An Irish personal evangelistic site. I'm not representing a particular church, but it's broadly evangelical in tone. My aim is to cover topics I've encountered in discussions I've had over the years, mainly here in Ireland..
My big memory of 1988 was getting married and moving from Cork to Limerick. Of course, I’d been up and down over the years, and in all honesty, I much prefer Cork 🙂. But it’s only down the road really, and I live on the Cork side of Limerick. For our wedding, we chose the … Continue reading Hymns: 1988 Memories
As Christians, our lives in this world can end in two ways. Either we die and go to heaven or else we’ll be around when Jesus comes back and takes all his people to be with himself. Here the apostle Paul anticipates his death: Phil 1:21-2421 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is … Continue reading Hymn Themes: Future
As I keep stating, most of my vivid memories of being introduced to new hymns and songs come from the early 1980s. In Baptist churches, we liked the older hymns, but some of the newer ones did drift in from time to time. I was introduced to three of them in the summer of 1987, … Continue reading Hymns: 1987 Memories
So many hymns touch on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but few are wholly focused on it. The resurrection is at the very core of the Christian faith. It comes at the end of the gospels, but the book of Acts, and what follows, touches on it again and again. Somone once asked … Continue reading Hymn Themes: Resurrection
I don’t have many musical memories from 1986, at least not from hymns. One song that I remember very vividly around the time of my final exams was Spirit in the Sky by Doctor and the Medics. I didn’t think of it as any kind of a Christian song, and I found it irritating, but … Continue reading Hymns: 1986 Memories
Although, by 1985, I’d become more traditional and conservative in my outlook, I still fondly remembered the newer choruses that I’d been introduced to in the first few years of my Christian life. In early 1985, someone asked me to speak at the Christian Union in Ashton Comprehensive school in Cork. During my talk, I … Continue reading Hymns: 1985 Memories
All hymns point to God, and thinking about God is always going to bring some element of joy, but here I’m thinking particularly of songs with joyful melodies, sometimes associated with Jewish folk music. Way back in the 1970s, Stuart Dauermann wrote Trees of the Field (You Shall Go Out with Joy) for the Liberated … Continue reading Hymn Themes: Joyful Melodies
In September 1983, I returned to Ireland (from London) and settled back into Cork Baptist Church. I started teacher training in Limerick, but I returned home to Cork every weekend. In London, I had met Christians from all sorts of backgrounds, visited various types of churches, and engaged in all sorts of theological debates. Some … Continue reading Hymns: 1984 Memories
Some of my favourite hymns are on the theme of majesty. In common language we use the word for royals or in sarcastic comments – Here’s your crown your majesty or Here you go your majesty (Simpsons)😀. But when used for God, it’s altogether different. The word “majesty,” when used in relation to God, conveys … Continue reading Hymn Themes: Majesty
I left for London in September 1982 to spend a year as a voluntary evangelist (VE) with London City Mission. In today’s terms, it could be described as a gap year program. Most were approaching their 20s or in their 20s. The 23 or so other VEs came from all parts of the UK. I … Continue reading Hymns: 1983 Memories
Hibernia Gospel 