Pastor Eddy's Blog

Kepler 22b

2011-12-05T14:22:00.001-05:00

So Kepler 22-B is now confirmed as our nearest, most Earth-like planet. It's 600 Light Years away however, so unless we figure out how to travel at the speed of light for 600 years, we better take good care of the one planet that the Lord has given us to live on and care for. Given that the Lord may return at any time...or may wait for another few hundred thousand years to return, I think

2011-11-08T08:25:00.000-05:00

Wal-Mart to the rescue - again I know that Wal-Mart is much mistrusted for it's colossal size and buying power. Local small businesses fear them. However, the Christian ethos runs strongly through the world's largest retailer and it shows not only in their unashamed selling of Christian books, but also in what (and I hesitate to use this phrase at all in a post-Glenn Beck world) I used to

2011-11-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

Humanity's Early History Unlike many American evangelical Christians, I have no real problem paying the truth of the Bible alongside the every-deepening truth of scientific discovery. Both are types of truth. Sure, science is a process that often revises and sometimes overturns its own conclusions. So we need to understand that, and not be afraid to embrace difficult of inconvenient truths

2011-10-22T13:01:00.000-04:00

Calling Reflection I've been taking time to reflect on my calling - 13 years on. My calling was to lead people into the Bible, so that they might meet God there, specifically Jesus Christ, and genuinely commit to follow Him all the days of their lives. On reflection, that is still a tight and clean definition of my calling. How has that calling been lived out over the years? In a few

2011-09-07T08:14:00.000-04:00

End Malaria Day ...is today! You can make a simple, small, rewarding contribution to end the blight of malaria in the world by clicking here: http://endmalariaday.com/ and buying a decent book by 60 well known authors. When I was a small kid in the Far East, I slept with a mosquito net over my bed for 5 years. I didn't get malaria, so I don't have malaria now. (It's alife-long affliction for

2011-09-06T16:58:00.000-04:00

The 5 steps of Apology - 5 'R's After Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas 1. express regret 2. take responsibility 3. make restitution 4. genuinely reprnt 5. request forgiveness

2011-06-25T22:15:00.000-04:00

John 17:1-11 God gives Jesus to the world

2011-05-26T16:59:00.000-04:00

Community Outreach Community Caregivers of Greater Derry used Journey Church's new building to get High Schoolers from Pinkerton Academy to treat some senior citizens from Derry. One of the elder ladies was Margaret Camuso, mother of our own Bob Camuso. http://www.derryinklink.com/2011/05/sometimes-years-fall-away.html

2011-05-25T06:53:00.000-04:00

Union Leader Article This community event was held at Journey Church. We didn't get much of a mention, but that's OK: Here is the article: Sometimes the years fall away. Derry: A Day of Caring helps girls of all ages realize there is little more than time that separates them. By CAROL ROBIDOUX Union Leader Correspondent DERRY OVER COFFEE AND SCONES, Joyce Diemer and Caitlin Harper were

2011-04-14T08:25:00.000-04:00

Holy! Holy! Holy! These past several months I have been growing around the idea of the holiness of God. I have been thinking about the strong theology (perspective?) of 'God as love' that we have in our optimistic Wesleyan holiness tradition. Alongside that, I have been thinking about the diminutive theology of 'God as just' that we also have. We know that God is just, we just don't talk or

2011-04-13T06:09:00.001-04:00

In YouUsually the English language is so rich that it gives us several words to chose from for almost anything we want to say or write. Oddly, there are a few instances where this is not so. One example is with the word 'you'. There is only one word for 'you' whether we are referring to one person or many people. In olden times there used to be the handy word 'ye' which was plural as opposed

Big Kettledrum (3)

2011-04-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

BKD EPMy friend Jeffrey Todd Keel is a banjo playing, guitar sliding, hat wearing, song writing, Jesus loving member of the roots folk-rock band Big Kettle Drum. The band have issued their first EP, which I think is very good indeed:Big Kettledrum (3)

2011-03-29T07:47:00.000-04:00

Early Christian RelicHere is a link to a story you might like to know about. Books of lead plates found in a cave seem to be early Christian writings from within a few years of Jesus' resurrection. I am interested that secular scholars have noted that the theme of the writing so far understood, seems to center on the divinity of Christ. That's just another piece of evidence that Jesus' first

2011-03-05T08:46:00.000-05:00

Self Care All of us who follow Jesus Christ are ministers - we all have an active Christian ministry - our lives. Whether we are pastors, IT consultants, nurses, accountants, tradespeople, students, professionals, carers - our work is a full-time Christian ministry to which we are called. In my own ministry I sense today a need for a new focus on self-care. Ministry (i.e. The Christian Life)

2011-01-03T09:59:00.000-05:00

Guide to Christians in the Middle East The BBC has a handy web page detailing the tiny remaining Christian populations in Middle east countries: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4499668.stm It's a worthy read. Please pray with me for our kin in these nations. They live under the heal of oppressive Muslim and even unfriendly Israeli governments. May the Lord strengthen and encourage them

2011-01-01T10:59:00.000-05:00

In Bader and Froese's book "America's Four Gods: What We Say about God - and What That Says about Us", they present a new rubric for mapping how we Americans think about God. (See a review here.) Here is my post-it note of their rubric: The basic idea is that cliche models of lift/right. liberal/conservative do not adequately provide for the diversity of thought and voting presented by US

2010-11-18T06:56:00.000-05:00

Ruby Bridges - a courageous American hero.Fifty years ago, six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked into a Louisiana school and made history as the first African-American to attend an all-white elementary school in the American South.Ruby endured screaming crowds and demeaning threats, but her experience paved the way for generations to come and inspired a famous painting by Norman Rockwell.Ruby and

2010-11-17T13:00:00.000-05:00

Lost in Translation There are still times, 14 years later, that it feels alien for me to be immersed in US culture. One of these time happens whenever I listen/watch Craig Groeschell preach. I like Craig. I really like to hear him be interviewed as he speaks such good sense so easily. He is a great teacher and leader. I watch and listen to him because I sometimes learn something. I

2010-11-17T07:52:00.000-05:00

NH the Wealthiest State This from today's Union Leader: WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau report has revealed a list of America’s wealthiest and poorest states, based on the parameters of the median household income. New Hampshire tops the list with the median household income of $65,028. The rest of the top 10 states are New Jersey ($64,918), Connecticut ($64,644), Maryland ($63,828), Alaska

2010-11-03T12:26:00.000-04:00

The Power of a Whisper by Bill Hybels Bill Hybels latest book picks up on an important aspect of the Christian life: that God still speaks to His people. if you've been a follower of Jesus Christ for anytime you'll understand the little nudges and promptings in your mind, the times you've suddenly thought of a person for apparently no reason at all. Even before we commit to follow Jesus, His

2010-10-29T08:51:00.000-04:00

Morning Walk I try to put in 3 miles a day at dawn, and the more I walk the more I like it. This morning the dawn broke all blue and gold over Moekle's Pond, all misty over the cold water. Geese just floating on the still water and the trees bronze, gold and red. It was cold and lovely. My iPod shuffle gave me the perfect soundtrack just to seal the deal. I decided I'd make a YouTube playlist

2010-10-16T23:35:00.000-04:00

Sharia Law The BBC report on an example of Islamic Sharia law at work. How many chocolate bars is a hand worth? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11559750

2010-10-14T07:14:00.000-04:00

Try Praying A great initiative to open up outsiders to a spiritual life and a relationship with Jesus Christ. Simply...try praying: http://www.trypraying.org/

2010-10-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

Ancient Power As I pray for Dick today, as he spends the next several days in hospital, and as I confess my own sin and need of forgiveness and healing, I came across this is an email. I hope Father blesses you through it too: He is present to heal the broken in heart and to bind up his wounds. His touch has still its ancient power. Still does the gracious Master speak with authority, "Woman

2010-10-10T16:37:00.000-04:00

Today in my message I mentioned the Hindu ritual Thaipusam. Here are a couple of representative images: To Jesus Christ be all the glory honor and praise that he has lifted the horror of Kamic Debt from us by the freely given atonement of His blood. We are free from the guilt of sin, and free from the obligation to sin. Amen.

2010-10-04T22:12:00.000-04:00

Considering Christian Zionism. Part 2: The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ The Holy Bible has 4 theological biographies of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are affirmed in the other letters and writings of the New Testament, and by hundred, thousands of other manuscripts and letters from the early church that all tell us the same amazing account: That Jesus Christ was fully a sinless man and also the

2010-10-02T10:36:00.000-04:00

Christians and the Tea Party There is an interesting article in this month's Christianity Today (page 54-55) on "What place do Christians have in the tea part movement?" with three contrasting views: In the front row; On the inside; On the outside.

2010-09-22T09:34:00.002-04:00

Considering Christian Zionism. Part 1: Zion What is Zion? If you decide it is a place, where is it? if you count yourself a Christian Zionist then you'd better be clear about Zion. Historically we learn from the Old testament that Zion is the name of a hill in Jerusalem, Israel, where Solomon built The Temple that was then inhabited by a deeply mysterious phenomenon referred to as the Glory of

2010-09-18T20:38:00.000-04:00

One God "Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone." Deuteronomy 6:4 NRSV It was a 'Google moment': a single idea that changed the whole world. Life would never be the same again. Every culture that covered the face of the earth had then - as today - a deep need for spiritual peace, security and fulfillment. Life is complex - there are hundreds of important things. Some material,

2010-09-09T09:51:00.000-04:00

Koran Burning is not The Way As you have doubtless read/watched, an independent Baptist church in Gainesville Florida will mark the up-coming anniversary of 9/11 by performing a burning of copies of the koran (qu'ran) ina public bonfire. The pastor says his motive is to draw attention to his view that islam is of the devil, and is a religion of violence. In a free country with separation of

2010-09-02T11:07:00.001-04:00

A friend has this as his email signature line. I thought it was pretty good: THINK Theologically | ENGAGE Globally | LIVE Biblically I especially like the order: to think first, then engage with the culture and then live out our Christ-likeness. Thanks to Gide Demosthene for this.

2010-08-19T10:59:00.001-04:00

I am so proud of the good work our service people have done in Iraq. It's only 7 years into what will no doubt be a very long term engagement there. But I am delighted that today we pulled out our final combat troops. Here is a neat video of President George W Bush welcoming troops back at DFW a few days ago. Love or hate his politics, he is a solid patriot, and I admire that. Well done troops.

2010-08-15T08:04:00.000-04:00

Ephesians 6:7 Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women... Sometimes we weary of serving. Our service starts out being a loving response to all that God has done for us, and we serve from a humble and grateful heart. Sometimes however, for whatever reason, we serve beyond our gratefulness. We take our eyes of God and start to look to the other people to our right

2010-08-04T08:51:00.000-04:00

Isaiah 1:16–17 NRSV Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. It's unhelpful to use the phrase 'social justice' in the US now - it has become politicized. So what shall we call the great imperative of God to His children to

2010-08-02T10:16:00.001-04:00

Romans 15:5-6 NIV May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This scripture reminds me of the great prayer of Jesus in John 17. The unity of the people in the church is very important to God. It's is our unity that

2010-06-29T15:53:00.000-04:00

O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray And to concentrate my thoughts on you; I cannot do this alone. In me there is darkness, But with you there is light. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2010-06-27T21:19:00.000-04:00

Frank Reynolds Pastor Frank completed 30 years as senior pastor of Manchester Christian Church, and preached his last sermon in that role today. Frank is a mentor and I admire him hugely. I managed to take in most of the 8:30 AM service there before travelling to my church. One of the texts he used was from 1 John chapter 4, and it is one of my very favorite passages of Scripture. If I could

2010-06-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

Carolyn Myatt - 3 wise sayings: Veteran Nazarene missionary Carolyn Myatt spoke at Journey Church today. She was a delight. Here are three phrases she shared that her long life of adventures with God has taught her: 1) God promises a safe landing, not a smooth passage. 2) If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. 3) You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you

2010-06-14T21:58:00.000-04:00

Hezekiah Watts's song, 'I need You To Survive' was new to me last week, when I heard it sung at Palcon 2010. The words are so appropriate for the church (local and global) and indeed our world. Here they are: I need you, you need me. We're all a part of God's body. Stand with me, agree with me. We're all a part of God's body. It is his will, that every need be supplied. You are important

2010-06-09T15:53:00.003-04:00

"There are so many feet to wash," I keep saying. "No," I hear God's voice resounding through the years, "There are only my feet. What you do for them you do for me." Macrina Wiederkehr

2010-06-08T09:35:00.000-04:00

Sitting Down One of my favorite songs from the 80's, and a great example of how non-Christians can write song lyrics that reflect prevenient grace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew7Zkkucos8 "Hope that God exists, I hope and I pray" "If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor" "Those who feel the breath of sadness...their touched by madness...who find themselves ridiculous...sit

2010-06-06T16:17:00.002-04:00

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph 3:20–21

2010-06-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

Holiness Today is the magazine of the Church of the Nazarene, It's aimed at regular believers (not just clergy or academics). It's articles are usually practical, real and reflect this extraordinary life of radically following Jesus Christ. I recommend it! http://www.holinesstoday.org/nphweb/html/nph/subscription.jsp

2010-05-19T12:37:00.000-04:00

Life in Haiti - now the rains have come, in pictures and sound: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8689434.stm

2010-05-07T10:35:00.002-04:00

There is no secular.We often use the word 'secular' to denote something that is separate and discrete from the church - that is the sacred. It's a useful shorthand to talk about the differences and tensions between what the apostle John called 'the world' and the in-breaking Kingdom of God.In a real sense however, there is no such thing as secular. God has created everything, and is in-process

2010-03-30T10:40:00.002-04:00

Integrity and Social JusticeThere is much heat and perhaps not enough light being generated within the church at the moment, with passionate conversations around the Obama healthcare law and connected issues around freedom, the US constitution, and right versus left-wing world views. As the Pastor at Journey Church, I want to blog about some of the issues raised in various Facebook threads.

2010-01-13T08:06:00.003-05:00

The Church of the Nazarene is a wonderful denomination because: 1) It has just enough centralized oversight to be healthy. Our hard working General Superintendants (i.e. arch-bishops) and District Superintendants (i.e. bishops) are very inexpensive to fund and provide just the right level of government to keep us on track and away from errors experienced by dectralized and congregational

2010-01-13T07:58:00.002-05:00

Yesterday a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, epicentered just 10 miles from the capital, Port Au Prince, and with a depth of just 5 miles. Over 10 aftershocks registered magnitude 5.0. Devastation happened instantly.1117GMT: Troy Livesay tweets:"Church groups are singing throughout the city all through the night in prayer. It is a beautiful sound in the middle of a horrible tragedy."Now,

2009-11-30T08:12:00.004-05:00

2009 Top 5'sHere are my lists of some of my favorite things of 2009:Top 5 Albums:Paul Baloche - GloriousU2 - No Line On The HorizonColdplay - Viva la VidaLaura Story - Great God Who SavesBrooke Fraser - AlbertineTop 5 Films:Up!Gran TorinoSlumdog MillionaireThe World's Fastest IndianAvatarTop 5 People:Cindy Tanuma, Community Caregivers of Greater Derry - extraordinary carerLinda Frost -

2009-10-03T05:52:00.002-04:00

What I learn from my CatI wake up this morning thirsty, my mind racing with dozens of thinks I have to get done today, and already stressed by anxieties and guilty about things I haven't gotten done and several friendships that are very important to me that I need - want - to improve. I'm behind schedule on a few important projects, some of them now urgent. My body is so tense I feel like a

2009-09-23T14:04:00.002-04:00

Driving through Rhode Island yesterday...My car radio was tuned to 90.9 FM to pick up my favorite Boston NPR news station. Coming in from Connecticut somewhere was a student radio station on the same frequency, playing avant-garde indie rock. The band's name included an anatomically unmentionable body part.As my road rose and fell, my radio alternated between the two stations and sometimes just

2009-09-05T20:21:00.003-04:00

3 little words, Part 1I've been considering three little words that each convey to us the very character of God, tell us about ourselves, and are the bedrocks of both church, and the ultimate goal of God working in time/space. Pretty comprehensive huh? Well as you might imagine, for three such powerful God-words, they are in Hebrew.Word number one is...macom. It's pronounced 'ma-comb'.Macom is

Soulfest 2009

2009-08-02T07:53:00.001-04:00

After a shower and a change of clothes, I’m reflecting on Soulfest 2009. The mud on Friday was a challenge – a day of solid rain and about 10,000 people trudging around – cheerful but messy. And boy did the mud smell! As always, the highlights for me was the time spent with my LCN family and the conversations we had. I wish we could have more time just relaxing together and talking. Jeffrey

2009-07-19T05:10:00.002-04:00

Having turned the ripe old age of 49 on Friday, I can attest that time flies. How am I using this time?I pray this morning for more wisdom from God than I have, also for discipline for my mind, this body and Spirit than I have, for greater love for all the people in my life. This last prayer is humbling because I understand more now that love is such a costly business. It is about giving

2009-07-11T14:25:00.002-04:00

Rudyard Kipling, in his poem 'If' says much that is brilliant including:If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;If you can meet with triumph and disasterAnd treat those two imposters just the same; I've had just a little open window for reflection recently, and have considered the great grace of God in allowing me to experience both

2009-04-14T08:10:00.003-04:00

Jesus Christ taught against judgementalism because it places us in the position of God - who alone is the judge of everyone. When we forhet that teaching we move from loving rebuke and encouragement of each other into a dark shadow of assuming power. Islam - a religion based around the idea of obedience to a written law - a righteouness attained by outward works rather than inward holiness -

2008-11-24T09:18:00.003-05:00

Japanese Christian Martyrs HonoredWe don't often think of Japan as being a part of the Christianized world, but it is. Back in the 1600's there were so many Christian sin Japan (mainly due to the work of the Jesuits) that it became a political problem for the then warlords. The city of Nagasaki was founded as a Christian city. Our brothers and sisters were terribly persecuted as the warlords

2008-11-22T07:10:00.000-05:00

The Shack: "Paradigms power perception and perceptions power emotions. Most emotions are responses to perception--what you think is true about a given situation. If your perception is false, then your emotional response to it will be false too. So check your perceptions, and beyond that check the truthfulness of your paradigms--what you believe. Just because you believe something firmly doesn't

2008-10-08T09:52:00.002-04:00

I first met Vladimir Khursin at Nazarene Theological Seminary, while he was their on a 2 week study trip. He was a thirtyish, black haired dark eyed handsome Ukranian man, friendly and easy company. I learned he was a pediatric surgeon working at the Kiev Children's Hospital, an obviously dedicated to the cases he worked with long term. Surprisingly being a surgeon doesn't pa so well in

2008-09-28T23:04:00.000-04:00

God you are my FatherMake everyone respect and deeply revere You, everywhere!Rule over everything – may it be soon!May all of life and creation be full of Your wonderful character – Justice, Mercy and Peace!BUT LORD – what I see around me and within me looks very far short of such a wonderful vision.While we faithfully wait for the end of these evil days, and Your return….I see hunger in the

2008-09-16T09:01:00.003-04:00

"It may have been a church full of pedophiles and criminals covering up other criminals' sins … it may have been a church riddled with hypocrisy, deceit, and corruption … but our mega-church experience taught us that we were captive Catholics," he wrote.Well, it's hardly a ringing endorsement of his choice to be a Roman Catholic, but it does seem like one of Hollywood's edgier scriptwriters has

2008-06-28T13:48:00.002-04:00