The work of the pastor each weekend moves from the place where God's Word is proclaimed and prayers are offered to the ordinary places and relationships of people’s lives met immediately after the service. Eugene Peterson describes it this way: The people having received the benediction, now make a disorderly re-entry into a world of …
The Pastoral Work of Prayer-Directing: Song of Songs [Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work by Eugene Peterson, part 2]
As I continue my journey of re-learning and recovering what it means to be a pastor, I am blogging my way through Eugene Peterson's Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. In this book, Peterson seeks to recover a sense of pastoral practice and integrity based on the Megilloth, the five scrolls connected with five key …
Recovering Pastoral Practice [Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work by Eugene Peterson, part 1]
I first stumbled into the work of Eugene Peterson in the 1990s through his translation work with The Message. It was not too much later, however, that a pastor and mentor introduced me to his writing on pastoral ministry, sometimes referred to as Eugene Peterson's Pastoral Library. About three years ago, I re-read and steadily …
Christ Contains the Law: insights from an early church leader on Matthew 5
While studying for my message at Eastbrook from this past weekend, "Real Righteousness," I came across these words by an anonymous church father from homily 11 of an incomplete work on Matthew. I found these insights helpful in understanding how Christ does not abolish the Law but fulfills it. The author is commenting on the …
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Bibliography for Power in Preparation
When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, "Power in Preparation," which is the second part of an extended walk through the Gospel of Matthew, focused on Matthew, chapters 3-4. Bibliography for “Power in Preparation” [Gospel …
Matthew Erickson 