Worst.Sunday.Ever...But God,

Hi Alex how are you? Church was really difficult this morning. Music mix was real bad electric guitar way too loud and I couldn't fix it, then started sermon and two babies cried
D for the first ten minutes or so veryhard to concentrate. In mass you can let your baby cry all you want and it doesn't matter . Different culture.
Then the sermon seemed so disjointed and rambling I didn't feel much flow between poinrs just isolated thoughts strung together and then as I was concluding some guy wanted to know if he could interject and add his own thoughts. That kind of through me off
Then I cocluded and went and sat Down. Just absolutely dejected and apologizing to god for sucking so much and wasting everyones time. Then the worship team came up to do the second set and I am clicking through PowerPoint for them and just as I M saying to myself at least slides aren't giving me any problems then it turns out that a verse of how great is our God was missing so I had to put a blank slide up for that verse while most of the congregation mumbled along with Dan. Ant then right after that in the beginning of the next song the battery of my laptop died!!!! I tried to find the cord but it was nowhere to be found. Just the absolute worst Sunday ever.
But then people came up to me and said what an a
Amazing sermon it was. At first I thought it was just a sympathy pleatitude but after the fourth one I started to believe them that it was actually helpful for them. Said God really spke to them. One guy said he could was shaking through most of it and throughout the worship songs at the end!
I don't know if God translated my scattered thoughts mid air and caused them to make sense and be A blessing to the people or if I just have a really mature congregation that is able to gain nourishment and to benefit from any paltry sermon, or maybe my formulas about what ingredients must be necessary for a good sermon aren't actually as importAnt as ithought.
God was very good to our little church today definitely in spite of anything I was able to bring to them. Just wanted to shoot you a quick email telling you about it. It was a real encouragement to me so i wanted tosharw it with you. This took a reAl long time to type out, since it's on my phone (rachel has the laptop at church right now for worship practice) I might post this on my blog, since it took so stinking long to type I at least want my loyal readers to be able to benefit from my labour. Nic lazz and Conor berry are the only people that read it I think. Grat talking to you last night. Look forward to the next time! Soli Deo Gloria.

Sent from my iPhone

One day...

I was thinking today about some goals I'd like to achieve in the remaining months of this year, and one of them was to blog more regularly. I was thinking about Zoomtard and how it is the hit blog amongst young Irish evangelicals, and it's very well written and often pithy and witty, but some of the conclusions he draws I really have some reservations about, and I'd love to be another voice that is able to contribute to the thought life of that crowd... but then I thought of how much I suck at keeping self imposed deadlines.
I had a great chat with an acquaintance of mine last thursday about how we are totally able to perform well when there is a schedule to follow that other people are depending on you to complete, but when it's just extra curricular activities we rarely get around to doing them at all. And we agreed that it causes a lot of extra strain on our closest relationships because we are like that. So i'd like to grow out of it one day.

but speaking of deadlines, I have to have a sermon prepared to preach tomorrow morning and I would be a lot better off re-writing my outline than writing this blog.

I only ever write blogs when I am procrastinating...

...and today is no exception. I've got to get some notes hammered out for tomorrow morning, but instead I'm updating this thing.

I leave to go to the States next Thursday. I'm actually looking forward to it a bunch. My circle of friends is growing smaller and smaller, due to people moving away and also to my inability to keep in touch with people, but I still think it's going to be great to spend some time in Fallbrook. My family has been meaning more and more to me lately. On Christmas I phoned my mom 4 times I think. And I really am coming to respect my parents a lot in the past years. Having a three year old who is growing up without his grandma and grandpa around makes me think about them a lot. They really love Eoin so much and I am sorry that they don't get to see more of each other. So I'm looking forward to that.

I'm also looking forward to just going to church. I am definitely preaching one Sunday at CC Fallbrook, but apart from that I don't have anything else booked. Now, likely I'll end up preaching much more than once the whole time I'm there, but I know that for at least Easter Sunday and probably Palm Sunday I'm not going to be teaching, which means that I'll get to wake up, get dressed, get everyone ready and then just drive to church. I don't have to set up chairs or make sure the powerpoint is working right, don't have to coordinate anything with the worship team, don't have to make sure tea and coffee is set up, don't need to prepare the communion stuff, don't need to worry about the sermon... I'll just get to show up and attend church. I'll get to meet people and sing with people and enjoy sitting under the teaching of God's word. I very rarely get to just attend church and I'm really looking forward to it.

Rachel is gonna get one of her tattoos coloured in, and that's cool. I might get something done while I'm over there, I've got some ideas that I've been kicking around, but now that Clay has his gun I might just let him zap me.

I'm gonna buy some new shoes and eat tons of mexican food. I might even buy myself a pair of reading glasses. I'm gonna drink tons of cream soda and maybe even catch a hardcore show for old time's sake. But mostly I'm lookin forward to sittin on my parents front porch and watch eoin run around and play with the dogs and spending time with my family. The family that I was so ungrateful for for so many years. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

Credo

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This Wednesday night I'm starting a series on the Apostle's Creed. I am really really looking forward to it, I don't think I've been this enthusiastic about a new series in a long time. Tomorrow morning I'm teaching 1st Corinthians 7, which is pretty complicated.
I've got some blog ideas written down in my journal. One of these days I'll type them out here.

This is a video I made, I'm going to show it before each study.

On this day in Irish history...

At 11.15 on December 5th 1921, the delegation led by Michael Collins decided to recommend the Treaty as proposed by the British to Dáil Éireann. They declared independence, so to speak.




(from Zoomtard blog)

I am Michael Scott.

I am Michael Scott.
Although I don't share all of his idiosyncrasies and flaws (Thank the good Lord) I do have one glaring similarity with him: I want everyone to like me.
I want everyone to be my friend.
And because of that my ability to lead is impaired.
Michael Scott has no friends or family so he looks to his employees to fill the void. I have family but no friends (at least in this country) and many times I look to the church to be my friend. Failing to make the distinction has cost me respect in their eyes and reduced my ability to effectively lead them.
Dear God give me mercy and help. Amen.

Malc and Amanda get Married

I wish i could pull this off:

The five-word antidote to grumbling Tony Payne

This story has been passed onto me second- or third- or possibly fifth-hand. Who knows how accurate the details are, or whether the words were spoken exactly in this way? But from my knowledge of the man in question, it is entirely believable. In fact, if it isn't true, it's the kind of story that would almost be necessary to invent.

An eminent and well-known English preacher was approached by a congregation member who complained about some aspect of church life. It may have been that he didn't feel welcomed, or that he was finding it hard to make friends and fit in; it could have been that he was finding the service dissatisfying or the preaching too long; it could have been that the music was not to his taste or that his family was not being catered for to his satisfaction. The details of the complaint have been lost in the telling and re-telling of the story.

The preacher listened to the complaint, paused, and then replied with five words that cut straight to the heart of not only the man's problem, but the problem with all grumbling and complaining in church. He simply said, “It's not about you, stupid!” and walked off.

It was a stunningly rude response—the kind that this preacher seemed uniquely capable of getting away with in his very English way. But doesn't it exactly express what is wrong with grumbling and complaining in church?

It really is the height of idiocy to think that church is about me and my needs and my family and my satisfaction. It completely overturns the teaching of the Bible—that church is about God and Christ and loving other people. In fact, if we wanted to summarize Paul's rebuke to the dysfunctional Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11-14, a pretty reasonable slogan would be “It's not about you, stupid!”.

So the next time you're feeling grumpy about church, and are complaining that this or that aspect leaves you cold, remind yourself of the five-word answer to grumbling. And if you're really game, when someone starts grumbling to you about how they don't like the music or how they're sick of the preacher's jokes, just give them a slightly incredulous look, shake your head, and say, “It's not about you, stupid!”.

i cry a lot lately.

probably because i haven't gotten enough sleep in the past month, but also because i get really concerned for my little boy.

Article from Mark Driscoll

I couldn't have said it better myself. I try to remain non-partisan every time political issues regarding the united states grab international headlines. For a good number of people I'm one of the only americans that they know over here, so there is an interest in my opinion about all things american.It can be hard to be neutral, but I do this for a couple reasons, firstly, I am not nearly as informed as I should be about american politics (but hey, I haven't lived there in nearly 6 years), and secondly I don't want to needlessly be divisive over secondary or tertiary issues (the gospel is offensive enough without me heaping politics on top of it).

This article does a great job of presenting the gospel in the context of the recent election. My favourite sentence is: People are longing for Jesus, and tragically left voting for mere presidential candidates.

(i'm at an internet cafe now, and the guy next to me is looking at soft porn, good grief its ten a.m.)

In God We Do Not Trust

Mark Driscoll

In my years of pastoral ministry I have worked very hard to not be political. I believe that my job as a pastor is to preach and teach the Bible well so that my people make their decisions, including their voting decisions, out of their faith convictions.

This election season which has dominated the cultural conversation for many months has been particularly insightful regarding the incessant gospel thirst that abides deep in the heart of the men and women who bear God’s image. Without endorsing or maligning either political party or their respective presidential candidates, I am hopeful that a few insights from the recent election season are of help, particularly to younger evangelicals.

First, people are longing for a savior who will atone for their sins. In this election, people thirst for a savior who will atone for their economic sins of buying things they did not need with money they did not have. The result is a mountain of credit debt they cannot pay and a desperate yearning that somehow a new president will save them from economic hell.

Second, people are longing for a king who will keep them safe from terror in his kingdom. In the Old Testament the concept of a peaceable kingdom is marked by the word shalom. In shalom there is not only the absence of sin, war, strife, and suffering but also the presence of love, peace, harmony, and health. And, this thirst for shalom is so parched that every election people cannot help but naively believe that if their candidate simply wins shalom is sure to come despite sin and the curse.

The bottom line is obvious to those with gospel eyes. People are longing for Jesus, and tragically left voting for mere presidential candidates. For those whose candidate wins today there will be some months of groundless euphoric faith in that candidate and the atoning salvation that their kingdom will bring. But, in time, their supporters will see that no matter who wins the presidency, they are mere mortals prone to sin, folly, and self-interest just like all the other sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. To help extend naïve false hope as long as possible, a great enemy will be named and demonized as the one who is hindering all of the progress to atone for our sins and usher in our kingdom. If the Democrats win it will be the rich, and if the Republicans win it will be the terrorists. This diversionary trick is as old as Eve who blamed her sin on Satan rather than repenting. The lie is that it’s always someone else’s fault and we’re always the victim of sinners and never the sinner.

Speaking of repentance, sadly, no matter who wins there will be no call to personal repentance of our own personal sins which contributes to cultural suffering and decline such as our pride, gluttony, covetousness, greed, indebtedness, self-righteousness, perversion, and laziness. And, in four years we’ll do it all again and pretend that this time things will be different. Four years after that, we’ll do it yet again. And, we’ll continue driving around this cul de sac until Jesus returns, sets up his throne, and puts an end to folly once and for all.

In the meantime, I would encourage all preachers to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and repentance of personal sin. He alone can truly atone for our sins. He alone can deliver us from a real hell. He alone is our sinless and great King. And, he alone has a Shalom kingdom to offer.

Lastly, for those preachers who have gotten sidetracked for the cause of a false king and a false kingdom by making too much of the election and too little of Jesus, today is a good day to practice repentance in preparation to preach it on Sunday. Just give it some time. The thirst will remain that only Jesus can quench. So, we’ve still got work to do….until we see King Jesus and voting is done once and for all.

very interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on short term mission trips check it out.

TV Reviews

pretty interesting.

I've been thinking about blogging a lot lately, but as you can tell I haven't gotten around to actually writing anything in a long time.

I've got two weddings coming up in the next two weeks. I love weddings. There also are two baptisms this week in Waterford from a church plant that my church is helping out with. I'd love to be able to drive down for that, but since we have a wedding rehearsal at the same time it's not going to happen. i love baptisms. I can't decide which I love more. All I know is that baptisms take a lot less paperwork.

The General Registrars Office in Roscommon is being so lame to me. They're really dragging their feet over putting me on the List of Wedding Solemnizers, which is kind of stressful.

There are some interesting notes i jotted down in my journal that will hopefully one day turn into blogs, one of them has to do with posi-core, one of them has to do with the apostles creed and another one has to do with how to make the perfect cup of tea.

But I don't really have time to write about any of those things now.

Austrian Death Machine

this is my old chum Tim Lambesis' side project



every single song is Arnold Schwartzeneggar themed. pretty funny idea i think. This is from their myspace:

Whenever a new band comes out I often hear it said, "that's exactly what you'd expect from a heavy band." I beg to differ. Austrian Death Machine is exactly what you should hear from a heavy band.

- a continuously fast paced tempo you can always circle pit to

- the obvious build up to a breakdown you'll know how to mosh to

- classic sing alongs we to pile up and sing along with

- a guitar solo in every song

And yes... I would never leave out the obvious key component. Cliche vocals that sound really angry! None of this scary screaming with makeup or goofy lows that we can all make under our breath.

Lastly, let move onto lyrical content. I've heard plenty of metal bands steal lyrics from angry fourth graders that hate going to church or don't want to clean their rooms. Now it's time to steal lyrics from the great minds of Hollywood screen writers that at least made it to sixth grade. Don't miss listening to the hit track "Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers."

Bottom line, Austrian Death Machine is fast, pissed, brutal and every song has a guitar solo. You won't find fantasy lyrics or overly poetic personal jargon. There are only forcefully chanted, testosterone drive phrases that our sweet governor Arnold would approve of.

Austrian Death Machine is a tribute to the great Arnold movies. It is a band fronted by Ahhnold with music I wrote and recorded in my free time. But, most importantly, I had so much fun!

I love this stuff

We just finished the book of Genesis at church. we started it in June of last year and finished it a couple days ago. 13 months in that great book. I especially enjoyed looking at the life of Joseph, especially as a foreshadow of the life and ministry of Jesus. Here's some stuff I threw together. (i can't get the formatting right so that it comes out in the nice little chart i made)


Joseph Parallels Jesus
37:2 A shepherd of his father’s sheep John 10:11,27-29
37:3 His father loved him dearly Matthew 3:17
37:4 Hated by his brothers John 7:4,5
37:13,14 Sent by his father to his brothers Hebrews 2:11
37:20 Others plotted to harm him John 11:53
37:23 Robes taken from them John 19:23,24
37:26 Taken to Egypt Matthew 2:14,15
37:28 Sold for the price of a slave Matthew 26:15
39:7 Tempted Matthew 4:1
39:16-18 Falsely accused Matthew 26:59-60
39:20 Bound in chains Matthew 27:2
40:2,3 Placed with two other prisoners, one was saved and the other lost Luke 23:32
41:41 Exalted after sufferings Philippians 2:9-11
42:24, 45:2,14,15, 46:29 both wept John 11:35
45:1-15 Forgave those who wronged them Luke 23:34
45:7 Saved their nation Matthew 1:21
50:20 What men did to hurt them, God used for good 1 Corinthians 2:7,8

Next wednesday night one of the brainy guys in the fellowship is going to do a talk on Sola Scriptura, then after that I'm going to start a 3 week series on God.
week 1. Father.
week 2. Son.
week 3. Holy Spirit.

Then after that we're going to start the book of Exodus. Can anyone recommend a good commentary?

Observations.

Cole Slaw is good for the first couple bites, but there comes a point when it just turns disgusting.

The ESV Journaling Bible is the best spent twenty-five euro of my life. I don't have a single complaint about it. This Easter marked one year of preaching from it. An absolutely amazing Bible. You should buy it.



Someone is buying my new friend Clay a tattoo gun. And I've volunteered to let him practice on me. so I'm going to have some pretty interesting looking legs from this point on.

Some days are so beautiful...

idolatry

Yesterday I made something other than God my god. I sinned and I broke the first of the Ten Commandments. As I was reading today I came across this quote and it really kicked me in the head.

Suppose my god is sex or my physical health or the Democratic Party. If I experience any of these under genuine threat, then I feel myself shaken to the depths. Guilt becomes neurotically intensified to the degree that I have idolized finite values…suppose I value my ability to teach and communicate clearly…if clear communication has become an absolute value for me, a center of value that makes all my other values valuable…then if I [fail in teaching well] I am stricken with neurotic guilt. Bitterness becomes neurotically intensified when someone or something stands between me and something that is my ultimate value.
-Thomas C. Oden, Two Worlds: Notes on the Death of Modernity in America and Russia (IVP,1992), Chapter 6.

What struck me so hard was that in his list of hypothetical idols, the fourth one he listed was the idol that dethroned God in my heart yesterday; namely “my ability to teach and communicate clearly”. From the time I woke up yesterday, my primary thoughts and my goals all had to do with preaching well and communicating clearly at church that morning. I was thinking over my winsome illustrations and relentless logical progression through the text and was so consumed with it that I allowed myself to become rude and snappy to my family. In my mind I needed to be able to drive to the church by a certain time in order to give me the buffer zone that I needed between arriving at church and setting everything up and the time when people started arriving for the service. I felt that if I wasn’t able to get that done then I wouldn’t be able to perform well and speak eloquently to my congregation.

Bitterness becomes neurotically intensified when someone or something stands between me and something that is my ultimate value.

I became neurotically bitter because someone or something was standing between me and my ultimate goal; preaching a good sermon.

And then, surprise, surprise, when it came time for me to get up and teach the scriptures, it totally sucked! In retrospect, it makes a lot of sense (especially in light of 1st Peter 3:7) but for some reason I didn’t see it coming. I hate bad preaching, but not nearly as much as I hate preaching badly. It’s the worst feeling in the world to know that you aren’t doing justice to the text.

…if clear communication has become an absolute value for me, a center of value that makes all my other values valuable…then if I [fail in teaching well] I am stricken with neurotic guilt.

Afterwards, my confidence and my self worth were all but shattered. It’s one thing to fail in private, but another to fail in front of your own congregation. For the rest of the day I just replayed the botched message in my head, wishing I could have done it better, wishing I could have been clearer.

Yesterday was not a nice day for me. Today I had a long talk with my wife about it, and apologized and repented for what I did wrong, then I came upstairs to relax and catch up on my reading, only to get hit by this paragraph that shows me that it’s even deeper than being a little rude and then preaching poorly and feeling crummy about it, but it’s an idolatry problem, where a good thing was turned into an ultimate thing.

Preaching has the definite capacity of becoming an idol for me, and yesterday it did, much to my own and other’s detriment.

I renew my faith today in God alone as my source of joy and fulfillment, reward and satisfaction.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

because audio blogging is easier than typing

i recorded this into my phone while i was walking home from a street outreach last night.


if that doesn't work (as i suspect it won't) go here http://www.sendspace.com/file/n2q19c

eoin strikes again

the other day eoin peeled off nearly all the remaining keys. it is even harder to type now than before.

anyone want to buy me a macbook?

just kidding... i'm probably going to buy a usb keyboard and plug it in.

i'm preaching at faranree christian fellowship

tommorow. looking forward to it. happy to have godly men able to teach in the church to cover for me.