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: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 END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20290311T000000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20290311T235959 DTSTAMP:20260406T040122 CREATED:20230319T115749Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230416T120022Z UID:10002021-1867881600-1867967999@laughingbird.net SUMMARY:4th Sunday in Lent - Year A 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 1 Samuel 16: 1-13 \n \n\n \n \n \n One day the LORD said to Samuel\, “It is time for you to get over your misery about the failure of King Saul. I have had a gutful of him and I am going to end his reign. Fill up your flask with olive oil ready to anoint a new king. Go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse there\, for I have chosen one of his sons to be my king.” \nSamuel protested\, “How can I do that? If Saul gets wind of it he will kill me.” \nBut the LORD replied\, “Take a calf with you and tell everyone that you have come to a hold a feast offered in honour of me\, the LORD. Invite Jesse and his family to join you for the feast\, and then I will let you know what to do next. I will pick out one of Jesse’s sons\, and you are to pour the oil on his head to mark him out as the next king.” \nSamuel followed the LORD’S instructions and went to Bethlehem. The town officials were unnerved by his arrival\, and went out to meet him asking\, “What brings you to town? Have we done something wrong\, or are you just passing through in peace?” \nSamuel replied\, “Nothing’s wrong. I am here to offer a feast to the LORD. Go and prepare yourselves properly and then come and join me for the occasion.” \nSamuel also invited Jesse and his family to the feast and instructed them to prepare themselves properly. When they arrived\, Samuel took one look at Jesse’s oldest son\, Eliab\, and thought to himself\, “He has got to be the one the LORD has chosen.” \nBut the LORD said to Samuel\, “Don’t be fooled by how big and impressive he looks. He is not the man for me\, because I\, the LORD\, am not impressed by the same things that impress you people. People judge others by their outward appearance\, but I look beneath that and see what makes them tick.” \nThen Jesse introduced Samuel to his next son\, Abinadab\, but Samuel said\, “No\, this is not the one the LORD sent me to find.” \nJesse introduced his next son\, Shammah\, but Samuel said\, “This is not the one the LORD sent me to find either.” \nJesse introduced seven sons to Samuel\, but Samuel was convinced that none of them was the one the LORD had chosen. So he asked Jesse\, “Are all your sons here?” \nJesse replied\, “My youngest boy is not here. He is out on the farm taking care of some sheep.” \nSamuel said\, “Send someone to get him as quickly as possible\, for we will not sit down to this meal until he arrives.” \nSo Jesse sent someone to get his youngest son\, David\, and bring him to the feast. David was a good-looking\, fresh-faced kid\, and his eyes were full of life. As soon as he walked in\, the LORD said\, “Samuel\, get up and anoint him\, because this is the one I have chosen.” \nSo Samuel took out his flask of oil and poured it on David’s head in full view of his brothers. The Spirit of the LORD took hold of David and was powerfully at work in him from that moment on. With his mission accomplished\, Samuel got up and headed back home to Ramah. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Psalm 23 \n \n\n \n \n \n You\, LORD\, are my guide in the wilderness;\nthere is nothing more I could need. \nYou set up camp in places of beauty and shelter;\nyou lead the way on secluded tracks\nbeside creeks of cool clean water.\nI feel my spirit breathing freely again;\nyour reputation puts me at ease;\nI leave the navigating to you\, and follow. \nEven if we hike through a perilous valley\,\nwhere crows keep a menacing watch\,\nfear will still not get the better of me.\nAs long as I stick with you\nI know I’ll make the distance;\nwith a knife and a bit of rope\nyou seem able to tackle any challenge. \nYou cook up a feast for me\,\nas those who wanted to feed on me watch\, frustrated.\nYou pamper me like an honoured guest\nand constantly top up my glass. \nMy life feels charmed\, each and every day.\nLove\, mercy and all good things\nkeep falling into my lap. \nI’m with you for life\, LORD\,\nwhere you go\, I’ll go;\nwhere you live\, I’ll live. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Ephesians 5: 8-14 \n \n\n \n \n \n In the past\, the darkness was your natural habitat\, because you needed its cover to hide the way you lived. But now you are united to the Lord and are at home in the light. So live lives that reflect the light. Be shining examples of all that naturally grows in the light – goodness\, honesty\, and integrity. Do your best to discern what will be most pleasing to the Lord\, and let that set your agendas. Have nothing to do with the things that people will only do under cover of darkness. Blow their cover instead\, for such things produce nothing good. It does no one any credit to even talk about the corrupt activities that people go to such lengths to keep hidden. The truth about everything is seen when it is exposed to the light\, and those things that can stand the light are worth seeing. That’s why it is said\, \n“Wake up\, sleepy head!\nRise from your grave\,\nand Christ will light up your life!” \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n John 9: 1-41 \n \n\n \n \n \n One day\, Jesus and his disciples were heading down the street when they saw a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked\, “Rabbi\, was this man born blind because of his own sins or because of the sins of his parents?” \nJesus replied\, “You can’t blame either him or his parents for his blindness. The important thing to look for is not what caused it\, but what God can do about it. The one who sent me has given us work to do\, and we had better be on the job as long as it is still day. Night fall will put an end to everyone’s work soon enough\, but as long as I am in the world\, I am the light of the world.” \nHaving said this\, he spat on the ground and made a mud ointment from a mixture of dust and saliva. He pasted the mud over the blind man’s eyes and sent him off to wash himself in the Siloam Pool. (The name Siloam actually means ‘sent’.) The man went and washed\, and when he came back he could see. It certainly caused a stir. People who knew him or were used to seeing him begging for money on the streets were soon asking\, “What’s going on here? Isn’t this the blind bloke who is always rattling his can on the street?” \nSome were saying\, “It’s him alright\,” but others reckoned it must just be someone who looked like him. He kept insisting that he was indeed the same man\, but some took a lot of convincing and kept demanding an explanation for how he could now see. All he could do was repeat the story: “Someone called Jesus spread mud on my eyes and told me to go and wash in the Siloam Pool. So I went and washed it off\, and now I can see.” \nThen they wanted to know where Jesus was now\, but the man said\, “I don’t know.” \nThe people then marched him off to the relevant authorities – the leaders of the devoutly religious Pharisee party. The day on which Jesus had made the mud and healed the man’s blindness was a Sabbath day\, so there were questions of religious law at stake. The authorities questioned the man about how he had received his sight. He told it to them straight: “The man spread mud on my eyes. I washed it off\, and now I can see.” \nSome of the Pharisees were quick to express their opinion: “Obviously this man is not from God\, because he doesn’t even stop what he is doing on the Sabbath.” \nBut others were not so sure: “How could a man who was against God have the ability to do things which so clearly point to God’s involvement?” \nSince they were divided over the matter\, they asked the man what he thought. “It was your eyes he opened. What do you make of him?” \nThe man replied\, “I think he is God’s messenger!” \nSome of the religious leaders began casting doubts on whether the man who had been given his sight had really been blind in the first place\, so his parents were called in for questioning. “Is this man your son?” they were asked. “Are you sure he was blind? How then\, is it that he can now see?” \nHis parents answered\, “This is certainly our son\, and we know\, without the slightest doubt\, that he was born blind. But as to how come he can see now\, or who was responsible for opening his eyes\, we are completely in the dark. Why don’t you ask him? He’s a grown man and can speak for himself.” \nHis parents were playing it safe because they didn’t want to get on the wrong side of the Jewish authorities. The authorities had already made up their minds that any one who expressed the belief that Jesus was the Messiah would be stripped of their membership of the Synagogue. With that threat hanging over their heads\, his parents hand-passed the question back to their son. \nSo the authorities called in the man who had been blind and questioned him for a second time. They said to him\, “Swear by God to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. We know that the man who did this to you is opposed to God!” \nHe replied\, “I wouldn’t know anything about that\, one way or the other. The one thing I know for sure is this: I was born blind\, but now I can see.” \n“So what did he do to you?” they demanded to know. “How did he open your eyes?” \nHe answered\, “I have already told you all I can about that\, but you didn’t want to believe me. Why do you need to hear it over and over again? Are you planning to sign up as his followers?” \nAt that\, they went off their heads at him\, saying\, “You are obviously following him\, but we are followers of Moses. We can know for sure that God spoke to Moses\, but this Jesus is a no-one. We don’t even know where he comes from.” \n“Well what a bizarre situation this is\,” said the man. “You lot don’t know the first thing about him\, and yet he gave sight to my blind eyes. Everybody knows that God doesn’t team up with liars and crooks. It is only the person who worships and obeys God that God is going to take sides with. Never before in the whole history of the world has anybody heard of someone opening the eyes of a person who had been blind from birth. So surely if this man were not from God he wouldn’t be able to do such a thing.” \nWith that\, they wrote him off. “You are nothing but the scum of the earth\, and you always have been. How dare you talk to us like that!” \nAnd they threw him out into the street. Word reached Jesus that they had thrown the man out\, so he went and found him. “Do you believe in the New Human?” Jesus asked him. \nThe man answered\, “I don’t know who he is\, mister\, but if you will introduce me to him\, I will believe in him.” \n“Jesus replied\, “You have seen him\, sure enough. You are talking to him right now!” \nThe man said\, “Lord\, I believe in you!” and fell to his knees at Jesus’s feet. \nJesus said\, “I came into the world to sort out who was who. I came so that those who have been kept in the dark might see\, and so that the blindness of those who see might be exposed.” \nSome members of the Pharisee party overheard this\, and stopped to question him. “You are not suggesting that we are blind\, are you?” \nBut Jesus replied\, “If you were blind\, you would not be held guilty. But since you claim that the way you see things is the only way they can be seen\, you’ve got blood all over your hands.” \n©2002 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\,\nfor you do not judge us by outer appearances\,\nbut make visible the secret places of our hearts\nand commission us as children of the light. \nOnce there was darkness\,\nbut you created the the light.\nWith your touch the world was begun\,\nand when you spoke to Moses and the prophets\,\nyou gave guidance to keep us on sure paths. \nIn your servant\, David\, the least of his family\,\nyou saw a King who could shepherd your people.\nIn your child\, Jesus Christ\,\nyou gave us one whose light could open blinded eyes\nand guide us safely through death’s dark valley.\nWhen he was killed\, you awoke him\,\nraising him from the dead.\nNow he spreads a rich table before us\,\nfilling our cup with goodness and love\nthat we may live forever in your house. \nTherefore with ..... \n©2002 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 for giving us your Son\, Jesus Christ\,\nwhose light opens blinded eyes\nand guides us safely through death’s dark valley\,\nthat we may live forever in the light of your house\nand feast at the rich table where you fill our cup with goodness and love. \n©2002 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\,\nfor you do not judge us by outer appearances\,\nbut make visible the secret places of our hearts\nand commission us as children of the light. \nOnce there was darkness\,\nbut you created the the light.\nWith your touch the world was begun\,\nand when you spoke to Moses and the prophets\,\nyou gave guidance to keep us on sure paths. \nIn your servant\, David\, the least of his family\,\nyou saw a King who could shepherd your people.\nIn your child\, Jesus Christ\,\nyou gave us one whose light could open blinded eyes\nand guide us safely through death’s dark valley.\nWhen he was killed\, you awoke him\,\nraising him from the dead.\nNow he spreads a rich table before us\,\nfilling our cup with goodness and love\nthat we may live forever in your house. \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©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Declaration of Grace / Absolution \n \n\n \n \n \n Once you were darkness\, but now in the Lord you are light.\nEverything exposed by the light becomes light.\nYou have brought your sin into the light of Christ. \nSisters and Brothers\,\nyour sins are forgiven;\nRise from the dead\, and Christ will shine on you. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n Commission & Benediction \n \n\n \n \n \n Go now and live as children of the light.\nSeek what is pleasing to the Lord.\nExpose the unfruitful works of darkness\,\nand commit yourselves to the works of God who sends you. \nAnd may the Lord be your shepherd and be all that you need.\nMay Christ open your eyes and guide you along sure paths.\nMay the Spirit Holy revive your spirits\nand tend you with goodness and love\nevery day of your life. \nWe go in peace to love and serve the Lord\,\n   In the name of Christ. Amen. \n©2002 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\nThe advertiser is my shepherd??A sermon on Psalm 23 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nThe Hidden LightA sermon on John 9:1-41 by Garry Deverell\n\n\n\nHealing those blinded by sinA sermon on John 9:1-41 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nGod sees what’s on the inside and there’s nothing to fearA sermon on 1 Samuel 16:1-13\, John 9:1-41 & Psalm 23 by Alison Sampson\n\n\n\nDon’t let them keep you blindA sermon on John 9:1-41 & Psalm 23 by Nathan Nettleton URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/a21/2029-03-11/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://laughingbird.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/21.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR