off without ceasing.
Your advertising is all deceit and delusion.
You rig the odds and the interest rates.
You lure the poor into crippling debt
until you own them – body and soul –
and then charge them again for owing you money.
“I, the LORD, swear on the Bible you so proudly wave,
that I will not forget a single one of your mongrel actions.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 113

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

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 desire everyone to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The earth is your handiwork, but it has brought you tears;
you created the nations, but they have brought you grief.
You sent your law and prophets,
but your people served idols and wealth before you,
and were unfaithful with all you entrusted to them.
When we despaired of ever being restored to health,
you lived up to the name of “Saviour”,
sending us your child, Jesus the Christ
— himself human —
who gave himself as a ransom for all.
Although his blood was shed in Jerusalem,
you raised him to life
and now and forever, he is our mediator in your presence,
welcoming us with love and renewing us through prayer
that we might live faithfully in all godliness and dignity.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you that though we have brought you grief,
your son, Jesus Christ, gave himself as a ransom for all,
and is, now and forever, our mediator in your presence,
that we might live faithfully in all godliness and dignity.
©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 desire everyone to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The earth is your handiwork, but it has brought you tears;
you created the nations, but they have brought you grief.
You sent your law and prophets,
but your people served idols and wealth before you,
and were unfaithful with all you entrusted to them.
When we despaired of ever being restored to health,
you lived up to the name of “Saviour”,
sending us your child, Jesus the Christ
— himself human —
who gave himself as a ransom for all.
Although his blood was shed in Jerusalem,
you raised him to life
and now and forever, he is our mediator in your presence,
welcoming us with love and renewing us through prayer
that we might live faithfully in all godliness and dignity.
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

Jesus Christ, has lived up to the name of “Saviour”
for he gave himself as a ransom for all
to rescue us and forgive our sins.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now
and continue to offer prayers and thanksgiving for everyone.
Be shrewd in dealing with the world around you
but do not be seduced into serving wealth.
Weep for those who suffer
and share faith and truth with all.
And may God welcome you with love;
May Christ Jesus give you knowledge of the truth;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you into all godliness and dignity.
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.

Is moral integrity for weaklings?A sermon on Luke 16: 1-13 by Nathan NettletonLearning from Low-life ScumA sermon on Luke 16: 1-13 by Nathan NettletonPray for Them?!!!A sermon on 1 Timothy 2:1-7 by Nathan NettletonDefrauding for JesusA sermon on Luke 16: 1-13 by Nathan NettletonAssessing Claims and Detaining GodA sermon on Luke 16:1-13; Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1; & 1 Timothy 2:1-7 by Nathan NettletonFeeling Depressed and Following JesusA sermon on Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1 by Nathan NettletonA Clever Rogue and Outrageous GraciousnessA sermon on Luke 16: 1-13 by Gilbert Joyce

All Saints Day - Year C
2025-11-01 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Daniel 7: 1-3, 15-18

I, Daniel, had some alarming dreams and visions as I lay in bed one night. I got up and wrote them down. This was during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign as king of Babylon. In my first vision that night, the four winds blew in from the sky and whipped up a great storm at sea. Up out of the stormy sea came four monstrous beasts, each one different from the others.
This vision was deeply disturbing and left me badly shaken, so I went straight to the nearest aide and asked him to help me to make sense of what it meant. He interpreted the dream for me saying:
“The four monstrous beasts indicate the rise of four powerful nations that will reign on earth. But nevertheless, the ones who will reign over God’s earth forever and ever will be the people who have been dedicated solely to the Most High God.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 149

You are the greatest, LORD!
We sing your praises like we’ve never sung before, LORD,
along with all your faithful people everywhere.
Our greatest joy is knowing
that you made us as your people.
With all the children of your holy city,
we celebrate you as our King!
Every mention of your name sets us singing and dancing;
we strike up the band in your honour.
For you, LORD, delight in your people;
you share the spoils of victory with ordinary folk.
Your faithful ones revel in your glory,
and bask in the sheer joy of praising you.
Put your words in their mouths
and your sword in their hands, God,
so that they can bring the nations to justice
and execute your sentence on every population.
Deliver every despot and dictator into their hands
to be tried and sentenced
and put behind bars where they belong.
May all your faithful ones share in this glory, LORD,
for you are the greatest!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Ephesians 1: 11-23

Now that we are united to Christ, we have been promised a share of all that belongs to Christ. This is our destiny, because God chose us and made plans for us from the start, and when God’s mind is set on something, you can be sure it will happen. It was always God’s intention that those who put their hope in Christ — and we were among the first — would live lives that were a shining testimony to the glory of Christ. You have been in on this too, since the moment you heard the truth about Christ, recognised it to be the message that would save you, and put your trust him. Then and there, the Holy Spirit wrote God’s name on you, marking you out as one of those who have been given a guaranteed place among God’s people when God finally puts everything right. You’ll certainly be a shining testimony to God’s glory then!
Having heard of your deep trust in the Lord Jesus and your active love for his people, I could hardly stop thanking God for you. And I’m praying for you too. I ask the glorious God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will fill you with wisdom and insight as you get to know God. That way you’ll get a clear picture of all that God wants you to see:

the promised goal of the mission to which you are called;
the extravagant generosity of God’s provision for us;
and the immense capacity of the dynamic power which is put to work in us when we trust God.

This dynamic power is the same energy that God put to work in the Messiah when he raised him from death and enthroned him in heaven. Now the Messiah sits at God’s right hand, reigning over the entire universe, and there is not a single authority that can overrule him, now or ever. Every religious hierarchy and military regime; every legal jurisdiction and people-power movement; every economic imperative and moral principle; God has put them all under the feet of the Messiah. God has decreed that all things will answer to him. The church, then, is central to what the Messiah is doing, for it is his body, already filled with the presence of the one who is filling each and every part of the entire universe.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 6:20-31

Jesus taught his followers, saying:
“You who own next to nothing have got it made,
because you are already at home in the culture of God.
“You who don’t have enough to eat now have got it made,
because you will be filled with good things.
“You who are grief stricken now have got it made,
because you will be all smiles and laughter.
“And if people hate you and shut you out, treat you like dirt and drag your name through the mud because of your association with me, then you really have got it made! You’re in great company because in every generation they’ve done the same thing to all God’s faithful messengers. So sing! Dance! Celebrate! Heaven is coming and you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams!
“But the writing is on the wall for you who have got it all now.
That’s it for you. You’ve got nothing more to look forward to.
“And the writing is on the wall for you who consume to excess.
You’ve had your share. You’re going to go hungry.
“The writing is on the wall for you who think it’s all a big joke now.
The smile is going to be wiped right off your face.
“And if everybody is fawning over you and saying how wonderful you are, then the writing is well and truly on the wall. They come from a long line of people who fawned over every religious charlatan that ever tickled their ears.”
“If you are ready to hear the truth then I have this to say: Love! Love even your enemies. Treat even those who hate you with love. If anyone mouths off at you or treats you like dirt, wish them all the best and pray for them. If someone gives you a smack around the ear to humiliate you, stand tall and stick your chin out, and invite them to have another crack. Absorb the hostility – don’t escalate it. If someone nicks your coat, just say, ‘Hey, if you’re needing that, you’ll be needing these,’ and hand over your hat and scarf as well. Give to everyone who asks something of you, and don’t go hassling people to give back what they’ve got from you. Live generously, and don’t go keeping score and looking to balance the ledger.
“If you want to know how to treat someone, just ask yourself what you’d be hoping for if you were in their shoes. Treat others the way you’d like to be treated, not just the way you aretreated.
©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 give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for by your great power you have called us to a rich hope
and pledged us a glorious inheritance among the saints.
In time before dreaming you sent the wind
to stir up the sea of chaos and bring forth the earth.
Through your law and prophets
you promised us that your Kingdom would belong forever
to those who embraced your holiness.
Through your son, Jesus Christ,
you proclaimed a day when the hungry will feast
and the mourners laugh.
When he was killed on the cross
you raised him from the dead
and seated him at your right hand.
In him you give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that we might know that hope to which you have called us
and embody the fullness of Christ who fills all in all.
Therefore with .....
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for calling us with great power to a rich hope,
for promising that your Kingdom would belong forever
to those who embrace your holiness,
and for pledging us a glorious inheritance among the saints.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you thanks and praise, O God,
for by your great power you have called us to a rich hope
and pledged us a glorious inheritance among the saints.
In time before dreaming you sent the wind
to stir up the sea of chaos and bring forth the earth.
Through your law and prophets
you promised us that your Kingdom would belong forever
to those who embraced your holiness.
Through your son, Jesus Christ,
you proclaimed a day when the hungry will feast
and the mourners laugh.
When he was killed on the cross
you raised him from the dead
and seated him at your right hand.
In him you give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that we might know that hope to which you have called us
and embody the fullness of Christ who fills all in all.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The Lord delights in saving those who need help.
Having heard and believed the word of truth
– the gospel of salvation –
we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit
as the pledge of our redemption.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now with your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love open to all God’s people.
Bless those who curse you,
love those who hate you,
and treat others as you would wish them to treat you.
And may God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation;
May Christ Jesus count you among his saints for eternity;
And may the Holy Spirit mark you out
for fullness of redemption.
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.

Living with the SaintsA sermon on Luke 6:20-31 & Ephesians 1:11-23 by Nathan Nettleton

Only for Saints?A sermon on Luke 6:20-31 & Ephesians 1:11-23 by Nathan Nettleton

Saints of God – Living, Dead, and …?A sermon on Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23 & Luke 6:20-31 by Nathan Nettleton

But the Saints Shall Receive the KingdomA sermon on Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 & Luke 6:20-31 by Nathan Nettleton

Saints of Blessed MemoryA sermon on Ephesians 1:11-23 & Luke 6:20-31 by Nathan Nettleton

New Years Day
2026-01-01 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

Things happen in their due season; there is a right time for everything that happens on earth:
a time to be born,
and a time to die;
a time to sow the seed,
and a time to harvest the crop;
a time to end a life,
and a time to rehabilitate;
a time to demolish,
and a time to create;
a time to cry,
and a time to laugh;
a time to grieve,
and a time to party;
a time to throw caution to the wind,
and a time to play it safe;
a time to make love,
and a time to keep your pants on;
a time to keep searching,
and a time to write off the loss;
a time to hold on to what you’ve got,
and a time to let it go;
a time to share another’s pain,
and a time to urge them to move on;
a time to keep your mouth shut,
and a time to speak your mind;
a time to love,
and a time to hate;
a time to fight;
and a time to make peace.
But in the end, what difference does it make what we do? I have observed everyone working hard at the jobs that God has given them. God sets things up so that there is a proper time and place for everything, but we forget too quickly and fail to learn the lessons of history. We see what has happened and what is happening, but we can’t make sense of the connections or see what God is doing in it all. So I figure that there is no point in losing too much sleep over it. The most important thing is for people to be happy and to enjoy their lives for as long as they live. What’s more, there is nothing wrong with eating and drinking and finding satisfaction in our work. They are God’s gifts to us.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 8

Our LORD and ruler,
all over the world
the mere mention of your name sets hearts pounding!
Your glory fills the universe!
The gurgling of babies makes more sense
than the clever arguments of your enemies.
The innocent chatter of children
silences the venomous talk of your opponents.
When I gaze at your handiwork in the night skies
— the moon, the stars, the milky way —
the whole cosmos under your control;
I can’t help but wonder why you bother with us.
Why do you care so much for mere human beings
when we count for so little in the scheme of things?
And yet, for reasons known to you alone,
you created us almost on a par with yourself
and decorated us with the highest honours and glory.
You have even entrusted us with power over your precious creation;
you placed the future of all life in our hands:
sheep and cattle;
emu and kangaroo
insects, reptiles, birds, and sea creatures;
air, land and water and the planet itself.
Our LORD and ruler,
all over the world
the mere mention of your name sets hearts pounding!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Revelaton 21: 1-6a

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

Matthew 25: 31-46

While speaking to his followers, Jesus said, “The day is coming when the New Human will turn up in all his glory, accompanied by all his angels, and he will be crowned as king. He will sit down on the judgment seat, and all the nations of the world will be summoned to appear before him. Like a quality controller sorting out the good fruit from the rejects, he will carefully sort the nations into two groups, one on his right side and one on his left. Then the King will say to the group on his right side:
‘Welcome, you who have been given the thumbs up by my Father. Ever since the foundation of the world, there has been a kingdom ready with your name on it. Come now, and inherit it; because
I was hungry and you lot fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I came seeking asylum and you made me welcome,
I didn’t have a stitch to wear
and you lot gave me clothes,
I was diseased and you took care of me,
I was in detention and you visited me.’
Then those compassionate nations will ask him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When were you a refugee and we welcomed you, or in detention and we visited you? When did we find you without clothes or sick and do something about it?’
And the King will reply, ‘The fact is, you did these things for people who were regarded as the dregs of society, but who I love as my nearest and dearest; and each time you helped one of them, you were helping me.’
Then he will say to the nations on the other side:
‘You lot have been written off. Get out of my sight! A time of fire has been ignited by the devil and his agents, and you will be swallowed up in it with them; because
I was hungry and you lot didn’t give me a bite,
I was thirsty and you gave me nothing,
I came seeking asylum and you wouldn’t let me in,
I didn’t have a stitch to wear
and you lot left me to freeze,
I was diseased and in detention
and you turned your backs and wouldn’t come near me.’
They too will ask, ‘Lord, when was it that we failed to take care of you? We don’t recall seeing you hungry or thirsty or seeking asylum or naked or sick or in detention.’
But he will answer, ‘The fact is, you failed to do these things for those who were regarded as the dregs of society, and each time you turned your backs on them, you were turning your backs on me.’
And with that, those nations will be gone, swallowed up in the time of punishment. But the nations who did the right thing by others will enjoy life without limit.”
©2023 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,
and with the whole earth we tell of the greatness of your name,
for you are the God who makes all things new.
The moon and the stars are your handiwork,
and the earth and its inhabitants reflect your glory.
You have created us, dressing us in glory undeserved,
and entrusted the charge of the earth to our hands.
You have created a time for everything under heaven:
a time for remembering,
and a time to set plans for the future;
a time for prayer
and a time to act with courage and compassion;
a time for sacrifice
and a time to enjoy the fruits of our toil.
In Jesus Christ, you have made your home among us,
and gathered our times into your time,
so that we might live the life of the kingdom
which you prepared for us from the foundation of the world.
Therefore with .....
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for gathering all our times into your time,
so that we might live the life of the kingdom
which you prepared for us from the foundation of the world.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
and with the whole earth tell of the greatness of your name,
for you are the God who makes all things new.
The moon and the stars are your handiwork,
and the earth and its inhabitants reflect your glory.
You have created us, dressing us in glory undeserved,
and entrusted the charge of the earth to our hands.
You have created a time for everything under heaven:
a time for remembering,
and a time to set plans for the future;
a time for prayer
and a time to act with courage and compassion;
a time for sacrifice
and a time to enjoy the fruits of our toil.
In Jesus Christ, you have made your home among us,
and gathered our times into your time,
so that we might live the life of the kingdom
which you prepared for us from the foundation of the world.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

In Jesus Christ, God makes all things new.
The former things have disappeared.
God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and embrace the new time which God has given us.
Recognize Christ in friend and stranger,
and as Christ has been gracious to you,
so be gracious to those in need.
And may God dwell with you as your God.
May Christ be your food and drink
and give you pleasure in your work.
And may the Spirit be your beginning and end
and hold all your times in her loving embrace.
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.

When I was hungry, what did you do?A sermon on Matthew 25: 31-46 by Nathan Nettleton

When I joined your church, you burned me out!A sermon on Matthew 25: 31-46 by Nathan Nettleton

Icons on Street CornersA sermon on Matthew 25: 31-46 by Nathan Nettleton

Will the Sheep Plead for the Goats?A sermon on Matthew 25: 31-46 by Nathan Nettleton

Judging NationsA sermon on Matthew 25: 31-46 by Nathan Nettleton
