BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//LaughingBird - ECPv6.15.18//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:LaughingBird
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://laughingbird.net
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for LaughingBird
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Australia/Melbourne
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20270403T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20271002T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20280401T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20280930T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20290331T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20291006T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20300406T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20301005T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20310405T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20311004T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20320403T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20321002T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20280730T000000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20280730T235959
DTSTAMP:20260406T022647
CREATED:20210504T020424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250824T120743Z
UID:10001758-1848528000-1848614399@laughingbird.net
SUMMARY:Proper 12 - Year C
DESCRIPTION: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. \n\n\n\nBible Readings (paraphrased)\n\n\n\nLections 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. \n\n\n	\n\n		\n			\n				  Hosea 1: 2-10			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	When Hosea was first called to be the LORD'S mouthpiece\, the LORD said to him\, “Hosea\, Israel has been as unfaithful to me as a wife who has sex with anyone willing to pay. Since you are to represent me\, go and take a prostitute as your wife\, and have children with her\, even though you’ll always wonder if they are really yours.” \nSo Hosea went and married a prostitute named Gomer\, the daughter of Diblaim. Gomer fell pregnant and soon they had a baby boy. \nThe LORD said to Hosea\, “You are to name your son Jezreel\, after the site of the infamous massacre. It won’t be long now before I will punish the royal family of King Jehu for that massacre. The kingdom of Israel will be destroyed. When that day comes\, I will smash their weapons to pieces right there in the Jezreel valley.” \nGomer fell pregnant again and gave birth to a baby girl. This time the LORD said to Hosea\, “You are to name your daughter ‘No-mercy’. I’ve had a gutful of the people of Israel. I will no longer have mercy on them. I am not forgiving them any more. The people of Judah still belong to me and I will be merciful to them. Their defence systems\, armies and weapons won’t save them\, but I\, the LORD their God\, will save them myself.” \nAfter she had weaned No-mercy\, Gomer fell pregnant again and gave birth to another baby boy. The LORD said to Hosea\, “You are to name this one ‘Not-mine’\, because these people are not mine any more\, and I am no longer their God. Nevertheless\, it will not always be that way. One day Israel will flourish in such numbers that trying to count them would be like trying to count the grains of sand on the beach. And\, in the very same place where they were known as ‘Not-mine’\, they will once again be known as ‘Children of the living God.’” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 85			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	LORD\, you smiled on your land\nand brought back the good times for your people. \nYou struck out the record of our guilt\nand pardoned all we had done wrong. \nYou swallowed your rage\,\nunclenched your fists\, and cooled down. \nYes God\, you have saved us before\,\nand now we need your help again.\nPut aside the anger we caused you\, LORD\,\nand help us get back on track. \nYou won’t maintain your rage forever\, will you?\nSurely you won’t burn with anger\, year after year? \nWouldn’t it be better to put us back on our feet\nand have us trumpeting your goodness? \nLet us in on your rock-solid love\, LORD.\nSave us and give us a fresh start. \nWe are eager to hear all you have to say\, LORD God\,\nfor your words bring peace and wellbeing\nto those who stick with you\nand leave behind their foolish ways. \nSurely for all who respect you\,\nthe life you saved us for is within reach.\nOur land will be ablaze with your presence. \nWhat a life it will be!\nLove and loyalty will link arms;\njustice and peace will become lovers. \nFaithfulness will sprout and reach for the sky;\nintegrity will beam down on the earth. \nYou will give us every good thing\, LORD\,\nand the land will give bumper crops. \nJustice and integrity will spring up as you approach\,\nlining the road to welcome you among us. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Colossians 2: 6-15\, (16-19)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Stay on track! You received Christ Jesus the Lord; now follow through on your good start. Put down deep roots and draw on Christ in everything you do. Make Christ the foundation on which you build your lives. See that your faith grows strong and stable\, just as you were taught\, and you will always be thankful. \nDon’t let anyone entangle you with highfalutin theories and intellectual clap-trap. There are plenty of exotic sounding spiritualities on offer; all claiming to enable you to achieve harmony with the psychic forces or spirit-powers that control the destiny of the cosmos. They contain enough truth to be very persuasive\, but they skirt around the truth of Christ. It is in Christ that God is fully present as a human being\, and accessible to you. It is in Christ that your progress into the fullness of human potential is made. And it is in Christ that you will find the real nerve centre of the cosmos. \nIt is also in Christ that you were marked out as people who belong to God\, not by going under the knife in a physical circumcision\, but by going under Christ’s knife to have your selfish compulsions cut away. This\, of course\, was still a physical action\, because it was in baptism that your old lives were lowered into the grave with Christ\, and it was from the waters of baptism that you were raised\, with Christ\, to new life; having entrusted yourself to the same life-giving power by which God raised Christ from the dead. Prior to that\, you were as good as dead\, because your actions and your hearts made it clear that you did not belong to God\, but God set about making you fully alive again\, together with Christ. God forgave all that you had done wrong\, and cancelled out all record of your offences and the punishments pending\, by adding it all to the conviction sheet of someone who had already been executed — namely Jesus Christ! Dying and rising\, Christ publicly exposed as a sham the claims of the various psychic forces and spirit-powers to be controlling the destiny of the cosmos. Christ’s resurrection triumph made a mockery of them. \nSo then\, do not let anybody put you down as spiritually inferior for not conforming to their prescriptions about abstaining from certain foods or drinks\, or not observing their particular sacred days or festivals. These sorts of things are a bit like travel brochures: they may whet your appetite for what’s ahead\, but they are nothing like actually arriving there. Christ is the reality we are looking forward to — the be all and end all — so you can take or leave the various traditions or disciplines that\, at best\, just point you in the right direction. Do not tolerate anyone advocating that you should be excluded unless you do everything their way and join them in their punishing self-disciplines and their obsession with pandering to angels. They go on and on about how all these things were communicated to them in supernatural visions\, but they are a lot of hot air. Their minds are actually stuck in an all-too-human rut because they have lost touch with the nerve-centre of true spirituality\, namely Christ. It is only the impulses that come from Christ the head that enable us\, the body\, to function and grow as a healthy whole in the way God intended for us. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Luke 11: 1-13			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	One day\, Jesus had set aside some time and space to pray. When he had finished\, one of his followers said to him\, “Lord\, John taught his followers how to pray. Please do the same for us.” \nSo Jesus said to them\, “Here is a model prayer for you to use when you pray: \nFather\, may your name be kept sacred.\nMay everything be brought under your rule.\nGive us enough food for each day.\nForgive us the things we have done wrong\,\njust as we forgive those who owe us anything.\nAnd don’t push us beyond our limits.” \nJesus went on to say\, “Imagine if friends from out of town dropped in without warning late one night\, and you didn’t even have enough in the cupboard to offer them a sandwich. So you knock on your next-door-neighbour’s door and call out\, ‘Please be a mate and lend me a few things from your kitchen to feed my unexpected guests.’ But your neighbour yells back from inside saying\, ‘Don’t hassle me with your problems. Its after midnight. We’ve already gone to bed and the kids are asleep. There’s no way I’m getting up for you or anyone.’ But let me tell you this; he might not get up and help just because he thinks that’s what mates do\, but if you stick to your guns and make a scene for long enough\, he will eventually get up and give you whatever you need just to shut you up! \n“So\, what I am telling you is this: \nIf you want to be given something\, keep on asking for it.\nIf you want to find something\, keep on searching for it.\nIf you want a door to open for you\, keep on knocking at it. \n“That’s the way it is. All who keep on asking will receive. All who keep on searching will find. And all who keep on knocking will have the door opened for them. Think about it. None of you parents would ever put a live snake in your child’s lunch box\, would you? If your child asked for a piece of chocolate\, you wouldn’t pop a funnel-web in her mouth\, would you? You lot might score a lot more points for selfishness than you do for generous love\, but you still care enough to want to provide the best for your own children. So surely you can see that God\, the ultimate parent\, will be all the more eager to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	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. \nThe 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. \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Genesis 18: 20-32			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	The LORD said to Abraham\, “The reports I am hearing about the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are full of allegations of callous depravity and corruption. I have decided to go down and see for myself whether the situation is really as horrendous as the reports make out. Perhaps the people are really not so bad\, but I need to know.” \nSo the visitors set off in the direction of Sodom\, leaving Abraham in the presence of the LORD. Abraham turned to the LORD and said\, “Surely you wouldn’t just wipe out everybody; the good along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent\, honest people in the city? Will you still go ahead and wipe out the city instead of sparing it for the sake of the fifty good people who live there? Far be it from you to be so indiscriminate\, to lump the good people in with the evil\, and punish them all the same. How could you? You are the one who sits in judgment over all the earth; surely you must be seen to be fair in your own actions.” \nThe LORD replied\, “If I find fifty decent\, honest people in Sodom\, I will pardon the whole city for their sake.” \nAbraham spoke up again\, saying\, “I know I am way out of line challenging you\, Lord — mere mortal that I am — but what if the count falls five short? Would five people make such a difference that you would go ahead and destroy the whole city?” \nThe LORD replied\, “I will hold fire if I find forty-five decent people.” \nAbraham pressed on: “What if you could only find forty there?” \nThe LORD replied\, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” \nThen Abraham said\, “Forgive me for pushing the issue\, Lord\, but what if you can only rustle up thirty?” \nThe LORD replied\, “I will hold fire if I find thirty of them.” \n“Maybe I’m pushing my luck\, speaking to you like this\, Lord\,” said Abraham\, “but let’s say you found only twenty. What then?” \nThe LORD replied\, “For the sake of twenty I will spare the city.” \nAbraham said\, “Lord\, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time; but what if you can find only ten good people in Sodom?” \n“Then for the sake of those ten\,” the LORD answered\, “I will not destroy the city.” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 138			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Thank you\, LORD\, thank you!\nThank you\, from the bottom of my heart!\nI will stand and sing your praises\nin the face of every would-be god! \nWherever I am\, I turn towards your holy Temple\nand fall to my knees in gratitude\,\nthanking you for your rock-solid love and loyalty;\nWith everything you say and everything you do\nyour reputation continues to go through the roof.\nThe minute I called\, you were there for me\,\nyou put steel in my spine\,\ngave me the guts to go on. \nWhen the things you have been saying sink in\, LORD\,\nall the earth’s powerful rulers will give credit to you.\nThey’ll join the party\, singing and dancing in your honour\,\ncelebrating the wonderful things you do. \nAs great as you are\,\nyou never think of ordinary people as beneath you\,\nbut you don’t waste your time\non those who are pretentious and stuck-up. \nAlthough I must often walk into dangerous situations\,\nyou protect me from hatred and hostility;\nyour invisible hand is always there\, keeping me safe. \nYou\, LORD\, have made plans for me\nand you will see them through to completion.\nYour love is as timeless and dependable as the rock;\nyou have made us what we are\nand you never give up on us. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n	\n\n\n\nPrayers\n\n\n	\n\n		\n			\n				  Eucharistic Preface			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Let us lift up our hearts.\nWe lift them to the Lord.\nLet us give thanks to the Lord our God.\nIt is right to give our thanks and praise. \nIt is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise\, O God\,\nand hallow your name throughout the earth\,\nfor in you love and fidelity embrace\,\npeace and justice kiss. \nWhen you created the earth and poured out your riches\nthe land sprang to life with good gifts for all.\nWhen we prostituted ourselves\nto the ruling spirits of the world\,\nyou loved us still\, and sent your prophets to call us back. \nIn your child\, Jesus\,\nyour divine nature has indwelt humanity.\nNailed to the cross\, he cancelled the record of our sin\,\nand when we were buried with him in baptism\,\nyou raised us with him\nthrough faith in your active power.\nNow to all who seek and ask\,\nyou give the gift of life\,\nholding us together in Christ’s body\,\nnourishing us daily with the bread of life\nand calling us “Children of the living God.” \nTherefore with ..... \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	We thank you that to all who seek and ask\,\nyou give the gift of full life\,\nholding us together in Christ’s body\,\nnourishing us daily with the bread of life\nand calling us “Children of the living God.” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  General Prayer of Thanksgiving			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)\n\nWe give you all thanks and praise\, O God\,\nand hallow your name throughout the earth\,\nfor in you love and fidelity embrace\,\npeace and justice kiss. \nWhen you created the earth and poured out your riches\nthe land sprang to life with good gifts for all.\nWhen we prostituted ourselves\nto the ruling spirits of the world\,\nyou loved us still\, and sent your prophets to call us back. \nIn your child\, Jesus\,\nyour divine nature has indwelt humanity.\nNailed to the cross\, he cancelled the record of our sin\,\nand when we were buried with him in baptism\,\nyou raised us with him\nthrough faith in your active power.\nNow to all who seek and ask\,\nyou give the gift of life\,\nholding us together in Christ’s body\,\nnourishing us daily with the bread of life\nand calling us “Children of the living God.” \nTherefore\, with our hearts lifted high\,\nwe offer you thanks and praise at all times\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord\,\nwho lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit\,\none God\, for ever and ever.\nAmen. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Declaration of Grace / Absolution			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	To all who turn their hearts to God\, the word of peace comes:\nGod has erased the record that stood against us\,\nnailing it to the cross of Christ.\nGod has shown mercy\,\ncoming to revive us and save us. \nSisters and Brothers\,\n  your sins are forgiven;\n    be at peace. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Commission & Benediction			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Go now as people in whom love and fidelity embrace;\npeace and justice kiss.\nLive your lives in Christ\,\nrooted and built up in him\,\nfull of thanksgiving\nand praying as he taught us. \nAnd may God give good gifts in answer to your prayers;\nMay Christ Jesus establish you in the faith;\nAnd may the Holy Spirit pour out heaven’s riches upon you. \nWe go in peace to love and serve the Lord\,\n   In the name of Christ. Amen. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n	\n\n\n\nSermons\n\n\n\nSermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website. \n\n\n\n\nHow shall we pray?A sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nPraying by the BookA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nDon’t let them put you downA sermon on Colossians 2: 6-19 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nEarth-Shattering PrayerA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 & Colossians 2:6-19 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nThe Prayer of the ChurchA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nYour Will Be Done In A World Of ChaosA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nGetting Off the Outrage GravitronA sermon on Luke 11:4 & Colossians 2:13-14 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nPersistence in PrayerA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Chris Barnden\n\n\n\nOn Praying the Lord’s PrayerA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Geoff Leslie
URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/cp12/2028-07-30/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://laughingbird.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P12.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20310727T000000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20310727T235959
DTSTAMP:20260406T022647
CREATED:20210504T020424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250824T120743Z
UID:10002971-1942876800-1942963199@laughingbird.net
SUMMARY:Proper 12 - Year C
DESCRIPTION: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. \n\n\n\nBible Readings (paraphrased)\n\n\n\nLections 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. \n\n\n	\n\n		\n			\n				  Hosea 1: 2-10			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	When Hosea was first called to be the LORD'S mouthpiece\, the LORD said to him\, “Hosea\, Israel has been as unfaithful to me as a wife who has sex with anyone willing to pay. Since you are to represent me\, go and take a prostitute as your wife\, and have children with her\, even though you’ll always wonder if they are really yours.” \nSo Hosea went and married a prostitute named Gomer\, the daughter of Diblaim. Gomer fell pregnant and soon they had a baby boy. \nThe LORD said to Hosea\, “You are to name your son Jezreel\, after the site of the infamous massacre. It won’t be long now before I will punish the royal family of King Jehu for that massacre. The kingdom of Israel will be destroyed. When that day comes\, I will smash their weapons to pieces right there in the Jezreel valley.” \nGomer fell pregnant again and gave birth to a baby girl. This time the LORD said to Hosea\, “You are to name your daughter ‘No-mercy’. I’ve had a gutful of the people of Israel. I will no longer have mercy on them. I am not forgiving them any more. The people of Judah still belong to me and I will be merciful to them. Their defence systems\, armies and weapons won’t save them\, but I\, the LORD their God\, will save them myself.” \nAfter she had weaned No-mercy\, Gomer fell pregnant again and gave birth to another baby boy. The LORD said to Hosea\, “You are to name this one ‘Not-mine’\, because these people are not mine any more\, and I am no longer their God. Nevertheless\, it will not always be that way. One day Israel will flourish in such numbers that trying to count them would be like trying to count the grains of sand on the beach. And\, in the very same place where they were known as ‘Not-mine’\, they will once again be known as ‘Children of the living God.’” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 85			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	LORD\, you smiled on your land\nand brought back the good times for your people. \nYou struck out the record of our guilt\nand pardoned all we had done wrong. \nYou swallowed your rage\,\nunclenched your fists\, and cooled down. \nYes God\, you have saved us before\,\nand now we need your help again.\nPut aside the anger we caused you\, LORD\,\nand help us get back on track. \nYou won’t maintain your rage forever\, will you?\nSurely you won’t burn with anger\, year after year? \nWouldn’t it be better to put us back on our feet\nand have us trumpeting your goodness? \nLet us in on your rock-solid love\, LORD.\nSave us and give us a fresh start. \nWe are eager to hear all you have to say\, LORD God\,\nfor your words bring peace and wellbeing\nto those who stick with you\nand leave behind their foolish ways. \nSurely for all who respect you\,\nthe life you saved us for is within reach.\nOur land will be ablaze with your presence. \nWhat a life it will be!\nLove and loyalty will link arms;\njustice and peace will become lovers. \nFaithfulness will sprout and reach for the sky;\nintegrity will beam down on the earth. \nYou will give us every good thing\, LORD\,\nand the land will give bumper crops. \nJustice and integrity will spring up as you approach\,\nlining the road to welcome you among us. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Colossians 2: 6-15\, (16-19)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Stay on track! You received Christ Jesus the Lord; now follow through on your good start. Put down deep roots and draw on Christ in everything you do. Make Christ the foundation on which you build your lives. See that your faith grows strong and stable\, just as you were taught\, and you will always be thankful. \nDon’t let anyone entangle you with highfalutin theories and intellectual clap-trap. There are plenty of exotic sounding spiritualities on offer; all claiming to enable you to achieve harmony with the psychic forces or spirit-powers that control the destiny of the cosmos. They contain enough truth to be very persuasive\, but they skirt around the truth of Christ. It is in Christ that God is fully present as a human being\, and accessible to you. It is in Christ that your progress into the fullness of human potential is made. And it is in Christ that you will find the real nerve centre of the cosmos. \nIt is also in Christ that you were marked out as people who belong to God\, not by going under the knife in a physical circumcision\, but by going under Christ’s knife to have your selfish compulsions cut away. This\, of course\, was still a physical action\, because it was in baptism that your old lives were lowered into the grave with Christ\, and it was from the waters of baptism that you were raised\, with Christ\, to new life; having entrusted yourself to the same life-giving power by which God raised Christ from the dead. Prior to that\, you were as good as dead\, because your actions and your hearts made it clear that you did not belong to God\, but God set about making you fully alive again\, together with Christ. God forgave all that you had done wrong\, and cancelled out all record of your offences and the punishments pending\, by adding it all to the conviction sheet of someone who had already been executed — namely Jesus Christ! Dying and rising\, Christ publicly exposed as a sham the claims of the various psychic forces and spirit-powers to be controlling the destiny of the cosmos. Christ’s resurrection triumph made a mockery of them. \nSo then\, do not let anybody put you down as spiritually inferior for not conforming to their prescriptions about abstaining from certain foods or drinks\, or not observing their particular sacred days or festivals. These sorts of things are a bit like travel brochures: they may whet your appetite for what’s ahead\, but they are nothing like actually arriving there. Christ is the reality we are looking forward to — the be all and end all — so you can take or leave the various traditions or disciplines that\, at best\, just point you in the right direction. Do not tolerate anyone advocating that you should be excluded unless you do everything their way and join them in their punishing self-disciplines and their obsession with pandering to angels. They go on and on about how all these things were communicated to them in supernatural visions\, but they are a lot of hot air. Their minds are actually stuck in an all-too-human rut because they have lost touch with the nerve-centre of true spirituality\, namely Christ. It is only the impulses that come from Christ the head that enable us\, the body\, to function and grow as a healthy whole in the way God intended for us. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Luke 11: 1-13			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	One day\, Jesus had set aside some time and space to pray. When he had finished\, one of his followers said to him\, “Lord\, John taught his followers how to pray. Please do the same for us.” \nSo Jesus said to them\, “Here is a model prayer for you to use when you pray: \nFather\, may your name be kept sacred.\nMay everything be brought under your rule.\nGive us enough food for each day.\nForgive us the things we have done wrong\,\njust as we forgive those who owe us anything.\nAnd don’t push us beyond our limits.” \nJesus went on to say\, “Imagine if friends from out of town dropped in without warning late one night\, and you didn’t even have enough in the cupboard to offer them a sandwich. So you knock on your next-door-neighbour’s door and call out\, ‘Please be a mate and lend me a few things from your kitchen to feed my unexpected guests.’ But your neighbour yells back from inside saying\, ‘Don’t hassle me with your problems. Its after midnight. We’ve already gone to bed and the kids are asleep. There’s no way I’m getting up for you or anyone.’ But let me tell you this; he might not get up and help just because he thinks that’s what mates do\, but if you stick to your guns and make a scene for long enough\, he will eventually get up and give you whatever you need just to shut you up! \n“So\, what I am telling you is this: \nIf you want to be given something\, keep on asking for it.\nIf you want to find something\, keep on searching for it.\nIf you want a door to open for you\, keep on knocking at it. \n“That’s the way it is. All who keep on asking will receive. All who keep on searching will find. And all who keep on knocking will have the door opened for them. Think about it. None of you parents would ever put a live snake in your child’s lunch box\, would you? If your child asked for a piece of chocolate\, you wouldn’t pop a funnel-web in her mouth\, would you? You lot might score a lot more points for selfishness than you do for generous love\, but you still care enough to want to provide the best for your own children. So surely you can see that God\, the ultimate parent\, will be all the more eager to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Below are the alternative 1st Reading and Psalm themed to the Gospel lection			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	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. \nThe 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. \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Genesis 18: 20-32			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	The LORD said to Abraham\, “The reports I am hearing about the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are full of allegations of callous depravity and corruption. I have decided to go down and see for myself whether the situation is really as horrendous as the reports make out. Perhaps the people are really not so bad\, but I need to know.” \nSo the visitors set off in the direction of Sodom\, leaving Abraham in the presence of the LORD. Abraham turned to the LORD and said\, “Surely you wouldn’t just wipe out everybody; the good along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent\, honest people in the city? Will you still go ahead and wipe out the city instead of sparing it for the sake of the fifty good people who live there? Far be it from you to be so indiscriminate\, to lump the good people in with the evil\, and punish them all the same. How could you? You are the one who sits in judgment over all the earth; surely you must be seen to be fair in your own actions.” \nThe LORD replied\, “If I find fifty decent\, honest people in Sodom\, I will pardon the whole city for their sake.” \nAbraham spoke up again\, saying\, “I know I am way out of line challenging you\, Lord — mere mortal that I am — but what if the count falls five short? Would five people make such a difference that you would go ahead and destroy the whole city?” \nThe LORD replied\, “I will hold fire if I find forty-five decent people.” \nAbraham pressed on: “What if you could only find forty there?” \nThe LORD replied\, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” \nThen Abraham said\, “Forgive me for pushing the issue\, Lord\, but what if you can only rustle up thirty?” \nThe LORD replied\, “I will hold fire if I find thirty of them.” \n“Maybe I’m pushing my luck\, speaking to you like this\, Lord\,” said Abraham\, “but let’s say you found only twenty. What then?” \nThe LORD replied\, “For the sake of twenty I will spare the city.” \nAbraham said\, “Lord\, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time; but what if you can find only ten good people in Sodom?” \n“Then for the sake of those ten\,” the LORD answered\, “I will not destroy the city.” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 138			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Thank you\, LORD\, thank you!\nThank you\, from the bottom of my heart!\nI will stand and sing your praises\nin the face of every would-be god! \nWherever I am\, I turn towards your holy Temple\nand fall to my knees in gratitude\,\nthanking you for your rock-solid love and loyalty;\nWith everything you say and everything you do\nyour reputation continues to go through the roof.\nThe minute I called\, you were there for me\,\nyou put steel in my spine\,\ngave me the guts to go on. \nWhen the things you have been saying sink in\, LORD\,\nall the earth’s powerful rulers will give credit to you.\nThey’ll join the party\, singing and dancing in your honour\,\ncelebrating the wonderful things you do. \nAs great as you are\,\nyou never think of ordinary people as beneath you\,\nbut you don’t waste your time\non those who are pretentious and stuck-up. \nAlthough I must often walk into dangerous situations\,\nyou protect me from hatred and hostility;\nyour invisible hand is always there\, keeping me safe. \nYou\, LORD\, have made plans for me\nand you will see them through to completion.\nYour love is as timeless and dependable as the rock;\nyou have made us what we are\nand you never give up on us. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n	\n\n\n\nPrayers\n\n\n	\n\n		\n			\n				  Eucharistic Preface			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Let us lift up our hearts.\nWe lift them to the Lord.\nLet us give thanks to the Lord our God.\nIt is right to give our thanks and praise. \nIt is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise\, O God\,\nand hallow your name throughout the earth\,\nfor in you love and fidelity embrace\,\npeace and justice kiss. \nWhen you created the earth and poured out your riches\nthe land sprang to life with good gifts for all.\nWhen we prostituted ourselves\nto the ruling spirits of the world\,\nyou loved us still\, and sent your prophets to call us back. \nIn your child\, Jesus\,\nyour divine nature has indwelt humanity.\nNailed to the cross\, he cancelled the record of our sin\,\nand when we were buried with him in baptism\,\nyou raised us with him\nthrough faith in your active power.\nNow to all who seek and ask\,\nyou give the gift of life\,\nholding us together in Christ’s body\,\nnourishing us daily with the bread of life\nand calling us “Children of the living God.” \nTherefore with ..... \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Short Preface (for insertion into Eucharistic prayers with fixed prefaces)			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	We thank you that to all who seek and ask\,\nyou give the gift of full life\,\nholding us together in Christ’s body\,\nnourishing us daily with the bread of life\nand calling us “Children of the living God.” \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  General Prayer of Thanksgiving			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)\n\nWe give you all thanks and praise\, O God\,\nand hallow your name throughout the earth\,\nfor in you love and fidelity embrace\,\npeace and justice kiss. \nWhen you created the earth and poured out your riches\nthe land sprang to life with good gifts for all.\nWhen we prostituted ourselves\nto the ruling spirits of the world\,\nyou loved us still\, and sent your prophets to call us back. \nIn your child\, Jesus\,\nyour divine nature has indwelt humanity.\nNailed to the cross\, he cancelled the record of our sin\,\nand when we were buried with him in baptism\,\nyou raised us with him\nthrough faith in your active power.\nNow to all who seek and ask\,\nyou give the gift of life\,\nholding us together in Christ’s body\,\nnourishing us daily with the bread of life\nand calling us “Children of the living God.” \nTherefore\, with our hearts lifted high\,\nwe offer you thanks and praise at all times\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord\,\nwho lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit\,\none God\, for ever and ever.\nAmen. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Declaration of Grace / Absolution			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	To all who turn their hearts to God\, the word of peace comes:\nGod has erased the record that stood against us\,\nnailing it to the cross of Christ.\nGod has shown mercy\,\ncoming to revive us and save us. \nSisters and Brothers\,\n  your sins are forgiven;\n    be at peace. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Commission & Benediction			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Go now as people in whom love and fidelity embrace;\npeace and justice kiss.\nLive your lives in Christ\,\nrooted and built up in him\,\nfull of thanksgiving\nand praying as he taught us. \nAnd may God give good gifts in answer to your prayers;\nMay Christ Jesus establish you in the faith;\nAnd may the Holy Spirit pour out heaven’s riches upon you. \nWe go in peace to love and serve the Lord\,\n   In the name of Christ. Amen. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n	\n\n\n\nSermons\n\n\n\nSermons will open in new tabs from our SYCBaps church website. \n\n\n\n\nHow shall we pray?A sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nPraying by the BookA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nDon’t let them put you downA sermon on Colossians 2: 6-19 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nEarth-Shattering PrayerA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 & Colossians 2:6-19 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nThe Prayer of the ChurchA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nYour Will Be Done In A World Of ChaosA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nGetting Off the Outrage GravitronA sermon on Luke 11:4 & Colossians 2:13-14 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nPersistence in PrayerA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Chris Barnden\n\n\n\nOn Praying the Lord’s PrayerA sermon on Luke 11: 1-13 by Geoff Leslie
URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/cp12/2031-07-27/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://laughingbird.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P12.png
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR