Nazarene Community Church | Greystones

Thoughts on the Death of my Father

Erich Fischer — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:53:03 +0000

On Thursday, 25th of January, I got a phone call from my younger brother telling me that my father had just passed away earlier that day. The news hit me like a hammer, mainly because it was totally unexpected. There were no warning signs or hints that would happen. Ok, he was 82 years of age, that in itself should be reason enough to expect a person to die some time soon. But apart from that he was in perfect health. He was a wonderful person of great integrity and love. Life without him would not be the same, that’s for sure.

We flew over to the funeral on Monday, 30th of January. The funeral was huge – somewhere between 800 and 1000 people attended it. Relatives and friends from all over Germany assembled – as well as many people from the congregation that he was a part of. All spoke of him with great affection, love and respect – and that really moved me. He got the kind of death he had been praying for: no suffering, no slow deterioration, no painful sickness. On Monday he had done a visit in the local prison with the visitation team he was involved in, on Tuesday he gave his last talk in the Evening Service of his church and called us here in Greystones (unfortunately I wasn’t there so he spoke to my wife), on Wednesday he called in at my older sister’s home for the evening meal, and on Thursday he got unwell, went to the doctors, they referred him to the hospital for tests where he died a sudden and peaceful death. Wow. When I think of him, I can’t help but feel very thankful and privileged to have had such a father. A godly man, a man of great integrity, a very diligent worker, a man of prayer and a wonderful father, grandfather and grand-grand father. He left loads of good traces here on earth. I pray that I will be able to finish like he did.

New Initiatives in the New Year

Erich Fischer — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:08:13 +0000

The year 2012 starts with a few new initiatives in our church which I would like to bring to your attention:

1. New Preaching Series on the Life and Character of Jesus

I am starting a new preaching series on the life and Character of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke. Starting with the Story about the 12-year old Jesus in the Temple we will look at some key texts from the Gospel of Luke.

2. New Trial Group for Parents and Toddlers

Due to the overwhelming success of our Friday morning group for Parents and Toddlers we will be running a trial group on Thursday Afternoons from 3:30 – 5 pm, starting on the 12th of January. Anyone with babies, toddlers or preschoolers are welcome. The group will be lead by Suzie Evans and Annette Morley.

3. New Parenting Course

A Parenting Course is starting on Thursday, 19th of January, 8-9.30 pm in the Church. It will run for 10 consecutive weeks. Places must be booked in advance. The Course will be run by Jeff and Wanda Murray. To book a place you can call or text me at 086 1682999 or via email: fischer-erich@gmx.net

Celebrating Christmas and New Year

Erich Fischer — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:48:03 +0000

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

As the year 2011 is drawing to an end and Christmas and the New Year celebrations are approaching I am again painfully reminded of the broken state of this world. The year 2011 has been a year of many disasters and crises: Tsunamis, Earthquakes, financial crises, political unrest… the world is in turmoil. But as I am sitting here at my desk writing these words I am filled with a deep sense of peace and calm. Why is that? Is it just due to the fact that I am about to leave for a ten day’s break to Germany? Or is it a case of closing my eyes to reality and just staying in my nice little private bubble where everything is fine and ignoring the rest of the world? As far as I can see that is not what it is – there is a lot of turmoil in my little private bubble at the moment, and leaving for a holiday didn’t have this effect on me in previous years. No, the peace and calm come from another source; they come from a renewed intensity of believing in the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Because of him I can have hope in a hopeless world, have peace in a world torn by conflict and despair, have assurance of salvation, joy, love and kindness and so many more wonderful gifts. My heart is filled with a sense of awe and joy and I want to shout out: Praise be to God! Worship, Honor, Glory, Thanksgiving be to him who has loved us so much! Thank God for Jesus!

May this festive season be a time of a renewed appreciation for the wonderful gifts that God bestowed on all his children in Jesus. And as we are starting a new year in a week’s time, may our hearts be filled with faith and hope and love and peace. We don’t know the future, but we know the one who holds it in his hands. And to be in him is bliss, peace, calm and assurance – irrespective of the circumstances of our lives. And through him we will find the strength and courage to act as hope-givers, peace-makers, joy-bringers, life-savers, love-givers in the coming year 2012! A very blessed Christmas and New Year to all who read this!

Volunteers needed

Erich Fischer — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:59:32 +0000

Hey all Irish friends. Just had a call from Phil Thompson, manager of Teen Challenge Men’s centre in Tiglin. They are doing a Tesco Bag Pack in Naas on Saturday, 24th December (Christmas Eve) from 9am-2pm and would really appreciate some help. Anyone of you free on that busy day and wanting to make . . . → Read More: Volunteers needed

Carol Service this coming Sunday at 5pm

Erich Fischer — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:13:41 +0000

The theme of the Carol Service this year is “Relentless God”. Through song, dance, drama and the spoken word we will explore the theme of God’s tireless, persistent and unending love for his wayward children. The story of God is the story of a relentless pursuit of love that culminated in God coming down to earth and entering the sphere of human existence. And since Jesus’ death and resurrection the pursuit goes on into our days. All are very welcome to join us in the celebration of the relentless love of God. Tea and mince pies will be served after the service with loads of opportunity to chat with people and enjoy the fellowship.

Advent – time of waiting

Erich Fischer — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:48:15 +0000

On Sunday the 27th of November we are entering the Advent season. Stephen Morley will be preaching on the first of Advent. The theme of this year’s advent in the Naz is waiting. We will all be waiting for Christmas, that’s obvious. Some younger ones more eagerly than some older folks. But what else are we waiting for? 2000 years ago the people in Judaea were waiting for the Messiah to come. And when he came, many didn’t accept him, didn’t recognize him. Waiting on God is a very common theme in the bible. We spend most of our lives waiting for someone or something. What is in the forefront of you mind this year? What are you waiting for? What are you hoping for? – For me it is revival. I am convinced that God wants to pour out his Spirit in a mighty way on Ireland these days. This is what I am waiting for, hoping for, praying for. And my hope is that when he decides to turn up in our church, in our community, in our country – that we will be ready for that. That we will recognize him and willingly accept him and his work. May our lives be open to receive him as we wait for him to turn up.

Baptism Day Testimonies now online

Erich Fischer — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:58:19 +0000

I apologize for being so late with this. But now here they are – all of the testimonies we heard on the Baptism day and the short sermon that I gave. Rhoda Tutty was so kind to edit the one long file and cut it up into smaller, more digestible bits. My sermon as well as the testimonies of Rob, Emma and Nathan can be accessed separately, while the Tiglin Testimonies are all in one file. Be blessed by listening to what God is doing in people’s lives these days. Very encouraging stuff.

Christianity Explored Course starting on 16/11/2011

Erich Fischer — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:46:51 +0000

This Wednesday night, 7:30 pm, we start this DVD based course on the basics of the Christian Faith called Christianity Explored. A warm welcome to all who would like to explore the meaning of Christianity in an informal setting, get to know other people and ask questions about the faith. We start with a . . . → Read More: Christianity Explored Course starting on 16/11/2011

A Foretaste of Greater Things to come

Erich Fischer — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:59:04 +0000

What a wonderful day it was – the baptism of 12 people in the Naz on Sunday, 6th November. The church was packed with about 200 people in attendance. Many of the Tiglin Students had invited their friends and families for this very special occasion, Rob and Emma brought a whole bunch of friends and family members with them and all the church family was there to celebrate what God is doing in the lives of people today. We heard amazing testimonies of how God’s grace has transformed lives beyond expectation. God is at work in Ireland. After the service Emma’s dad put it very poignantly to me: “Good things are happening, not only bad things!” How true that is.

This service marked my 3rd anniversary of ministry here in Ireland. These 3 years have been some of the most intense, some of the most difficult but also some of the most exciting years of my life. In this blog I would like to share my conviction that this service was just a foretaste of much greater things to come. I can see clearly that God is on the move in Ireland. Revival is coming our way and we are about to witness a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this Land. Are you curious how I arrived at this conviction? Maybe I’ll tell later in another blog. But for now just this statement: God is on the move. Revival is coming. We need to prepare ourselves for an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We live in exciting and very challenging times. Greater things are yet to come!

Baptism Service 6th November 2011 at the Naz

Erich Fischer — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:16:46 +0000

I am really excited to announce this. Baptism Services are a celebration of what God is doing today in the lives of individual people. We will hear some testimonies of dramatic live change that happened when people encountered the living Christ. I would like to issue a warm invitation to anybody reading this to come on that Sunday (Morning Service, 10:30 am) and hear what God is doing in individual lives. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about religion but about a real relationship with a living person: the risen Christ. The stories of those getting baptized will bear proof of that. Jesus is alive and is still active in our world today, saving sinners by his grace. Any questions? Please contact me by sending me a message from this website (simply click on the highlighted words “send a message” to our pastor Erich Fischer in the text under the heading “Welcome” on the top right side of the page). I would be glad to answer any queries or to arrange a meeting where we can sit down and have a chat about what it means to enter into a real relationship with Jesus Christ. God bless you! Pastor Erich