Straight From Pastor Ey

It seems recall is the word nowadays. Mattel has recalled and is still recalling its Fisher-Price toys that feature various Nickelodeon and Sesame Street characters due to lead poisoning hazard. Suddenly, Elmo and Dora seem no longer cute and cuddly. Mattel is also recalling its Polly Pocket play sets. This toy contains magnets that fall off due to manufacturing defects. If swallowed, these magnets could fatally cause choking or intestinal perforation or blockage. All in all, this recall cost Mattel a whooping US$30 million and its stocks dipped. It involved almost 19 million toys worldwide. The disgraced head of the toy factory in China , which Mattel blame for the lead-tainted toys, has committed suicide. Now, Nokia announced its own recall of 46 million batteries (marked BL-5C) made by Matsushita Battery Industrial Company of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006. It's due to around 100 overheating cases that occurred globally. Though there were no

What immediately comes to your mind when you hear the word “holy?” [1] In his book “The Pursuit of Holiness,” Jerry bridges wrote, “To some minds the very word ‘holiness’ brings images of bunned hair, long skirts, and black stockings. To others the idea is associated with a repugnant ‘holier than thou’ attitude.” Is that your mental image of holiness? Usually we think of holiness as living a boring life, always wearing a long face. We end up asking, “How come people who are disobedient to God have so much fun?” We feel we are missing out on life. But our Lord Jesus declared, “Blessed are the pure in heart…” [2] The Good News Bible goes like this, “Happy are the pure in heart…” In short, happy are the holy. There can be no true happiness without true holiness. There can be no peace without purity. Because in the Bible, holiness equals happiness. Thus this morning, we will talk about “How To Be Happy Inside Out.” Again, to make it easy for us to remember, I summarize today’s me

When we hear the word “prison,” images of hardened criminals, tattoos and riots come to mind. Well, it seems a locally-produced video is making waves over YouTube that would change that mindset! More than 1,500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in orange prison garb danced in unison to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” [1] I think they already added some hit songs to their repertoire. If they are not wearing those orange clothes, you would not think they are inmates. It is both amazing and amusing to watch them make their well-executed, choreographed moves. They are so synchronized! No, it is not a novel way of punishing the prisoners. Human rights activists actually enjoyed a good laugh here. It is just one way of proactively disciplining and exercising them… something that the inmates themselves enjoyed a lot! I think that’s better than solitary confinement, higher walls and tougher security. So far, they got more than 3 million hi

Image source:  http://philippians-1-20.us/ Back then, when the  Roman Empire  persecuted Christians, worship gatherings were secretly held. How did the early believers identify fellow Christians? One of ways is through the “ichthus.” As you can see in the figure, it looked like a fish, for it was actually the Greek word for “fish.” But the word “ichthus” is actually an acronym in Greek of “Jesus Christ, Son of God Savior” So, if a believer wanted to know if the person he was talking to is also a Christian, he would draw an arc on the ground with a staff or with their foot. To confirm that he is a fellow believer, the other person would then draw an intersecting arc to form the image of a fish. Another symbol that the early Christians used was the sign of the cross. They would draw the cross on the ground or trace it on their foreheads to signal that they were believers. Image source:  Priests for Life Sadly, these symbols either became superstitious acts or pictures on