Modupe was admitted as Reader in the Church of England. It took three years of study and hard work.
Well done Modupe!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Congratulations to Modupe
Modupe was admitted as Reader in the Church of England. It took three years of study and hard work.
Well done Modupe!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Usefull link for our Hebrews study
http://www.newdaygeneration.org/Groups/135865/Newday/Resources/downloads/2010_downloads/15_19s_morning/15_19s_morning.aspx
I rcccomend the bottom 4 by Stef Liston.
I rcccomend the bottom 4 by Stef Liston.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
A story worth telling.
For many years (12 years I calculate) Andrea and I have been trying to live in the east end of London. We wanted to do this as we had been part of a church that had been working in the area for most of that time.
We had been living in Bermondsey and the only option open to us was home swap (mutual exchange in other words).
For innumerable times we’d place adverts in shops and housing offices to see if people would like to swap to our property. Many came and had a look. - We had a three bedroom property that the council had given us 25 years ago. But, either the Thames river was too much of a divide, or if people did accept then the council would refuse because too many wanted to come into the small flat or the people were in rent arrears. We could not buy either because of our age and could not get a mortgage.
I lost heart after too many disappointments.
I kept trying the only option open to us - swapping and felt I should explore the Chrisp Street market area of Poplar. We had a look around and I loved the vibrancy and dynamic of the people there.
I did not know how to proceed, I was stuck. If I advertised again I feared I would be disappointed. Then one of the church leaders (Mark) told me he felt from God I should try once more. “Had you any idea where you think you should try?”, he asked. I told him of my thoughts on Chrisp Street Market.
Hearing his encouragement it spurred me to put cards and posters in the shops of that area hoping people would ring up to swap. Most were very willing at no charge to have posters up. One newsagent however said it cost £1 per week to place a card in the window. I duly paid for one week and waited for the responses.
Indeed quite a lot of people did ring offering many different types of properties. One did look promising. It was a 3 bedroom maisonette on the first floor. It was OK and I got a bit excited about it. Andrea was concerned for the cats that would be able to get out. She had visions of me chucking the cats out of the window to let them out.
Because of her lack of enthusiasm I tended to drag my feet and the lady whose flat it was got impatient and dropped out. I think she was quite justified to do so. So, back to square one.
Meanwhile the card in the newsagent that I had paid a £1 for was still there ten weeks later. It was this card the lady of our new address had seen when she was visiting Chrisp Street market seeking to swap herself. Her husband rang saying they had seen the card.
By now the church I attend was in the middle of deciding to change locations and move further west. And although properties around Chrisp Street would have been OK for my work I felt it was no longer where God wanted us.
He mentioned he had seen the card in Chrisp Street Market and was interested in swapping. I quickly dismissed him say we no longer wished to live near Chrisp Street. “Oh no” he said “this is further west in Stepney” “Hmm OK,” I thought, and listened further.
He explained how his wife wanted to live near her sister and the girl there wanted to move to Bermondsey where we lived. This sounded complicated. We arranged a visit and loved the place. It was a ground floor maisonette with a garden in the heart of Stepney. In fact, it was right opposite where our good friend Alison had lived but she had recently got married and moved to Leicester. So we all agreed. The girl who was to move to ours was happy with our place too but she was effectively moving to a smaller place - still three bedrooms but smaller. The Council threw a few obstacles in our way, but after we over came them they agreed for it to go through.
We met the couple who’s house we were moving to go to the housing association offices to sign tenancies. The forms and questions were phenomenal. We were not used to it as we had not moved for over 25 years. After signing I knew it was for real and was irreversible.
All was completed and we agreed a moving date. The moving date was a bit later than we had originally thought as the couple was going on a barge holiday to Norfolk. This put it back a little but allowed us to pack and sort things out in the flat we were leaving. The girl moving to ours had already packed and left her place empty and went to her caravan in Clacton for the summer so wasn’t in a hurry to get to ours.
So moving day arrived. We had heard a neighbour was a removal man so the quote he gave us was quite reasonable. He had got the contract for the couple in Stepney too. The trouble was because they had gone away just prior to moving the had not packed and so were quite unprepared for the moving day. This gave us quite a good time to clear and sort things out and not feel rushed or pressurised. But the problem was about to get worse. The did not finish moving the others until gone 7pm. This meant the removers could only start with the larger items from our flat. The poor lads, they had started quite early and had many problems with the couples stuff. By 9:30 in the eveneing they were ready to take our second load but they look so tired and washed out I told the to come back another day. Again it all seemed fine in the hands of God as it allowed us to get a bit settled in before all the fiddly stuff came. We had placed a lot of stuff like books and our camping gear into storage, so when that comes out there will be even more uproar!
We are so happy at this new place. We feel really blessed by God. At time of writing we have the decorators in. Our daughter was able to get some paint from council refuse department. Trade painters pass on to the council any they don’t finish. We are very pleased with the colours and seem to have just been waiting for us to use. It’s a shame though we were just getting settled and the uproar. And then, when that is all over, we have to get what we placed into storage. More boxes to unpack!
God has provided and has blessed us and seems to be involved in every aspect of our move. We are so grateful.
We had been living in Bermondsey and the only option open to us was home swap (mutual exchange in other words).
For innumerable times we’d place adverts in shops and housing offices to see if people would like to swap to our property. Many came and had a look. - We had a three bedroom property that the council had given us 25 years ago. But, either the Thames river was too much of a divide, or if people did accept then the council would refuse because too many wanted to come into the small flat or the people were in rent arrears. We could not buy either because of our age and could not get a mortgage.
I lost heart after too many disappointments.
I kept trying the only option open to us - swapping and felt I should explore the Chrisp Street market area of Poplar. We had a look around and I loved the vibrancy and dynamic of the people there.
I did not know how to proceed, I was stuck. If I advertised again I feared I would be disappointed. Then one of the church leaders (Mark) told me he felt from God I should try once more. “Had you any idea where you think you should try?”, he asked. I told him of my thoughts on Chrisp Street Market.
Hearing his encouragement it spurred me to put cards and posters in the shops of that area hoping people would ring up to swap. Most were very willing at no charge to have posters up. One newsagent however said it cost £1 per week to place a card in the window. I duly paid for one week and waited for the responses.
Indeed quite a lot of people did ring offering many different types of properties. One did look promising. It was a 3 bedroom maisonette on the first floor. It was OK and I got a bit excited about it. Andrea was concerned for the cats that would be able to get out. She had visions of me chucking the cats out of the window to let them out.
Because of her lack of enthusiasm I tended to drag my feet and the lady whose flat it was got impatient and dropped out. I think she was quite justified to do so. So, back to square one.
Meanwhile the card in the newsagent that I had paid a £1 for was still there ten weeks later. It was this card the lady of our new address had seen when she was visiting Chrisp Street market seeking to swap herself. Her husband rang saying they had seen the card.
By now the church I attend was in the middle of deciding to change locations and move further west. And although properties around Chrisp Street would have been OK for my work I felt it was no longer where God wanted us.
He mentioned he had seen the card in Chrisp Street Market and was interested in swapping. I quickly dismissed him say we no longer wished to live near Chrisp Street. “Oh no” he said “this is further west in Stepney” “Hmm OK,” I thought, and listened further.
He explained how his wife wanted to live near her sister and the girl there wanted to move to Bermondsey where we lived. This sounded complicated. We arranged a visit and loved the place. It was a ground floor maisonette with a garden in the heart of Stepney. In fact, it was right opposite where our good friend Alison had lived but she had recently got married and moved to Leicester. So we all agreed. The girl who was to move to ours was happy with our place too but she was effectively moving to a smaller place - still three bedrooms but smaller. The Council threw a few obstacles in our way, but after we over came them they agreed for it to go through.
We met the couple who’s house we were moving to go to the housing association offices to sign tenancies. The forms and questions were phenomenal. We were not used to it as we had not moved for over 25 years. After signing I knew it was for real and was irreversible.
All was completed and we agreed a moving date. The moving date was a bit later than we had originally thought as the couple was going on a barge holiday to Norfolk. This put it back a little but allowed us to pack and sort things out in the flat we were leaving. The girl moving to ours had already packed and left her place empty and went to her caravan in Clacton for the summer so wasn’t in a hurry to get to ours.
So moving day arrived. We had heard a neighbour was a removal man so the quote he gave us was quite reasonable. He had got the contract for the couple in Stepney too. The trouble was because they had gone away just prior to moving the had not packed and so were quite unprepared for the moving day. This gave us quite a good time to clear and sort things out and not feel rushed or pressurised. But the problem was about to get worse. The did not finish moving the others until gone 7pm. This meant the removers could only start with the larger items from our flat. The poor lads, they had started quite early and had many problems with the couples stuff. By 9:30 in the eveneing they were ready to take our second load but they look so tired and washed out I told the to come back another day. Again it all seemed fine in the hands of God as it allowed us to get a bit settled in before all the fiddly stuff came. We had placed a lot of stuff like books and our camping gear into storage, so when that comes out there will be even more uproar!
We are so happy at this new place. We feel really blessed by God. At time of writing we have the decorators in. Our daughter was able to get some paint from council refuse department. Trade painters pass on to the council any they don’t finish. We are very pleased with the colours and seem to have just been waiting for us to use. It’s a shame though we were just getting settled and the uproar. And then, when that is all over, we have to get what we placed into storage. More boxes to unpack!
God has provided and has blessed us and seems to be involved in every aspect of our move. We are so grateful.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Part 1 Study in Hebrews Led by Tony Eradiri
The Study of the Epistle to the Hebrews
In my study of the book of Hebrews, out of the many captions “Time to Decide” stands out more appropriate. So I am going to give this study the caption:
Time to Decide
The Author: I some times wonder why so much big deal is made on authorship of the books of the bible. The bible says “Every scripture is inspired by God …” 2 Timothy 3:16. How does who wrote it bless our spirit man other than believing the truth that it is inspired by God. There are inconclusive suggestions of the authorship by bible scholars, the earliest statement from Clement of Alexandria, who is of the opinion that Paul wrote it in Hebrew and Luke translated into Greek (Eusebius, History 6.14.2). Many commentators disagrees, that style of the writing does not fit Pauls style of writing. This is echoed by Farrar quoted by Dods and Bruce quoting Calvin. Yet, Tertullian in the early 200s, think is Barnabas; Martin Luther believed that Apollos wrote the book of Hebrews and Adolf Harnack of another school of thought by suggesting Priscilla with her husband Aquilla. I would rather safely say the human author is unknown but inspired by the Holy Spirit as is evident in the book.
Date of Writing: It is widely agreed by Bible scholars that it may have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple in A.D. 70. David Guzik in his introduction to the book of Hebrews explained that since the writer is so engrossed with the passing of the Old Covenant, it seems unlikely that s/he would have ignored the destruction of the temple, if it had happened before the writing.
Purpose: A good number of the early Christians were Jewish converts. So during the years surrounding the writing of the book, they were faced
with can’t-turn-back decision. Should they stick with the familiar routine of the Jewish religion? After all, it enjoyed Romes’s official protection and had traditions going back thousands of years. Or should they take a risk and join the growing body of people who called themselves Christians? They needed some compelling reasons to choose Christianity. At that time new converts were being thrown out of Jewish temples, tossed into jail, and even tortured. Was faith in Christ worth the risk?
Point by point the author shows how Christ improved on the Jewish way. The book of Hebrews, therefore, contrasts between the good things of Judaism and the better things of Christ. The new faith is worth any risk.
The main focus of the book is on Jewish religion, comparing it to Christianity, the book also speaks to our time. Today the questions people ask, “Are religions all that different? Isn’t the most important thing to be sincere?” Hebrews insists there are decisive reasons to choose Christ. The author urges his readers to leap forward to a new experience with God through Jesus.
Chapter 1
God Has Spoken Through Jesus 1:1-4
Various ways of revelation was given through the prophets – sometimes through parables, proverbs, dramatic presentation, historical narrative, prophetic confrontation, psalms.
God has spoken to and through the prophets such as: Moses by a burning bush (Exodus 2), to Elijah by still, small voice (1 Kings 19), visions (Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 8:4, 11:24), to Hosea by his family crisis (Hosea 1:2) and to Amos by a basket of fruit (Amos 8:1), dreams (Daniel 2:3) angels (Zechariah 1:19) and direct speech (Genesis 12:1).
Spoken to us by His Son: The Son does not speak in Hebrews; the
Father speaks concerning the Son. The book of Hebrews is the Father telling us what the Son is all about.
He is the One upholding all things by the word of His power, but upholding is better thought of as “maintaining.” The word does not have the idea of passively holding something up (like the mythical Atlas held the earth), but of actively sustaining.
In His earthly ministry, Jesus constantly demonstrated the power of His word. He could heal, forgive, cast out demons, calm nature’s fury all at the expression of one word.
He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high: His position alone is enough to set Him above all angels.
Jesus Is Superior to the Angels 1:5-14
He is superior because He is the eternal Son of God and the glorified and exalted Man
- Superior because He was made perfect (our redeemer) through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10) – something no angel has ever done.
Christ is the full disclosure of God and serves as the one fixed point amid all the chaotic periods of history – the ‘time past’ of Old Testament history (1:1), the difficult times that the readers of Hebrews were enduring (12:4-13), and our own times in which we struggle against spiritually hostile forces (Ephesians 6:10-13). A number of believers still do not understand what exactly happens when they accept our Lord
Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Hence, the disappointments, or attempting to use methods of the world to attaining Kingdom answers to their prayers or even backsliding. I find the book “Spirit, Soul and Body” by Andrew Wommack useful in explaining these three personalities, when Christ comes into our lives. The spirit becomes like Jesus including His abilities John 14:12. The Soul and the Body are yet to be transformed Romans 12:2, to accept what we are in our Spirit man John 14:12. When we become bold enough to attempt it, often times, doubt in our Soul and Body stops the manifestation. We can only attain spiritual result according to the power of the Holy Spirit that we allow to work in us Ephesians 3:20. We should kill our flesh for our spirit man to reign.
Therefore, as we face the temptation to doubt God or forsake His ways, this letter assures us that our key resource is the incomparable Christ.
- God’s communication to us (1:2)
- The heir of all things (1:2)
- The Creator of the worlds (1:3)
- A full reflection of God’s glory (1:3)
- The Sustainer of all things by the Word of His power (1:3): In His earthly ministry, Jesus constantly demonstrated the power of His word. He could heal, forgive, cast out demons, calm nature’s fury all at the expression of a Word
- The one who has purged our sins (1:3): external purification for sins is introduced. This is far apart from the idea that we can purify ourselves (as the Pharisees thought)
- Our representative with God (1:3)
- Superior to the angels (1:4)
- The possessor of ‘a more excellent name - Son’ (1:4)
The angels are ministering spirits, not governing spirits; service or not dominion is their calling.
Angels work for us (those who will inherit salvation).
Anthony U. Eradiri
Mulberry Place Prayer Group
08 July 2010
In my study of the book of Hebrews, out of the many captions “Time to Decide” stands out more appropriate. So I am going to give this study the caption:
Time to Decide
The Author: I some times wonder why so much big deal is made on authorship of the books of the bible. The bible says “Every scripture is inspired by God …” 2 Timothy 3:16. How does who wrote it bless our spirit man other than believing the truth that it is inspired by God. There are inconclusive suggestions of the authorship by bible scholars, the earliest statement from Clement of Alexandria, who is of the opinion that Paul wrote it in Hebrew and Luke translated into Greek (Eusebius, History 6.14.2). Many commentators disagrees, that style of the writing does not fit Pauls style of writing. This is echoed by Farrar quoted by Dods and Bruce quoting Calvin. Yet, Tertullian in the early 200s, think is Barnabas; Martin Luther believed that Apollos wrote the book of Hebrews and Adolf Harnack of another school of thought by suggesting Priscilla with her husband Aquilla. I would rather safely say the human author is unknown but inspired by the Holy Spirit as is evident in the book.
Date of Writing: It is widely agreed by Bible scholars that it may have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple in A.D. 70. David Guzik in his introduction to the book of Hebrews explained that since the writer is so engrossed with the passing of the Old Covenant, it seems unlikely that s/he would have ignored the destruction of the temple, if it had happened before the writing.
Purpose: A good number of the early Christians were Jewish converts. So during the years surrounding the writing of the book, they were faced
with can’t-turn-back decision. Should they stick with the familiar routine of the Jewish religion? After all, it enjoyed Romes’s official protection and had traditions going back thousands of years. Or should they take a risk and join the growing body of people who called themselves Christians? They needed some compelling reasons to choose Christianity. At that time new converts were being thrown out of Jewish temples, tossed into jail, and even tortured. Was faith in Christ worth the risk?
Point by point the author shows how Christ improved on the Jewish way. The book of Hebrews, therefore, contrasts between the good things of Judaism and the better things of Christ. The new faith is worth any risk.
The main focus of the book is on Jewish religion, comparing it to Christianity, the book also speaks to our time. Today the questions people ask, “Are religions all that different? Isn’t the most important thing to be sincere?” Hebrews insists there are decisive reasons to choose Christ. The author urges his readers to leap forward to a new experience with God through Jesus.
Chapter 1
God Has Spoken Through Jesus 1:1-4
Various ways of revelation was given through the prophets – sometimes through parables, proverbs, dramatic presentation, historical narrative, prophetic confrontation, psalms.
God has spoken to and through the prophets such as: Moses by a burning bush (Exodus 2), to Elijah by still, small voice (1 Kings 19), visions (Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 8:4, 11:24), to Hosea by his family crisis (Hosea 1:2) and to Amos by a basket of fruit (Amos 8:1), dreams (Daniel 2:3) angels (Zechariah 1:19) and direct speech (Genesis 12:1).
Spoken to us by His Son: The Son does not speak in Hebrews; the
Father speaks concerning the Son. The book of Hebrews is the Father telling us what the Son is all about.
He is the One upholding all things by the word of His power, but upholding is better thought of as “maintaining.” The word does not have the idea of passively holding something up (like the mythical Atlas held the earth), but of actively sustaining.
In His earthly ministry, Jesus constantly demonstrated the power of His word. He could heal, forgive, cast out demons, calm nature’s fury all at the expression of one word.
He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high: His position alone is enough to set Him above all angels.
Jesus Is Superior to the Angels 1:5-14
He is superior because He is the eternal Son of God and the glorified and exalted Man
- Superior because He was made perfect (our redeemer) through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10) – something no angel has ever done.
Christ is the full disclosure of God and serves as the one fixed point amid all the chaotic periods of history – the ‘time past’ of Old Testament history (1:1), the difficult times that the readers of Hebrews were enduring (12:4-13), and our own times in which we struggle against spiritually hostile forces (Ephesians 6:10-13). A number of believers still do not understand what exactly happens when they accept our Lord
Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Hence, the disappointments, or attempting to use methods of the world to attaining Kingdom answers to their prayers or even backsliding. I find the book “Spirit, Soul and Body” by Andrew Wommack useful in explaining these three personalities, when Christ comes into our lives. The spirit becomes like Jesus including His abilities John 14:12. The Soul and the Body are yet to be transformed Romans 12:2, to accept what we are in our Spirit man John 14:12. When we become bold enough to attempt it, often times, doubt in our Soul and Body stops the manifestation. We can only attain spiritual result according to the power of the Holy Spirit that we allow to work in us Ephesians 3:20. We should kill our flesh for our spirit man to reign.
Therefore, as we face the temptation to doubt God or forsake His ways, this letter assures us that our key resource is the incomparable Christ.
- God’s communication to us (1:2)
- The heir of all things (1:2)
- The Creator of the worlds (1:3)
- A full reflection of God’s glory (1:3)
- The Sustainer of all things by the Word of His power (1:3): In His earthly ministry, Jesus constantly demonstrated the power of His word. He could heal, forgive, cast out demons, calm nature’s fury all at the expression of a Word
- The one who has purged our sins (1:3): external purification for sins is introduced. This is far apart from the idea that we can purify ourselves (as the Pharisees thought)
- Our representative with God (1:3)
- Superior to the angels (1:4)
- The possessor of ‘a more excellent name - Son’ (1:4)
The angels are ministering spirits, not governing spirits; service or not dominion is their calling.
Angels work for us (those who will inherit salvation).
Anthony U. Eradiri
Mulberry Place Prayer Group
08 July 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tower Hamlets Christian Prayer Group Prayer Walk
Tower Hamlets Christian Prayer Group Prayer Walk
15 July 2010
2 Chron 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Point 1.
Thanks & Praise
Mulberry Staff
Mayor & Chief Exec
Councillors
Point 2.
Post room –Tony
Christian Groups in Borough – to effective and well attended.
Group leaders (Steve, Doreen, Arline, Ola)
East End Life newspaper
Point 3.
Christian MP’s
National Government –wise decisions
London Mayor
Labour Mayoral candidates decision (Uma King, Ken Livingstone)
Point 4.
Transport (DLR Strike)
Anchorage staff
Olympics
15 July 2010
2 Chron 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Point 1.
Thanks & Praise
Mulberry Staff
Mayor & Chief Exec
Councillors
Point 2.
Post room –Tony
Christian Groups in Borough – to effective and well attended.
Group leaders (Steve, Doreen, Arline, Ola)
East End Life newspaper
Point 3.
Christian MP’s
National Government –wise decisions
London Mayor
Labour Mayoral candidates decision (Uma King, Ken Livingstone)
Point 4.
Transport (DLR Strike)
Anchorage staff
Olympics
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Easter Plans
Easter is fast approaching, and our heart is to share good news with people and be available to serve our colleagues in both prayer and providing information.
Two years ago we had a literature table in the foyer of Mulberry Place during the week prior to and after the Easter weekend.
This year I felt it would be good to do the same but to have a table in other buildings too: Anchorage, Albert Jacob and Jack Dash.
It will need for everyone to get involved. Last time we created a rota to stand behind the table and smile sweetly offer help and pray. Many from other buildings came and joined in during that time. This year, as there hopefully will be other buildings having tables of their own, we will need more of you to back this by being available.
I have generated a poster which I think is quite striking. This will go on the wall or a display board behind the table.
Another thing I felt would be good would be a prayer box. A place for people to put private prayer requests in and for the group that meets in that building to pick up the slips and pray.
We hopefully will be giving out "Hot Cross Buns" and mini easter eggs, and these will come free with a leaflet!
The Dates planned are 29th March to Thursday 1st April.
The times when someone should be at the table is 8-10am, 12-2pm and 4 - 6pm.
This will need funding so if you feel you can give please call me.
Please do you best to get involved.
Steve
Friday, March 5, 2010
Visiting Albert Jacob House Christian Prayer Group
Recently, as you know, we have gained prayer rooms in two of the buildings in the borough. Albert Jacob House Christian group had been praying for some time for a room they could call their own to meet in and pray in. They were so thrilled that last week they were given a small room on the ground floor. They are so grateful to God for having this facility to use.
Today I joined their meeting to pray and dedicate the room to God.
The group in Albert Jacob House are a passionate and committed group; really on fire for Jesus.
Two or three gave exhortations about how they would use the room and prayed that God would bless it's use. One exhortation was from Sister Julia reading from 2 Chron 7:1-5, The dedication of the Temple.
I then shared our Easter plans(more of that later).
Just before I had to leave (I had a long bus ride to get back to Mulberry), they prayed for me so I left there feeling really blessed.
Steve
Today I joined their meeting to pray and dedicate the room to God.
The group in Albert Jacob House are a passionate and committed group; really on fire for Jesus.
Two or three gave exhortations about how they would use the room and prayed that God would bless it's use. One exhortation was from Sister Julia reading from 2 Chron 7:1-5, The dedication of the Temple.
I then shared our Easter plans(more of that later).
Just before I had to leave (I had a long bus ride to get back to Mulberry), they prayed for me so I left there feeling really blessed.
Steve
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