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When Jesus proclaimed that “the kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15) He drew upon a powerful idea that pervades the Hebrew Scriptures. The prophets, particularly Isaiah and Daniel, spoke of God’s kingdom catastrophically breaking into the world. They described a figure – the Messiah or Son of Man – who would inaugurate God’s …
Continue reading "Jesus and Four Competing Approaches to God’s Kingdom"
In Matthew 19:16-20:16 we read one of Jesus' most challenging conversations, an exchange with a wealthy young man, which is followed by a parable about workers in a vineyard. It is challenging to read both because the wealthy young man struggles with Jesus, but also because the parable quickly touches upon some of our in-built …
This past weekend at Eastbrook Church we continued our series, "The Kingdom of God." This first weekend I explored the theme of the kingdom of God through the Old Testament, and this week I took a similar journey through the New Testament. You can view the message video and outline for the message is below. …
Continue reading "Jesus is Lord: Tracing the Kingdom of God in the New Testament"
Join us for worship with Eastbrook Church through Eastbrook at Home at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM as we continues our five-week series "The Kingdom of God." This weekend I follow-up last week's survey of the theme of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament with an exploration of that theme in the New …
There are times when we falter in our pursuit of God. The wind and rain of life's pressure comes against us to put out the fire of our passion for the Lord. Jesus' parable of the seed and the soils is fitting for times like that. In that parable Jesus describes how we receive God's …
Matthew Erickson 