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UID:10002056-1782000000-1782086399@laughingbird.net
SUMMARY:Proper 7 - 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				  Genesis 21: 8-21			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Sarah nursed her son Isaac until he was about three years old\, and on the day he was weaned\, his father Abraham threw a big party to celebrate. But Sarah saw Ishmael — the son of Abraham and his Egyptian servant\, Hagar — laughing with Isaac. She said to Abraham\, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. I don’t want my son Isaac having to share his inheritance with the son of a slave woman. Kick them out of here.” \nAbraham felt really cut up over this\, because both of the boys were his sons. But God said to him\, “Don’t stress over your servant and her son. Go along with whatever Sarah demands of you\, because it is Isaac’s descendants who will be known as your offspring. But I know that Ishmael is also your son\, so I will make sure his descendants become a great nation too.” \nSo\, early the next morning\, Abraham got up and packed some food and water into a backpack and put it on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her and the child away. She left and wandered aimlessly in the desert wilderness known as Beer-sheba. The water Abraham had packed for them soon ran out and\, in despair\, Hagar abandoned the child under a bush. She herself went and sat down about a hundred metres away because she couldn’t bear to watch the child die there in the desert. As she sat there\, she cried loudly and bitterly. God heard the sounds of distress from the child and sent a messenger from heaven to speak to Hagar. The messenger said\, “What is the matter\, Hagar? You have got nothing to fear\, because God has heard the boy crying where you left him. Come on. Pick the child up and don’t let go of him again\, because I will make him the father of a great nation.” \nThen God opened her eyes and she spotted a small water hole. She refilled her water containers with clean water and gave the boy some to drink. \nGod was on-side with Ishmael\, and he grew up living in the wilderness where he became an expert bushman and hunter. He lived in the desert at Paran\, and his mother got a wife for him from her homeland\, Egypt. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 86: 1-10\, 16-17			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Tune in and answer my cries\, LORD\,\nbecause I have been left with nothing and no one. \nProtect me and save my life\,\nfor I am your devoted servant and I trust you. \nYou are my God.\nAll day long I cry out to you\, Lord\,\nbegging you to give me a break. \nGive me something to smile about\, Lord\,\nfor I am your servant and I being up front with you. \nAfter all\, Lord\, you are good and forgiving;\nfull of unfailing love for those who look to you for help. \nTune in to my prayer\, LORD\,\nand give your attention to my plea for help. \nThis is the worst day of my life\,\nbut I’m confident you will answer my cry. \nNone of the things people worship compare to you\, Lord;\nyour actions are in a league of their own. \nYou made every nation\, Lord\,\nand they will all come and honour you\,\nbowing down and naming you as the greatest. \nSo they should\, given all the great and amazing things you do\,\nfor you are the one and only God. \nI am your servant\, Lord\,\nand my mother was your servant too.\nTake note of me\, and treat me with compassion;\nsave me and give me strength. \nGive me a sign that you are on my side;\nsomething that will be seen by those who hate me\nand send them off with their tails between their legs. \nYou\, LORD\, have come to my help;\nyou have given me comfort. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Romans 6: 1b-11			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Do you think we should continue to sin in order to provide opportunities to showcase God’s generous forgiveness? No way! We have put to death our relationship with sin\, so how could we possibly share another living moment with it? Surely you know that all of us who have been baptised into union with Christ were\, in that baptism\, dying with Christ. You will understand then\, that having died in baptism\, we have been buried with him; and so now\, in the same way that Christ was raised from the dead by the awesome power of God\, we too can re-enter life in a whole new way. \nYou see\, if we have been united with him in sharing the same kind of death\, you can rest assured we will be united with him further in sharing the same kind of resurrection. We are no longer the people we used to be. Our former selves were put to death with him on the cross in order to eradicate the sin that had taken over our lives\, and to thus allow us to live free of it. Everyone knows that death is the only escape from a sin-infested life — once you are dead\, you are free of it. For us\, though\, that’s no dead-end solution. If we have died with Christ\, we are convinced that we will live with him too. This much we know for sure: Christ has been raised from the dead and will never have to die again. Death has lost any further power over him. When he died\, he took sin out with him\, once and for all. The life he now lives\, then\, is lived in union with God. So you should now think of yourselves in the same way — your former lives\, ended; your new lives\, begun. Your old relationship with sin\, dead; your new relationship with God\, alive and flourishing in Christ Jesus. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Matthew 10: 24-39			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	While briefing his followers about their mission\, Jesus said: \n“New recruits do not get more credit than their coach\, and the workers do not get more credit than their boss. But when everyone is doing their job – recruits and coach\, workers and boss – they are all lumped in together and judged as a team. So if people have been accusing the team leader of being the Prince of Evil\, you can imagine what they are going to be saying about the rest of the team! \n“So don’t be intimidated by them. The time is coming when the truth will be exposed and all that has been done behind closed doors will be on the public record. So don’t bother keeping the lid on things in the meantime. Broadcast to the world anything I tell you in private. Release to the daily news anything I whisper in your ear. Don’t be silenced by fear of those whose ability to hurt you is only physical. The one to be afraid of is the one who would destroy your humanity entirely and suck you\, body and soul\, into the fires of hell. \n“Think about it. What does a pet budgie cost? A couple of bucks? And yet if a budgie falls off its perch\, God is there like a concerned parent. God’s care extends to every last hair on your head\, so don’t let anyone put the wind up you. You are worth far more than a tree-full of budgies to God. \n“If you stick up for me in the face of public opinion\, then I will have no hesitation sticking up for you when my Father in heaven asks the hard questions. But if you pull your head in and go all quiet when people mouth off against me\, why should I speak up in your defence? \n“Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m here to make everything peaceful and nice on earth. I am not here to paper over the cracks\, but to drive a wedge into them\, opening them up for all to see. \nI am here to drive a wedge into the cracks\nbetween father and son;\nbetween mother and daughter;\nand between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.\nWhen it is flushed out into the open\,\nthe most dangerous hostility often turns up within families. \n“If you are more committed to your parents than you are to me\, you don’t deserve my commitment to you. If you are more committed to your children than you are to me\, you don’t deserve my commitment to you. Unless you are ready to risk defying the death squads to follow me\, then you don’t deserve my loyalty to you. Those who are focussed on getting a life for themselves will lose whatever life they had; while those who give up their life\, for me\, will find that they have really got it made!” \n©2002 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				  Jeremiah 20: 7-13			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	You played me for a sucker\, LORD\,\nand I fell for it\, hook\, line and sinker.\nYou took advantage of your superior strength\nto force me into doing what you wanted.\nThanks to you\, I am the laughingstock of the city;\nthe butt of everyone’s jokes. \nYou give me the job of broadcasting your messages\,\nbut they are all bad news – chaos\, carnage and doom.\nNo wonder everyone hates the sight of me.\nSpeaking your word has ruined my life\, LORD. \nBut what else can I do?\nI try to quit\, and keep silent about you\,\nbut your word begins to burn its way out.\nI feel like I am going to explode.\nI use up all my strength trying to hold it in\nbut it defeats me every time. \nEveryone is out to get me.\nI hear them talking behind my back.\nThey say I am causing a public panic\nand that they should dob me in\nand have me dealt with.\nEven my closest friends are giving up on me.\nIf I put a foot wrong\, they’ll turn me in.\nSome of them are already trying to set me up;\nbaiting the trap and lying in wait;\nthinking to themselves\, “Revenge is sweet!” \nBut you are like an armed bodyguard at my side\, LORD.\nThose who are out to get me haven’t got a hope.\nThey will end up with egg all over their faces;\nhumiliated by their own failure.\nThey will never be able to hold their heads up in public again.\nThe smell of disgrace will follow them round forever. \nO LORD who rules over everything\,\nyou have got everyone worked out.\nYou read our innermost thoughts and desires.\nLet me have a front row seat\nwhen you give my enemies their just deserts.\nI have put my case in your hands. \nI’ll sing your praises\, LORD!\nI’m giving you all the credit!\nYou are the one who rescues the downtrodden\nwhen the corrupt would grind them into the dirt. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 69: 7-10\, (11-15)\, 16-18			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Because of my association with you\, I am the target of slander;\nI am ashamed to show my face in public. \nMy own relatives don’t want anything to do with me;\nby brothers and sisters pretend they don’t know me. \nMy passion for your cause has become all-consuming and costly;\nthose with a beef against you stick the boots into me. \nWhen I abstained from food to discipline my soul\,\nI was rewarded with insults and contempt. \nWhen I gave up my comforts and slept out in the cold\,\nI became the butt of everyone’s jokes. \nAt the top end of town they swap rumours about me;\nin back alleys\, they send me up in drunken songs. \nBut come what may\,\nI will go on praying to you\, LORD. \nIn your own good time\, God\, answer me\,\nfor I know you are full of love\, rock-solid love.\nYou can be depended on to send help;\nI’m up to my neck in the stinking mire\, rescue me!\nRescue me from those who hate me;\ndon’t give them the chance to watch me drown. \nDon’t let the raging waters flood over me;\ndon’t let the murky depths swallow me up;\ndon’t let the jaws of death close around me. \nAnswer me\, LORD;\nthere is nothing better than your rock-solid love;\nyou are full of compassion\,\nso turn to me and help. \nI am your servant;\ndon’t turn your back on me.\nI am in deep trouble;\nanswer me now before it’s too late. \nCome close and put me back where I belong;\nbreak me free from the grip of my enemies. \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 alone are God\,\nand great is your loyalty to all who call on you. \nYou created the earth and its inhabitants\,\nand your care for your creatures is so complete\nthat even the hairs on our heads are counted.\nYou made a covenant with your servant Abraham\,\nand when his family tore itself apart\,\nyour compassion for the outcast was shown\nas you led the thirsty to springs of living water. \nYour child\, Jesus\, came among us\ncalling us to turn our backs on all other allegiances\nand to take up the cross and follow him.\nWhen he was killed\, he gathered us to himself\,\nputting to death our enslavement to sin\nin the waters of baptism\,\nso that we might find our lives\nunited to his in resurrection\nand walk in newness of life. \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 uniting us with Christ in the waters of baptism\nand putting to death our enslavement to sin\,\nso that we might find our lives\nunited to his in resurrection\nand walk in newness of life. \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 alone are God\,\nand great is your loyalty to all who call on you. \nYou created the earth and its inhabitants\,\nand your care for your creatures is so complete\nthat even the hairs on our heads are counted.\nYou made a covenant with your servant Abraham\,\nand when his family tore itself apart\,\nyour compassion for the outcast was shown\nas you led the thirsty to springs of living water. \nYour child\, Jesus\, came among us\ncalling us to turn our backs on all other allegiances\nand to take up the cross and follow him.\nWhen he was killed\, he gathered us to himself\,\nputting to death our enslavement to sin\nin the waters of baptism\,\nso that we might find our lives\nunited to his in resurrection\nand walk in newness of life. \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	God is good and forgiving\,\nloyal to all who cry out for mercy.\nThrough our union with Christ\nwe are now dead to sin\,\nand alive to God in Christ Jesus. \nSisters and Brothers\,\n  your sins are forgiven;\n    be at peace. \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 walk in newness of life\nfor Christ was raised from the dead.\nTherefore do not be afraid.\nWhat God speaks to you in the dark\, proclaim boldly in the light.\nTake up your cross and follow the Christ. \nAnd may God watch over you and provide for you;\nMay Christ Jesus openly declare you to be his own;\nAnd may the Holy Spirit bring you help and comfort always. \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\nStories that DivideA sermon on Genesis 21.8-21 & Matthew 10.24-39 by Keith Dyer\n\n\n\nContinue in Sin?A sermon on Romans 6:1b-11 & Matthew 10:24-39 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nSharing the InheritanceA sermon on Genesis 21.8-21 & Matthew 10.24-39 by Alison Sampson\n\n\n\nTo Fear or Not to FearA sermon on Matthew 10.24-39 & Genesis 21.8-21 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nPrince of Peace\, or Enemy of the Peace?A sermon on Matthew 10.24-39 by Nathan Nettleton
URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/ap07/2026-06-21/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://laughingbird.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P07.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20290624T000000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20290624T235959
DTSTAMP:20260407T222645
CREATED:20230821T023049Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230821T023051Z
UID:10002057-1876953600-1877039999@laughingbird.net
SUMMARY:Proper 7 - 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				  Genesis 21: 8-21			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Sarah nursed her son Isaac until he was about three years old\, and on the day he was weaned\, his father Abraham threw a big party to celebrate. But Sarah saw Ishmael — the son of Abraham and his Egyptian servant\, Hagar — laughing with Isaac. She said to Abraham\, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. I don’t want my son Isaac having to share his inheritance with the son of a slave woman. Kick them out of here.” \nAbraham felt really cut up over this\, because both of the boys were his sons. But God said to him\, “Don’t stress over your servant and her son. Go along with whatever Sarah demands of you\, because it is Isaac’s descendants who will be known as your offspring. But I know that Ishmael is also your son\, so I will make sure his descendants become a great nation too.” \nSo\, early the next morning\, Abraham got up and packed some food and water into a backpack and put it on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her and the child away. She left and wandered aimlessly in the desert wilderness known as Beer-sheba. The water Abraham had packed for them soon ran out and\, in despair\, Hagar abandoned the child under a bush. She herself went and sat down about a hundred metres away because she couldn’t bear to watch the child die there in the desert. As she sat there\, she cried loudly and bitterly. God heard the sounds of distress from the child and sent a messenger from heaven to speak to Hagar. The messenger said\, “What is the matter\, Hagar? You have got nothing to fear\, because God has heard the boy crying where you left him. Come on. Pick the child up and don’t let go of him again\, because I will make him the father of a great nation.” \nThen God opened her eyes and she spotted a small water hole. She refilled her water containers with clean water and gave the boy some to drink. \nGod was on-side with Ishmael\, and he grew up living in the wilderness where he became an expert bushman and hunter. He lived in the desert at Paran\, and his mother got a wife for him from her homeland\, Egypt. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 86: 1-10\, 16-17			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Tune in and answer my cries\, LORD\,\nbecause I have been left with nothing and no one. \nProtect me and save my life\,\nfor I am your devoted servant and I trust you. \nYou are my God.\nAll day long I cry out to you\, Lord\,\nbegging you to give me a break. \nGive me something to smile about\, Lord\,\nfor I am your servant and I being up front with you. \nAfter all\, Lord\, you are good and forgiving;\nfull of unfailing love for those who look to you for help. \nTune in to my prayer\, LORD\,\nand give your attention to my plea for help. \nThis is the worst day of my life\,\nbut I’m confident you will answer my cry. \nNone of the things people worship compare to you\, Lord;\nyour actions are in a league of their own. \nYou made every nation\, Lord\,\nand they will all come and honour you\,\nbowing down and naming you as the greatest. \nSo they should\, given all the great and amazing things you do\,\nfor you are the one and only God. \nI am your servant\, Lord\,\nand my mother was your servant too.\nTake note of me\, and treat me with compassion;\nsave me and give me strength. \nGive me a sign that you are on my side;\nsomething that will be seen by those who hate me\nand send them off with their tails between their legs. \nYou\, LORD\, have come to my help;\nyou have given me comfort. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Romans 6: 1b-11			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Do you think we should continue to sin in order to provide opportunities to showcase God’s generous forgiveness? No way! We have put to death our relationship with sin\, so how could we possibly share another living moment with it? Surely you know that all of us who have been baptised into union with Christ were\, in that baptism\, dying with Christ. You will understand then\, that having died in baptism\, we have been buried with him; and so now\, in the same way that Christ was raised from the dead by the awesome power of God\, we too can re-enter life in a whole new way. \nYou see\, if we have been united with him in sharing the same kind of death\, you can rest assured we will be united with him further in sharing the same kind of resurrection. We are no longer the people we used to be. Our former selves were put to death with him on the cross in order to eradicate the sin that had taken over our lives\, and to thus allow us to live free of it. Everyone knows that death is the only escape from a sin-infested life — once you are dead\, you are free of it. For us\, though\, that’s no dead-end solution. If we have died with Christ\, we are convinced that we will live with him too. This much we know for sure: Christ has been raised from the dead and will never have to die again. Death has lost any further power over him. When he died\, he took sin out with him\, once and for all. The life he now lives\, then\, is lived in union with God. So you should now think of yourselves in the same way — your former lives\, ended; your new lives\, begun. Your old relationship with sin\, dead; your new relationship with God\, alive and flourishing in Christ Jesus. \n©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Matthew 10: 24-39			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	While briefing his followers about their mission\, Jesus said: \n“New recruits do not get more credit than their coach\, and the workers do not get more credit than their boss. But when everyone is doing their job – recruits and coach\, workers and boss – they are all lumped in together and judged as a team. So if people have been accusing the team leader of being the Prince of Evil\, you can imagine what they are going to be saying about the rest of the team! \n“So don’t be intimidated by them. The time is coming when the truth will be exposed and all that has been done behind closed doors will be on the public record. So don’t bother keeping the lid on things in the meantime. Broadcast to the world anything I tell you in private. Release to the daily news anything I whisper in your ear. Don’t be silenced by fear of those whose ability to hurt you is only physical. The one to be afraid of is the one who would destroy your humanity entirely and suck you\, body and soul\, into the fires of hell. \n“Think about it. What does a pet budgie cost? A couple of bucks? And yet if a budgie falls off its perch\, God is there like a concerned parent. God’s care extends to every last hair on your head\, so don’t let anyone put the wind up you. You are worth far more than a tree-full of budgies to God. \n“If you stick up for me in the face of public opinion\, then I will have no hesitation sticking up for you when my Father in heaven asks the hard questions. But if you pull your head in and go all quiet when people mouth off against me\, why should I speak up in your defence? \n“Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m here to make everything peaceful and nice on earth. I am not here to paper over the cracks\, but to drive a wedge into them\, opening them up for all to see. \nI am here to drive a wedge into the cracks\nbetween father and son;\nbetween mother and daughter;\nand between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.\nWhen it is flushed out into the open\,\nthe most dangerous hostility often turns up within families. \n“If you are more committed to your parents than you are to me\, you don’t deserve my commitment to you. If you are more committed to your children than you are to me\, you don’t deserve my commitment to you. Unless you are ready to risk defying the death squads to follow me\, then you don’t deserve my loyalty to you. Those who are focussed on getting a life for themselves will lose whatever life they had; while those who give up their life\, for me\, will find that they have really got it made!” \n©2002 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				  Jeremiah 20: 7-13			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	You played me for a sucker\, LORD\,\nand I fell for it\, hook\, line and sinker.\nYou took advantage of your superior strength\nto force me into doing what you wanted.\nThanks to you\, I am the laughingstock of the city;\nthe butt of everyone’s jokes. \nYou give me the job of broadcasting your messages\,\nbut they are all bad news – chaos\, carnage and doom.\nNo wonder everyone hates the sight of me.\nSpeaking your word has ruined my life\, LORD. \nBut what else can I do?\nI try to quit\, and keep silent about you\,\nbut your word begins to burn its way out.\nI feel like I am going to explode.\nI use up all my strength trying to hold it in\nbut it defeats me every time. \nEveryone is out to get me.\nI hear them talking behind my back.\nThey say I am causing a public panic\nand that they should dob me in\nand have me dealt with.\nEven my closest friends are giving up on me.\nIf I put a foot wrong\, they’ll turn me in.\nSome of them are already trying to set me up;\nbaiting the trap and lying in wait;\nthinking to themselves\, “Revenge is sweet!” \nBut you are like an armed bodyguard at my side\, LORD.\nThose who are out to get me haven’t got a hope.\nThey will end up with egg all over their faces;\nhumiliated by their own failure.\nThey will never be able to hold their heads up in public again.\nThe smell of disgrace will follow them round forever. \nO LORD who rules over everything\,\nyou have got everyone worked out.\nYou read our innermost thoughts and desires.\nLet me have a front row seat\nwhen you give my enemies their just deserts.\nI have put my case in your hands. \nI’ll sing your praises\, LORD!\nI’m giving you all the credit!\nYou are the one who rescues the downtrodden\nwhen the corrupt would grind them into the dirt. \n©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net \n\n\n			\n	\n		\n\n		\n			\n				  Psalm 69: 7-10\, (11-15)\, 16-18			\n		\n\n		\n		 \n \n	Because of my association with you\, I am the target of slander;\nI am ashamed to show my face in public. \nMy own relatives don’t want anything to do with me;\nby brothers and sisters pretend they don’t know me. \nMy passion for your cause has become all-consuming and costly;\nthose with a beef against you stick the boots into me. \nWhen I abstained from food to discipline my soul\,\nI was rewarded with insults and contempt. \nWhen I gave up my comforts and slept out in the cold\,\nI became the butt of everyone’s jokes. \nAt the top end of town they swap rumours about me;\nin back alleys\, they send me up in drunken songs. \nBut come what may\,\nI will go on praying to you\, LORD. \nIn your own good time\, God\, answer me\,\nfor I know you are full of love\, rock-solid love.\nYou can be depended on to send help;\nI’m up to my neck in the stinking mire\, rescue me!\nRescue me from those who hate me;\ndon’t give them the chance to watch me drown. \nDon’t let the raging waters flood over me;\ndon’t let the murky depths swallow me up;\ndon’t let the jaws of death close around me. \nAnswer me\, LORD;\nthere is nothing better than your rock-solid love;\nyou are full of compassion\,\nso turn to me and help. \nI am your servant;\ndon’t turn your back on me.\nI am in deep trouble;\nanswer me now before it’s too late. \nCome close and put me back where I belong;\nbreak me free from the grip of my enemies. \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 alone are God\,\nand great is your loyalty to all who call on you. \nYou created the earth and its inhabitants\,\nand your care for your creatures is so complete\nthat even the hairs on our heads are counted.\nYou made a covenant with your servant Abraham\,\nand when his family tore itself apart\,\nyour compassion for the outcast was shown\nas you led the thirsty to springs of living water. \nYour child\, Jesus\, came among us\ncalling us to turn our backs on all other allegiances\nand to take up the cross and follow him.\nWhen he was killed\, he gathered us to himself\,\nputting to death our enslavement to sin\nin the waters of baptism\,\nso that we might find our lives\nunited to his in resurrection\nand walk in newness of life. \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 uniting us with Christ in the waters of baptism\nand putting to death our enslavement to sin\,\nso that we might find our lives\nunited to his in resurrection\nand walk in newness of life. \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 alone are God\,\nand great is your loyalty to all who call on you. \nYou created the earth and its inhabitants\,\nand your care for your creatures is so complete\nthat even the hairs on our heads are counted.\nYou made a covenant with your servant Abraham\,\nand when his family tore itself apart\,\nyour compassion for the outcast was shown\nas you led the thirsty to springs of living water. \nYour child\, Jesus\, came among us\ncalling us to turn our backs on all other allegiances\nand to take up the cross and follow him.\nWhen he was killed\, he gathered us to himself\,\nputting to death our enslavement to sin\nin the waters of baptism\,\nso that we might find our lives\nunited to his in resurrection\nand walk in newness of life. \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	God is good and forgiving\,\nloyal to all who cry out for mercy.\nThrough our union with Christ\nwe are now dead to sin\,\nand alive to God in Christ Jesus. \nSisters and Brothers\,\n  your sins are forgiven;\n    be at peace. \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 walk in newness of life\nfor Christ was raised from the dead.\nTherefore do not be afraid.\nWhat God speaks to you in the dark\, proclaim boldly in the light.\nTake up your cross and follow the Christ. \nAnd may God watch over you and provide for you;\nMay Christ Jesus openly declare you to be his own;\nAnd may the Holy Spirit bring you help and comfort always. \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\nStories that DivideA sermon on Genesis 21.8-21 & Matthew 10.24-39 by Keith Dyer\n\n\n\nContinue in Sin?A sermon on Romans 6:1b-11 & Matthew 10:24-39 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nSharing the InheritanceA sermon on Genesis 21.8-21 & Matthew 10.24-39 by Alison Sampson\n\n\n\nTo Fear or Not to FearA sermon on Matthew 10.24-39 & Genesis 21.8-21 by Nathan Nettleton\n\n\n\nPrince of Peace\, or Enemy of the Peace?A sermon on Matthew 10.24-39 by Nathan Nettleton
URL:https://laughingbird.net/occasion/ap07/2029-06-24/
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