While he was still a young boy, Samuel served the LORD on the staff of the place of worship in the town of Shiloh. When he was working he wore a special religious cape over the robes his mother made for him. Hannah used to make small copies of the robes the priests wore, and bring them to him each year when she and her husband came up to Shiloh for the annual sacrifice. When they came, Eli the priest would give Elkanah and Hannah a blessing, saying, “You have given your son as a gift to the LORD. May the LORD reward the two of you with more children to take his place.”

After Eli had blessed them, Elkanah and Hannah would return home to their own town. Year by year Samuel continued to grow into an impressive young man. Everybody liked him and the LORD was pleased with him.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We sing your praises, LORD!
From every corner of the universe,
from high and low, near and far,
we join the chorus of praise!

With the angels and all who serve you in heaven,
we sing your praises!
With the sun and moon, stars and planets,
we sing your praises!
With far flung galaxies and the milky way,
we sing your praises!

All of them speak of you in glowing terms, LORD,
for they owe their very existence to you.
You ordered their creation
and fixed them in place for all time.

We sing your praises, LORD!
Every creature on earth joins the choir,
singing your praises for all they’re worth:
dolphins and whales
and the ocean itself;
bushfire and hail storm,
snow and ice,
cyclones dancing to your tune;
mountain ranges and rolling hills,
orchards and rainforests,
animals from both bush and farm,
reptiles and birds;
people of every race and class,
people of power and influence;
men and women, old and young,
every voice on earth joins as one!

One and all, we sing your praises, LORD,
yours is the only name on our lips!
You alone outshine the glory of the universe!

You have given strength to your people,
and honour to your faithful ones,
to those you have chosen
and hold close to your heart.

You, LORD, are the greatest!

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

You are a special and much loved people, hand picked by God. To mark you out as God’s people, you have a uniform to wear. It consists of generosity, humility, tolerance and a passionate concern for others, all of which must be worn without any pretentiousness. The thing you do have to wear it with is love. Without love, you won’t even be able to keep the rest of it on - it would all look totally out of place.

Christ has called you to be united as one body, with his peace surging through your veins and keeping the whole body strong. I’ll give you some instructions here for life in the body, but if you let the peace of Christ shape the way you live, you’ll find it comes naturally. Hang in there with each other. No doubt there will be times when you will rub each other up the wrong way, but be forgiving. The Lord had no hesitation forgiving you, so follow his lead and forgive each other. Cultivate a mindset of gratitude. Provide rich soil in your hearts into which the word of Christ can sink deep strong roots. Don’t keep good advice to yourself. Share what you have learned and guide one another in the ways of wisdom. Then you’ll all have plenty to be grateful about. Let your gratitude overflow in the songs you sing together - whatever the style, offer them as spirited gifts to God. At all times, whatever you are up to, see to it that the things you say and do are all things that Christ would be proud to be associated with. Let everything you do for Christ be a way of communicating your thanks to God, for it is God who has given you life.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Every year, Mary and Joseph and most of their friends and family travelled to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they all went up for the festival as usual. At the end of the celebration, they all hit the road as one and began heading home. No one noticed that Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem. Everyone just assumed he was with someone else in the crowd, and they’d done a day’s travel before his parents began to look for him. When they couldn’t find him anywhere among their friends and relatives, they turned around and went back to Jerusalem to mount a search. It took three days to find him and they were nearly at their wits’ end. Jesus was fine though. They found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, hanging on every word they said and probing them with questions of his own. Those who had been listening in were staggered by his grasp of the issues and his ability to participate in such learned discussion. His parents were not nearly so impressed! “Young man, what do you think you’re doing running off on us like this?” Mary demanded. “Your father and I have been worried sick and we’ve hunted everywhere.”

Jesus replied, “Why were you looking everywhere? Surely you know me well enough to know that this was where I’d be, in the house of my Father.”

They didn’t really cotton on to what he meant, but the whole incident became another of Mary’s treasured memories. Jesus went home to Nazareth with his parents and was careful to cooperate with their wishes. With each passing year, he grew in wisdom and maturity. God was pleased with him and everybody liked having him around.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

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,
joining with the joyous cries of all creation,
for you oversee and nourish our growth to fullness of life.

Your word called forth the sun, moon and stars,
and your breath gave life to every creature.
You chose a people to be close to you,
and you spoke through them by your law and prophets.

You sent your Son, Jesus, among us,
and even as a child his zeal for your ways
and his wisdom impressed all who heard him.
His passion for the integrity of your house
and for the holiness of your people
turned the powerful against him.
They crucified him
but you raised him to new life.
Now his peace rules in our hearts,
his word dwells in us richly,
and we are clothed in his love,
to the glory of your holy name.

Therefore with .....

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

We give you thanks for the peace of Christ which rules in our hearts,
for his word which dwells in us richly, clothing us in his love,
and nourishing our growth to maturity
in wisdom, in compassion and in love,
to the glory of your holy name.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

(Preface reformatted for use apart from communion)

We give you all thanks and praise, O God,
joining with the joyous cries of all creation,
for you oversee and nourish our growth to fullness of life.

Your word called forth the sun, moon and stars,
and your breath gave life to every creature.
You chose a people to be close to you,
and you spoke through them by your law and prophets.

You sent your Son, Jesus, among us,
and even as a child his zeal for your ways
and his wisdom impressed all who heard him.
His passion for the integrity of your house
and for the holiness of your people
turned the powerful against him.
They crucified him
but you raised him to new life.
Now his peace rules in our hearts,
his word dwells in us richly,
and we are clothed in his love,
to the glory of your holy name.

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.

©2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

God’s word called you into existence,
and fixed you forever in God’s love.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
and sing with gratitude,
for the Lord has forgiven you.

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

©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Go now, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;
clothe yourselves with love;
forgive one another,
and do everything you do in the name of Christ,
giving thanks to God.

And may God bless you and repay you for all you give;
May Christ Jesus send his peace to rule in your hearts;
and may the Holy Spirit raise you to maturity
in wisdom, in compassion and in love.

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

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net