Proper 17 - Year A
2026-08-30 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 3: 1-15

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

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

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

Romans 12: 9-21

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

Matthew 16: 21-28

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

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

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

Jeremiah 15: 15-21

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

Psalm 26: 1-8

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proper 18 - Year A
2026-09-06 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.

Exodus 12: 1-14

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

Psalm 149

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

Romans 13: 8-14

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

Matthew 18: 15-20

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

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

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

Ezekiel 33: 7-11

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

Psalm 119: 33-40

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proper 19 - Year A
2026-09-13 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 14: 19-31

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

Psalm 114

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

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

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

Romans 14: 1-12

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

Matthew 18: 21-35

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

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

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

Genesis 50: 15-21

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

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

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Feast of the Holy Cross
2026-09-14 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 A
2026-09-20 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 16: 2-15

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

Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45

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

Philippians 1: 21-30

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

Matthew 20: 1-16

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

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

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

Jonah 3:10 - 4:11

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

Psalm 145: 1-8

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proper 21 - Year A
2026-09-27 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 17: 1-7

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

Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16

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

Philippians 2: 1-13

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

Matthew 21: 23-32

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

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

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

Ezekiel 18: 1-4, 25-32

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

Psalm 25: 1-9

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proper 22 - Year A
2026-10-04 00:00 - 20:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, 12-20

God spoke the following words to the people:
I am the LORD your God; the one who brought you out of the land where you were oppressed, and freed you from a life of slavery. You are not to have any other gods ahead of me.
You are not to make anything else into an object of devotion ahead of me. I don’t care whether it is some heavenly presence, or something in the world around you, or something deep at the centre of everything; you are not to dedicate yourself to such things or to worship them.
You are not to exploit my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will not let anyone get away with dragging my name through the mud.
Keep up the practice of making Saturday a dedicated rest day. You are to work on your business, projects, and chores on the other six days, and keep the seventh day as a rest day, dedicated to me, the LORD your God.
Treat those who have raised you with due respect, and your future will be secure in the land that I, the LORD your God, am giving you.
Do not kill anyone.
Do not engage in any relationship that betrays or trivialises anyone.
Do not steal what rightly belongs to others.
Do not sacrifice the truth about someone else in order to win your case.
Do not desire things that belong to other people. Do not go wishing you could get your hands on someone else’s home or lover or employees or assets or anything else.
As God spoke these words, thunder crashed, lightening flashed, trumpet blasts rang out, and smoke poured from the mountain. The people were terrified by all this, and stood at a distance, quaking in their boots. They begged Moses to do something, saying, “You tell us what God wants us to hear and we will listen; but we will die if you let God go on speaking to us directly.”
Moses replied, “There is no need to be afraid. God has come simply to make sure that you are for real. This will bring you to your knees before God and keep you on the straight and narrow.”
©2002 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

Philippians 3: 4b-14

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

Matthew 21: 33-46

While speaking with the chief priests and the political leaders in the Jerusalem Temple, Jesus said, “Listen to this scenario: A man owned land in a wine making region. He invested heavily in developing the property: erecting fences, planting vines and building a fully equipped winery. Then he handed responsibility for it to a team of winery operators and went and lived elsewhere. After allowing plenty of time for the fruit to ripen and be picked and processed, the owner sent some of his workers to the winery to collect the first vintage made from his own fruit. But when the workers arrived, the winery operators attacked them viciously, leaving one bruised and beaten, another dead, and a third critically injured. The owner sent a second group of workers – a larger number this time – but they too were violently driven off. Finally the landowner sent his own son to the winery, assuming that the operators would respect his son. But when they saw the son coming, they plotted together saying, ‘This is the bloke who stands to inherit this estate. Come on, let’s knock him off and claim it for ourselves.’ So they grabbed him, dragged him off the property, and killed him. Now, when the Landlord comes to take control, what do you think he will do to those winery operators?”
They replied, “He will have those murdering thugs strung up by the neck, and he will hand responsibility for the operations to a new team who will give him the fruits of his land in due season.”
Jesus said to them, “Anyone would think that you lot had never read the scripture that says:
‘The stone the builders tossed out as useless
is now the one that holds everything together.
This was obviously the work of the Lord,
and we can hardly believe our eyes!’
And so, I’m giving you notice: you are to be relieved of any responsibility for the culture of God. It will be taken from you and put in the hands of a people who are up to producing the fruits God expects. Watch out for this stone. If anyone falls on it, they will be smashed to pieces. If it falls on anyone, they’ll be mincemeat.”
When they heard what he was saying, the chief priests and the leaders of the devoutly religious Pharisee party knew that he was pointing the finger squarely at them. They wanted to have him locked up straight away, but they were afraid of the public reaction, because the popular opinion on the streets was that Jesus was a messenger from God.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

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

Isaiah 5: 1-7

I’ll sing a story in song,
a gift of love for my vine-growing friend.
My best friend began a vineyard;
ideally situated on a sunny, fertile hillside.
He cleared the rocks, cultivated the soil,
and planted top-grade vines.
He built a fully equipped winery,
dug a cellar and installed a wine-press.
He had every reason to expect top-quality grapes,
but the entire harvest was bitter and useless.
Come now, you who live in Jerusalem,
and all you people of Judah;
who do you think is in the right:
me or my vineyard?
Did I fall down on the job somewhere;
what more could I have done for my vineyard?
Was I wrong to expect good quality grapes?
Why did I get nothing but rubbish?
Well, I’m sick of that lousy vineyard.
I’ll tell you what I’ll do to it:
I will rip down the fences
and let the animals chew it up;
I will smash down the gates
and let the passers-by stomp all over it.
I will leave it in ruins;
trashed and abandoned;
the weeds and blackberries will take over.
I will disconnect the water
and pray that the rains steer clear.
Are you people getting the message?
The LORD who rules over everything
is the vine-grower,
and you, the people of Israel and Judah
are the carefully tended vineyard.
The LORD expected a harvest of justice,
but violence broke out instead.
Where honesty and integrity should have flourished,
there was nothing but the cries of the victims!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 80: 7-15

Come and smile on us again, God;
breathe life back into us and save us.
Remember how you brought us out of Egypt like a young grapevine,
so that you could plant your own vineyard.
You cleared the land and prepared the soil;
you planted our roots deep and we grew strongly.
We grew wide and high, bigger than the tallest trees,
even shading the mountains.
Your vineyard grew and grew till it filled the land
from the western ocean to the eastern river.
So why have you torn down the security fence,
so that anyone can tramp through and pinch the fruit?
Wild pigs rampage through doing untold damage;
feral goats and rabbits eat whatever’s left.
Come on, God! You rule over everything. Do something!
Turn around and look at what’s going on.
This vine came from root stock you planted yourself;
take charge of its welfare again.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you have made us you own, through Christ Jesus,
and given us a new righteousness based on faith.
You created the entire universe:
the sky tells of your glory,
day and night reveal the genius of your ways.
You brought your people out of slavery
and gave them your laws and commandments,
that they might be rich in Spirit and clear in vision.
Though we repeatedly rejected your ways
and destroyed your messengers,
you sent your Son to us to renew heaven’s call.
Though the crowds recognised him as a prophet,
those who coveted his inheritance seized and killed him.
But you raised him from the dead,
and now through the power of his resurrection
he stands as the cornerstone of righteousness,
the first fruits of the kingdom,
and the incomparable prize towards which we press.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give you thanks for your Son, Jesus,
who you raised from the dead,
and who now stands as the cornerstone of righteousness,
the first fruits of the kingdom,
and the incomparable prize towards which we press.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you have made us you own, through Christ Jesus,
and given us a new righteousness based on faith.
You created the entire universe:
the sky tells of your glory,
day and night reveal the genius of your ways.
You brought your people out of slavery
and gave them your laws and commandments,
that they might be rich in Spirit and clear in vision.
Though we repeatedly rejected your ways
and destroyed your messengers,
you sent your Son to us to renew heaven’s call.
Though the crowds recognised him as a prophet,
those who coveted his inheritance seized and killed him.
But you raised him from the dead,
and now through the power of his resurrection
he stands as the cornerstone of righteousness,
the first fruits of the kingdom,
and the incomparable prize towards which we press.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Though the Word of God brings our hidden faults to light,
we have a new righteousness through faith in Christ.
In Christ, our saviour and our rock,
we are free of blame for sin
and forgiven for every fault.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now in the righteousness of faith
and live by God’s just demands.
Let nothing claim your devotion above the Lord,
and count nothing of value above knowing Christ.
Press on towards the ultimate prize, of being one with him.
And may God’s perfect word revive your soul;
May Christ Jesus be your saviour and your rock;
And may the Holy Spirit strengthen you to press ever onward.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

What Matters Most?A sermon on Philippians 3:4b-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Icons and the second commandmentA sermon on Exodus 20:1-20 by Nathan Nettleton

Aiming to Know ChristA sermon on Philippians 3:4b-14 by Nathan Nettleton

Behaving Like Slugs?A sermon on Matthew 21:33-46 & Isaiah 5:1-7 by Anne Wilkinson-Hayes

Covenant and CommandmentsA sermon on Exodus 20:1-20 & Philippians 3:4b-14 by Nathan Nettleton

The Gift: Given, not TakenA sermon on Philippians 3:4b-14 & Matthew 21:33-46 by Gilbert Joyce

Ten Vital Signs of LifeA sermon on Exodus 20:1-20 by Nathan Nettleton

Tripping Over an Unimaginable JudgementA sermon on Matthew 21:33-46; Exodus 20:1-20 & Philippians 3:4b-14 by Nathan Nettleton

RuptureA sermon on Isiah 5:1-7 by Christine Redwood

Proper 23 - Year A
2026-10-11 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 32: 1-14

Moses was on the mountain with the LORD for such a long time that the people gave up on him. They turned to Aaron and said, “It’s up to you now. Give us a god who we can follow on our journey from here on. Moses led us out of the land where we had been slaves, but now he is missing, presumed dead.”
Aaron said to the people, “Collect up all the gold jewellery that you and your families possess, and bring it all to me.”
So the people took up a collection of all the gold jewellery that they had been wearing, and brought it all to Aaron. He took all the gold, melted it down, and recast it in the shape of a calf. When the gold calf was put on display for the people, they began to shout, “Here is our god, the god who brought our nation out of the land of slavery!”
When Aaron saw how popular it was, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow we will hold a festival in honour of the LORD.”
The festivities started early the next morning. The people sacrificed the traditional burnt offerings on the altar and offered the customary gifts to celebrate good times. Then they ate and drank and partied hard, really letting their hair down.
The LORD said to Moses:
“Get back down there on the double! That mob of yours, who you brought out of the land of slavery, have gone completely off the rails. In the blink of an eye, they have turned their backs on the path I set them on. They have cast an idol in the shape of a calf, and they are worshipping it and giving offerings to it as expressions of their devotion. They are saying that it is the god who brought the nation out of the land of slavery. I have had a gutful of this people. They are always kicking against the traces. Now stand aside and let me give full vent to my blazing anger and blast them off the face of the earth. I’ll start again with you and build a great nation from your offspring.”
But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, saying:
“LORD, why are you letting your anger at your people burn out of control? You proved yourself to be the strongest and the greatest when you brought these people out of the land of slavery. Are you now going to turn around and give our enemies grounds to accuse you of planning genocide from the start? They will allege that you only took the people into the outback to slaughter them. Swallow your anger! Rethink this, and don’t stamp out your people. Follow through on the promises you made to your trusty servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You gave them your word, your personal guarantee. You said, ‘I will multiply your descendants until they outnumber the stars in the sky, and they will inherit the land I promised to give to your family forever.’”
And so the LORD was persuaded to rethink the situation and to abandon the plan to wipe out the people with a disaster.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 106: 1-6, 19-23

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

Philippians 4:1-9

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

Matthew 22: 1-14

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

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

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

Isaiah 25: 1-9

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

Psalm 23

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proper 24 - Year A
2026-10-18 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Exodus 33: 12-23

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

Psalm 99

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

1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10

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

Matthew 22: 15-22

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

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

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

Isaiah 45: 1-7

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

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

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

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

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

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

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

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

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

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

Commission & Benediction

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

Sermons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proper 25 - Year A
2026-10-25 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.

Deuteronomy 34: 1-12

The people of Israel were camped on the Plains of Moab outside the promised land, with Jericho opposite them on the other side of the river. Moses went off by himself and climbed to the top of Mount Nebo in the Pizgah Ranges. From there the LORD showed him the whole of the land: as far across Gilead to the west as Dan, Ephraim, and the Mediterranean sea; as far south as the Negev Desert; and as far north as Manasseh and Naphtali. He could see the land of Judah all the way south to Zoar, including the valley of Jericho with its city of palm trees. The LORD said to Moses, “What you are looking at is the land which I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have allowed you to see it with your own eyes, even though you will not set foot in it.”
Then, after a lifetime of working for the LORD, Moses died there in the land of Moab, as the LORD had decided. His body lies buried there in a valley, somewhere beyond Beth-peor, but to this day, no one knows the exact location of his grave. Moses had lived for one hundred and twenty years, and right up till the end his eyesight was sharp and he was as fit as a fiddle; as full of life and energy as ever. The Israelites stayed put on the plains of Moab while they grieved the death of Moses and observed the customary thirty day period of mourning.
Moses had laid his hands on Joshua, the son of Nun, appointing him as his successor. As a result, the spirit of wisdom filled Joshua, and the Israelite people readily took their orders from him, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
The world has never seen another prophet in the same league as Moses, for the LORD dealt with him in person, face to face. No one else has ever done anything to equal the miraculous things he did when the LORD sent him to bring the people out of the land of slavery. Never again has anyone seen anything like the terrifying acts of power that God’s people saw Moses execute against the tyrant king and against his officers and his land.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17

Lord, in every generation
you have been house and home to us.
You are God, and have been from time before time;
even before you brought the mountains to birth;
even before you created the planet or anything on it.
You tell us when our time is up,
and return us to the earth from which we came.
From where you look,
a thousand years is like the blink of an eye,
and the ancient past like yesterday.
Our lives pass as if you had erased them completely;
they are gone like a dream.
Like cut flowers they are fresh and new one day,
and faded memories the next.
It’s time for a change, LORD.
Hasn’t this gone on long enough?
For pity’s sake, it’s time to give us a break.
Let a new day dawn
and give us our fill of your love and loyalty,
so that our lives may be full of smiles and laughter
till the end of our days.
Give us more days of happiness
than the days of suffering you sent.
May the years where evil reigned
be cancelled out by years of joy.
Make your actions clear to those of us in your service;
let your children see your strength in all its glory.
Put us in your good books, O Lord our God,
and give us a rich return for all our labour —
may the work of our hands turn to gold!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8

Sisters and brothers, you know first hand that our coming to you was not a lost cause. The appalling abuse we had suffered at Philippi could easily have made us give up, as you know. But when we came to you, our confidence in God gave us the courage to take to the field, despite the strength of the opposition, and to clearly announce to you the wonderful news of God’s love. Our desire to make this known is not motivated by anything shonky or deceitful, or by vested interests. It was God who gave us the thumbs-up and entrusted us with this wonderful message, and so as we seek to broadcast it, we are not out to win any popularity prizes, but to please God who can see what makes us tick. As you know and as God is our witness, we never tried to sweet talk you or take advantage of you to make a buck. We weren’t after applause, either from you or from anyone else. Although we could have justifiably pulled rank as the Messiah’s senior ambassadors and expected you to support us, we didn’t. Instead we treated you with all the gentleness of a nursing mother tenderly caring for her own children. You have become so important to us, and we care about you so much, that we have set our hearts not only on sharing the message about God’s love with you, but sharing our own lives with you.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 22: 34-46

Jesus had clearly floored the members of the ruling Sadducee Party when they had tried to take him on in a public debate, and it wasn’t long before the devoutly religious Pharisee Party heard about it. They gathered together a delegation to challenge Jesus, and one of their members who was a religious lawyer began to test him out with a question. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the most important?”
Jesus replied:
“You will love the Lord your God with everything you are, with all your heart and soul and mind.
This is the most important and number one commandment. And this next one comes second only to it:
You will love your neighbour as attentively as you love yourself.
Everything else in the law and the prophets hangs on these two commandments.”
Now while the Pharisee delegation were planning their next move, Jesus took the initiative and put a question to them: “What is your thinking about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “The son of King David.”
Jesus responded, “Can you explain then why David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, calls the Messiah his Lord? For in the Psalm he says:
‘God said to my Lord,
“Sit here as my right hand man,
while I put your enemies under your heel.”’
“Clearly King David is calling him Lord. Why would he address his own son in such terms?”
They were completely stumped, and from that day on, nobody dared to try taking him on with questions.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

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

Leviticus 19: 1-2, 15-18

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
Gather the whole congregation of my people and tell them this: You are to be utterly dedicated to doing what is right, because I am the LORD your God, and I am utterly dedicated to doing what is right.
You are not to pervert the course of justice in the courts. Your decisions must be fair and transparent, not showing bias either to the poor or to the powerful. You are to be absolutely fair in your judgments, without fear or favour. You are not to go spreading malicious stories about anybody; and you are not to seek to profit from the misfortune of another. Why? Because I am the LORD.
You are not to harbour hatred in your heart towards anyone in your community. If someone you know does the wrong thing, speak up and sort it out, or you will end up being held responsible yourself. If anyone among your people has wronged you, you are neither to bear a grudge, nor try to get even. Instead you are to love your neighbour as attentively as you love yourself. Why? Because I am the LORD.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 1

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

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 been our haven from generation to generation.
From age to age, you are God.
You created the mountains,
and brought the earth to birth.
Through your servant Moses you led your people to freedom,
and after seeing from afar the land of promise,
he died, returning to dust like all the children of earth.
In your child, Jesus Christ
one even greater than Moses has come to us.
On him rests the Spirit of wisdom and truth,
and on his words hang all the law and the prophets.
Though he was killed by love’s enemies,
you raised him to life and seated him at your right hand.
In him we have seen the splendour of your work
and through him you have entrusted us
with the wonderful news of your love for the world.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your child, Jesus Christ,
on whose words hang all the law and the prophets.
Though he was killed by love’s enemies,
you raised him to life and seated him at your right hand,
and through him you have entrusted us with the gospel.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you have been our haven from generation to generation.
From age to age, you are God.
You created the mountains,
and brought the earth to birth.
Through your servant Moses you led your people to freedom,
and after seeing from afar the land of promise,
he died, returning to dust like all the children of earth.
In your child, Jesus Christ
one even greater than Moses has come to us.
On him rests the Spirit of wisdom and truth,
and on his words hang all the law and the prophets.
Though he was killed by love’s enemies,
you raised him to life and seated him at your right hand.
In him we have seen the splendour of your work
and through him you have entrusted us
with the wonderful news of your love for 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Though God tests our hearts,
our sins are not held against us,
but God entrusts to us the message of the gospel,
the promise of God’s forgiveness and love.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, with courage in our God.
Declare the message of the gospel
which God has entrusted to us,
and in wholehearted love for God and for others,
share not only the message, but your very selves.
And may God be your haven;
May Christ Jesus lead you into love - heart, soul and mind;
And may the Holy Spirit bless the work of your hands
and gladden all your days.
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.

Love? How?A sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 by Nathan Nettleton

Love, love and loveA sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 by Nathan Nettleton

Reading the Bible with JesusA sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 by Nathan Nettleton

If a thing’s worth doing, we won’t see the resultA sermon on Deuteronomy 34: 1-12 and Matthew 22: 34-40 by Alison Sampson

What Matters Most: Love or Holiness?A sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 26 - Year A
2026-11-01 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.

Joshua 3: 7-17

The LORD said to Joshua:
“Today I am going to begin making a hero of you in the eyes of the people, so that they will recognise that I am with you in the same way that I was with Moses. You are the one who will give the order to the priests who carry the sacred Ark of the Covenant, telling them to step into the waters of the Jordan with the Ark and then stand still in the river.”
So Joshua called an assembly of the people, and said to them:
“Gather round and hear what the LORD your God wants to say. The living God is in your midst and is ready to clear the way for you by driving out the seven nations that are occupying the land. This is how you will know it is true. Today, the Ark of the Covenant — the sacred possession of the Lord of all the earth — will be carried into the Jordan River before your very eyes. And the minute the priests who carry the Ark of the LORD step into the water, the flow of the river will be cut off upstream and the water will pile up in a heap. You are to select one person from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to participate in marking this occasion.”
So the people packed up their camp and got ready to cross the Jordan River into the land, with the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant at the front. Now it was the wet season and the Jordan was in full flood, breaking its banks in all directions. But when the people reached the river’s edge, and the priests carrying the sacred Ark took their first steps into the water, the swollen waters rushing down from upstream stood still, and piled up in a heap up near Adaam, a city near Zarethan. The waters flowing towards the Dead Sea were turned off like a tap, leaving the riverbed dry, and so the people were able to cross the river opposite Jericho. The entire Israelite population crossed through the river on a dry track while the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD stood on the dry riverbed in the middle of the Jordan. They stayed there, with the Ark, until the whole nation had passed through the Jordan to the other side.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 107: 1-7, 33-37

Thank you, LORD! Thank you for being so good.
Your rock-solid love will never end.
LORD, we freely and openly acknowledge
that it was you who got us out of trouble;
you who put us back on the right track.
You gathered us from the four corners of the globe,
from wherever we had been lost or exiled.
Some of us were lost in pitiless deserts,
desperate to find shelter and company.
Without food or water,
our courage dried up and our steps grew weak.
In sheer despair, we cried out to you, LORD,
and in a flash, you came to our rescue.
You guided us back to the main road
and got us safely to the nearest town.
When people become corrupt, LORD,
you dry up their water supplies;
lakes become deserts
and fruitful land, a salt-scarred waste.
But you love to bring new life, LORD;
to pour water down dry creek beds
and make the deserts burst into flower.
You love to open up arid land
and make new places of plenty
where the homeless and hungry
can build and plant and prosper.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Thessalonians 2: 9-13

Brothers and sisters, when we were with you, we all found ourselves jobs around the town, as I’m sure you remember. We took night shifts and day shifts and whatever we could get, so that we could pay our own way. We wanted to make sure we wouldn’t have to sponge off you while we were bringing you up to speed with the great news about God’s love. You believers experienced first-hand the way we conducted ourselves in our dealings with you, and God too will witness that our behaviour was squeaky clean, straight-down-the-line, and beyond reproach. As you know, we related to each of you personally in the way a concerned father might relate to each of his children. We encouraged you, and spurred you on, and spelt out to you the importance of living a life that God would be proud to be associated with, for you are being called to live in the realm of God and to share the glory.
We are always thanking God that you recognised the word of God for what it was and took it on board when you heard from us. You didn’t dismiss it as just someone’s speculations, but accepted it as God’s word and allowed it to start working within and among you who believe.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 23: 1-12

When the religious leaders had given up arguing with him, Jesus turned to his followers and the gathered crowd, and said:
“The religious experts and the devout Pharisee party hold the authority to teach in the tradition of Moses. For that reason you should pay attention to what they teach and put it into practice. But do not do the things you see them doing, because they do not practice what they preach. They weigh everyone else down with heavy demands for rigorous religious discipline, but when people stagger under the load, they themselves won’t get off their bums to help. Everything they do is done for show. They wear eye-catching ornaments displaying scripture quotes, and they are always waving their bibles around for everyone to see. They love to be seated among the distinguished guests at formal occasions. They get a kick out of always being invited to appear at openings and premieres. They love to bask in the adulation of a gullible public, and to have everyone calling them Reverend. But among you, no one is to be called Reverend, because there is only one you are to revere. To one another you are all brothers and sisters, so don’t call anyone on earth Father. Your only Father is the one you have in heaven. Nor should any of you allow yourselves to be described as anointed teachers, because you have only one anointed teacher – the Messiah. The one who will be regarded as the greatest among you will be the one who is always bending over backwards for others. Those who big-note themselves will be knocked off their perches, but those who avoid the limelight will end up as everyone’s hero.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

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

Micah 3: 5-12

The LORD has had a gutful of you prophets
whose lies cause God’s people to go off the rails.
You always have good news
for those who put money in your pocket,
but you call down fear and misery
on those can’t afford to grease your palm.
Therefore the LORD says:
“Night after night you will be without dreams or visions.
Everything will go dark and you will see nothing.
You so called prophets have had your day in the sun.
Now your whole world is going black.
You visionaries will be exposed as frauds.
You expert forecasters will hang your heads in shame.
You will shut your mouths and hide your faces,
because I will leave you with nothing to say.”
That’s what the LORD says to you prophets,
but it is different for me, Micah.
The power of the LORD is with me
and the spirit of the LORD fills me,
keeping me honest, impartial and strong,
so that I can do my job of confronting God’s people
with the extent of their immorality and corruption.
So hear this,
you leaders who wield power and influence
over the whole nation of God’s people;
you who despise and pervert justice
and make a mockery of hopes for a fair-go;
you who built your power-base on the blood of others
and Jerusalem on a foundation of corruption!
Hear this:
The city’s magistrates are taking bribes.
Its religious leaders are taking cash for comment.
Its preachers have sold out to the highest bidder.
Yet they make a big show of their trust in God, saying,
“The LORD is on our side for sure!
The LORD will not let disaster come our way.”
The fact is, that because of you lot,
Jerusalem will be reduced to rubble and cleared like a field.
The Temple hill will be nothing but a tangled mass of weeds.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 43

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

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 of lasting love and Lord of goodness,
for you have lifted the burden of oppression from us
and called us into your own kingdom and glory.
You created the earth, both dry lands and fertile valleys,
and entrusted it to us to tend and harvest.
Under your servants Moses and Joshua
you saved your people from the oppressors might
and led them safely through the waters
into the land of promise.
In your child, Jesus the Messiah,
your Word has come to us as good news,
working within us that we might live lives worthy of you.
When he was killed by those
who mouth the truth but live a lie,
you raised him to life
and sent your Spirit as our true teacher,
leading us in the way of humility
to the exaltation of your Kingdom.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for your Word which has come to us as good news
in your child, Jesus the Messiah,
and works within us that we might live lives worthy of you
and walk in the ways of humility
to the exaltation of your Kingdom.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
O God of lasting love and Lord of goodness,
for you have lifted the burden of oppression from us
and called us into your own kingdom and glory.
You created the earth, both dry lands and fertile valleys,
and entrusted it to us to tend and harvest.
Under your servants Moses and Joshua
you saved your people from the oppressors might
and led them safely through the waters
into the land of promise.
In your child, Jesus the Messiah,
your Word has come to us as good news,
working within us that we might live lives worthy of you.
When he was killed by those
who mouth the truth but live a lie,
you raised him to life
and sent your Spirit as our true teacher,
leading us in the way of humility
to the exaltation of your Kingdom.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Through Christ,
God snatches us from the oppression of sin
and calls us into his own kingdom and glory,
fulfilling the promise
to exalt all who humble themselves.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, in the freedom of the gospel of Christ.
Encourage one another to lead lives worthy of God
and walk together in service and humility.
Let your words and your lives be one in Christ.
And may the God of lasting love open the way before you;
May Jesus the Messiah be your one instructor;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on
into the promised land of God’s kingdom and glory.
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.

Authority in the Community of FaithA sermon on Matthew 23:1-12 by Garry Deverell

Delusions of GrandeurA sermon on Matthew 23:1-12 and 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 by Nathan Nettleton

The Word of FreedomA sermon on Matthew 23:1-12 and 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Burdens Hard to BearA sermon on Matthew 23:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

How Wide is your Rainbow Flag?A sermon on Matthew 23:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

All Saints Day - Year A
2026-11-01 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.

Revelation 7: 9-17

I had a vision of an enormous crowd, bigger than anyone could ever count. It was made up of people from every nation; from all the different ethnic groups, cultural groups and language groups. They were all standing together before the throne and before the Lamb of God. They were dressed in white robes and were waving banners and throwing flowers in the air. Their voices rose as one – an enormous roar – saying:
“The life into which we have been saved
belongs to our God who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb of our God.”
Around the throne stood the four awesome creatures, and around them stood the twenty four elders, and around them stood all the angels. All together they fell to their knees before the throne, with their faces to the ground, and worshipped God, singing:
“So say all of us!
May glory and wisdom
and gratitude and honour
and authority and strength
and every good thing
be given to our God,
from now to forever!
And so say all of us!
Then one of the elders came and spoke to me, saying, “What can you tell me about these people in white robes? Who are they, and where have they come from?”
I replied, “I’m not sure, Sir, but you have the answers.”
Then he said to me, “These are the people who have come through the ultimate atrocity. They have washed their robes as white as snow in the blood of the lamb.
For this reason they now have the privilege
of gathering before the throne of God,
and there in the Temple they serve God, day and night,
and the one who is seated on the throne
provides them refuge and safe shelter.
Never again will they go hungry;
never again will they go thirsty;
never again will they be burned by the sun,
or left exposed to any searing heat.
The Lamb who is at the centre of the throne
has guided them through the wilderness
and will now care for them forever.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes
and guide them to crystal clear springs
where the water of life bubbles up freely.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 34: 1-10, 22

I will speak up in your favour, every chance I get, LORD.
Every time I open my mouth, I’ll sing your praises.
Everything I’m proud of is your doing, LORD;
the news of your goodness puts a smile on the face of the helpless.
I’ll put the spotlight on you, LORD;
and gather a crowd to spread the word.
When I pounded on your door, LORD, you opened up;
you calmed my fears and put my mind at rest.
Those who look to you light up with joy;
their faces never grow dark with shame.
When I had nothing, I cried out, LORD, and you answered;
you got me out of some serious trouble.
You station your angels to watch over those who trust you;
they watch us, guard us, and get us safely through.
May everyone taste for themselves how good you are, LORD;
may everyone find shelter in you and be happy.
May the people you have chosen treat you with respect, LORD;
for those who do never want for anything.
Even fearsome sharks go hungry sometimes,
but people who entrust themselves to you never miss out.
You, LORD, are always ready to bail out those who serve your cause;
no one who runs to you for safety will be handed over to death.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 John 3: 1-3

Think about the extraordinary gift of love the Father has given us in allowing us to be known as God’s own children. Indeed that is what we now are. Of course, the world around us has never recognised God, and so it doesn’t recognise us as being God’s children either. My dear friends, we are God’s beloved children already. What we are destined to become goes beyond even that, but the details have not yet been made known to us. This much we know already: Christ will return to centre stage in clear view of everyone, and when that happens, we who will recognise him for who he really is will be just like him. Everyone who is living in eager anticipation of this will work at making themselves as pure as Christ.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 5: 1-12

Jesus found himself increasingly surrounded by crowds of people, so one day he headed off up the mountain. He sat down up there and his committed followers gathered around to hear what he had to say. This is what he taught them:
“Those who depend entirely on God for their welfare
have got it made,
because they are already at home in the culture of heaven.
“Those who are stricken with grief
have got it made,
because they will receive the ultimate comfort.
“Those who allow others to have first claim on everything
have got it made,
because the whole world will be given to them.
“Those who hunger and thirst to see the world put right
have got it made,
because they will be richly satisfied.
“Those who readily treat others better than they deserve
have got it made,
because they will be treated with extravagant mercy.
“Those whose hearts are unpolluted
have got it made,
because they will see God.
“Those who forge peace and reconciliation in places of hostility
have got it made,
because they will be known as God’s own children.
“Those who are attacked and abused for sticking to what is right
have got it made,
because they are already at home in the culture of heaven.
“When people turn on you
and do all they can to make your life a misery;
when they make false allegations about you
and drag your name through the mud,
all because of your association with me,
you have really got it made!
Kick up your heels and party,
because heaven is coming
and you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams!
You are in great company,
because they were just as vicious
to God’s faithful messengers in the past.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton Laughingbird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you bring all who trust in you out of the great ordeal
into the glorious reward of heaven
and number them among the multitude of your saints.
You created the earth as an inheritance
and destined all life for a glory that is yet to be revealed.
Through the law and your prophets and apostles
you called a people from every nation, tribe and language.
In your child, Jesus, you revealed your desire
to bless the poor in spirit and the pure of heart;
to wipe away the tears of those who mourn;
and to satisfy all hunger for righteousness and peace.
Though he was persecuted and killed,
you raised him to life,
and with him you are saving all who keep faith
so that they may be like him
when his final glory is revealed.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give our thanks to you, O God,
for from every nation, tribe and language
you bring all who trust in you out of the great ordeal
into the glorious reward of heaven
and number them among the multitude of your saints.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you bring all who trust in you out of the great ordeal
into the glorious reward of heaven
and number them among the multitude of your saints.
You created the earth as an inheritance
and destined all life for a glory that is yet to be revealed.
Through the law and your prophets and apostles
you called a people from every nation, tribe and language.
In your child, Jesus, you revealed your desire
to bless the poor in spirit and the pure of heart;
to wipe away the tears of those who mourn;
and to satisfy all hunger for righteousness and peace.
Though he was persecuted and killed,
you raised him to life,
and with him you are saving all who keep faith
so that they may be like him
when his final glory is revealed.
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

Salvation belongs to our God
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb of God
through whom we have received mercy.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now and live in awe of God.
Purify yourselves in heart and in deed.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness;
show mercy, and make peace.
And may God take your burdens and free you from fear;
May Christ Jesus be your shepherd and your shelter;
And may the Holy Spirit guide you to springs of the water of life.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Living and Dying with the SaintsA sermon on Revelation 7:9-17 & Matthew 5:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Saints and Odd-bods and a Very Big RockA sermon on Revelation 7:9-17 & Matthew 5:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

The Be-Jesus-like AttitudesA sermon on Matthew 5:1-12 by Nathan Nettleton

Re-imagining the Kingdom in the time of Global TraumaA sermon on Matthew 5:1-12 by Francesca Nuzzolese

Proper 27 - Year A
2026-11-08 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called a meeting of their leaders — the tribal elders, the clan chiefs, the judges, and the civil officials — and they gathered under the authority of God. Joshua addressed them, saying:
“The LORD, the God of Israel, wants you to hear this. Back in the dark ages, your ancestors — Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor — lived in the land beyond the Euphrates river and served other gods. Then the LORD led your father Abraham out of that land and into the land of Canaan, and gave him a huge mob of descendants. So now, treat the LORD with due respect, and be absolutely fair dinkum and rock-solid in your commitment to doing all that the LORD asks of you. Have nothing more to do with any of the other objects of devotion that your ancestors worked for back in those days, or when they were in Egypt. Put yourselves wholly at the service of the LORD. But if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, then you can make up your own minds what you are going to devote yourselves to: the ignorant ways of your ancestors back there in the dark ages; or the trivialities of the culture around you here. But I have made up my mind for myself and for my family; we will devote ourselves to the LORD.”
When Joshua finished his speech, the leaders replied, saying:
“There is no way we would turn our backs on the LORD and devote ourselves to other gods. It was the LORD who broke us free from slavery and did such spectacular things before our very eyes in the land where we had been oppressed. As we travelled, the LORD looked after us every step of the way and kept us safe from hostile nations. It was the LORD who made room for us by driving out the nations who were occupying this land. Therefore we will serve the LORD, for the LORD is our God.”
But Joshua challenged them saying, “You lot haven’t got what it takes to serve the LORD, for the LORD has the most uncompromising standards. The LORD demands your undivided devotion, and will not tolerate or forgive any unfaithfulness or breach of trust. If you do the wrong thing by the LORD and go running around after some other object of devotion, the LORD will turn on you and do you some serious harm. The LORD will quit looking after you and destroy you instead.”
But the leaders of the people all insisted, “No, we will serve the LORD!”
So Joshua said, “You people are all witnesses that you made this choice with clear heads and sound minds. You all understand that you are choosing to serve the LORD alone.”
“We know what we are saying,” they replied.
Then Joshua said, “Well then, get rid of any other objects of devotion that you have in your lives, and give your hearts wholly and solely to the LORD our God.”
And the people answered Joshua, saying, “The LORD our God is the only one we will serve and the only one we will obey.”
So Joshua ratified the alliance between God and the people that day, and there at Shechem he spelt out the terms and conditions of the alliance.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 78: 1-7

We are keen to learn of you, LORD;
your people are eager to hear what you have to say.
We listen to those who pass on the old stories;
the dark mysteries of ancient wisdom.
These are things we must hear and know,
for the wisdom of our ancestors must not be lost.
We will not deprive our children of these things.
We will pass on the stories to the next generation, LORD,
stories of the wonderful things you have done,
so that they know how great and amazing you are.
You laid down the law for your people, LORD,
and set out what you expected of your chosen ones.
You spelt it out to our ancestors,
and told them to teach it to their children,
so that the next generation would know your ways;
so that those who had not yet even been born
would be able to grow up and pass it on to their children;
so that they will trust their future to you, God,
living their lives by your instructions
and never forgetting what you have done.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18

Sisters and brothers, as you grieve over the recent death of some members of your congregation, we do not want you to be left in the dark about what this means for their future. The pain of separation is real, but your grief is different from the grief of others who have no hope beyond this. Why? Because we believe that Jesus died and rose back to life, and that in the same way, all those who have died will be gathered up by God with Jesus to share his life. We declare this to you with the utmost confidence, for we have the Lord’s word for it. We who are still alive, and who may still be here when the Lord arrives to take charge, are certainly no better placed than those who have died. On that day, when the order is given, and the archangel roars, and God sounds the siren, the Lord will emerge from heaven in person, and the first to their feet will be those who have died in union with the Messiah. Then the rest of us, those of us who are still alive at the time, will be snatched up too, and there will be a great reunion in the clouds as we all meet the Lord in the air together. From then on, there will be no more painful separations; we will all be with the Lord forever. So keep reminding one another about what I’ve said, so that you may all take courage in this time of sadness.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 25: 1-13

While speaking to his followers, Jesus said, “When the time comes, the arrival of the culture of heaven will be like this:
At a wedding celebration, ten young women were given the job of holding up oil lamps and forming a guard of honour to greet the bridegroom when he arrived at the reception hall. Five of them had their wits about them, but the other five were not the full bottle. These five dim-wits had their lamps alight, but they didn’t bring any spare oil. The five bright-sparks had some extra with them, just in case. The bridegroom was delayed by several hours, and the ten girls all fell asleep in the foyer while they were waiting for him. Finally, on the stroke of midnight, there was a shout, ‘Quick! The bridegroom has just come around the corner. On your feet and get those lamps waving!’
The ten young women all jumped up and trimmed their lamps, but by that time the five dim-wits were almost out of oil. They turned to the well-prepared women and said, ‘Our lamps are going out. Can you spare us some oil?’
But the well-prepared women replied, ‘Sorry! If we try to make it go around all ten of us, then all the lamps will run out and there’ll be no lights at all. You’ll have to go down to the shops and get some more for yourselves.’
But while the five who had not kept their stocks up ran down to the shops, the bridegroom pulled up, and those who had been ready for him waved their lamps and followed him into the wedding feast. The door was locked behind them, and when the other five returned, they couldn’t get in. They banged on the door and called out, ‘Sir, Sir, open the door for us.’
But the bridegroom replied, ‘I’m telling you straight, I don’t recognise you.’”
“And so,” Jesus concluded, “Keep yourselves ready, because you have no way of knowing when the time will come.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

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

Wisdom of Solomon 6: 12-16

Wisdom is a radiant beauty
and her beauty never fades.
Those who love her always recognise her
and those who seek her have no trouble finding her.
She is open and generous
with all who desire her.
Get up early to track her down
and you’ll have no trouble.
You’ll find her right outside,
ready and waiting for you.
Anyone who gets their mind fixed on her
is on the way to understanding everything clearly.
Anyone who stays awake to her
will soon be without a care in the world.
She is always on the lookout for those who are worthy of her.
She bowls up and generously introduces herself.
She is there in their minds whenever they need her.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Amos 5: 18-24

I, the LORD, am heartbroken over you people
who seem so eager to see the day
when I will step in to put everything right.
What have you got to look forward to on that day?
What you see as a light at the end of the tunnel
is a train coming the other way!
For you, it will be like escaping from a crocodile
only to swim into the jaws of a shark;
or flopping down in your favourite chair
only to sit on a deadly snake.
Can’t you see that for you
the day of justice will be a dark and gloomy day
and not any kind of bright new tomorrow?
I can’t stand your religious festivals.
When you gather for worship, it makes me sick.
I will not accept anything you offer me in worship,
no matter what it costs or how beautifully it is presented.
You can offer me all your sacrifices and gifts,
but I will turn away in disgust.
Go and sing your noisy songs somewhere else.
I don’t want to hear another note you play.
Your worship will remain like a foul stench to me
until you flood your lives with justice;
until your passion for doing what’s right
is as unstoppable as a rolling river.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Wisdom of Solomon 6: 17-20

The first sign of wisdom in a person
is a genuine hunger to learn from others.
Those who seek guidance from others
are clearly proving their love of wisdom,
and the love of wisdom
is shown in living by her laws.
Living by her laws
guarantees unending life,
and unending life is lived
in close relationship with God.
So the desire for wisdom
leads directly to the Kingdom of God.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

OR Psalm 70

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

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for your mysteries well up from ancient depths,
assuring us that we will be with you forever.
In the first of your mighty works,
you created the earth and filled it with life.
You rescued a people from slavery
and called them to choose between wisdom and foolishness, between serving you and making their own gods.
In your child, Jesus, you have again called us to choose -
to live in readiness
for the promised return
of the one who died and rose again,
or to waste our opportunities
and squander what you have given us.
We choose to serve you,
and with hearts full of gratitude
we trust in your protection and look for the day
when at the trumpet’s sound the dead will arise
and all will be embraced in the marriage of earth and heaven.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

As those who have chosen to serve you,
we give thanks for your protection along the way
and your promise of a day
when at the trumpet’s sound the dead will arise
and all will be embraced in the marriage of earth and heaven.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for your mysteries well up from ancient depths,
assuring us that we will be with you forever.
In the first of your mighty works,
you created the earth and filled it with life.
You rescued a people from slavery
and called them to choose between wisdom and foolishness, between serving you and making their own gods.
In your child, Jesus, you have again called us to choose -
to live in readiness
for the promised return
of the one who died and rose again,
or to waste our opportunities
and squander what you have given us.
We choose to serve you,
and with hearts full of gratitude
we trust in your protection and look for the day
when at the trumpet’s sound the dead will arise
and all will be embraced in the marriage of earth and heaven.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus died and rose again, and through Jesus,
those who live or die in him
will be embraced in the mercy of God forever.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and follow in the footsteps
of those who have gone before us in Christ.
Revere the Lord.
Serve God in sincerity and faithfulness.
Teach those who come after you to trust in God.
And may God protect you along the way;
May Christ Jesus keep you alert and prepared;
And may the Holy Spirit fuel the lamp that guides your path.
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.

So, how are you going to live?A sermon on Matthew 23:1-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Things you can’t shareA sermon on Matthew 23:1-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Grief, Fear, and Rapturous WelcomesA sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 & Matthew 25:1-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Ready, Coming or NotA sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 & Matthew 25:1-13 by Nathan Nettleton

Too Good For HeavenA sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 & Matthew 25:1-13 by Suzanne Ross

Israel, Gaza, and the Book of JoshuaA sermon on the book of Joshua by Nathan Nettleton

Proper 28 - Year A
2026-11-15 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Judges 4: 1-7

The death of Ehud left the Israelite people leaderless, and before long corruption and immorality had got the better of them again. The LORD couldn’t stand the sight of their evil ways, and abandoned them to the advancing army of King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled from the city of Hazor. King Jabin’s troops, under the command of General Sisera, were a hardened fighting unit equipped with the latest in military hardware. Their harsh and oppressive rule was like a boot on Israel’s throat for the next twenty years, and the people cried out to the LORD for help.
During that era, a prophet named Deborah emerged as a leader in Israel. She was a fiery woman, and the Israelite people looked to her to arbitrate whenever disputes and conflicts flared up among them. She based herself in the hill country of Ephraim and held her hearings under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel. The people came to her there, and the place became known as the Palm of Deborah.
One day, Deborah sent a message to a man named Barak telling him to report to her. Barak was the son of Abinoam, and came from the town of Kadesh in Naphtali. When he arrived, Deborah said to him:
“I have a command for you from the LORD, the God of Israel. You are to mobilise ten thousand soldiers from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, and take position at Mount Tabor. The LORD will incite Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to come out and tackle you. He will come with all his troops and his fancy military equipment, and there will be a battle near the Kishon River. The LORD will hand you a complete victory over Sisera.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 123

It is to you that we look for help, LORD;
to you who rules from the throne of heaven!
When people are injured,
they look to the doctors for help;
when they lie in hospital,
they look to the nurses for compassion;
and in the same way
we look to you, the LORD our God:
we depend on your kindness and care.
Treat us with compassion, LORD, treat us with compassion.
We’ve endured more than our fair share of contempt.
We have had an absolute gutful
of being put down by the arrogant
and treated like dirt by those who’ve got it easy.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11

Sisters and brothers, there is really nothing much I can say about God’s ultimate timetable that you do not already know. You yourselves are up to speed with the fact that the day of the Lord will hit without warning like redback in a dark dunny. The propaganda machines will still be pumping out reports of secure borders and boom times ahead, when suddenly the whole world will be turned on its head. It will be like the sudden rapid onset of labour for a pregnant woman: unpredictable, intense, and inescapable!
But, my dear friends, you are not in the dark about these things, so that day won’t catch you off-guard like the red-back. Instead, for all of you, the lights have been turned on and bright light is now your natural habitat. We no longer live our lives stumbling around in the darkness, so let us not laze around, oblivious to what’s going on, the way other people do. Instead, let’s keep on our toes, and be clear-headed. Those who drink themselves into a stupor and pass out, dead to the world, do so at night, under the cover of darkness. But we are creatures of the light of the new day, so let us keep our heads clear and our wits about us. Put on all the protection God has provided, for our faith and love will protect our hearts better than a bullet-proof vest, and our confident anticipation of being rescued into new life will protect our heads better than a crash helmet. God has not set us up for failure and punishment, but to be rescued from all that into the life opened up for us by our Lord, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus paid the ultimate price to secure that life for us, so that whether we live until that day or die first, we will be raised up to live with him. In light of all this, keep on doing what I know you are doing: cheering one another on, and helping one another to grow stronger.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Matthew 25: 14-30

While speaking to his followers, Jesus said, “Here is another illustration of what the culture of heaven will be like when the time comes:
“A big-time entrepreneur decided to take an extended overseas holiday, and to leave substantial investment funds in the hands of his three employees to do with as they saw fit. Taking account of the relative abilities of the three, he gave one of them five million dollars, one of them two million, and the other, one million. Then he cruised off and left them to it. The one who had received the five million got straight to work, buying and selling, and managed to generate a profit of another five million dollars. The one who had received the two million also managed to generate a hundred percent return. But the one who had received the one million went and locked the money in a safe and left it there.
A long time later, the boss returned without warning, and called in the three to present their performance reports. The one who had received the five million reported first, saying, ‘Boss, you gave me five million bucks to work with, and I have doubled your money.’
The boss replied, ‘Well done. What I gave you was peanuts, but you have earned my trust and admiration in your handling of it. Now I am going to put you in charge of much bigger things. Come and celebrate with me!’
The one who had received the two million reported next, saying, ‘Boss, you gave me two million bucks to work with, and I have doubled your money.’
The boss replied, ‘Well done. What I gave you was peanuts, but you have earned my trust and admiration in your handling of it. Now I am going to put you in charge of much bigger things. Come and celebrate with me!’
Finally, the one who had received the one million made his report, saying, ‘Boss, I knew how you were only too happy to reap the profits from other people’s work without contributing yourself, and how harsh you are on those who fail; so I was afraid to take any risks. I kept your money locked away safely. Here, have it back.’
At that, the boss went off his tree, saying, ‘You lousy gutless bludger! So you knew that I am only too happy to reap the profits from other people’s work, did you? Well then you ought to have at least deposited my money in the bank where it would have earned me a bit of interest. So now I am taking your million and giving it to your mate with the ten million. Everyone with something to show for what they are given will be given even more and they will be rolling in it. But those with nothing to show will be stripped of even the little they have. As for you, you worthless piece of garbage, you’re out on your ear, and I’ll put the word around so that you’ll never get another job. You can spend your days cursing and kicking yourself on the dole queue.’”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

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

Zephaniah 1: 7, 12-18

The LORD God comes! Let us all be silent!
The day of the LORD is dawning.
The LORD is ready to make the sacrifice,
and others have been invited to feed on it.
Listen to what the LORD has to say:
“At that time, I will march into the city, searchlights blazing,
and hunt down those who will be punished;
those who pickle themselves in their hot tubs
and smugly suggest
that I, the LORD, will never do anything,
either for good or for bad.
Their number is up.
Their wealth will be carried off.
Their fancy houses will be smashed to the ground.
All they have built up will come to nothing.
I will not let them live in the mansions they built
or enjoy the wine they carefully cellared.”
The great day of the LORD is almost upon us,
approaching at the speed of sound;
approaching with a horrifying noise;
bloodcurdling shouts and screams of fear.
That day will be a day of fury,
a day of grief and tearing hair out,
a day doom and disaster,
a day of filthy darkness and gloom,
a day of choking smoke and clouds of dust,
a day of sirens and screams and the sounds of battle,
a day when the defences will crumble
and cities and strongholds will fall.
The LORD will decimate the people.
They will stagger around, dazed and confused,
because they have offended the LORD with their evil ways.
Their blood will be poured out on the dirt;
their dismembered bodies spread out like dung.
Despite their millions and all their finery,
they won’t be able to buy their way out of trouble
on the day of the LORD'S fury.
The LORD'S passion will set fire to the earth
and incinerate it entirely.
With a terrifying completeness,
the LORD will terminate life on earth.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 90: 1-8, (9-11), 12

Lord, in every generation
you have been house and home to us.
You are God, and have been from time before time;
even before you brought the mountains to birth;
even before you created the planet or anything on it.
You tell us when our time is up,
and return us to the earth from which we came.
From where you look,
a thousand years is like the blink of an eye,
and the ancient past like yesterday.
Our lives pass as if you had erased them completely;
they are gone like a dream.
Like cut flowers they are fresh and new one day,
and faded memories the next.
The burning heat of your anger wipes us out;
your indignation cuts us down.
You have spelt out the charges against us,
and brought our hidden offences out into the open.
Day by day, the weight of you anger drains the life out of us,
and our years come to a close with a whimper.
How many years have we got?
Seventy, perhaps eighty if our health holds.
But even a long life is a grind, all hard work and heartache,
and in no time it’s over and we’re gone for good.
Does anyone treat your anger with the respect it deserves?
Surely the extent of your indignation over sin
is matched only by the honour that is your due.

So teach us to value each and every day
so that we will be wise enough to make the most of them.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you have destined us for salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You created the earth
and entrusted it into our hands.
You called a people to be your own,
and when they were cruelly oppressed
you raised up your prophet, Deborah,
and spoke through her of the day of deliverance.
You have spoken to us through your child, Jesus,
teaching us to look to you and trust in your kindness,
and to be faithful stewards of your gifts.
He was scorned and mocked
and died for us, but was raised by you.
You have promised a day of judgment and deliverance,
when Christ will come
as unexpectedly as a thief in the night,
to reveal the children of light
and gather all who have been trustworthy
with what you have given
into his kingdom of joy.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your promise
of a day when Christ will come
to reveal the children of light
and gather all who have been trustworthy
with what you have given
into his kingdom of joy.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you have destined us for salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You created the earth
and entrusted it into our hands.
You called a people to be your own,
and when they were cruelly oppressed
you raised up your prophet, Deborah,
and spoke through her of the day of deliverance.
You have spoken to us through your child, Jesus,
teaching us to look to you and trust in your kindness,
and to be faithful stewards of your gifts.
He was scorned and mocked
and died for us, but was raised by you.
You have promised a day of judgment and deliverance,
when Christ will come
as unexpectedly as a thief in the night,
to reveal the children of light
and gather all who have been trustworthy
with what you have given
into his kingdom of joy.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

In the fullness of mercy,
God has destined us not for wrath
but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us so that we may live with him.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and live as children of the light.
Put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Make the most of all God has given you
and encourage one another in Christ.
And may God’s hand be open to you in kindness;
May Christ Jesus welcome you into his joy;
And may the Holy Spirit fill you with courage, vigilance and faithfulness.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

What have you done with it all?A sermon on Matthew 25:14-30 by Nathan Nettleton

‘Ave a go, ya mug!A sermon on Matthew 25:14-30 by Nathan Nettleton

The parable of the unjust economic systemA sermon on Matthew 25:14-30 by Alison Sampson

Imagining GraceA sermon on Matthew 25:14-30 by Nathan Nettleton

Christ the King Sunday (Proper 29) - Year A
2026-11-22 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24

I, the Lord GOD, will personally undertake the search and rescue mission for my missing people. When a mob of sheep has been attacked and scattered, a good farmer will mount a search and not rest until they are all safely back together. I am just like that farmer. I will seek out my sheep. On a day of violent storms and clouds of black smoke, they were scattered in all directions, but I will rescue them from wherever they ended up. Even if my exiled people have disappeared among other peoples in other countries, I will gather them up, one at a time, and bring the whole mob back home to their own land. I will let them graze contentedly on the rolling hills of this promised land. They will be free to stroll beside rivers and creeks, and to make their home among their friends and family. I will give them the best pasture to feed on, and the rich and fertile high country will be their home. They will have it easy, and want for nothing. The rich high country pastures will provide them with everything they desire. I, the Lord GOD, will personally take care of my sheep and see to it that they can lie down with nothing to fear.
Those who are lost, I will seek.
Those who have wandered off track, I will bring back.
Those who are wounded, I will bandage up.
Those who are weak, I will nurse back to full strength.
But I will come down hard on the powerful fat-cats.
Justice will be their staple diet.
I, the Lord GOD, have this to say to those who have grown fat off the misery of others. You will have me to answer to when it is time to judge between you and those who have been trampled down and deprived. Like a bullying ram, you stood over them and butted them with your horns, exploiting their weakness and throwing your weight around until they were scattered, helpless and half starved. So I am going to step in and save this mob of mine. They will no longer have to put up with your violent stand-over tactics. I will sort out the sheep and cull out the rogues.
I will find a shepherd who I can trust to put him in charge of them, one from the family of King David who works for me. He will provide for them and take care of them. I, the LORD, will be their God, and David, who answers to me, will be their king. I the LORD, have given my word.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 100

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

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

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

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

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

Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24

I, the Lord GOD, will personally undertake the search and rescue mission for my missing people. When a mob of sheep has been attacked and scattered, a good farmer will mount a search and not rest until they are all safely back together. I am just like that farmer. I will seek out my sheep. On a day of violent storms and clouds of black smoke, they were scattered in all directions, but I will rescue them from wherever they ended up. Even if my exiled people have disappeared among other peoples in other countries, I will gather them up, one at a time, and bring the whole mob back home to their own land. I will let them graze contentedly on the rolling hills of this promised land. They will be free to stroll beside rivers and creeks, and to make their home among their friends and family. I will give them the best pasture to feed on, and the rich and fertile high country will be their home. They will have it easy, and want for nothing. The rich high country pastures will provide them with everything they desire. I, the Lord GOD, will personally take care of my sheep and see to it that they can lie down with nothing to fear.
Those who are lost, I will seek.
Those who have wandered off track, I will bring back.
Those who are wounded, I will bandage up.
Those who are weak, I will nurse back to full strength.
But I will come down hard on the powerful fat-cats.
Justice will be their staple diet.
I, the Lord GOD, have this to say to those who have grown fat off the misery of others. You will have me to answer to when it is time to judge between you and those who have been trampled down and deprived. Like a bullying ram, you stood over them and butted them with your horns, exploiting their weakness and throwing your weight around until they were scattered, helpless and half starved. So I am going to step in and save this mob of mine. They will no longer have to put up with your violent stand-over tactics. I will sort out the sheep and cull out the rogues.
I will find a shepherd who I can trust to put him in charge of them, one from the family of King David who works for me. He will provide for them and take care of them. I, the LORD, will be their God, and David, who answers to me, will be their king. I the LORD, have given my word.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 95: 1-7a

We gather and sing to you, LORD.
We raise the roof with shouts of joy
for you are the rock on which we are safe!
We come into your presence bursting with gratitude;
we set the house rocking as we sing your praises!
For you, LORD, are the greatest God of all;
you rank way above every other claim on our loyalty.
You hold the depths of the earth in your hands,
and the highest mountains are at your disposal.
The oceans and the dry lands alike belong to you,
for you made them with your own hands.
You made us too, LORD, and we worship you,
falling to our knees and bowing down to the ground!
You are our God and we are your people;
you tenderly care for us like a sheep rearing her young.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for your love is forever, faithful from age to age.
You are our maker, to who we belong,
for you created the earth
and you shepherd all who live in it.
When your people were scattered and oppressed,
you promised through your prophets to gather them home
and feed them on the rich pasture of their own land.
In your child, Jesus, the promises have been fulfilled:
a shepherd king who seeks the lost
and binds up the wounded.
When he was killed, you raised him from the dead
and seated him at your side in the heavenly places.
Now your immeasurable power is at work in us who believe
to clothe us in compassion and righteousness
so that we might be fit for the kingdom
which you prepared for us from the foundation of the world.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your immeasurable power at work in us
to clothe us in compassion and righteousness
so that we might be fit for the kingdom
which you prepared for us from the foundation of the world.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for your love is forever, faithful from age to age.
You are our maker, to who we belong,
for you created the earth
and you shepherd all who live in it.
When your people were scattered and oppressed,
you promised through your prophets to gather them home
and feed them on the rich pasture of their own land.
In your child, Jesus, the promises have been fulfilled:
a shepherd king who seeks the lost
and binds up the wounded.
When he was killed, you raised him from the dead
and seated him at your side in the heavenly places.
Now your immeasurable power is at work in us who believe
to clothe us in compassion and righteousness
so that we might be fit for 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.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The Lord our God says:
”I will seek the lost. I will bring back the strayed.
I will bind up the injured and I will strengthen the weak.”
Indeed the Lord is good.
God’s love and mercy are forever.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and embrace the hope to which God has called us.
Recognise Christ in friend and stranger,
and as Christ has been gracious to you,
so be gracious to those in need.
And may God give you a place of rest on rich pasture;
May Christ Jesus be the shepherd king who binds your wounds;
And may the Holy Spirit give you wisdom
and reveal to you the fullness of the one who fills all in all.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

When 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

A Hope to Live ByA sermon on Ephesians 1: 15-23 & Matthew 25: 31-46 by Nathan Nettleton

Justice as ‘Staple Diet’A sermon on Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Ps 100, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matt 25:31-46 by Rowland Croucher

“I will lead my people”A sermon on Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 & Ephesians 1:15-23 by Nathan Nettleton

Divided Up?A sermon on Matthew 25: 31-46 & Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 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

Nations that Flourish and Nations that CollapseA sermon on Matthew 25: 31-46 by Nathan Nettleton

1st Sunday of Advent - Year B
2026-11-29 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.

Isaiah 64:1-9

If only, LORD!
If only you would rip the sky open and come on down!
The mountains would tremble in your presence,
like water boiling when the fire is stoked beneath it.
Then the nations too would be shaking in their boots
and your opponents would realise who they were up against!
You have done it before, LORD.
You have surprised us by turning up among us
and doing amazing things that set the earth quaking.
Never, in the history of the world
has anyone seen or heard of any God but you.
No matter how hard people looked, or how hard they listened,
they never found a shred of evidence
of any other god doing anything for anyone.
You are the one who responds to those who love doing what is right;
to those who keep you and your ways in mind.
But now, LORD, you are angry over the wrong we have done.
We thought you were out of sight and we became corrupt.
It was all downhill and now we are horribly polluted.
Even our best efforts to do the right thing
must seem like a gift of used toilet paper to you.
Our lives become drab and brittle like a dried leaf.
Our immoral behaviour sweeps us away like the wind.
There is no one left who prays to you, LORD,
or even attempts to stick with you.
You have turned your back on us
and left us in the mess we made for ourselves.
And yet, LORD, you are the one who conceived us.
You are the potter who moulds us like clay.
Every one of us has been hand-crafted by you.
Please don’t be too hard on us, LORD.
Don’t dwell on our sins and stay angry forever.
Think of us, instead, as your own people.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19

God, you are the one who watches over your people
like a lifeguard supervising a dangerous beach,
watching from a high seat, like a king enthroned.
Listen to our prayer and clearly flag the boundaries,
so that your tribes will no longer get out of their depth.
Up and at it, God!
Come equipped to rescue us.
Come and smile on us again, God;
save us and revive us with your kiss of life.
LORD God, you rule over everything;
how much longer will you keep us in the sin bin,
turning away in anger when we pray?
You reduced our rations to tears alone;
tears by the plate full, tears by the cup full.
You made us the laughing stock of our enemies
and even our neighbours turn up their noses.
Come and smile on us again, God;
save us and revive us with your kiss of life.
Take our side again, your wayward favourite child,
the one you raised by hand to be your own.
We will never go off the rails again;
save us now and your name will be on our lips forever.
LORD God, you rule over everything;
Come and smile on us again;
save us and revive us with your kiss of life.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Corinthians 1: 3-9

We greet you as God’s own children and wish you all the best – God’s love and peace, given through the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
I am forever thanking my God for you, especially when I think about what God’s extravagant generosity has brought about in you since you entered into the life of Jesus the Messiah. Since you linked up with him your lives have become so much richer in every way; but most notable is the richness of your knowledge and of the things you have to say. Indeed, the truth about the Messiah has become more and more strongly a part of who you are, and of all you have to offer. Now, it seems, you are not short of anything. All the spiritual gifts are in action among you as you live in eager expectation of the grand finale when our Lord Jesus the Messiah takes centre stage. God is with you and will make you tough enough to hold the line until the end, so that you can stand with your heads held high on the great day when our Lord Jesus brings everything to completion. Jesus is the Messiah, our Lord, and God’s Son; and it was into his shared life that you were called by God, who is worthy of all our trust, and who will never let you down.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 13: 24-37

While looking at the temple, Jesus spoke to four of his closest followers, saying, “As the end approaches, there will be a time of great chaos and trauma on the earth. Then, in the days after that, it will seem as though the whole cosmos is going berserk. The sun will go black, the moon will not shine, the stars will come crashing to earth, and the elemental powers of the universe will be shaken. Then, and only then, everyone will see the breathtaking arrival of the New Human, riding on the clouds in power and glory. He will send out the angels, and will gather everyone who has made the side from all points of the compass, from the most far flung corners of the earth to the furthest reaches of heaven.”
Then Jesus used an illustration to make his point, saying, “Take a lesson from the trees. Many of them give clear signs when the seasons are changing. When the wattles start putting out tender new leaves and unfurling their blooms you know that summer is just around the corner. This is much the same. When you see all these things happening you can be sure that the New Human is into the home straight, and just about to make his arrival. The fact of the matter is that some of you will see these things in your own lifetime. The earth and the sky will only last for so long, but there is no expiry date on my words.
“But just when that day and hour will come, nobody knows. The angels of heaven don’t know and not even the Son knows. The Conceiver of everything is the only one who knows. So watch out. Keep yourselves on the alert, because you have no way of knowing when the time will come. It is like an employer going off on leave. He gives all his staff tasks to work at in his absence, and leaves them to get on with it. He tells the leading hand to keep an eye out for his return. So keep your wits about you and don’t slack off, because you have no way of knowing when the boss will be back. It could be any time of the day or night, early or late, and you don’t want to be caught asleep in his chair with your boots on his desk. So what I am telling you is exactly the same as what I am telling everybody else: keep yourselves on the ready at all times.”
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for even when heaven and earth pass away,
your words will never pass away.
Like a potter you created the earth,
and we are all the work of your hands.
At your presence even the mountains quake,
and yet to your people who wait for you,
you are the light, revealing our salvation.
In your child, Jesus, you have come among us,
teaching us to live in readiness for your reign.
Though he was killed, you raised him to life,
restoring to us the light of your presence,
and enriching us in every way
so that we are not lacking in your gifts
as we await the day
when he comes on the clouds in glory
and gathers his faithful ones from the ends of the earth;
all who do right and remember you in their ways.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for restoring to us the light of your presence
and enriching us in every way
as we await the day
when Christ comes on the clouds in glory
and gathers his faithful ones from the ends of the earth.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for even when heaven and earth pass away,
your words will never pass away.
Like a potter you created the earth,
and we are all the work of your hands.
At your presence even the mountains quake,
and yet to your people who wait for you,
you are the light, revealing our salvation.
In your child, Jesus, you have come among us,
teaching us to live in readiness for your reign.
Though he was killed, you raised him to life,
restoring to us the light of your presence,
and enriching us in every way
so that we are not lacking in your gifts
as we await the day
when he comes on the clouds in glory
and gathers his faithful ones from the ends of the earth;
all who do right and remember you in their ways.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God is faithful and has called us into the communion of Christ.
Though your sins be like filthy rags,
God will not remember them,
but gives you grace and strength
so that you may be blameless on the day of the Lord.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, strengthened by the testimony of Christ.
Keep alert and wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Continue to do right and remember God in your ways.
And may God enrich you in speech and knowledge of every kind;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you to the end;
And may the Holy Spirit guide you in faithful living until he comes.
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 Future – what should we know? A sermon on Matthew 24:27-35, 45-51 by Nathan Nettleton

Why don’t you tear the sky open? A sermon on Isaiah 64:1-9 by Nathan Nettleton

Fearing your Greatest Hope A sermon on Isaiah 64:1-9 and Mark 13:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

The Gift of Advent A sermon on Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

The Season of “Not Yet”: Waiting and Wondering in Advent A sermon on Isaiah 64:1 and Mark 13:24-37 by Carolyn Francis

Watch Out!A sermon on Mark 13:24-37 by Nathan Nettleton

As The World Is Shaken A sermon on Mark 13:24-37 & Isaiah 64:1-9 by Nathan Nettleton

2nd Sunday of Advent - Year B
2026-12-06 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 40: 1-11

Your God gives the order:
“Comfort my people.
Comfort them.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
cry out and tell her that she has served her time;
tell her that she has paid her penalty;
that she has given the pound of flesh, and then some,
due for the crimes she committed.”
A voice cries out:
“Get the road through the wilderness ready.
The LORD is coming! Clear the track!
Straighten out the road through the desert,
so that it is ready for our God.
Fill the potholes, bridge the valleys,
cut through the mountains to level the grade.
Where the going is rough, smooth it out;
lay a new surface over the old corrugations.
Then the LORD will come,
radiant in glory.
Everyone on earth will see it together,
we have the LORD’s word on it.”
A voice says, “Make the announcement!”
And I replied, “What announcement?”
“Announce that people are as fickle as the weather;
all of them, about as constant as a cut flower.
The weather does one thing one day, and another the next;
one breath from the LORD and flowers fade and wilt.
No kidding, all people are as fickle as that.
The weather sweeps through and is gone;
the flower fades and is tossed out;
but every word our God says
stands rock solid for all time.
Take a stand where the whole of God’s city will hear you,
and broadcast the message everyone has been waiting for.
You are the bearer of good news for God’s people,
so open your mouth and don’t hold back;
there’s nothing to be scared of; just go for it!
Broadcast it through all the cities in the land,
saying, ‘Here is your God!’
Look, the Lord GOD comes with a show of strength,
arms punching the air in triumph.
The Lord carries the spoils of victory,
the rewards of a job well done.
Like a farmer hand-rearing the lambs,
the LORD will gather us in loving arms,
cuddle us close,
and gently lead us where we need to go.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 85: 1-2, 8-13

LORD, you smiled on your land
and brought back the good times for your people.
You struck out the record of our guilt
and pardoned all we had done wrong.
We are eager to hear all you have to say, LORD God,
for your words bring peace and wellbeing
to those who stick with you
and leave behind their foolish ways.
Surely for all who respect you,
the life you saved us for is within reach.
Our land will be ablaze with your presence.
What a life it will be!
Love and loyalty will link arms;
justice and peace will become lovers.
Faithfulness will sprout and reach for the sky;
integrity will beam down on the earth.
You will give us every good thing, LORD,
and the land will give bumper crops.
Justice and integrity will spring up as you approach,
lining the road to welcome you among us.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

2 Peter 3: 8-15a

My dear friends, keep in mind the fact that the Lord is not bound by the same sort of time lines as we are. The Lord can do more in a day than we could do in a thousand years, and yet to the Lord, a thousand years pass like a mere day. Some people think that if the Lord was going to come in glory as he promised, he would have done it by now, but really, we should be thankful that he is not in a rush. The Lord wants everyone to turn their lives around and survive, and he is willing to hold back a bit to give them the chance. But he won’t hold back forever. The day of the Lord will hit without warning like a redback in a dark dunny. Then, with a deafening roar, the sky will be destroyed and there will be a fiery meltdown of the galaxies. The earth and everything that goes on here will be totally exposed for all to see.
So, if everything is headed for this total meltdown, how should we be living here and now? We should be living lives that are utterly dedicated to God and which are patterned on the way God does things. We should be in a state of patient readiness, constantly working to turn around anything that might be causing God to hold back the coming of that ultimate day. Even though that day will see the universe will go up in flames, vaporising the sky and melting down the cosmic elements, we know that God has promised us a renewed earth – a place worth waiting for – a place where justice and integrity will be at home.
So then, my dear friends, while you are waiting for all this to happen, do your utmost to make sure that when it does, the Lord will find you living in peace, and without even a hint of corruption. As for how much longer the Lord will hold back; how ever long it is, you can think of it as a sign of patience and an opportunity for even more to be saved.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Mark 1: 1-8

This is the great news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. The prophet Isaiah had already written about the opening scene:
“Take note: I am sending my messenger ahead of you
to blaze the trail for your arrival.
In the desert a voice is shouting:
‘The Lord is coming!
Get the road ready.
Clear the track. Straighten it out for him.’”
John the baptiser showed up in the desert preaching to the people. He called them to be baptised, to completely turn their lives around and receive God’s forgiveness for their toxic ways. Everyone came flocking to John from Jerusalem and from all the rural districts of Judea. They owned up to their wrongdoing and were baptised by John in the Jordan River, promising to mend their ways.
John was dressed in rough clothes made of camel hair and animal skins. He lived on bush tucker – grasshoppers and wild honey. This was the guts of his message: “After me comes the One who is way out of my league – I wouldn’t even qualify to get down on my knees and lick his boots. I’m only baptising you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”
©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 you, salvation is drawing near,
the day when love and fidelity will embrace,
and peace and justice kiss.
The heavens, the earth and all that is in them
came into being, and will pass away, at your say so.
You spoke to your people through the prophets,
calling them to prepare the way for your justice,
and promising to hold them tenderly
like lambs to your breast.
Through the preaching of John the Baptiser,
you prepared the way for your coming Messiah,
— your child, Jesus —
who was baptised into death
but who you raised to new life.
Through him you baptise your people
with your Holy Spirit,
and so now, in hope and gratitude,
we wait for the day when you will establish
new heavens and a new earth
where righteousness will be at home.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for your promise to come to us like a shepherd
and to bring about the day
when love and fidelity embrace, peace and justice kiss,
and new heavens and a new earth are established
where righteousness will be at home.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for in you, salvation is drawing near,
the day when love and fidelity will embrace,
and peace and justice kiss.
The heavens, the earth and all that is in them
came into being, and will pass away, at your say so.
You spoke to your people through the prophets,
calling them to prepare the way for your justice,
and promising to hold them tenderly
like lambs to your breast.
Through the preaching of John the Baptiser,
you prepared the way for your coming Messiah,
— your child, Jesus —
who was baptised into death
but who you raised to new life.
Through him you baptise your people
with your Holy Spirit,
and so now, in hope and gratitude,
we wait for the day when you will establish
new heavens and a new earth
where righteousness will be at home.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The Lord is patient with us,
not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
If we will turn back to God,
God has promised to bring us to the promised land,
forgetting our guilt, and forgiving our sins.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now: wait and work for the coming of the day of God.
In the wild places prepare a straight path for the Lord.
Lead lives of holiness and godliness,
strive to be found at peace,
and speak freely of the Lord’s comfort and promise.
And may God our shepherd gather you in loving arms;
May Christ Jesus reconcile justice and peace within you;
And may the Holy Spirit baptise you into the life of God.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

What Hope is There?A sermon on Isaiah 40: 1-11 by Nathan Nettleton

Striving for the UnattainableReflections on Mark 1:1-8; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Isaiah 40:1-11 & Psalm 85 by Nathan Nettleton

A Voice Cries OutA sermon on Mark 1.1-8 & Isaiah 40.1-11 by Garry Deverell

Peace and Justice KissA sermon on Psalm 85:10-11 by Nathan Nettleton

Patience as SalvationA sermon on 2 Peter 3: 8-15 & Mark 1: 1-8 by Nathan Nettleton

What are we preparing for?A sermon on Isaiah 25: 6-9; Isaiah 40: 1-11; Psalm 85: 1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3: 8-15a & Mark 1:1-8 by Alison Sampson

3rd Sunday of Advent - Year B
2026-12-13 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 61: 1-4, 8-11

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is working through me,
because the Lord picked me out
and commissioned me for the job.
I have been sent to deliver good news
to all who have been used and abused,
to tend the wounds
of those who are brokenhearted.
I have been sent to preach a message;
a message that means freedom for the detainees,
a message that will break the shackles and release the people.
I have been sent to announce
that now is the LORD’s chosen time;
that the date has been set
for our God to give the enemies of life their just desserts.
I have been sent to bring comfort
to everyone who is grieving.
I am to provide for those who mourn in the holy city;
to deck them out in bright flowers
instead of sombre funeral clothes;
to hand them a glass of bubbly
instead of their bitter cup of tears;
to set them singing and dancing in celebration
instead of collapsing in despair.
They will be called the pillars of integrity,
erected by the LORD,
a magnificent display of what God can do.
They will rebuild what has long laid in ruins,
they will construct something grand from what is now rubble.
They will restore cities that have been destroyed;
places that have known generations of devastation.
This is what the LORD has to say:
“I love the way you do the right thing
and give everyone a fair go.
I hate it when people do the wrong thing
and rip each other off.
I will be true to my word and reward you well;
I will make an alliance with you
that will stand the test of time.
Your descendants will be famous all over the world;
your offspring will be talked about by people everywhere.
Everyone who sees them will know without doubt
that I, the LORD, have set them up for life.”
Because of the LORD, I will sing and dance in celebration;
everything inside me is bursting with joy over my God.
The LORD has decked me out in the splendour
of faithfulness and integrity,
clothes fit to celebrate a dream come true.
I am like a bride and groom dressed for a wedding;
with flowers and jewels and everything done just right.
Indeed, just as the earth brings forth its vegetation,
and just as rich soil causes seeds to sprout and grow,
so too the Lord GOD will produce a bumper crop
of honesty and integrity,
and all the world will see it
and give due credit to God.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 126

When you brought us home to Zion from exile, LORD,
we had to pinch ourselves to be sure it wasn’t a dream.
Laughter and singing kept bubbling up in us;
we were just over the moon!
Even the nations around us had to admit
that you must have taken our side, LORD.
Indeed, we could only celebrate and thank you
. for the wonderful things you had done for us.
LORD, we need your help again;
we are like dry creek-beds in need of rain.
We have worked with sweat and tears;
let us reap the rewards with celebration.
Let those who laboured with heavy hearts,
expecting nothing but despair,
come home with pride renewed,
celebrating unimaginable success.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 1: 47-55 (alternative canticle)

We turn the spotlight on your greatness, God!
We dance with wholehearted joy over you, our saviour!
You smiled upon us, though we were nothing special,
and the memory of your generosity will last forever.
You have done wonderful and powerful things for us.
There is no other name in the same league as yours.
In every generation, Lord, you shower mercy
to those who treat you with respect.
You have rolled up your sleeves in a show of strength,
and sent packing those who were so full of themselves.
You kicked the power mongers out of office,
and lifted the downtrodden back to their feet.
You put on a feast for those who are hungry,
and slam the door on the rich without giving them a bite.
You give a helping hand to your servant Israel,
and always remember them with tender care.
This is exactly what you promised long ago, Lord,
when you made a vow to Abraham and Sarah
for every generation.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24

Whatever is going on, celebrate.
Always and everywhere, pray.
Come what may, express your thanks.
Indeed, as people in union with the Messiah Jesus,
this is how God wants you to live.
The Spirit is working among you, don’t pour cold water on it.
When you hear a message from God, don’t despise it.
Whatever is presented to you, check up on it:
- if it proves to be good, hang onto it.
- if it is corrupt in any way, don’t touch it.
I pray that the God of peace will personally clean you up and form you into people of thoroughgoing integrity. I pray that your whole beings — spirit, soul and body — may remain healthy and uncompromised when our Lord Jesus the Messiah comes. The One who is calling you is unswervingly faithful, and will personally get the job done.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 1: 6-8, 19-28

Once there was a man on a mission from God, and his name was John. He gave a first-hand report about the light, spelling it out so that everyone could believe. He wasn’t the light, himself, but he made it his job to draw everyone’s attention to the light.
John spelt out his position when he was questioned by a delegation of priests and temple officials who had been sent by the religious authorities in Jerusalem. They asked him who he thought he was, and he made no bones about it, but came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
So they asked, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
“No, I am not,” he replied.
“Are you the prophet like Moses?”
“No.”
So they said, “Who are you then? We need an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
John answered them with a quote from the prophet Isaiah: “I am the voice in the wilderness shouting, ‘Clear the track for the Lord.’”
Now this delegation was from the devoutly religious Pharisee party, and they wanted more information. They asked him, “If you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet, why are you baptising people?”
John gave them his answer, “I am only baptising with water, but rubbing shoulders with you, unrecognised, is the One who is coming to take over where I leave off. I wouldn’t even qualify to lick his boots.”
This incident took place at Bethany — the one on the other side of the Jordan — where John was baptising.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for you have turned our grief into songs of joy,
and clothed us in salvation and victory.
You planted the earth and all life,
and called a people to be your light in the world.
When they were taken weeping into exile,
you promised through your prophets
to bring them home to Zion, singing and laughing.
Salvation has come in your Messiah, Jesus,
— the one whose coming light
your servant, John, bore witness to.
Filled with your Spirit,
Jesus came proclaiming good news for the poor,
healing for the broken hearted,
and the day of freedom to all who are bound.
He was killed by the proud and powerful,
but with your wonderful power you raised him to life.
In his presence we are filled with expectant hope and joy,
and eager to embrace your eternal covenant.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We thank you for Jesus Christ - the one who embodied your Spirit
and came proclaiming good news for the poor,
healing for the broken hearted,
and the day of freedom to all who are bound.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you joyful thanks at all times, O God,
for you have turned our grief into songs of joy,
and clothed us in salvation and victory.
You planted the earth and all life,
and called a people to be your light in the world.
When they were taken weeping into exile,
you promised through your prophets
to bring them home to Zion, singing and laughing.
Salvation has come in your Messiah, Jesus,
— the one whose coming light
your servant, John, bore witness to.
Filled with your Spirit,
Jesus came proclaiming good news for the poor,
healing for the broken hearted,
and the day of freedom to all who are bound.
He was killed by the proud and powerful,
but with your wonderful power you raised him to life.
In his presence we are filled with expectant hope and joy,
and eager to embrace your eternal covenant.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God has made an eternal covenant with us,
promising to make us holy in every way.
In grace and mercy God will keep us free
from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, for you are chosen and sent in the Spirit.
Pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances.
Keep what is good, avoid every kind of evil.
To all in need bear witness that the time has come
when the Sovereign Lord will save his people.
And may God who gives peace make you holy in every way;
May Christ Jesus clothe you with salvation and victory;
And may the Holy Spirit speak through you with the good news of hope.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

Perhaps! Maybe! What if?!A sermon on Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11 & Luke 1: 47-55 by Nathan Nettleton

The Spirit of the Lord is upon usA sermon on Isaiah 61:1-4 by Nathan Nettleton

Celebrating Hope in the Face of DespairA sermon on Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11, 1Thessalonians 5:16-24 & John 1:6-8,19-28 by Nathan Nettleton

Getting Ahead of OurselvesA sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28; Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11 & Psalm 126 by Nathan Nettleton

When life Tumbles In What Then?A sermon on Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, Psalm 126, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1:6-8, 19-28 by Rowland Croucher

The Witness of Joy and CourageA sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28 & Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11 by Nathan Nettleton

Preparing by the RulesA sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 & John 1:6-8, 19-28 by Nathan Nettleton

Not the Messiah, People!A sermon on John 1:6-8, 19-28 & Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 by Garry Deverell

4th Sunday of Advent - Year B
2026-12-20 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Melbourne)
Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16

King David made himself at home in his new palace and, thanks to the LORD, there was no trouble from Israel’s enemies for some time. One day the King consulted Nathan the prophet, and said to him, “It doesn’t seem right for me to be living it up in a palace built of the finest materials while the sacred Ark of God is still in a tent. It’s as though God was sleeping rough!”
Nathan replied, “The LORD is with you, so go ahead and do whatever you think should be done.”
But Nathan had spoken too soon. That same night, the LORD gave him a different message to pass on to King David. This is what it said:
David, I am the LORD and you are my servant, so listen to what I have to say to you. What makes you think that you are the one to build my house? I’ve been on the road with nothing more than a tent ever since I led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. I didn’t need a house then and I don’t need one now. You’re not the first caretaker I’ve appointed for the tribes of Israel, and you won’t be the last, so think about it – have I ever gone whingeing to any of them and demanded a fancy house?
Now listen to me, and listen good. I am the LORD who rules over everything. I made you what you are today – the leader of my people. If it wasn’t for me you’d still be cleaning up after the sheep. I’ve never let you down, wherever you’ve gone. Whenever enemies have attacked you, I’ve dealt with them, right before your eyes. Thanks to me, you will be known as one of the most famous people who ever lived.
I have chosen a place for my people Israel, a place where they can put down roots, a place to call their own. They won’t need to be looking over their shoulders all the time, because there won’t be any more trouble from the barbarians who have plagued them for so long. For the first time since the days when I sent the legendary heroes to bring justice to my people, Israel will be at peace.
What’s more, I the LORD give you my word that I will make you the foundation stone of a great house. I will keep my eye on your family and your kingdom and keep them safe. I will see to it that there will always be one of your descendants on your throne.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 1: 47-55 (canticle)

We turn the spotlight on your greatness, God!
We dance with wholehearted joy over you, our saviour!
You smiled upon us, though we were nothing special,
and the memory of your generosity will last forever.
You have done wonderful and powerful things for us.
There is no other name in the same league as yours.
In every generation, Lord, you shower mercy
to those who treat you with respect.
You have rolled up your sleeves in a show of strength,
and sent packing those who were so full of themselves.
You kicked the power mongers out of office,
and lifted the downtrodden back to their feet.
You put on a feast for those who are hungry,
and slam the door on the rich without giving them a bite.
You give a helping hand to your servant Israel,
and always remember them with tender care.
This is exactly what you promised long ago, Lord,
when you made a vow to Abraham and Sarah
for every generation.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 89: 1-4, 19-26 (alternative canticle)

LORD, we will never stop singing about your rock-solid love;
we will transmit the story of your faithfulness
on down to every generation to come.
Your love and loyalty were built to last for eternity;
we’ll go public with that message.
Your faithfulness is beyond measure;
as infinite as the sky above us.
You said,
“I have formed an alliance with my chosen leader;
I have given my word to David, my servant.
I have guaranteed a firm foundation for his family forever;
there will always be one of his descendants on the throne.”
Long ago, in a vision, you spoke to your faithful people, saying:
“I have crowned a great hero.
Among you, my people,
I found one fit for the throne.
My search ended with my servant David.
Pouring holy oil on his head,
I have set him apart as the chosen one.
He’ll always be able to look to me for strength;
when he needs some muscle,
I’ll be there to back him up.
The enemy will not get under his guard,
the wicked will never drag him down.
I’ll knock flat those who oppose him;
despise him and you answer to me!
My love for him is unshakable;
I’ll be faithful to him for ever.
On my say so, he’ll rule supreme and unchallenged.
I will put everything in his hands,
from coast to coast with all that lies between them.
He will cry out to me, ‘Oh, my Father, my God,
you are the rock I cling to for safety!’”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Romans 16: 25-27

To God be the glory forever! It is God who enables you to stand strong, and who does so through the message about Jesus the Messiah which I was given the job of broadcasting. My message uncovers the great truth which had remained shrouded in mystery for centuries, but which is now out in the open for every one to see. Through the writings of God’s inspired messengers, it is even being made clear to those who have had no prior contact with our religious traditions. God, who knows no limits, gave the order for this to be done, so as to gain the cooperation that arises from genuine trust. So here’s to the one and only wise God, through Jesus the Messiah, to whom belongs all the glory forever! And so say all of us!
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 1: 26-38

God sent the angel Gabriel to a town called Nazareth in the region of Galilee, to speak to a young woman named Mary. Mary was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, whose family line went back to King David. The angel approached Mary and said, “Hello there! You’ve got it made! The Lord is with you and has chosen you.”
But Mary was freaking out over this and didn’t know what to make of the angel’s words, so he spoke to her again, saying, “There is no need to be frightened, Mary. God is smiling on you. Look what God is about to do: a child will be conceived in your womb. You will give birth to a baby boy, and you will name him Jesus. He will have a great future, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will put him on the throne established by his ancestor David. He will lead God’s people forever, establishing a culture that will never die out.”
Mary replied, “How can this possibly happen? I am still a virgin.”
The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will take hold of you, and the life-force of the Most High will enfold you. Therefore the child that is born will belong to God, and will be called God’s Son. Check it out: your wrinkly old relative Elizabeth is also carrying a baby boy in her womb. Even when she was young she was infertile, but now she is six months pregnant. It just goes to show that when God gets involved, nothing will ever be impossible.”
So Mary said, “Okay. Count me in. I’m at the service of the Lord. Let these things happen to me just as you have said.”
And with that, the angel was gone.
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Eucharistic Preface

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for your mercy embraces the faithful,
one generation to the next,
and your fidelity, for all ages.
You created the heavens and earth,
and chose for yourself a covenant people,
bringing them from slavery to a land of their own.
In your servant, David, you established your rule
and promised his throne to the one
who would save your people and reign forever.
And now, the mystery kept secret for long ages
has been revealed to all the earth:
your own Son, Jesus Christ,
is conceived by the Holy Spirit
in the womb of Mary
and emerges to claim the throne of his ancestor David.
Though he was killed by the proud and powerful,
you have raised him up,
and with him, the humble of all the earth,
and of his reign there will be no end.
Therefore with .....
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

We give thanks for your Son, Jesus Christ,
conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary,
who emerges to claim the throne of his ancestor David.
His fidelity will outlast the heavens
and of his reign there will be no end.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for your mercy embraces the faithful,
one generation to the next,
and your fidelity, for all ages.
You created the heavens and earth,
and chose for yourself a covenant people,
bringing them from slavery to a land of their own.
In your servant, David, you established your rule
and promised his throne to the one
who would save your people and reign forever.
And now, the mystery kept secret for long ages
has been revealed to all the earth:
your own Son, Jesus Christ,
is conceived by the Holy Spirit
in the womb of Mary
and emerges to claim the throne of his ancestor David.
Though he was killed by the proud and powerful,
you have raised him up,
and with him, the humble of all the earth,
and of his reign there will be no end.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Though we have been ensnared by sin,
God is able to strengthen us through the gospel of Christ,
for nothing is impossible with God.
God’s mercy embraces us, one generation to the next.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and celebrate God’s love all your days.
Give to Christ Jesus the obedience of faith,
offering yourself as the servant of the Lord
and allowing God’s Word to be fulfilled in you.
And may the only wise God establish you forever.
May the mysteries of Christ be conceived within you.
And may the Holy Spirit strengthen you and encircle you.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

AnnunciationA sermon on Luke 1: 26-55, 2 Samuel 7: 1-16 & Romans 16:25-27 by Marita Munro

VirginA sermon on Luke 1:26-35, 38 by Alison Sampson

The Conception of GodA sermon on Luke 1:26-38 & 2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16 by Nathan Nettleton

The Feast of the Nativity (Christmas Eve/Day)
2026-12-25 00:00 - 23:59 UTC
The Revised Common Lectionary provides three sets of readings for the Feast of the Nativity, and calls them Proper I, Proper II, and Proper III. Some church will use different ones for different services. Some will use one set each year. Others might use readings from all three sets in an extended service of lessons and carols.

Below you will find the three sets, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases and prayers. Below the third set you will find a list of sermons for the day.

Proper I

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 9: 2-7

The people who lived in a dark cloud of gloom
have seen a great light break through;
those in the blackest hell-holes
have seen their whole world light up.
LORD, you have built up the nation,
and given them every reason to celebrate.
The people revel in it all,
like farmers when a drought breaks;
like children opening presents.
Finally they are out from under the thumb
of those who oppressed them.
You have broken their chains
and run the slave drivers out of town,
just as you did in days long ago.
There will be a huge bonfire
to burn everything left by the occupation forces,
their blood-stained uniforms and cruel boots
will go up in flames.
For see! A child has been born for us;
the gift of a son who will take charge of everything.
He will be given all these titles:
Most Excellent Advisor;
Supreme God;
Father Forever,
Prince of Peace.
The reach of his arm will just keep growing,
and his realm will know peace without limit.
He will inherit all that David ruled,
and bring stability and security.
Doing what is just and right
will be the hallmarks of his reign
from now on and for all time.
The LORD’s heart is set on this;
The LORD who rules over everything will see that it happens.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 96

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

Titus 2: 11-14

God’s extravagant generosity is now out in the open for everyone to see. No one is left out - God has come to save everyone and everything! There are some solid lessons in this for all of us - we are being trained in how to turn our backs on crass and indulgent lifestyles, and how to get our lives back under control and on track, to realign ourselves with God and rebuild our integrity. All this is for the here and now. As much as we are eagerly waiting for the day when all God’s promises are fulfilled, when the full glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is writ large for all to see, there’s no reason not to get on with living it right now! After all, it was him who paid the ultimate price to bail us out of the degradation we’d sunk into. He didn’t stop at getting us out either, he personally went to work, decontaminating us and transforming us into a people he’s proud to be identified with, a people who enthusiastically throw themselves into doing good.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 2: 1-14, (15-20)

Many years ago, the Roman Emperor Augustus gave orders for a census to be conducted throughout the whole empire. This was the first time it had been done while Quirinius was governor of Syria. Every man was required to go and register himself and his family in the town where he had been born. For Joseph, this meant travelling all the way from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Bethlehem had been the home town of King David, and Joseph, being a descendent of David, had been born there too, so that was where he had to report. Joseph’s fiancée, Mary, travelled with him to Bethlehem for the census. She was pregnant and the baby was due any day. There was no accommodation left anywhere in the town, so they ended up sleeping rough in the stables behind a pub. Sure enough, she went into labour while they were there and gave birth to her first child – a baby boy. Mary wrapped the baby in a bunny rug and made up a bed for him in a feed trough.
The region around Bethlehem was sheep country, and that night there was a bunch of shearers spinning yarns around their campfire. Suddenly the whole sky lit up with the glory of God, and the Lord’s messenger stood among them. They were packing death, but the messenger said to them, “It’s okay! There’s no need to panic. I’m here with good news, news that will give everyone everywhere good reason to celebrate. A saviour has just been born in David’s town. He is God’s chosen one, the Lord of all. Go and see for yourselves. You’ll know you’ve found him when you see a baby wrapped in a bunny rug and lying in a feed trough!”
The moment he’d finished speaking, the messenger was joined by a whole crowd from heaven, all praising God and shouting at the tops of their voices, saying:
“All the glory belongs to God in heaven,
and let there be peace on earth for all God’s people!”
Then it was all over – the crowd went back to heaven and the shearers were left sitting there looking at one another, gob-smacked. “We’d better go and check this out,” they said. “Let’s go into town and see if we can see what’s happened, what the Lord has let us in on.”
So without messing around they headed straight into Bethlehem, and sure enough, they tracked down Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the feed trough. When they saw all this, they began telling everyone what they had heard about this child. People could hardly believe their ears when they heard what the shearers were saying. But their words were precious to Mary and she repeated them over and over in her mind, wondering what would become of it all. The shearers headed off towards their camp again – a rowdy mob, singing and shouting in the streets about how fabulous God was because of everything they had seen and heard. Everything had been just the way they had been told it would be.
©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,
and to offer a new song of praise,
singing: “Glory to you in the highest heaven
and on earth peace among all you favour.”
You are the God who made the heavens,
the Lord, whose majestic light now shines
on those who walked in darkness.
Your grace appears bringing salvation to all;
your child is given to us, the firstborn of Mary,
and the heavenly host sings his praise.
Though born in exile at the Emperor’s command
and delivered over to death,
he will rise to break the rod of oppression.
Though clothed this night in bands of cloth,
he will burn the blood stained clothes of war.
Though laid this night in a manger,
he will be seated on the throne of endless peace
to rule with justice and righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
Therefore with .....
©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for your grace appears bringing salvation to all;
your Son is given to us, the firstborn of Mary.
Though laid this night in a manger,
he will be seated on the throne of endless peace
to rule with justice and righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
and offer to you a new song of praise,
singing: “Glory to you in the highest heaven
and on earth peace among all you favour.”
You are the God who made the heavens,
the Lord, whose majestic light now shines
on those who walked in darkness.
Your grace appears bringing salvation to all;
your child is given to us, the firstborn of Mary,
and the heavenly host sings his praise.
Though born in exile at the Emperor’s command
and delivered over to death,
he will rise to break the rod of oppression.
Though clothed this night in bands of cloth,
he will burn the blood stained clothes of war.
Though laid this night in a manger,
he will be seated on the throne of endless peace
to rule with justice and righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
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.
©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people.
Jesus Christ is given to us
to redeem us from all wickedness
and to make us a pure people who belong to him
and are eager to do good.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, glorifying and praising God
for all you have heard and seen.
Renounce ungodly living and unworthy desires,
and take control of your life with godliness and honour.
And may the God of grace increase your joy.
May Christ Jesus be born as Saviour within you.
And may the Spirit, the Wonderful Counsellor,
make the good news known to you and through you.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Proper II

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 62:6-12

Jerusalem, I have sent the town criers up onto the wall.
I have told them to shout day and night,
and never let anyone shut them up.
Their job is to shout and chant without a break,
to keep up the pressure
until the LORD puts Jerusalem back on her feet
and makes her the toast of all the earth.
“I have given my word,” says the LORD,
“and you can count on it.”
“Never again will I let your enemies in
to plunder the food and wine
that you have put so much work into.
From now on everyone will enjoy the fruits of their own labour;
those who bake the bread
will eat with thankful hearts;
those who pick the grapes
will enjoy the wine in my temple.”
People of Jerusalem, throw open your gates.
Get everything ready for the home comers.
Resurface the road,
fill the potholes, clear the stones,
put up signs to show everyone the way.
The LORD has an announcement to make,
and all the earth will hear it;
“I am coming soon to save you, Jerusalem,
and I will bring a reward
to make up for all you have suffered.
You will be known as a people dedicated to me,
as the people I have reclaimed and brought home.
You will be called “the place to be,
the city no one wants to leave.”
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Psalm 97

You, LORD, are the ruler of everything!
The whole earth celebrates!
Up and down the coast, everyone is shouting for joy!
Deep, dark clouds of mystery hide you from us;
justice and integrity are the bedrock of your rule.
You are a consuming fire, leaping in all directions,
purging the earth of its enemies.
Your touch splits the darkness with bolts of light;
the earth is lit up and shakes like a leaf.
You are Lord of all the earth, and in your presence
even the mountains go weak and melt like wax.
The heavens herald you as the one who puts things right;
all people everywhere witness your day of glory.
Those who worshipped hollow facades
will hang their heads in shame.
Those who take pride in the power of possessions
will be horrified when it all proves worthless.
All these false gods and short-lived saviours
crumble and fall before you, the real thing.
From the Temple Mountain to the farthest flung town,
your people are celebrating with great joy, O God,
because you have seen the truth and brought about justice.
You, LORD, are number one in all the universe;
in a league of your own,
far above anything else that seeks our allegiance.
You love those who detest evil, LORD;
You stand guard over those who are loyal to you;
You come to their rescue if they fall prey to violence.
When people have integrity and do what is right,
you light up their lives and fill them with joy.
All who build their lives on the bedrock of your truth and justice
are celebrating all you do, LORD.
Just the mention of your holy name
and they burst forth with a flood of gratitude!
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Titus 3: 4-7

When God our Saviour showed up,
overflowing with goodness, love and kindness,
we were rescued from the horrors of our past.
God saved us,
for no other reason than because God wanted to.
We had never done anything to deserve it.
It only happened because God’s mercy is so extravagant.
The Holy Spirit stepped in
and took us down into the healing waters.
We came out thoroughly rejuvenated,
like newborn babies with a fresh start before us.
Through our contact with Jesus Christ, our Saviour,
God has poured out the Holy Spirit on us,
like a rich oil that soaks into every pore.
So now, having been given a clean slate
through God’s extravagant generosity,
we are marked out to receive the full inheritance,
the life without limit that everyone has been longing for.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Luke 2: (1-7), 8-20

Many years ago, the Roman Emperor Augustus gave orders for a census to be conducted throughout the whole empire. This was the first time it had been done while Quirinius was governor of Syria. Every man was required to go and register himself and his family in the town where he had been born. For Joseph, this meant travelling all the way from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Bethlehem had been the home town of King David, and Joseph, being a descendent of David, had been born there too, so that was where he had to report. Joseph’s fiancée, Mary, travelled with him to Bethlehem for the census. She was pregnant and the baby was due any day. There was no accommodation left anywhere in the town, so they ended up sleeping rough in the stables behind a pub. Sure enough, she went into labour while they were there and gave birth to her first child – a baby boy. Mary wrapped the baby in a bunny rug and made up a bed for him in a feed trough.
The region around Bethlehem was sheep country, and that night there was a bunch of shearers spinning yarns around their campfire. Suddenly the whole sky lit up with the glory of God, and the Lord’s messenger stood among them. They were packing death, but the messenger said to them, “It’s okay! There’s no need to panic. I’m here with good news, news that will give everyone everywhere good reason to celebrate. A saviour has just been born in David’s town. He is God’s chosen one, the Lord of all. Go and see for yourselves. You’ll know you’ve found him when you see a baby wrapped in a bunny rug and lying in a feed trough!”
The moment he’d finished speaking, the messenger was joined by a whole crowd from heaven, all praising God and shouting at the tops of their voices, saying:
“All the glory belongs to God in heaven,
and let there be peace on earth for all God’s people!”
Then it was all over – the crowd went back to heaven and the shearers were left sitting there looking at one another, gob-smacked. “We’d better go and check this out,” they said. “Let’s go into town and see if we can see what’s happened, what the Lord has let us in on.”
So without messing around they headed straight into Bethlehem, and sure enough, they tracked down Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the feed trough. When they saw all this, they began telling everyone what they had heard about this child. People could hardly believe their ears when they heard what the shearers were saying. But their words were precious to Mary and she repeated them over and over in her mind, wondering what would become of it all. The shearers headed off towards their camp again – a rowdy mob, singing and shouting in the streets about how fabulous God was because of everything they had seen and heard. Everything had been just the way they had been told it would be.
©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,
singing: “Glory to you in the highest heaven
and on earth peace among all you favour.”
You are the God whose Word raised the earth from the seas,
whose presence melts mountains like wax,
and whose light rains down joy on loyal hearts.
Your loving kindness has appeared - salvation by grace -
a child is given to us, the firstborn of Mary,
and the heavenly host sings his praise.
Though born in exile at the Emperor’s command
and delivered over to death
he will rise to bring back your people
and name them “Redeemed”.
Though clothed this night in bands of cloth,
he will be wrapped in thunder and crowned with glory.
Though laid this night in a manger,
he will be throned on justice and righteousness,
and will restore to all the joyous fruits of their labours.
Therefore with .....
©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for your loving kindness has appeared - salvation by grace -
a Son is given to us, the firstborn of Mary.
Though laid this night in a manger,
he will be throned on justice and righteousness,
and will restore to all the joyous fruits of their labours.
©1999 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
singing: “Glory to you in the highest heaven
and on earth peace among all you favour.”
You are the God whose Word raised the earth from the seas,
whose presence melts mountains like wax,
and whose light rains down joy on loyal hearts.
Your loving kindness has appeared - salvation by grace -
a child is given to us, the firstborn of Mary,
and the heavenly host sings his praise.
Though born in exile at the Emperor’s command
and delivered over to death
he will rise to bring back your people
and name them “Redeemed”.
Though clothed this night in bands of cloth,
he will be wrapped in thunder and crowned with glory.
Though laid this night in a manger,
he will be throned on justice and righteousness,
and will restore to all the joyous fruits of their labours.
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.
©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

The kindness and love of God our Saviour has been revealed
and he has saved us according to his mercy.
Having been justified by his grace,
we are now made heirs with Christ
in the hope of eternal life.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©1999 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, glorifying and praising God
for all you have heard and seen.
Love the Lord, reject evil,
Be joyous in Christ and live faithful lives.
And may God shield you and call you his redeemed.
May Christ Jesus be born as Saviour within you.
And may the Spirit be poured out upon you,
making you heirs of hope with Christ.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Proper III

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Isaiah 52: 7-10

Talk about a sight for sore eyes!
Here comes the messenger, galloping down the mountain,
bringing the news that God’s people have been hanging out for:
“You are saved!
God is in control!
Finally there will be peace!”
So now its time to celebrate like crazy!
Those of you who were standing, tense and silent, on the lookout
can let your hair down and sing and dance.
Fearing the worst, you saw the best:
the LORD returning home to reclaim the city!
You whose streets and homes were reduced to rubble
can raise your glasses and sing together,
for the LORD has put an arm around your shoulders,
reclaimed your streets, and begun rebuilding.
In full view of every nation
the LORD has brandished a hard fist,
ready to deal with would-be oppressors.
Now is the time for the whole earth to see
the freedom God promised,
the peace we longed for!
©2000 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

Hebrews 1: 1-4, (5-12)

Down through the years, God has spoken to our ancestors through the prophets in all sorts of different ways. Lately though, at long last, God has sent a Son to speak to us directly. It was through this Son that God created the world in the first place, and it will all belong to him in the end. You can see all the glory of God mirrored in this Son. God’s essential nature is imprinted on him perfectly. Everything in the universe holds together at his say so. The Son took action to bring about the forgiveness of sins, and having done that he was given the most honoured seat in heaven as God’s right hand man. He had proven himself to be in a league above the angels, and the title he was granted made this clear.
Think about it; God never said to any of the angels:
“You are my Son;
for I have conceived you and brought you to birth.”
Nor did God ever say of of angel:
“I am the Parent,
and this one is my Child.”
When God’s firstborn is brought forth into the world, God says:
“All my angels are to worship him.”
Referring to the angels, God says:
“I make my angels but a puff of wind,
and my servants but flames of fire.”
But speaking to the Son, God says:
“Your throne, O God, will never be shaken.
Your royal power is wielded for justice.
You have a passion for integrity and a loathing for corruption.
Therefore God has chosen you above all others,
and crowned you with joy like no other has known.”
And again speaking to the Son, God says:
“On day one, Lord, you laid the earth’s foundations,
and made the stars in the sky by hand.
Earth and sky will one day be gone,
but you are here for keeps.
They will wear out like favourite work clothes
or be tossed out like last year’s fashions.
But you are untouched by time or wear,
and you will be with us forever.”
©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

John 1: 1-14

At the very start, there was one who is called the Word.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
From day one, God and the Word were inseparable.
It was through the Word that everything was created.
There is absolutely nothing that doesn’t owe its existence to him.
In the Word was life.
He is the source of the life
that turns on the lights for everyone.
The light of his life breaks open the darkness,
and the darkness could not snuff it out.
Once there was a man on a mission from God;
his name was John.
John gave a first-hand report about the light,
spelling it out so that everyone could believe.
He wasn’t the light, himself,
but he made it his job to draw everyone’s attention to the light.
The real light was on his way into the world;
the light that lights up inside of everyone.
He was in the world
but the world didn’t even notice him
even though it owed its existence to him.
He turned up on his own planet, among those he created,
but his own people turned their backs on him.
Some people accepted him, though,
and put their trust in who he said he was
and what he said he was on about.
He gave to those people all they needed
to become children of God.
Becoming God’s children had nothing to do
with sperm and egg,
or three-stage labour;
they became God’s children
when they were born of God.
The Word, though, was born flesh and blood like everyone else.
He cast in his lot with us
and rolled out his swag in our midst.
We have seen him in all his glory,
like father, like son;
warm and generous to a fault,
solid and true to the core.
©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 revealed your justice to the nations
and recalled your merciful love for your people.
In the beginning your Word created the world.
Through your Word, life was brought into being,
and the life was the light that overcomes the darkness.
Your messenger came bringing the good news of peace
so that all might know the Word and believe.
And tonight the good news is fulfilled:
the Word has become flesh.
Though comforted at the breast, he is your exact likeness.
Though the world did not know him,
he bears the imprint of your very being.
Though his own people gave him no welcome,
in him we have seen your glory, full of grace and truth.
He will come to rule the world in justice
and in him all the earth shall see your salvation.
Therefore with .....
©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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

It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for your Word has become flesh among us.
Though the world did not know him,
he bears the imprint of your very being.
Though his own people turned him away,
in him we have seen your glory, full of grace and truth.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

General Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for you have revealed your justice to the nations
and recalled your merciful love for your people.
In the beginning your Word created the world.
Through your Word, life was brought into being,
and the life was the light that overcomes the darkness.
Your messenger came bringing the good news of peace
so that all might know the Word and believe.
And tonight the good news is fulfilled:
the Word has become flesh.
Though comforted at the breast, he is your exact likeness.
Though the world did not know him,
he bears the imprint of your very being.
Though his own people gave him no welcome,
in him we have seen your glory, full of grace and truth.
He will come to rule the world in justice
and in him all the earth shall see your salvation.
Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
©2004 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Declaration of Grace / Absolution

Jesus Christ, the exact likeness of God’s own being,
has come into the world full of grace and truth.
He has made purification for sins,
and to all who believe in him,
he gives the power to become children of God.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Commission & Benediction

Go now, and join your voices
with the song of joy in all creation.
Announce peace.
Herald salvation.
Let the earth know that God reigns.
And may God sustain you with his powerful Word.
May Christ Jesus be born as Saviour within you.
And may the Spirit reveal to you the glory
of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.
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.

“From little things, big things grow.” A sermon on Luke 2: 1-20 by Nathan Nettleton

A Homily from St Gregory Nazianzus for the Feast of the NativityA thematic sermon by Nathan Nettleton

A Homily from St Leo the Great for the Feast of the NativityA thematic sermon by Nathan Nettleton

The Nativity Sermon of St John ChrysostomA thematic sermon by Nathan Nettleton

A Nativity Sermon from St Ephraim the SyrianA thematic sermon by Nathan Nettleton

The Light ShinesA sermon on John 1:1-14 & Isaiah 9:2-7 by Nathan Nettleton

Today!A thematic sermon by Nathan Nettleton

Peace on EarthA sermon on Luke 2: 1-20 by Nathan Nettleton

The Emmanuel ScandalA sermon on John 1: 1-14; Luke 2: 1-20 & Matthew 1: 18-25 by Nathan Nettleton

Christmas LightsA Christmas sermon by Alison Sampson

Human BecomingA sermon on John 1:1-18; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20 & Isaiah 9:2-7 by Nathan Nettleton

The Gospel in a Feed TroughA sermon on Luke 2:1-20 by Nathan Nettleton

For Christmas hope and healing, look to the shadowsA sermon on Luke 2:1-20 by Alison Sampson

May the Word be With YouA sermon on John 1:1-14 by Roslyn Wright

Light in the DarknessA sermon on Isaiah 9:2, Luke 2:9 & John 1:3-9 by Nathan Nettleton
