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Event Series Event Series: 5th Sunday of Pascha – Year A

5th Sunday of Pascha – Year A

3 May 2026 All day

Below you will find the Bible readings set for this occasion in the Revised Common Lectionary, with our Australian idiomatic paraphrases of them, plus prayers and sermons based on them.

Bible Readings (paraphrased)

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

Stephen was completely under the influence of the Holy Spirit as he spoke to the Council. As he finished his speech, he looked up to the sky and caught sight of Jesus basking in the glory of God as God’s right hand man. “Look at that!” he said. “I can see right into heaven, and Jesus, the New Human, is there as God’s right hand man. He is rising to his feet even now!”

But his words turned the assembly into a frenzied mob. They rushed at him violently, screaming abuse to drown out his words, and dragged him off to the place where the executions were carried out. Stripping to the waist and handing their coats to a young man named Saul for safe-keeping, the leaders of the mob began to stone Stephen to death. As they pelted him with rocks, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, welcome my spirit home.”

Falling to his knees, he raised his voice for everyone to hear and prayed, “Lord, don’t hold this crime against them.” 

The words were barely out of his mouth when the hail of rocks finished him off and he slumped to the ground, dead.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

I look to you for refuge, LORD;
don’t let me be dragged through the mud.
You promised justice – save me!

Give me your ear – I’m crying for help;
rescue me before it’s too late.
Be a secure refuge for me,
a bomb shelter where I can hide.

Your solid walls protect me from danger;
lead me and guide me so I’ll be a credit to you;
keep me clear of pitfalls and traps.

You are the only refuge I trust, LORD;
I put my life in your hands.
You are a faithful God,
and you have saved me.

My future is in your hands;
snatch me from the grasp
of those who are hunting me down.

I’m working for you; look on me with love.
Stand by me and save me.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

If you have already had a taste of God’s goodness, you will be like babies at the breast, hungry for more of the pure, spiritual milk that you need to grow up strong and healthy in the life you have now been born into. Drink deep!

God is building a house and Christ is the living foundation stone. The human race didn’t want him included in the building, but God saw him as the most precious stone of all and chose him to be the one on which everything else depends. So now as you come to him, allow yourselves to be used as further living stones in the construction of this sacred building. Within this house you will serve as the dedicated priests whose job is to work with Jesus the Messiah in offering the spiritual sacrifices that are a welcome gift to God. The scriptures put it this way:

“Look, I am setting a stone in place in Zion;
a precious, hand-picked stone;
foundation and centrepiece;
holding the weight of all.
Those who entrust themselves to him
will never be dragged through the mud.”

He has proven himself invaluable to you who trust him, but to those who refuse to trust him, other sayings spring to mind:

“The stone the builders tossed out as useless
is now seen in all its glory holding everything together.”

and also:

“There is a stone that trips them up;
they stumble over it and fall flat on their faces.”

Such people defy the message, so their fate is a foregone conclusion; they keep on being tripped up by it.

But it is a very different story for you. You are God’s own special people, chosen to be a noble priesthood and a nation wholly dedicated to God. That is why God, who turned on the lights for you when you were lost in the dark, has given you the job of broadcasting the news about all the great things God does.

Once you were nothing but a rabble,
but now you are God’s own people.
Once mercy was nothing but a word to you,
but now you are showered with mercy.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t go losing your nerve. Stick with God, and stick with me too. My Father’s house has plenty of room for everyone. If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have been telling you that I’m off to book you in, would I? And you can be sure that if I go and book you in, then I’ll be back to pick you up so that we can be together. Anyway, you know which track will get you to where I am going.”

Thomas disputed this, saying, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are headed, so how are we supposed to pick the right track to get there?”

Jesus said, “I am the right track, and the whole truth, and the real life. No one gets near the Father without my help. If you really knew me, then you would also know my Father. And now you do! You know my Father and you have even seen him.”

“If only!” said Philip. “Lord, if you’d just show us the Father, we’d more than happy.”

Jesus replied, “All this time I’ve been with you, and you still haven’t worked me out, have you Philip? To see me is to see the Father. So what’s the point of asking me to show you the Father? Haven’t you got it sorted out in your head that I am one with the Father, and the Father is one with me? When I tell you something, I’m not speaking off my own bat. The Father who lives in me is at work in everything I say. Take my word for it that I am one with the Father, and the Father is one with me; or if my saying it is not enough for you, then surely the things you’ve seen me do prove the point. I kid you not when I tell you that anyone who trusts in me will do the very same things. In fact, you’ll do even greater things than I’ve done, because I’m going back to the Father and handing over the reins to you. I’ll back you up and do whatever you ask when you’re doing my work. That’s how the Son will give the glory to the Father. If you’re working on my behalf you can ask me for anything and I’ll do it.”

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Prayers

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,
for we have tasted your goodness,
and our lives are secure in your hands.

You laid the cornerstone of creation
and built earth and heaven by hand.
Through your prophets you promised to lay a stone in Zion
as a place of refuge for your faithful ones,
and a stumbling block for those who reject your ways.

In Jesus the Christ, your promise has been fulfilled.
He came among us as the way, the truth and the life,
and in him we have seen you.
He was rejected and crucified,
committing his spirit into your hands,
but you raised him to new life
and seated him at your right hand.
Now he is preparing a place for us
and drawing us to you,
that we might be a holy priesthood
and offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to you.

Therefore with .....

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We give you thanks for your son, Jesus Christ,
who comes among us as the way, the truth and the life,
and in whom we a holy priesthood
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to you.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
for we have tasted your goodness,
and our lives are secure in your hands.

You laid the cornerstone of creation
and built earth and heaven by hand.
Through your prophets you promised to lay a stone in Zion
as a place of refuge for your faithful ones,
and a stumbling block for those who reject your ways.

In Jesus the Christ, your promise has been fulfilled.
He came among us as the way, the truth and the life,
and in him we have seen you.
He was rejected and crucified,
committing his spirit into your hands,
but you raised him to new life
and seated him at your right hand.
Now he is preparing a place for us
and drawing us to you,
that we might be a holy priesthood
and offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to you.

Therefore, with our hearts lifted high,
we offer you thanks and praise at all times
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God. Trust also in Christ whom God has sent,
for whoever trusts in him will not be put to shame.
Our cry for help has been heard.
Now we are God’s people and have received mercy.

Sisters and Brothers,
  your sins are forgiven;
    be at peace.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation.
Therefore go out as God’s own people
to proclaim the mighty acts of God in Christ.

And may God be your rock and your refuge;
May Christ Jesus take you to himself and be with you always;
And may the Holy Spirit open heaven wide before you,
........that you might see the glory of God in all the things of earth.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
   In the name of Christ. Amen.

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Sermons

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

  1. Following Christ at Port Arthur
    A sermon on John 14: 1-14 by Nathan Nettleton
  2. Craving the Breast of God
    A sermon on 1 Peter 2:2-10 by Margaret Welsford
  3. Finding the Way
    A sermon on 1 Peter 2: 2-10 and John 14: 1-14 by Nathan Nettleton
  4. A Chosen People
    A sermon on 1 Peter 2: 2-10 by Nathan Nettleton
  5. From rabble to royal priesthood
    A sermon on 1 Peter 2: 2-10 by Alison Sampson
  6. True Martyrdom in an Age of Terror
    A sermon on Acts 7: 55-60 by Nathan Nettleton
  7. Martyrdom: Seeing as well as Suffering
    A sermon on Acts 7: 55-60  by Keith Clements
  8.  Cultural Cringe and Jesus the Way
    A sermon on John 14:6 by Nathan Nettleton