Eve 6′s self titled album became one of my all time favourites. I couldn’t understand why these guys were relatively big in America but virtually unheard of here in Australia. They became my favourite band. And then they broke up. And I was sad. However, after 8 years apart, Eve 6 have reunited and released a new album, Speak in Code. I was apprehensive. Would they be just as good? Or would this be an ill advised return?

Speak in Code has now arrived. And it is indeed worthy of my anticipation.

Beginning with the opening track Curtain, Eve 6 deliver the kind of rock songs that I fell in love with 15 years ago. The guitar driven tracks get you moving and push you to feel the emotions dripping from vocalist Max Collins’ lyrics. For me, the lyrics of an Eve 6 song are their greatest strength. For two reasons. Firstly, there’s a joyfully twisted word play going on. The visual imagery conjured up with these words adds layer upon lay of meaning. In Victoria, Collins, in a fit of jealousy, imagines his girlfriend “dancing with a vampire to bilingual disco.” Or the phrasing in Trust Me “I’m the type of guy that you can’t throw very far but you can trust me.” These are the kind of lyrics that get stuck in my head and I don’t mind a bit.

The second reason I love the lyrics of an Eve 6 song is that they deal with complex, mixed up emotions. This is no different on Speak in Code. The songs are not just about being happy or being sad. They’re about not knowing how to feel. About not knowing how to process emotions in new, adult situations. These are not the thoughts from an idealistic pre-teen pop star or a confident, mature adult. These are songs for those who’ve had adulthood thrust upon them, who are faced with situations they haven’t been adequately prepared for. The lyrics of Eve 6 are about not having all the answers. But that’s okay. Because there’s a stream of optimisim flowing through the entire album.

One of the stand out tracks for me on Speak in Code is Lost & Found. The song opens up with these words:

Heaven can you hear me I am calling from a land line
I need a good connection I feel like I’m losing my mind
The day is just about to break I think it’s safe to say, so am I

The song is shouting out a prayer to (most likely) an unknown God. There’s an honest desire for someone up there to be of help. To guide and protect. To make sense of this whole world. To offer direction. To lead us through this complicated world and bring us out on the otherside intact. The singer feels the burden of life, but hasn’t given up hope. Because he’s confident he’s “gonna make it through another day.” This is a great prayer. But it’s missing the answer. It’s missing God’s reply. As a Christian, I know that in the end, everything is going to be fine. That’s because God has promised it. And he always makes good on his promises. Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This is the true assurance for the Lost and Found. God will hear our prayers and guard our hearts. Because of Jesus.

Speak in Code, well… it speaks to me. There are times where I don’t know what’s going on. When I need someone to say “yeah, things are complicated, but everything’s going to be okay.” Speak in Code is been on high rotation on my playlist ever since the album arrived on my desk. If you’re a fan of guitar driven rock that’s a bit on the indie/alternative side, give Eve 6′s latest album a shot.

Over at Christ and Pop Culture, Richard Clark looks at a church that is incorporating a Playstation game into their church service.

I find myself torn over things like this. I’m excited whenever anyone takes seriously the artistic nature of certain games, especially when they are appreciated in unlikely places. Then again, even as an editor for a web site about popular culture, I view the corporate worship service as an event distinctly set apart from our daily life. While playing games on my own or with friends is often an act of personal worship, in the corporate worship sphere I prefer a more historically based focus on those acts which bring the congregation together more purposefully: group prayer, singing, proclamation of scripture. Those are things that are spelled out for us in scripture – my concern is that adding elements of popular culture into this setting only muddles the corporate nature of the service.

Personally, I find this part of a disturbing trend of moving away from Word based ministry. When the focus during church is placed on human creativity and expression and away from the reading of God’s Word, the Bible, it becomes more about us than about God. And at that point, what’s the point of church? If we’re not gathered to hear God’s Word and encourage each other to love and serve our heavenly Father, then is it really church?

I don’t know the answer to that question. I know it will involve fire and pain, but I’m unclear of the details. A long way back a guy called Dante had a shot of imagining how bad the place would be. And now someone’s gone and made it with Lego. I don’t know whether to be full of joy or sad for the sick state of humanity. Maybe a little of both.

Check the pics out here.

The second sermon in the series – “Fighting For The Lord” looks at 1 Samuel 17.

Preached at St Luke’s Liverpool on the 29th of April, 2012.

http://joelamoroney.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/20120429_joel_moroney_fighting_for_the_lord.mp3

Making The Most of The Cross is a book that looks at both the death and resurrection of Jesus. These two events are at the heart of what Christians believe. Yet we can find them difficult to wrap our brains around. Chapman’s book is an easy to read book that pulls apart Jesus’ death and resurrection and clearly explains why you should care. Each chapter looks at a different topic, such as “Jesus’ death turns away God’s anger” or “Jesus’ resurrection removes our fear of death”. To give you an idea of how easy this is to read, each chapter is about four pages long. No matter what you reading level is, this is a very readable book.

While this book is accessible and very readable, it means it’s not an in depth book on theology. If you’ve read a lot of theology books, you will find this book too simple a treatment. But if you’re just starting out with your theological reading, or looking for help sharing these big ideas in a simple way, this is a great book to pick up.

You can find Making The Most of The Cross at the Matthias Media website. 

The Avengers (2012)

Rated M

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth

It all comes down to this. Marvel Comics’ movie plans have been building up to this moment since 2008′s Iron Man. Four years worth of intertwined super-hero movies, climaxing in The Avengers, a movie that on paper looks insane. A cast full of actors who have headed up their own movies, a plot that has been simmering over several movies, a director best known for his work in television, and the necessity for a big budget, special effects heavy plot that ups the ante of the previous movies by at least five fold. To make that work is just crazy talk. And yet, somehow they manage to pull it off. The Avengers is the super-hero movie people have been waiting for since the team made their first comic book appearance in 1963. This is super-hero action on a scale we rarely see on-screen – and I hope that this is only the beginning.

The Norse God Loki has stolen a powerful artifact and threatens the world with an alien invasion. It’s up to the combined might of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow to become The Avengers and save the day. Sure, there’s a lot more going on than that, but really, this is what it boils down to. A threat far bigger than any one of these heroes could handle in their own solo movies. And of course, in the mighty Marvel tradition, there’s lots of bickering and hero-on-hero fighting along the way. Director Joss Whedon does a commendable job of highlighting all of his large cast, giving each character an opportunity to demonstrate why they belong in this movie, providing different motivations, personalities, and abilities. Everyone gets their moment to shine. And in a movie this jam-packed, that’s not an easy feat.

At the end of the day, this movie will succeed or fail based on the action sequences. If you have a team full of powerhouses, you better provide a threat big enough to make it worth their while getting out of bed. Many super-hero movies in the past have failed spectacularly in this regard (the anti-climax of the Fantastic Four standing in a circle and pretty much boring Doctor Doom into defeat is a prime example). The alien invasion plot does the job quite well. It’s small enough geographically that everyone can be interacting and the threat is big enough that it provides a challenge for our protagonists. There’s a big enough budget here that when the Hulk gets thrown half way across town, there’s actual damage to the surrounding buildings. The fight is big and messy and high stakes. It doesn’t feel cheap or safe or too easy. And that alone makes this movie worth the price of admission. Throw in great dialogue and some fine performances, and you get exactly what’s promised on the box – a fun super-hero big budget block buster. If that’s what you’re looking for, The Avengers provides.

Loki’s ambition in The Avengers is pretty standard super-villain fare – he wants to be the boss. He wants everyone to kneel down before him. And being a “god” from Asgard, he feels he is uniquely suited for the job. As Captain America is about to jump out of a plane to chase down an escaped Loki, he is warned that he’s about to go after a god. His reply? “There’s only one God, ma’am. And he doesn’t dress like that.” In a movie full of super-powered beings, some proclaiming to be gods, it’s good to contrast the acts of these “gods” with the one true God. Loki wants the whole world to serve him. He wants to use the great power he has obtained to force everyone to their knees. But when we look at the Bible, we see something completely different. We see the God of creation, the most powerful being in existence, humbling himself. “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Phil 2:6-7) Jesus Christ, God himself, made himself human. He died on the cross to rescue us from sin. He wanted people to follow him, but he allowed them the freedom to refuse. This is a real God at work. If this God was to go against the false god Loki, there would be no contest. Jesus would win hands down.

Chances are you’ve already made up your mind about The Avengers before you even read this review. It’s possible you made your mind up the first time you saw Robert Downey Jr. in the Iron Man armor.  Is this movie worth the hype? I reckon, for a change, that it is.

Battleship (2012)

When your movie is based off a board game that pretty much involves guessing numbers, you don’t have a lot to work with. I wouldn’t be surprised if the brainstorming meeting for Battleship happened at 4am after three days with no sleep and everyone on a massive caffeine high. Because on paper, this movie looks ridiculous. The US navy versus a bunch of high tech aliens from the creators of Transformers. And we’re talking the toy creators here, not the movies (not that this would make things better). Taking my seat in the cinema to watch Battleship, my expectations were so low you’d need James Cameron in a submarine to find them.

But some how Battleship manages to pull it off. It’s not going to win a best picture Oscar or join the ranks of the all-time great action movies. However, if you’re willing to ignore logic and common sense and watch things blow up good, there’s a lot of fun to be had.

Attempting to explain the plot of Battleship is kind of missing the point. It’s the navy versus aliens. That’s all you need to know. The film makers try and do things like character development, and really they should be commended for trying. But really? A washed up nobody gets arrested while trying to impress the admirals daughter and a couple of years later he’s a high ranking naval officer? And now he has to prove himself to the admiral before he gets kicked out of the navy for being out of control? Good thing we’re not watching is for the logic. Because when the time comes where the good guys are literally playing the game Battleship against the aliens by launching missiles at grid references (E11? Miss) I’m too busy laying to care. And I like to believe the filmmakers are laughing with me because it’s clear that they realise how stupid the premise of their movie is and decided to just have fun with it.

And this is a fun movie. There are a number of scenes that just have you sitting back and going “this is cool”. We’ve seen in countless movies how the US army or the US air force save the world from aliens. Surprisingly, letting the navy have a turn is enough to give us some thing that’s sufficiently new. The characters are likeable, the two female characters are treated as capable and not just there to be rescued/drooled over (automatically making this movie a million times better than Transformers), and the special effects are great. If that’s what you’re after in a movie, Battleship delivers.

A movie like Battleship is all about taking characters that are full of untapped potential who struggle working together and putting them in a situation where they must step up to survive, let alone save the day. In Battleship, it’s a handful of sailors from two rival nations with no back-up and hopelessly outmatched by the superior alien force. But by overcoming their shortcomings and differences, and with the help of an ACDC fuelled montage, the day is saved. Just like these men and women, we have a seemingly impossible task. One that we often feel ill-equipped and unprepared for. Our mission is to make the message of Jesus known to the world.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus says to take his message to the ends of the world. This is a massive undertaking. Thankfully, God has given us his Holy Spirit. If some underpowered guys in a boat can save the world from an alien invasion, how much more can we fulfil our part in God’s plans while powered by God himself?

I wasn’t looking forward to Battleship. But surprisingly it was not terrible. It was even good in some places. So turn your brain off and go to enjoy the pretty explosions.

After the jump is the official press release from Fervr.

The ‘internet’s highest honour’

We were very excited here at Fervr to receive an email last week letting us know we had been nominated for the biggest award on the internet – a Webby.

We’re in a David versus Goliath battle, as we compete with some of the big boys of the internet. We’re up against four other sites (including CNN) for best Religion and Spirituality Website.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honour” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international award honouring excellence on the Internet. The IADAS, which nominates and selects The Webby Award Winners, is comprised of web industry experts, including The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, media mogul Arianna Huffington, Skype CEO Tony Bates, SHFT.com co-founder Adrian Grenier, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, mobile-phone inventor Martin Cooper, and Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio (creators of the Webby Award-winning game app Angry Birds).

An early thank you speech

Fervr only exists because of people like you, who visit our site, read the articles, and then let us know when we are doing things right, and when we need to make changes. It’s cliched, but true – we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for helping spread the word about Fervr!

We are also humbled by the amount of hours our contributors are willing to spend to come up with godly, insightful, and challenging content. All of the people who write for Fervr are volunteers, who work very hard to build up young Christians, and encourage others to consider the claims of Jesus. Most of them have real jobs too… and spend half their weekends working with young people at churches and youth groups.

Of course, we all make the effort with Fervr because we believe the gospel is the greatest thing ever, and we want to help you “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [you] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

You can help us!

As a nominee, Fervr.net is also eligible to win a Webby People’s Voice Award, which is voted online by fans across the globe. From now until April 26th, Fervr.net fans can cast their votes at pv.webbyawards.com/ballot/28 

We would really value your support of Fervr, and hope you will vote for us.

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 and honoured at a star-studded ceremony on Monday, May 21, 2012 at The Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, where they will have an opportunity to deliver one of The Webby Awards’ famous 5-Word Speeches.

The first sermon in the series – “The Heart of a King” looks at 1 Samuel 16.

Preached at St Luke’s Liverpool on the 22nd of April, 2012.

http://joelamoroney.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/20120422_joel_moroney_the_heart_of_a_king.mp3

Listen to the sermon after the jump.

http://joelamoroney.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/20120408_joel_moroney_the_champion_of_the_world.mp3