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:20281008T000000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20281008T235959 DTSTAMP:20260406T022653 CREATED:20221024T005908Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251102T000734Z UID:10001964-1854576000-1854662399@laughingbird.net SUMMARY:Proper 22 - 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 Lamentations 1: 1-6 \n \n\n \n \n \n What a sad and lonely sight the city has become\,\nwhere once it was teeming with people.\nOnce she was the toast of all the world.\nNow she is a has-been.\nShe was the queen of the nations.\nNow she sweeps up after them. \nShe sobs her heart out every night.\nBitter tears fall like rain.\nShe who could pick and choose her lovers\nnow can’t find a shoulder to cry on.\nFormer friends don’t want to know her.\nThey join her enemies to stick the boots in. \nJudah has been marched off into exile.\nNothing but grief and hard labour ahead.\nShe wanders like a refugee\nwith no place to call her home.\nIf she runs\, they hunt her down\,\nand make her fate even worse than before. \nAlong the Jerusalem Road everyone is ruined\,\nfor the festival crowds no longer pass that way.\nThe city gates are derelict.\nThe priests are in despair.\nThe young women live in fear.\nThe city lies raped and ransacked. \nHer enemies now rule the roost\,\nliving it up at her expense.\nThe LORD has abandoned her to her fate\nbecause her offences just went on and on.\nHer children have been carried off\nas prisoners in enemy hands. \nDaughter Zion is a wrung out rag\,\nall her life and beauty gone.\nHer brightest and best are like lost cattle\nstarving in the desert.\nThey fled for their lives\nand are now fainting from hunger and thirst. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Lamentations 3: 19-26 \n \n\n \n \n \n The reality I’m facing is like a bitter taste in my mouth.\nGrief and deprivation poison my mind. \nI can’t stop thinking about it over and over\,\nbut every thought makes me want to die. \nThe one thing that gives me hope\,\nthe one thing I keep reminding myself of is this: \nYour love and loyalty never die\, LORD.\nYour generous mercy never runs dry.\nThey are created new every morning\nand you are as trustworthy as the solid rock. \nSo I keep telling myself that you are all I need\nand that I can still trust you to come through for me. \nYou are good to those who hang in there for you\, LORD;\nto those whose hearts continue to search for you. \nThe life for which you save us\, LORD\,\nis worth patiently waiting for. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n OR Psalm 137 \n \n\n \n \n \n In Babylon\, sitting on the banks of the river\,\nwe swapped stories of home\nand cried and cried and cried. \nUnable to sing\,\nwe packed away our instruments unplayed. \nThe guards made a joke of our misery\,\ntormenting us with insults\,\nand demanding that we entertain them\nwith songs from our homeland. \nBut how could we sing your songs\nin that godless place\, LORD? \nIf I ever forget your holy city\, LORD\,\nmay my arms be turned into twigs and burned. \nLORD\, if I do not remember Jerusalem\nand stand up for her no matter what\,\nmay I be strung up by my toes\nover a mosquito infested swamp. \nLORD\, do not forgive that rampaging army\nfor the way they destroyed your holy city;\nfor the way they shouted and cheered\nas it crumbled and fell. \nDamn those murdering mongrels to hell\, LORD.\nReward anyone who pays them back\nfor what they did to us! \nReward anyone who rounds up their children\nand kicks them to death! \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 \n \n\n \n \n \n Dear Timothy. This letter comes to you from me\, Paul\, a special ambassador of Christ Jesus\, chosen by God to make it known that in Christ Jesus\, life has been promised to everyone. I greet you as my beloved son\, and wish you all the best – God’s love and peace and extravagant generosity. \nI am so grateful for being able to worship God the way my ancestors did\, and I am sure I am doing the right thing. I also feel incredibly grateful when I think of you\, as I do in my prayers\, both day and night. I remember our last tearful farewell\, and I am desperately looking forward to catching up with you again. It will make me so happy! I have fond memories of your very real and down-to-earth faith. That quality seems to run in your family: I first saw it in your grandmother Lois\, and then in your mother Eunice\, and now\, sure enough\, it is alive in you too. That is why I want to remind you to keep fuelling the fire of the gift that God gave you when I placed my hands on your head and prayed for you. After all\, God did not intend that we should be timid about our gifts. Instead\, God gave them to us to be used with courage\, love and self-discipline. \nSo then\, don’t be embarrassed about the stories of our Lord\, or about me being locked up for him. Trust God’s power to be there for you\, and join me in putting your life on the line for the message of God’s all-embracing love. \nGod rescued us from a living death\nand called us to live for God alone\nWe had not earned this;\nit was simply God’s plan\,\ncarried out with great generosity. \nEven before time began\,\nGod’s extravagant generosity was ready for us;\na gift prepared for us in Christ Jesus. \nNow it is out in the open\,\nlit up for all to see:\nChrist Jesus has appeared as our lifesaver\,\nwiping out death\nand announcing the fabulous message\nof a life that death cannot touch. \nI have been given the job of broadcasting this message; of being an ambassador for it\, and a teacher of it. The trouble I have been suffering comes as a consequence of the job\, but I have no regrets. I’d do it all again\, because I have entrusted myself to Christ and come to know him\, and I have every confidence in his ability to see me through to the day when everything will be completed. \nSo remember all I have taught you – it is solid and trustworthy\, and will guide you in living out the faith and love which are grounded in Christ Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us\, take good care of the wonderful gift that God has entrusted to you. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Luke 17: 5-10 \n \n\n \n \n \n Those who Jesus had chosen as his ambassadors approached him and said\, “Make our faith grow bigger!” \nBut the Lord replied\, “Faith is not something that is bigger or smaller. You only need faith the size of a poppy seed to be able to say to a huge tree\, ‘Go jump in the lake\,’ and it would obey you. \n“Think about this: If you employ someone to be you servant\, full-time\, you expect him to do what you pay him for\, don’t you? If he comes in from a day working your land or shearing your sheep\, you are not going to tell him to put his feet up while you run his bath and fix his dinner are you? Instead you will tell him to take his boots off\, fix your supper\, and wait on your table until your meal is over. After that\, you’ll let him knock off and fix his own meal. You don’t pin a medal on him for just doing what he’s paid for\, do you? \n“So remember that it is the same with you. When you have done what is required of you\, don’t go expecting anyone to put your name up in lights. Instead say\, ‘We are nothing special. We were just doing our job\,’ and leave it at that.” \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 Habakkuk 1: 1-4; 2: 1-4 \n \n\n \n \n \n My name is Habakkuk and I am a prophet. I went to God seeking an explanation for the way things are. \nFor crying out loud\, LORD!\nHow long will it be before you listen?\nHow long do I have to scream blue murder\nbefore you come to the rescue? \nWhy do you make me witness so much evil?\nWhy am I forced to see such things?\nEverywhere I look: violence and carnage\,\nfighting and madness on every side. \nLaw and order are out the window.\nJustice is a joke.\nThe corrupt ride roughshod over decent people\,\nand twisted laws protect them as they do. \nSo what have you got to say\, LORD?\nI’m not budging from this spot until you answer.\nI’m going to stand right here\, all eyes and ears\,\nuntil you respond to my complaint. \nThen the LORD answered me\, saying: \nGet the vision down in writing\nin words that everyone can understand\,\nand get it to the publishers on the double. \nThe vision I have made known is still true.\nWhen the time is right\, what it speaks of will happen.\nIt may seem to be taking its time in coming\,\nbut hang in there. It will happen.\nYou can count on it. \nSome people won’t have a bar of it\nbecause they are all spineless fluff;\nbut those who are fair dinkum live by it\nwith enduring courage and integrity. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Psalm 37: 1-9 \n \n\n \n \n \n Because of you\, LORD\, we don’t stress over corruption;\nwe don’t get jealous when crime seems to pay.\nThose who live off ill-gotten gains will have their day;\nthey’ll wither like cut flowers in a hot north wind. \nWe put our trust in you\, LORD\, and do what’s right.\nYou give us our own land\, and keep us safe and content.\nOur greatest delight comes from knowing you\, LORD\,\nand you delight in giving us what our hearts desire. \nWe have set our minds on following your ways\, LORD;\nour trust is in you\, and we know you’ll back us up.\nIt will be as clear as day that we made the right choice;\nyou’ll make it perfectly obvious that our cause was justified. \nWe wait in your presence\, LORD\,\nin stillness\, quietness\, patience.\nWe don’t waver when others profit from corruption;\nwe don’t regret our choice when others get away with murder. \nTrusting in you\, LORD\, we can let go of vengeful anger.\nWe can relax and not get sucked into taking the law\ninto our own hands.\nWe can trust you to kick out the crooks\, LORD\,\nand to hand the land over to those who staked their lives on you. \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. \nWe do indeed give you our thanks and praise\, O God\,\nfor you saved us with a holy calling\nfor the sake of the life that is in Christ Jesus. \nBefore the ages began\, your grace was at work\,\nbringing all things into being according to your purpose.\nYou pledged your steadfast love to your people\,\nand even when they were in exile and suffering\nyour mercy was there new every morning. \nIn Christ Jesus you revealed the fullness of your grace\,\nand came among us sowing seeds of faith and love.\nWhen he was betrayed by his friends\nand killed by his enemies\,\nyou abolished death and raised him to life.\nThough we have done no more than we ought\,\nyou have honoured every seed of faith\,\nand with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us\,\nyou rekindle our gifts and empower us with love. \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 though we have done no more than we ought\,\nyou have honoured every seed of faith\,\nand with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us\,\nyou rekindle our gifts and empower us with love. \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 thanks and praise\, O God\,\nfor you saved us with a holy calling\nfor the sake of the life that is in Christ Jesus. \nBefore the ages began\, your grace was at work\,\nbringing all things into being according to your purpose.\nYou pledged your steadfast love to your people\,\nand even when they were in exile and suffering\nyour mercy was there new every morning. \nIn Christ Jesus you revealed the fullness of your grace\,\nand came among us sowing seeds of faith and love.\nWhen he was betrayed by his friends\nand killed by his enemies\,\nyou abolished death and raised him to life.\nThough we have done no more than we ought\,\nyou have honoured every seed of faith\,\nand with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us\,\nyou rekindle our gifts and empower us with love. \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 Through Christ Jesus we are saved\,\nnot according to our works but by God’s purpose and grace\,\nfor the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.\nand the mercies of God never come to an end. \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\, relying on the power of God.\nGuard the good treasure God has entrusted to you\nand hold firm to the teaching of the apostles.\nRemember one another in your prayers\nand continue to offer yourselves for the gospel. \nAnd may God give you grace\, mercy and peace;\nMay Christ Jesus lead you into life and faith;\nAnd may the Holy Spirit live within you\nand rekindle good gifts within 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\nFaith you can take for grantedA sermon on Luke 17:5-10 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nThe Power of the BrokenA sermon on Lamentations 1.1-6\, 3.1-33; Psalm 137 & Luke 17.5-10 by Garry Deverell\n\n\n\nFor crying out loud\, Lord!A sermon on Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nYou can’t earn itA sermon on Luke 17:5-10 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nSpirits of Love and FearA sermon on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nHead Smashing RageA sermon on Psalm 137 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nThe Beauty of LamentA sermon on Lamentations 1.1-6\, 3.1-33 & Psalm 137 by Nathan Nettleton URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/cp22/2028-10-08/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://laughingbird.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/P22.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20311005T000000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20311005T235959 DTSTAMP:20260406T022653 CREATED:20221024T005908Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251102T000734Z UID:10002982-1948924800-1949011199@laughingbird.net SUMMARY:Proper 22 - 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 Lamentations 1: 1-6 \n \n\n \n \n \n What a sad and lonely sight the city has become\,\nwhere once it was teeming with people.\nOnce she was the toast of all the world.\nNow she is a has-been.\nShe was the queen of the nations.\nNow she sweeps up after them. \nShe sobs her heart out every night.\nBitter tears fall like rain.\nShe who could pick and choose her lovers\nnow can’t find a shoulder to cry on.\nFormer friends don’t want to know her.\nThey join her enemies to stick the boots in. \nJudah has been marched off into exile.\nNothing but grief and hard labour ahead.\nShe wanders like a refugee\nwith no place to call her home.\nIf she runs\, they hunt her down\,\nand make her fate even worse than before. \nAlong the Jerusalem Road everyone is ruined\,\nfor the festival crowds no longer pass that way.\nThe city gates are derelict.\nThe priests are in despair.\nThe young women live in fear.\nThe city lies raped and ransacked. \nHer enemies now rule the roost\,\nliving it up at her expense.\nThe LORD has abandoned her to her fate\nbecause her offences just went on and on.\nHer children have been carried off\nas prisoners in enemy hands. \nDaughter Zion is a wrung out rag\,\nall her life and beauty gone.\nHer brightest and best are like lost cattle\nstarving in the desert.\nThey fled for their lives\nand are now fainting from hunger and thirst. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Lamentations 3: 19-26 \n \n\n \n \n \n The reality I’m facing is like a bitter taste in my mouth.\nGrief and deprivation poison my mind. \nI can’t stop thinking about it over and over\,\nbut every thought makes me want to die. \nThe one thing that gives me hope\,\nthe one thing I keep reminding myself of is this: \nYour love and loyalty never die\, LORD.\nYour generous mercy never runs dry.\nThey are created new every morning\nand you are as trustworthy as the solid rock. \nSo I keep telling myself that you are all I need\nand that I can still trust you to come through for me. \nYou are good to those who hang in there for you\, LORD;\nto those whose hearts continue to search for you. \nThe life for which you save us\, LORD\,\nis worth patiently waiting for. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n OR Psalm 137 \n \n\n \n \n \n In Babylon\, sitting on the banks of the river\,\nwe swapped stories of home\nand cried and cried and cried. \nUnable to sing\,\nwe packed away our instruments unplayed. \nThe guards made a joke of our misery\,\ntormenting us with insults\,\nand demanding that we entertain them\nwith songs from our homeland. \nBut how could we sing your songs\nin that godless place\, LORD? \nIf I ever forget your holy city\, LORD\,\nmay my arms be turned into twigs and burned. \nLORD\, if I do not remember Jerusalem\nand stand up for her no matter what\,\nmay I be strung up by my toes\nover a mosquito infested swamp. \nLORD\, do not forgive that rampaging army\nfor the way they destroyed your holy city;\nfor the way they shouted and cheered\nas it crumbled and fell. \nDamn those murdering mongrels to hell\, LORD.\nReward anyone who pays them back\nfor what they did to us! \nReward anyone who rounds up their children\nand kicks them to death! \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 \n \n\n \n \n \n Dear Timothy. This letter comes to you from me\, Paul\, a special ambassador of Christ Jesus\, chosen by God to make it known that in Christ Jesus\, life has been promised to everyone. I greet you as my beloved son\, and wish you all the best – God’s love and peace and extravagant generosity. \nI am so grateful for being able to worship God the way my ancestors did\, and I am sure I am doing the right thing. I also feel incredibly grateful when I think of you\, as I do in my prayers\, both day and night. I remember our last tearful farewell\, and I am desperately looking forward to catching up with you again. It will make me so happy! I have fond memories of your very real and down-to-earth faith. That quality seems to run in your family: I first saw it in your grandmother Lois\, and then in your mother Eunice\, and now\, sure enough\, it is alive in you too. That is why I want to remind you to keep fuelling the fire of the gift that God gave you when I placed my hands on your head and prayed for you. After all\, God did not intend that we should be timid about our gifts. Instead\, God gave them to us to be used with courage\, love and self-discipline. \nSo then\, don’t be embarrassed about the stories of our Lord\, or about me being locked up for him. Trust God’s power to be there for you\, and join me in putting your life on the line for the message of God’s all-embracing love. \nGod rescued us from a living death\nand called us to live for God alone\nWe had not earned this;\nit was simply God’s plan\,\ncarried out with great generosity. \nEven before time began\,\nGod’s extravagant generosity was ready for us;\na gift prepared for us in Christ Jesus. \nNow it is out in the open\,\nlit up for all to see:\nChrist Jesus has appeared as our lifesaver\,\nwiping out death\nand announcing the fabulous message\nof a life that death cannot touch. \nI have been given the job of broadcasting this message; of being an ambassador for it\, and a teacher of it. The trouble I have been suffering comes as a consequence of the job\, but I have no regrets. I’d do it all again\, because I have entrusted myself to Christ and come to know him\, and I have every confidence in his ability to see me through to the day when everything will be completed. \nSo remember all I have taught you – it is solid and trustworthy\, and will guide you in living out the faith and love which are grounded in Christ Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us\, take good care of the wonderful gift that God has entrusted to you. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Luke 17: 5-10 \n \n\n \n \n \n Those who Jesus had chosen as his ambassadors approached him and said\, “Make our faith grow bigger!” \nBut the Lord replied\, “Faith is not something that is bigger or smaller. You only need faith the size of a poppy seed to be able to say to a huge tree\, ‘Go jump in the lake\,’ and it would obey you. \n“Think about this: If you employ someone to be you servant\, full-time\, you expect him to do what you pay him for\, don’t you? If he comes in from a day working your land or shearing your sheep\, you are not going to tell him to put his feet up while you run his bath and fix his dinner are you? Instead you will tell him to take his boots off\, fix your supper\, and wait on your table until your meal is over. After that\, you’ll let him knock off and fix his own meal. You don’t pin a medal on him for just doing what he’s paid for\, do you? \n“So remember that it is the same with you. When you have done what is required of you\, don’t go expecting anyone to put your name up in lights. Instead say\, ‘We are nothing special. We were just doing our job\,’ and leave it at that.” \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 Habakkuk 1: 1-4; 2: 1-4 \n \n\n \n \n \n My name is Habakkuk and I am a prophet. I went to God seeking an explanation for the way things are. \nFor crying out loud\, LORD!\nHow long will it be before you listen?\nHow long do I have to scream blue murder\nbefore you come to the rescue? \nWhy do you make me witness so much evil?\nWhy am I forced to see such things?\nEverywhere I look: violence and carnage\,\nfighting and madness on every side. \nLaw and order are out the window.\nJustice is a joke.\nThe corrupt ride roughshod over decent people\,\nand twisted laws protect them as they do. \nSo what have you got to say\, LORD?\nI’m not budging from this spot until you answer.\nI’m going to stand right here\, all eyes and ears\,\nuntil you respond to my complaint. \nThen the LORD answered me\, saying: \nGet the vision down in writing\nin words that everyone can understand\,\nand get it to the publishers on the double. \nThe vision I have made known is still true.\nWhen the time is right\, what it speaks of will happen.\nIt may seem to be taking its time in coming\,\nbut hang in there. It will happen.\nYou can count on it. \nSome people won’t have a bar of it\nbecause they are all spineless fluff;\nbut those who are fair dinkum live by it\nwith enduring courage and integrity. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Psalm 37: 1-9 \n \n\n \n \n \n Because of you\, LORD\, we don’t stress over corruption;\nwe don’t get jealous when crime seems to pay.\nThose who live off ill-gotten gains will have their day;\nthey’ll wither like cut flowers in a hot north wind. \nWe put our trust in you\, LORD\, and do what’s right.\nYou give us our own land\, and keep us safe and content.\nOur greatest delight comes from knowing you\, LORD\,\nand you delight in giving us what our hearts desire. \nWe have set our minds on following your ways\, LORD;\nour trust is in you\, and we know you’ll back us up.\nIt will be as clear as day that we made the right choice;\nyou’ll make it perfectly obvious that our cause was justified. \nWe wait in your presence\, LORD\,\nin stillness\, quietness\, patience.\nWe don’t waver when others profit from corruption;\nwe don’t regret our choice when others get away with murder. \nTrusting in you\, LORD\, we can let go of vengeful anger.\nWe can relax and not get sucked into taking the law\ninto our own hands.\nWe can trust you to kick out the crooks\, LORD\,\nand to hand the land over to those who staked their lives on you. \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. \nWe do indeed give you our thanks and praise\, O God\,\nfor you saved us with a holy calling\nfor the sake of the life that is in Christ Jesus. \nBefore the ages began\, your grace was at work\,\nbringing all things into being according to your purpose.\nYou pledged your steadfast love to your people\,\nand even when they were in exile and suffering\nyour mercy was there new every morning. \nIn Christ Jesus you revealed the fullness of your grace\,\nand came among us sowing seeds of faith and love.\nWhen he was betrayed by his friends\nand killed by his enemies\,\nyou abolished death and raised him to life.\nThough we have done no more than we ought\,\nyou have honoured every seed of faith\,\nand with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us\,\nyou rekindle our gifts and empower us with love. \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 though we have done no more than we ought\,\nyou have honoured every seed of faith\,\nand with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us\,\nyou rekindle our gifts and empower us with love. \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 thanks and praise\, O God\,\nfor you saved us with a holy calling\nfor the sake of the life that is in Christ Jesus. \nBefore the ages began\, your grace was at work\,\nbringing all things into being according to your purpose.\nYou pledged your steadfast love to your people\,\nand even when they were in exile and suffering\nyour mercy was there new every morning. \nIn Christ Jesus you revealed the fullness of your grace\,\nand came among us sowing seeds of faith and love.\nWhen he was betrayed by his friends\nand killed by his enemies\,\nyou abolished death and raised him to life.\nThough we have done no more than we ought\,\nyou have honoured every seed of faith\,\nand with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us\,\nyou rekindle our gifts and empower us with love. \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 Through Christ Jesus we are saved\,\nnot according to our works but by God’s purpose and grace\,\nfor the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.\nand the mercies of God never come to an end. \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\, relying on the power of God.\nGuard the good treasure God has entrusted to you\nand hold firm to the teaching of the apostles.\nRemember one another in your prayers\nand continue to offer yourselves for the gospel. \nAnd may God give you grace\, mercy and peace;\nMay Christ Jesus lead you into life and faith;\nAnd may the Holy Spirit live within you\nand rekindle good gifts within 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\nFaith you can take for grantedA sermon on Luke 17:5-10 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nThe Power of the BrokenA sermon on Lamentations 1.1-6\, 3.1-33; Psalm 137 & Luke 17.5-10 by Garry Deverell\n\n\n\nFor crying out loud\, Lord!A sermon on Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nYou can’t earn itA sermon on Luke 17:5-10 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nSpirits of Love and FearA sermon on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nHead Smashing RageA sermon on Psalm 137 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nThe Beauty of LamentA sermon on Lamentations 1.1-6\, 3.1-33 & Psalm 137 by Nathan Nettleton URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/cp22/2031-10-05/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://laughingbird.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/P22.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR